”Its like going from “one room to the next” - So simple - Like putting one foot in front of the other

Today at Holy Mass we hear from St John…Both readings were in fact from St John…John was the youngest of Jesus's first disciples…He was also the only one to stand at the foot of the cross and Jesus trusted his Mother’s care to John….There was something special about John…His gospel is unlike the other three gospels….His insight seems much deeper…....”What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked upon and touched with our hands concerns the Word of life”…..Clearly John saw and heard something that others did not…..How is this the case?…Why was John so perceptive and the other disciples seemed to “miss it”…..I believe the secret to St John’s insight can be demonstrated at the Last Supper……”The disciples looked at one another, at a loss as to whom he meant. One of his disciples, the one whom Jesus loved, was reclining at Jesus’ side”…John was the one “reclining at Jesus’ side” - In some Scripture translations it is said John “rested his head against the chest of Christ”…..His proximity to the Sacred Heart of Jesus gave John “something” the others did not…..Also, John for many years lived with Our Lady, who as we all know was without sin and the Mother of God…Think about how her presence over the years impacted John…This is not a formal theological opinion, its simply my opinion…I believe it was that time that John cared for Our Lady that he was given divine inspiration to write the Book of Revelation, which he wrote when he was in exile on the Island of Patmos towards the end of his life…Why tell you all this?…Pay attention to what St John has to say!…..John was a mystic…..As the first reading from Mass tells us today…..”We are writing this so that our joy may be complete”

“Light dawns for the just; and gladness, for the upright of heart. Be glad in the LORD, you just, and give thanks to his holy name”

Death is a mystery…We all die but death itself is something that can not be fully explained…Clearly when someone we love dies, we miss them…Our lives change….I remember once talking to a very holy nun about death…She told me something I will never forgot…She was not afraid to die at all…She said…”Joe - Death is like going from one room of a house into the next room - Nothing more then that”….When we are very close to God, that is how death is perceived…A smooth and natural “transition” from “one room into the next”…….I noticed how when one of the Missionary of Charity sisters die…I have seen this happen….The sisters rarely mourn like we do…No matter how much they loved the sister who died…Because these women are so close to God…Death is simply a “transition”…....The sister is given a burial Mass, the body is buried and life moves on……As I have watched this process play out with these nuns, I have found it almost “non-human” in a way when looking at it simply on the surface in real time…Because death seems to have no grip over them……Why is that?…Because they are so close to God……In reality, death is just the beginning for the person who “passes on”…..The sisters in a “mystical” way understand that - They understand in a much deeper way then we do….That is why they do not mourn like we do…….St John was a mystic as I stated above….He tells us in his writings….”I, John, saw a new heaven and a new earth. The former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, God's dwelling is with the human race. He will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will always be with them as their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, for the old order has passed away." The One who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give a gift from the spring of life-giving water. The victor will inherit these gifts, and I shall be his God, and he will be my son”…….Death is a mystery…The closer we are to God, the easier the “transition” is - For both the person who dies and the people left behind - As that Missionary of Charity sister told me….Its like going from “one room to the next”

“Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”

St John the beloved disciple was exceptionally close to Christ…..He understood what the other disciples did not……After Jesus was crucified, he appeared to Peter and John on the shore - He was cooking them breakfast but Peter was unable to recognize Jesus - Only John could “see” who it really was calling to them............…..”When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus…..So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad, and jumped into the sea”……John could see what others could not….He could see because he “rested his head upon the chest of Christ” during his life…..Fast forward 2000 years……The mysteries of life are all revealed to us when we follow the example of St John…When we rest our weary head upon the Sacred Heart of Jesus…..Only then will “the eyes of the blind see, and the ears of the deaf be opened”…….Its like going from “one room to the next” - So simple - Like putting one foot in front of the other