J.M.J. The Fourth Sunday of Advent always signals that Christmas Day is very near.
As Advent passes, so does life.
Are we ready for Christmas? Are we ready for eternity?
The Servant of God John Anthony Hardon (1914-2000), the great Jesuit theologian, during a conference entitled, "We Are Immortal" that was part of a retreat that he gave to the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, said:
"How we need perspective. To
see everything in this life from the viewpoint of eternity, how unimportant, how trifling the apparently big things in this life, especially the trials and
hardships. ( . . . ) Saint Aloysius used to keep asking himself, pardon the Latin, Quid hoc ad Aeternitatem? What relation has this to do with eternity? Does it
help me to live in immortal happiness? Then no matter how heavy the price,
I’ll pay it. Oh, how many souls I’ve struggled with, how many priests, how many
religious, how many husbands and wives. In God’s Name I plead with them: Don’t
you see this is as nothing compared to the Heaven for which you’re made?"
We would do well to make Quid hoc ad Aeternitatem--"what does it mean for eternity"--our motto.
Queen of Heaven, pray for us.
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