We do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, about those who have fallen asleep, so that you may not grieve like the rest, who have no hope.
For the Lord himself, with a word of command, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God, will come down from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore, console one another with these words. (1 Thes 4:13-18)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/111223.cfm
Words of consolation for all of us who have lost loved ones. We who stay awake awaiting our Lord’s return. May our departed loved ones and all the Faithful Departed rest in peace. One day we will be together with them who have gone before us, and we will always be with the Lord.
These reflections are a result of more than 40 years of ministry as a Roman Catholic priest. Most of these years I spent in the Diocese of Charlotte which covers Western North Carolina. Now I am retired, and live in Medellín, Colombia where I continue to serve as a priest in the Archdiocese of Medellín.
Sunday, Week XXXII, Ordinary Time
