I read this article yesterday and I began thinking about a conversation that I had with a group of ladies, on Wednesday in our Bible Study group. The question was "What do you imagine Jesus will say to people as they enter the great banquet, the wedding supper of the Lamb?" (Scripture reference John 14:1-4) From answering that question we began a discussion on the resurrection of our bodies.
Your article will be a blessing as to share with those ladies.
In Christ Alone, blessings to you and your gift of writing.
I think years and years of emphasis on the Cross and His sacrifice has dulled our sense of joy in the Resurrection. But, as Paul says, if we don’t believe in the resurrection, we are to be pitied.
Dear David, I am a Catholic in Spain and I firmly believe in Resurrection after Death. Life is so beautiful, but also very hard at times. Having this hope that after death not everything ends, but that on the day of the Final Judgement we will raise our soul to heaven to be reunited with our Lord and loved ones, strengthens you in life, makes you take things in a different way, projects you beyond the sorrows that must be endured, you try to bear them in the best way possible when they appear and before the advent of death, the longing for this idea of resurrection sweetens your soul in such a way that it endures everything and overcomes it in the knowledge that we will have this reward of being reunited with our Lord through faith. By the way, David, here in Spain the tradition of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day this weekend is to visit our dead in the cemeteries, we clean their graves, we beautify them by placing flowers and we pray for their souls in memory. What is it like in America? Tell me.
I remember the Dia de Los Muertos from when I was a child living on the Mexican border. But the celebration of All Saints’ Day and the visitations on All Soul’s Day are old traditions and they are largely absent in the US. I think they have been overtaken by Halloween.
Thanks for reading. I hope you will find more interesting things on my Substack.
Oh David, you are so right about Halloween. They want to dress up like “Katrina”, “La Llorona” and the clown from “It” Pennywise. But I have to confess that I love Halloween, too.
Regarding to the care of graves in cemeteries on All Souls' Day, you should watch Pedro Almodovar's film "Volver" to see what it's like here. So excess.The flower shops are making a killing. They sell very expensive the flowers. In just one day they make a month's worth of money. But business is business.
Of course, David, I read your articles. You write very finely and they are very interesting. They teach a lot, too. I like also your sense of humor. I laughed a lot when you said “Easter isn’t about bunnies”, because it’s what you are used to see on the American movies. I guess you will know how Easter is here.
We take the figures of the saints out into the street for long hours in something we call “procesiones,” accompanied by the Nazarenes who are dressed in clothing like those of the Ku Klux Khan (they are not). Very shocking and baroque. We are a bit crazy, I guess. Latin way.
So... about a year ago, I had a knock on the door one Saturday morning. I looked through the peephole and it was obviously Jehovah's Witnesses. "Ah, man, not them." Then instantly I was instructed - "Open the door, and you are to be a blessing to them today." So I did.
After quoting a wildly inapplicable verse from Psalm 37, the woman asked me if I believe in the Resurrection. Of course I do, the new Jerusalem is right there in Revelation 21. And we may have gotten a preview of the resurrection body in the risen Christ. We had a longish conversation, and at the end she told me, "In all the time I've been doing this, you're the first person that's ever told me they believe in the Resurrection."
I was stunned. North Texas doesn't have that many Anglicans (she asked, "What's that?"), but the many Roman Catholics up here also recite the Nicene Creed every Sunday, and they too look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come, amen. Not to mention other denominations.
I read this article yesterday and I began thinking about a conversation that I had with a group of ladies, on Wednesday in our Bible Study group. The question was "What do you imagine Jesus will say to people as they enter the great banquet, the wedding supper of the Lamb?" (Scripture reference John 14:1-4) From answering that question we began a discussion on the resurrection of our bodies.
Your article will be a blessing as to share with those ladies.
In Christ Alone, blessings to you and your gift of writing.
I ❤️’d reading this perspective! So comforting!
I think years and years of emphasis on the Cross and His sacrifice has dulled our sense of joy in the Resurrection. But, as Paul says, if we don’t believe in the resurrection, we are to be pitied.
Dear David, I am a Catholic in Spain and I firmly believe in Resurrection after Death. Life is so beautiful, but also very hard at times. Having this hope that after death not everything ends, but that on the day of the Final Judgement we will raise our soul to heaven to be reunited with our Lord and loved ones, strengthens you in life, makes you take things in a different way, projects you beyond the sorrows that must be endured, you try to bear them in the best way possible when they appear and before the advent of death, the longing for this idea of resurrection sweetens your soul in such a way that it endures everything and overcomes it in the knowledge that we will have this reward of being reunited with our Lord through faith. By the way, David, here in Spain the tradition of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day this weekend is to visit our dead in the cemeteries, we clean their graves, we beautify them by placing flowers and we pray for their souls in memory. What is it like in America? Tell me.
I remember the Dia de Los Muertos from when I was a child living on the Mexican border. But the celebration of All Saints’ Day and the visitations on All Soul’s Day are old traditions and they are largely absent in the US. I think they have been overtaken by Halloween.
Thanks for reading. I hope you will find more interesting things on my Substack.
Blessings.
Oh David, you are so right about Halloween. They want to dress up like “Katrina”, “La Llorona” and the clown from “It” Pennywise. But I have to confess that I love Halloween, too.
Regarding to the care of graves in cemeteries on All Souls' Day, you should watch Pedro Almodovar's film "Volver" to see what it's like here. So excess.The flower shops are making a killing. They sell very expensive the flowers. In just one day they make a month's worth of money. But business is business.
Of course, David, I read your articles. You write very finely and they are very interesting. They teach a lot, too. I like also your sense of humor. I laughed a lot when you said “Easter isn’t about bunnies”, because it’s what you are used to see on the American movies. I guess you will know how Easter is here.
We take the figures of the saints out into the street for long hours in something we call “procesiones,” accompanied by the Nazarenes who are dressed in clothing like those of the Ku Klux Khan (they are not). Very shocking and baroque. We are a bit crazy, I guess. Latin way.
Thank you for your blessings, Padre.
So... about a year ago, I had a knock on the door one Saturday morning. I looked through the peephole and it was obviously Jehovah's Witnesses. "Ah, man, not them." Then instantly I was instructed - "Open the door, and you are to be a blessing to them today." So I did.
After quoting a wildly inapplicable verse from Psalm 37, the woman asked me if I believe in the Resurrection. Of course I do, the new Jerusalem is right there in Revelation 21. And we may have gotten a preview of the resurrection body in the risen Christ. We had a longish conversation, and at the end she told me, "In all the time I've been doing this, you're the first person that's ever told me they believe in the Resurrection."
I was stunned. North Texas doesn't have that many Anglicans (she asked, "What's that?"), but the many Roman Catholics up here also recite the Nicene Creed every Sunday, and they too look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come, amen. Not to mention other denominations.
How did we get to this point?
Father David, Thank you for this beautiful perspective.
You know of this more than most, Charlotte.