June 7, 2023 Reflection – We all rejoice in Heaven!!
We all rejoice in Heaven! June 6, 2023 Dear Family of Mary! In the gospel today (Mark 12:18-27) the Sadducees ask Jesus a trick question about the woman who was married 7 times, to brothers, each of whom died. They ask Jesus whose wife she will be at the resurrection? Of course the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection. But Jesus tells them: “Are you not misled because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? When they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but they are like angels in heaven…” Jesus could not be stumped. But we can have wrong ideas of heaven too. Our Lady has spoken of heaven with great joy, hoping we can also have the joy of anticipation of heaven. She can’t be stumped either: Easter Sunday, April 22, 1984 “We all rejoice in Heaven. Rejoice with us.” November 27, 1986″Dear children! Again today I call you to consecrate your life to me with love, so I am able to guide you with love. I love you, dear children, with a special love and I desire to bring you all to Heaven unto God. I want you to realize that this life lasts briefly compared to the one in Heaven. Therefore, dear children, decide again today for God. Only that way will I be able to show how much you are dear to me and how much I desire all to be saved and to be with me in Heaven. Thank you for having responded to my call.” January 25, 2021 “Dear children!… Yearn for Heaven; and in Heaven there is no sorrow or hatred. That is why, little children, decide anew for conversion and let holiness begin to reign in your life. Thank you for having responded to my call.” May 25, 1991″Dear Children! …. I am here, dear children, to help you and to lead you to heaven, and in heaven is the joy through which you can already live heaven now. Thank you for having responded to my call!” Our Lady wants us to anticipate heaven as our goal, our real life, a place of great joy!! No more rancor or interpersonal troubles there!! Mother Angelica wrote a fantastic reflection about Heaven that I want to share with you. I found it in the Magnificat for June 2023, and it was published by EWTN Publishing in the book: “Mother Angelica on God, His Home, and His Angels”. Heavenly Ties, Heavenly Love In heaven, we will have a personal love and consideration for each one there. We shall be deeply interested in one another, as real brothers and friends should be. And so, there will be a real family bond between us—an all-for-one and one-for-all attitude. We will possess that all-embracing love that includes everyone and excludes no one. It will be founded in God and never waver or lessen for all eternity. Jesus gave us a glimpse into this family bond in heaven when he answered the question of the Sadducees, who asked him about the woman with seven husbands. According to their all too human way of reasoning, the poor woman was going to have a problem in heaven. Jesus looked at them sadly and answered, Is not the reason why you go wrong, that you understand neither the Scriptures nor the power of God? For, when they rise from the dead, men and women do not marry; no, they are like the angels in heaven. In heaven, we shall be like the angels, not by nature but by our total love for God and one another. On earth we had friends, parents, and relatives who were interdependent upon one another for love and support. But in heaven our happiness is dependent only upon God, and though we will know and love our dear ones in heaven, our family ties will be enlarged to include everyone. Jesus told a crowd one day that anyone who did the will of his Father in heaven was his brother, sister, and mother. If this is true of Jesus, it is also true of us. We will be everything to everyone, with a feeling of belonging to one another. There will be no prejudice to mar the happiness of our family life in heaven, no social barriers to overcome, no feuds or jealousy to endure. Because we will all be one heart and one soul in God, we shall enjoy the most perfect cordial affection for everyone, and each one there will be as a brother, sister, mother, husband, and wife to everyone. The time of testing will be over, and we shall reap the fruits of virtue for all eternity. Right on, Mother Angelica!!! In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan (c)Mary TV 2023