Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me.

 

Scripture readings for today's reflection can be found at Friday of the Fourth Week of Easter | USCCB

Today’s gospel is one of the choices that can be used at a wake service of a loved one. It’s a beautiful gospel that I use often that allows me to try to bring comfort to the family that is hurt and grieving. I would always invite everyone to remember these words of Jesus during the wake service, the funeral, and the service at the cemetery: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me.” I further encourage them that, once their loved one is at rest, to reflect on these words from Jesus whenever they think of them. The loved one is at rest and would want those they care about to be at peace.

We also can apply these words from this gospel to our day-to-day life. Living in the world with problems, issues with loved one, even facing death of our loved ones, Jesus is telling us not to be troubled. He’s there with us to comfort us. We just need to have faith in God and in the Lord Jesus that he’s there for us in whatever situation we are facing. The troubles of life will still come to us, but we need to place these cares into the loving hands of Jesus to help us and to receive comfort.

Further, Jesus promises us that he is going to prepare a place for us and eventually he will come back for us to lead us to that special place that he has waiting for all those who love him and have faith in Him.

The apostle Thomas, also known as the doubter, in his usual doubting way of asking those great questions, says to the Lord, “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?”  (John 14:5) And the Lord responds beautifully: “I am the way, the truth and the life.” (John 14:6) Following Jesus is the way we are called to live out our lives. It is through Jesus that we can come to the Father and gain everlasting joy in heaven. Heaven is our goal and Jesus is the way to make it to heaven.

Further, we are all called to follow Jesus in different ways. We are all on a journey with Jesus: the way, the truth, and the life. Whether we’re a priest, deacon, mother, father, married or single, we are called to follow Jesus towards our goal: life forever with Him in Heaven. We just need to be open to the Lord’s promptings in our lives. We do this by regular attendance at Mass, reading scripture daily, and the regular use of the sacrament of confession. This way we can have our hearts at peace and live out our lives in faith in God and the Lord Jesus.

As we follow Jesus, let us not worry about doing it in a big and grand way, but to follow the advice of Mother Teresa who said, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”

Praise be Jesus Christ, now and forever.