There is an anecdote about Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. He was the Jesuit paleontologist and mystic (1881-1955) whose writings are the foundation of Catholic process theology. Teilhard was a stretcher bearer in the trenches of World War I. The story goes that someone there with him asked if he was afraid of getting shot and killed, and he shrugged and answered, “No, death is just a change of state.” In today’s Gospel, Jesus is being baited about what happens after death. The Gospel ends with these words of Jesus: “ … the God of Abraham … is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.” God continues to be in relationship with us, and we with God, whether we are in the dead state or the living state. Jesus’ own resurrection is a demonstration of this revelation, unique to Christianity. Only by being in a deep, ongoing relationship with the Lord can we have the trust to approach our own deaths with this assurance. We are at the end of another church year, and our readings are inviting us to meditate on this mystery.
– Blog entry by Sister Mary Garascia