Reading for the Day: Lord of Those Who Have Died

For this is why Christ died and came to life,
that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
Romans 14.


Dearest Lord of those who have died,
We place into your hands our dearly departed.
Please take care of them. 

Guillemette on Purgatory

There's a short story by Guillemette, SJ. (A Season in Purgatory, in Greater Than Our Hearts published by St. Paul Publications in 1989) about what happens to us after we die. An angel meets us and at some point, we read a book that contains the story of our lives and as we read, we come to terms with our own sinfulness. As we shed tears of sorrow, scales fall off our skin until all the scales are washed away. Then when we are thoroughly descaled, we feel God's presence and proceed to heaven. 

I guess true love and charity involves pointing out to others where their scales are. Makes their stay in Purgatory easier. 

(First posted elsewhere)

Of course I'd approach it more positively. We read (or watch) the story of our lives and see where God was all along.