Living in this scientific age, it is not easy to hold on to the belief in God and in the spiritual realm. Things which used to be categorized as spiritual are now consigned to being psychological. Perhaps modern people don't want to admit the sovereignty God has over them. They would rather pay thousands of dollars lying on the couch to empty their chest. They want to deny the soul out of existence. They live as if souls do not exist.
Do souls exist? If souls exist, they exist whether you deny or acknowledge them. The question is how you can demonstrate their existence.
Do souls exist? If souls exist, they exist whether you deny or acknowledge them. The question is how you can demonstrate their existence.
Dualism is a very convenient way of thinking. Body and soul are considered separately for the ease of philosophical speculation. We can think about, talk about the soul as a purely, totally spiritual being. However, in doing so, we are projecting our wild imagination onto a mental construct no less intangible than a triangular circle. Similarly, we can examine and dissect the body as a purely, totally material object. However, in doing so, we are dealing with a dead corpse, not a living person. We need a more holistic way of thinking, a way to combine the body and the soul into one. We will then able to see how the soul animates the body into a cheerful teenager, a depressed adult or a neurotic woman whom I met the other day at an LRT platform. She was cursing another man non-stop for turning her insane. We boarded the same carriage and people avoided her.
On the other hand, our body nourishes our soul. Our spirit will elate or weaken as our bodily health waxes and wanes.
On the other hand, our body nourishes our soul. Our spirit will elate or weaken as our bodily health waxes and wanes.
One day, we will die with the exception of a lucky few who survive the end of the world and ascend to the throne of God directly. Inevitably, our soul will leave this body to decay. I don't know how long this soul may last without this body as its carrier. Perhaps it is indestructible. It will wait until the end of the world to reunite with our decayed body, to summon the dispersed parts back into one. Perhaps the soul will disintegrate and recycle like our dead body, return to the big pool of primordial soup of souls. Perhaps ...
Today, I remember two departed friends in particular. They were John Kam and Stephen Wong. Yes, they were because some parts of me have departed with them. I can imagine them hopefully praying in the purgatory, waiting for their turn to go to heaven. My prayers go to them today. Of course, there are many others: my godsons, my god-mother of Confirmation, my god-father of Baptism, some priests, religious brothers, nuns, legionaries and choir members etc. The list will go on and on. There is a long line of souls waiting for my prayers. But I am sure their souls have rested in peace.
The reading of Isaiah is consoling today. It reads
He will swallow up death for ever, and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth; for the LORD has spoken (Isaiah 25:8).
Death is a necessary evil. Without death, this globe just cannot sustain so many people. But at the end of the world, death no longer serves.
The word "tear" appears only 23 times in the Old Testament and 11 times in the New. The first time it appears is at 2 Kings 20:5 where God promised to heal king Hezekiah and extended his life for 15 years. Of course, it appears for the last time in the book of Revelation, twice, each repeating Isaiah's words: God will wipe away all tears from their eyes (Revelation 7:17, 21:4).
When our hearts are soft, compassionate and emphatical enough, we can have tears in our eyes. But if our hearts have hardened, even God will not be able to wipe away any tears from our eyes since there will be none. Perhaps that was why Jesus made the mournful one of the blessed.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted (Matthew 5:4).
When you mourn such that nobody is able to comfort you, God will.
But why do we mourn? People mourn for different reasons. But the reasons are not important. The most important thing of all is that we are able to shed tears for our sins, for the sins of others and for the sins of the world.
He will swallow up death for ever, and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth; for the LORD has spoken (Isaiah 25:8).
Death is a necessary evil. Without death, this globe just cannot sustain so many people. But at the end of the world, death no longer serves.
The word "tear" appears only 23 times in the Old Testament and 11 times in the New. The first time it appears is at 2 Kings 20:5 where God promised to heal king Hezekiah and extended his life for 15 years. Of course, it appears for the last time in the book of Revelation, twice, each repeating Isaiah's words: God will wipe away all tears from their eyes (Revelation 7:17, 21:4).
When our hearts are soft, compassionate and emphatical enough, we can have tears in our eyes. But if our hearts have hardened, even God will not be able to wipe away any tears from our eyes since there will be none. Perhaps that was why Jesus made the mournful one of the blessed.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted (Matthew 5:4).
When you mourn such that nobody is able to comfort you, God will.
But why do we mourn? People mourn for different reasons. But the reasons are not important. The most important thing of all is that we are able to shed tears for our sins, for the sins of others and for the sins of the world.
Dear Lord, on this All Souls Day, may we pray that our efforts will not be wasted. May our prayers and our work bring comfort to the souls in the purgatory, and those souls on earth. Amen.
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