(Jesus said to the twelve Apostles) “No disciple is
above his teacher, no slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple
that he become like his teacher, for the slave that he become like his master.
If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more those of
his household!
“Therefore do not be afraid of them. Nothing is
concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. What I
say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered,
proclaim on the housetops. And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but
cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul
and body in Gehenna. Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of
them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. Even all the hairs of
your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many
sparrows. Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before
my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my
heavenly Father.”
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Reflection:
There is a story of a dying man who rarely attends
Holy Mass and who was very much afraid to die. When his relatives told him that
they will call a priest for him to be conferred with the Sacrament of the
Anointment of the Sick. He asked them, Am I going to die already (For this was
his usual notion)?
To make a long story short, the priest arrived, and
he was conferred the sacrament. After the priest left, the dying man told his
relatives, now I am prepared to die. From being afraid to not being afraid to
die and the reason of it all is the courage that Jesus gave him through the
anointment of the sick.
Are you not afraid to die? Of course you are, But why
are you afraid to die? Perhaps the reason is you have not found Jesus yet and
surely Jesus is not yet part of your way of life. This is perhaps the primary
reason why you are afraid to die. However, once Jesus is already part of your
way of life you will not anymore be afraid to die.
When we have Jesus in our lives we already have the
courage to face anything that may befall us. We are not anymore
afraid to stare at earthly death because we now know that soon after we will be
with Jesus in heaven.
Are you still afraid to die? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
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