Today we?ll begin reviewing “The 4 Last Things? (Death, Judgment, Heaven, Hell) as taught by the Church. For most people, death is not something they like to discuss. It is, however, something we will all experience. Looking realistically at death helps us to put our life in perspective. What is really important in this life? Does it matter that we accumulate large sums of money? Once we die, will it help us to have many possessions? How about the number of TV shows we watched? The number of overtime hours we worked? The amount of fame we achieved? Will any of those things mean anything once we?re dead?
Of course it is important to allow ourselves to experience pleasure in this life, but it is necessary to establish priorities. The First Commandment states, ?I am the Lord Your God; you shall not have false gods before me.? If we don?t have time to pray, but have time to watch TV for 3 hours each day, is God really first in our life? In today?s society we have many false gods ? comfort, wealth, TV, sports, food, electronic gadgets. Are we focusing more on them than on the things that will help us to gain eternal life? When we pray, do charitable acts, receive the Sacraments, read about our Catholic faith ? we are planting seeds that will bear fruit in the next life.
The Bible reminds us that we don?t know when death will come and cautions us to always be on guard (Mt 24:44, Mt 25:30). For the next 24 hours, let?s take a look at the activities that occupy our time. If we die tomorrow and stand before The Lord, could we point to these activities and say to Him, ?Lord, you always came first in my life.??
Or could we do a little more?
