Two men, Chris and Jason, were lifelong friends.  Jason was a lukewarm humanist and avowed atheist, whereas Chris was in many senses, a typical Catholic: he went to Church with his family almost every week, prayed at least occasionally, and was certainly a true believer in the triune God, ......

     In the spirit of friendship, Chris and Jason basically never talked religion - the unspoken fear was that an argument might drive them apart.   In his late forties, however, Jason contracted pancreatic cancer, and it was soon evident that he didn’t have much longer to live.  He was heroically stoic about his fate, as atheists often are, but he still sincerely appreciated the nearly daily visits from his friend Chris, who did all he could think of to bring a little cheer and comfort to Jason in his last weeks.

   With genuine love and an unexpected passion and fervor and clarity that he didn’t know he had in himself, Chris poured out to Jason everything he could think of about God, who created Heaven and Earth, and all the universe, in love: creating man in His own divine image, making him little less than angels, crowning him with glory and honor, and endowing him with free will and the light of reason.  


    To his surprise, Chris realized that Jason was listening intently to his words,..........

 
    But suddenly.....he turned to Chris and said sadly, “No.  I don’t believe.  I can’t believe.  I don’t even think you really believe!  For if your God and your faith meant so much to you, and would mean, as you suggest, such an eternal difference to me, why did you never before share this with me, if only for the sake of friendship?  Perhaps it would have made a difference in my life, but it means nothing to me now, as I yield to death....”  And with those words, Jason died.

The faith that means so much to us, ..... needs to be authentically lived and eagerly shared, expressed untiringly in love and prayer!

 
For today, no less than long ago, almighty God speaks His living Word in divine love and eternal wisdom........ .

 

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