Answering 'November Questions'

By Bishop Paul S. Loverde
Special to the Herald
(From the issue of 11/11/04)

The following homily was given by Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde at the Mass celebrating the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time at St. Robert Bellarmine Chapel on the campus of George Mason University on Sunday, Nov. 7, 2004.

It is already November and every year November can make us stop and ask some very basic questions: "What is life all about?" "What is really important?" "Why death?" "What happens after death?" "Is there life after death?"

Yes, there are "heavy" questions, but all of us ask them at some time or other. The fall season, especially this month of November, can cause us to ask these questions, as we experience falling leaves, naked trees, chilling frost, increasing darkness, grey skies and the hint of approaching cold and even ice and snow. This last part of the Church year can likewise cause us to ask these questions as we observe All Saints’ Day and the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed. More often than not, concrete circumstances trigger these questions, like the sudden and unexpected death of a young husband and father, the terminal illness of a young wife and mother, or that basic question: "Why is there death at any age?"

How do you and I handle these and similar questions? How do you and I react to what often seems so unexplainable or so illogical? What do we do with these basic issues of life and death?

Ultimately, the key to our questions and to our struggles is found in a Person, in Jesus Christ, God’s Only-begotten Son, Who took up our human nature, lived our human life, suffered, died and then rose again to new and unending life. Indeed, the Crucified yet Risen Lord Jesus stands at the core of our Christian faith, and is proclaimed as the fundamental message of the Gospels. Even in our worship we affirm this: "Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again."

Jesus tasted all of life’s experiences and faced all of life’s questions and puzzles. He came to put an end to death and to reveal the resurrection. He confirms the deepest cravings of the human heart by winning the victory of life over sin and eternal death. He came, not to have us escape human death, but to enable us to pass through it and not die eternally. So, then, let us return to our basic questions. Life is about living in union with Jesus and deepening that union, which will burst forth into fullness once we pass through the gates of death. What really matters in life, then, is our relationship with Jesus and through Him, with one another, beginning with those relationships existing within the family circle. Death will not have the last word, because Jesus has conquered human death, turning it into a gateway to eternal life. Yes, there is life after death — eternal and unending life for those who know the Lord Jesus and love Him, sharing His life fully then because from Baptism on, the faithful disciples of Jesus develop and deepen this divine life within them through prayer, the celebration of the sacraments, penance and good works.

Once we understand that Jesus Christ is the key to all our questions and struggles and that He calls us to live in union with Him now so that we can continue to live with Him forever in heaven, then we live our lives in ways that are in harmony with Christian discipleship, with following the Lord. Knowing that life with God awaits us strengthens us to live our faith as fully as we can, even when that means facing difficulties or even persecution. Like the seven brothers in today’s first reading, we will see beyond the present to the life and joy awaiting us with God.

The "heavy" questions posed by November take us back to the basics: to Jesus Christ, Who is our Lord and Savior, the Only One Who can fully fulfill the deepest desires of our hearts. After all, we desire to live forever with Jesus and in today’s Gospel Jesus assures us that God "is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive."

You are young adults, and this stage in your lives can be a marvelous opportunity to come to grips with your identity as Christ’s disciples and even more as His friends. For, that is what He calls us to be from Baptism onwards, friends, people who share life with Him. Through quiet reflection and persevering prayer, in honest discussions with those who understand our Catholic faith, in sacramental celebrations and through self-giving service to others, may you yourselves become more evangelized so that at the same time you can evangelize others on this campus. Jesus the Lord is the real and final answer to all our "November" questions! Living within the community of His Church enables us to be presented with the truth and to be strengthened to proclaim that truth in love. I pray that here, through your participation in the activities at St. Robert Bellarmine Chapel, you will be empowered to be authentic heralds of the Gospel, genuine evangelizers, inviting people wherever and whenever you meet them, to come to Jesus, Who is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

Not only in these November days, but always, "may the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the endurance of Christ."

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