His Righteousness

Dear friend,

Fall is such a beautiful time of year, especially here in the Midwest. There’s the crisp air, the beautiful Fall colors and that time of year for celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas.

We prepare for these holidays very carefully making lists, putting a lot of thought to and then planning them out carefully. These times can be great fun but life is not simply about holidays. Planning and preparing are important steps for anyone for anytime especially, when it comes to our relationship with God. We busy ourselves with so many things but the one thing we need to be especially busy about is time with God and time in prayer. The people around you are all very busy too but deep down they are worried about so many things and they need your prayers.

November 1st was All Saints Day and November 2nd was All Souls Day. These are special days set aside to celebrate the Saints who lived their life honoring God, sharing the Good News of the Bible with others and personally demonstrating God’s love for their fellow man. All Souls Day is a day set aside to pray for our deceased loved ones who have gone before us as well as for all the souls in Purgatory.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines purgatory as a “purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven,” which is experienced by those “who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified” (CCC 1030). It notes that “this final purification of the elect…is entirely different from the punishment of the damned” (CCC 1031).

Revelation 21:27 reads, ‘but nothing unclean shall enter it, nor any one who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life. When you read this passage of Revelations you have to ask yourself, ‘is my name written in the ‘Lamb’s book of life’? If I have the slightest doubt then I go back to the planning and preparing stages of my life and I work on it at seeking how best to serve God and to live a righteous and holy life. I want to be among the people that longs to see God’s face.

This week please spend more time with God in prayer. Pray for yourself, your family, your friends but also pray for the strangers you pass by.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, fill me with the courage and faith to follow you, to seek your face in all areas of my life especially when I am tempted to do otherwise. Your love and guidance for me is all I need to help me plan and prepare for the rest of my life. Your Son’s dying on the cross has already earned me a place in the Lamb’s book of life. Help me and guide me to hold that place. I ask this in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

May God be with you and may He continue to protect you and yours!

Peace, love and joy in Christ Jesus, our Savior!

Marie Antoinette

All life matters – from conception on!