Fr. C.G. Vaillancourt
We have been created to know God, to love Him and to serve Him; so that we can merit to enjoy Him in eternal life.
Everything has a purpose in life. God created the Heavens and the earth to show us His Magnificence, His Power and Majesty and to draw our attention to Him the Creator, not to His Creation. Unfortunately we neglect God, turn away from His Presence and live most of our lives for ourselves only [2 Chronicles 29:6].
A hammer is designed to hit nails, a microphone is made so that we can speak into it. Now, imagine that you start hammering nails with a microphone or that you speak into the hammer? Ridiculous, funny, stupid or whatever you want to call it, it is simply wrong.
We have been created for the purpose of being drawn back into God, but when we separate from Him things go wrong in our lives. We start complaining because we don't find any purpose in life. If we were washing machines, there would be instructions on how to operate these machines and we would read them. If something went wrong, we would go to an approved washing machine mechanic in order to be fixed properly. Now since we are children of God, is it not appropriate that we come to Him whenever something goes wrong in our lives? But is it fair to come to Him only when we need Him? [Joel 2:12] Are we then supposed to have a better relationship with Him who has created us, who loves us, who cares for us and who is calling us for eternal joy in Him?
Praise and Worship
We are thankful to people here on earth because they are good to us and help us, people are instrumental in our lives for our happiness. Should we not begin to realise how much we owe God, how much He cares for us every instant, keeping us alive and giving us love through others?
We must contemplate the Majesty of God, we must praise Him for His works of creation, we must praise Him for His Power and Glory, we must praise Him for for Infinite Love and Mercy. [Psalm 146]
Praised be God the Father Almighty in His Supreme Power and Will, who by His divine design runs the universe.
Praised be Jesus Christ, the Eternal Word of God, made flesh by whose Word everything has been created, who came to save us from death.
Praised be God the Holy Spirit, who sustains the universe by the Power of His Love, who has come to dwell in our hearts in order to make us know, love and serve Him.
Glory be to the Father, to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning it is now and ever shall be world without end. Amen.
To worship God in a very profound act of praise and thanksgiving, is to love Him for what He is, to give ourselves totally to Him.
The seraphim, the highest hierarchy of angels are also called the burning ones because they burn continuously with love for God. In the book of Isaiah [Isaiah 6:3] they are seen as continuously worshipping God and they say : Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord, Heaven and earth are full of His Glory.
It is as if by declaring the holiness of God, we can also become holy.
If we put our hands in water, we get wet; if we put them in fire we get burned, if we are in darkness and we come to the light, we can see. So if we come before the Presence of God in Praise and Worship, God reflects His Glory upon our souls and we experience a tremendous Peace in our hearts, we feel the joy of knowing that God is responding to our Love and we satisfy the yearning of our souls. As we come to God in our emptiness, He will replenish us with His riches, as we come to Him in our darkness, He will bathe us in His Light, as we come to Him in our sinfulness, He will cover us with His Grace. We never come back from God empty handed because He is Love and Love is continuously burning like a fire [ Hebrews 12:29] reaching out with its flames of purity and perfection.
Prayer, praise and worship lead us into contemplation of God, who is always knocking at our doors [Revelation 3:20]. There are many prayers to be prayed, but none as beautiful as the ones coming from our own spirit, since the Lord wants us to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth [Romans 8:26-27]. We can also read the Psalms and sing songs of praise to God. As we respond to His call, our souls are beautified and made holy.
The greatest act of worship that we can do is to receive Jesus in the Sacrament of His Presence, the Holy Eucharist. There is no greater offering to God the Father than His Son, and this is our offering to God when we receive Jesus [Hebrews 13:15].
We can then worship His Presence within us as we become tabernacles of the divinity and by living in His Presence we are sanctified. We can also adore Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar as we yearn to possess Him within us.
We also worship Jesus as we meditate His passion during the Stations of the Cross, or as we pray the Holy Rosary which contains the complete life, death, resurrection and Glory of Jesus in the company of His mother.
What is our future after death?
We only die once, after death comes judgement [Hebrews 9:27], and may these words of God erase that theory of Re-incarnation for good.
Our future depends on our present. Just as people invest money, time and efforts into the things of the future, we must invest our short lives in preparation for that great eternal life. What is 60 or 80 years or more if the Lord gives us more time compared to eternity? It is not even like a grain of sand compared to the universe, because we don't even have the knowledge to understand and measure creation. Only God knows; but in humility we can just ponder and understand that we would be fools not knowing how to choose well between life and death [Deuteronomy 30:19].
Not that we really die when we die [John 12:24], because the spirit is immortal and if we have to face judgment, we must strive to live a holy life in order to avoid eternal condemnation.
[John 5:24] Amen, amen I say unto you, that he who hears my word, and believes him that sent me, has life everlasting; and comes not into judgment, but is passed from death to life.
Those who live by the Word of God are judged already, and Jesus did not come to the world to condemn but to save us [John 12:47] .
If we live and die in God, we will be raised in Him and we will live eternally in Him.
Let us despise the world for God's sake and live a holy life, not just for the rewards offered but because this is "God's call to be holy".
Blessed are those who put their trust in the Lord [Jeremiah 17:7]
