Today's 1st Reading

God formed man to be imperishable;
the image of his own nature he made them.
But by the envy of the Devil, death entered the world,
and they who are in his possession experience it.

But the souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them.
They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;
and their passing away was thought an affliction
and their going forth from us, utter destruction.
But they are in peace.
For if before men, indeed, they be punished,
yet is their hope full of immortality;Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed,
because God tried them
and found them worthy of himself.
As gold in the furnace, he proved them,
and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself.
In the time of their visitation they shall shine,
and shall dart about as sparks through stubble;
They shall judge nations and rule over peoples,
and the Lord shall be their King forever.
Those who trust in him shall understand truth,
and the faithful shall abide with him in love:
Because grace and mercy are with his holy ones,
and his care is with his elect.
(Wis 2:23–3:9)

This is a reading that is usually used at funerals...I remember it very well from the many I have attended. Today's passage however begins a few verses before and speaks of the devil's envy.

Satan envies us. Why and what does that mean?

Envy: A feeling of discontent and resentment aroused by and in conjunction with desire for the possessions or qualities of another.

He wanted something that we had when God created us.

What can we do that Satan cannot?

Procreate.

Satan as the angel Lucifer was not made to take part in the creation of anything. He by his very nature could praise God and serve Him - just like we can - and had more power than any man or woman ever would, but this...he could not do.

So how does he retaliate?

He destroys.

He destroys relationships. He destroys lives. Anything life-giving is his enemy.

"...death entered the world and those who are in his possession experience it." (v.24)

This, I believe is not death of the body but death of the soul. We will all pass away but the Father has given us His Son to save us for an eternity with Him. If we do not accept the death of Jesus for our sins, we reject the very gift of salvation.

How easy it would be to slip back into the ways of the world, but how tragic the consequences.

Is it really worth it? Fleeting moments of temporary happiness in exchange for what?

Jaymee sent me a quote a while back that convicts the heart profoundly - "No matter which of the thousands roads you choose, at the end of life we'll see two faces: the beautiful face of Christ or the wretched face of Satan. One will claim us for all eternity."

Yesterday I recalled a young man I met who said he used to be very involved in his church - leader of a praise band, making music for God. Something happened that caused him to lose faith in God and he has turned his back on the Lord completely. Seeing his life now, I couldn't understand why he would leave such a beautiful journey but I could only trust that God still called him and I prayed that someday he would open the door of his heart again.

Things may happen that disillusion us and lead us to believe that God isn't really there...that all the effort we put into remaining strong in faith is more than we can handle. We see hypocrisy in our church and we don't want to be a part of it because the people we deal with everyday "out there" are more real than the ones we see in the house of God.

Some of that I do understand.

It's a road, however, that I cannot take.

I can't leave Him, and I can't leave His Church. I looked up at the Cross during Mass last night and I heard myself repeating the words I've said again and again - "If I was to walk away from this, where would I go?"

I pray that those who have left will come back...that they will someday learn that those difficult times were great opportunities for virtue to emerge...that they will hear the words of Solomon and know that God does care, that He does love them with everything He is.

"Do not invite death by the error of your life,
or bring on destruction by the works of your hands;
because God did not make death,
and He does not delight in the death of the living.
For He created all things so that they might exist;
the generative forces of the world are wholesome,
and there is no destructive poison in them,
and the dominion of Hades is not on earth,
For righteousness is immortal."
(Wis 1:12-16)