Yesterday we rejoiced as we celebrated the joy of having all our sisters and brothers fully alive in Christ Jesus praising our Heavenly Father in His Kingdom. Through Holy Eucharist we united ourselves with them as with one voice we acclaimed Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty!
And so how can we be mournful the very next day when we we recall the family members, sisters and brothers in Christ, the dearly departed who have returned to their eternal rest with God our Heavenly Father? For it is not some wishful thinking on our part but a living hope of the reality of a resurrected life with our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ! God so loved the world that He gave us His only Begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him, shall have eternal life. And so we say Amen! Alleluia!
May our almighty and ever living God be praised now and forever more. Amen
First reading
Wisdom 3:1-9 ·
The souls of the virtuous are in the hands of God
The souls of the virtuous are in the hands of God, no torment shall ever touch them.
In the eyes of the unwise, they did appear to die, their going looked like a disaster, their leaving us, like annihilation; but they are in peace.
If they experienced punishment as men see it, their hope was rich with immortality;
slight was their affliction, great will their blessings be.
God has put them to the test and proved them worthy to be with him; he has tested them like gold in a furnace, and accepted them as a holocaust.
When the time comes for his visitation they will shine out; as sparks run through the stubble, so will they.
They shall judge nations, rule over peoples,
and the Lord will be their king for ever.
They who trust in him will understand the truth, those who are faithful will live with him in love; for grace and mercy await those he has chosen.
Second reading
Romans 5:5-11 ·
Now we have been reconciled by the death of his Son, surely we may count on being saved by the life of his Son
Hope is not deceptive, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given us. We were still helpless when at his appointed moment Christ died for sinful men. It is not easy to die even for a good man – though of course for someone really worthy, a man might be prepared to die – but what proves that God loves us is that Christ died for us while we were still sinners. Having died to make us righteous, is it likely that he would now fail to save us from God’s anger? When we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, we were still enemies; now that we have been reconciled, surely we may count on being saved by the life of his Son? Not merely because we have been reconciled but because we are filled with joyful trust in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have already gained our reconciliation.
Gospel
Matthew 11:25-30
You have hidden these things from the wise and revealed them to little children
Jesus exclaimed, ‘I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do. Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
‘Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.’
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