Imagine the life of a college freshman. This is his first experience of being away from his parents. He can stay up as late as he wants, eat cold pizza for breakfast and go to as many parties as possible. We hope that by his sophomore year he starts thinking of life beyond college by choosing a major and getting serious about his studies. After all, the real purpose of college is to prepare for life.
A student may think of what he is going to do “after college,” but for those of us who have been out of college for a few years, college was just a preparation for the real world. I sometimes think that there is a similar problem of perspective whenever I hear someone ask about “life after death.” To a college student, life on campus is more “real” than some vague future. So for us, this life is the only thing that seems real to us. Our idea of heaven, possibly filled with images of clouds and harps, seems far off and ethereal. Once we graduate, however, we do not usually spend the next seventy or so years thinking that now we are in our post-college years. If anything, we look at college students and ask, “Was I like that?” So when we get to heaven, I do not expect to think of it as an “afterlife.” Rather, we will look at this world as a vague beginning to what we are truly meant to be – children of God, sharing perfect joy with Him forever.
As we near the end of our liturgical year, the Church invites us to look forward to the more real world of heaven. The readings start to focus on the end of time and the eternity of Christ’s Kingdom. This is a time to see ourselves as a college student who has to choose a major, for we want to be ready for what really matters.
We start the month with two special celebrations. This Tuesday is All Saints Day. Throughout the year, we celebrate feast days of the canonized saints. All Saints Day is for those who are not officially recognized by the Church. This feast is a way to honor our parents and grandparents and all others who had an influence on our lives. We see their example, and we ask their prayers for us. To keep the college analogy going, I can think of how many phone calls and letters I have gotten from Duquesne over the years, asking me to help (by monetary donation) those students now trying to get an education as I once did. Although the saints are no longer with us in this world, they still help their “alma mater” by praying for us.
On November 2 especially, we also pray for those who have died. God gives us the gift of purgatory in order to complete our transition to the perfection of what He has created in us. And as we still see a connection with one another, God allows us to assist in that final purification by praying for those who have died. So as we look forward to graduating to heaven, November becomes a special time for us to pray for all the faithful departed. And by doing so, may we come to look forward to the real world of heaven and to see this life as a chance to grow to be the people God has created us to be.
Father H
