Meditation Minute

My Dearest Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

 

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” 

 

Gospel Reading (John 14:1-6)

 

Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled.  You have faith in God; have faith also in me.  In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not,
would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. Where I am going you know the way.”  Thomas said to him, “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

 

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus tells his disciples the he is “the way and the truth and the life.”  So what does this really mean.  He is telling us that there is only one way to eternal life and it is through him.  We must understand that it is Jesus who teaches us the one and only truth and by following his truth, we find our way to the one true life.  He is the door through which we must pass to get to the Father.  He tells his disciples that believing in God and knowing God comes through knowing him.  He starts out by telling them not to be troubled and to have faith.  Be not afraid and stand tall for you are followers of the one true life.  He commands this to put them at ease so that they can be prepared for the journey.  We are told to take solace in Christ and in God.  But no matter how hard we try to avoid trouble and despair, we all eventually encounter situations which are hard to deal with.  We all face trials in our life which put us to the test.  During these times, many of us will feel alone and even abandoned.  Christ wants us to know that we are never abandoned and that He will always be with us along the journey.  These troubles and trials are tests which challenge our heart.  If we are not strong and centered on Christ, we can lose hope and become discouraged.  Jesus tells us that “if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be.”  We need to know that Christ is preparing a very special place for us in his house.  It is a place where we will spend our eternal life.  We need to take comfort that Christ is there to calm the waters and take on the burden of our pains.  However, we must be willing to give these things up to Christ without losing faith and hope.  We must be willing to let go and trust in Christ that he has prepared a place for us in his Father’s house.  We cannot find the way unless we trust in Christ.  It is only through our total abandonment that we will find heaven.  It is through our commitment to Christ that we will find the way, the truth and the life which has been promised to us in our baptism.

 

A Simple Prayer

 

Lord Jesus, prepare the way that I may find your Father’s house.

Give me the hope of everlasting life in heaven.

 

Yours in Christ

Michael Marcon