Our Lady Of Perpetual Help

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Reflection - Week of November 1

Question of the Week:

How can I show the unconditional love of a saint in a way that I have been reluctant to in the past?

     Jesus was able to teach about heaven with such authority because he came down from heaven in the first place. Thus, he could promise the rewards of heaven for those whom he had come to serve. We believe that those who we identify as saints are part of the kingdom of heaven right now, forever in the presence of God,

surrounded by love, mercy, and goodness. We may make our prayers through the intercession of the saints, trusting that they are with God, who stands ready to shower us with that love, mercy, and goodness.

     In today’s second reading, John writes that, “we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). Later in this letter, he writes “God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him” (1 John 4:16). Since we regard the saints as dwelling in the kingdom of God in the presence of God, able to see God face to face, John would say that the saints are like God. Because God is love, the saints are as well. Indeed, with their lives the saints have given us real-world examples of God’s love. When we pray through the intercession of a saint, we are not only recognizing the unconditional love of God they manifested here on earth, but also the pure love that permeates their entire being in heaven.