Friday of the Fifteenth Week of Ordinary Time
“My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord; I know them, and they follow me.”
People nowadays think that talking about death is a taboo and that if we ignore this subject, then we will live forever, but as St. Benedict says in his Rule, “Keep death daily before your eyes. The life that the world offers is eternal death, but the death St. Benedict mentions is the death that we all must take that leads to eternal life.
When I use to work in the Infirmary as a Certified Nurses Assistant, CNA, I witnessed many deaths and one death that I can remember most vividly was our Fr. Joel Derks. I was holding his hands as he gave up his spirit to meet the Lord face to face. I also remember talking to Fr. Joel about death a few weeks before he passed away, and he told me me “brother, why should I be afraid? I have tried my best in this life, and I believe the Lord knows that, because he knows that I am human, I trust in his divine mercy.”
I know that I might sound like a broken record but trusting in the Lord is key to winning God’s heart. Fr. Joel knew this and so did many of the other monks that have passed away. I am reminded of what the Lord Jesus said to St. Faustina, “Whoever places his trust in My mercy will be filled with My divine peace at the hour of death.”
In the responsorial psalm, we hear “You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.” If we place all of our trust in the Lord we shall live and have eternal peace, let us enter deeper into the mystery of God’s love for us and say, “Jesus I trust in you, Jesus I love you.”
Reflection by Br. Maximilian Burkhart, OSB
Posted in Articles for Lent, Daily Reflections, Lenten Resources