GOSPEL

The dead will hear the voice of the Son of God
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John
John 5:24-29

Jesus said to the Jews:
I tell you most solemnly,
whoever listens to my words,
and believes in the one who sent me,
has eternal life;
without being brought to judgement
he has passed from death to life.
I tell you most solemnly,
the hour will come – in fact it is here already –
when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God,
and all who hear it will live.
For the Father, who is the source of life,
has made the Son the source of life;
and, because he is the Son of Man,
has appointed him supreme judge.
Do not be surprised at this,
for the hour is coming when the dead will leave their graves
at the sound of his voice:
those who did good will rise again to life;
and those who did evil, to condemnation.

The Gospel of the Lord

The Key Moment

There is a key moment that sets apart the life we live now from the moment when, God willing, we will enter His Glory. This is the incomparable moment of the beatific vision of God. In that moment, that vision will impact us so profoundly that it will bring about a sublime transformation within each of us.
In that instant, we will finally become what God envisioned for us—a version of ourselves we could never have imagined. Above all, through the beatific vision, we will reach the summit of love and communion for which we were created, leaving us with an insatiable thirst until we attain it.
Then, praises to God will arise from our depths with the full strength of our hearts.

Applied to Married Life:

Charles: The more my love for you and for the Lord grows, the deeper my thirst becomes, and the more I long to reach the fullness of love and communion.
Linda: We were made for heaven; we were created for Christ, and our hearts won’t rest until they find their home in Him.
Charles: That hope, honestly, makes me detach from worldly things and long for the day I leave this world. Otherwise, we’d be clinging to this life, and our end would be a true tragedy. Dying is no easy passage, but I long for it, just to be one with you and with God.

Mother,

How wonderful it is to know the destiny the Father has prepared for us. We are unaware and undeserving. Praise be to the Lord, and even greater praise will be given in the beatific vision of God.