…in reaching together our long journey’s end.

Once the course of a human life –whose duration is absolutely undetermined and whose end is always unpredictable— is finished, the time to enjoy the rest and felicity of one’s Home is at hand; notwithstanding the desire to live, which is very easy to understand because it is an innate tendency of human nature and of every living thing. Nevertheless, the joy of having accomplished the Road and reaching the Goal is extremely comforting. Thus, some rightly speak of the beauty of Christian Death, a lovely feeling entirely shared by the Psalmist: precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints (Ps 116:15).

We speak, of course, of Christian death. Heathens may wish that death were indeed the ending into nothingness that they advocate. The truth is that, when this moment arrives, they will have to face the blood-curdling surprise of eternal damnation; and there will be no turning back: He that believeth not shall be condemned (Mk 16:16).  

                              and see if he whom I love

                              gives us his wine to drink of…

At the institution of the Eucharist on the night of the Last Supper, Jesus Christ told His disciples: I say to you, I will not drink from henceforth of the fruit of the vine until that day when I shall drink it new with you in the Kingdom of my Father (Mt 26:29). The time to drink the fruit of the vine along with the Master, once we are in the Father's House, will be the moment identified as the End of a Road which has already become a long and painful journey: I have fought a good fight, I have finished my race, said the Apostle (2 Tim 4:7). Then will be the time when one’s irrepressible yearning for Love will finally be filled, once the mutual possession of the lovers has become a reality, Total and Perennial:

The desire for Joy that besets the heart of every man who comes into the world corresponds, in fact, –whether he admits it or not— to an insatiable desire for Total Love. Hence, all the feelings that affect man throughout his life –joys and sorrows— coexist, in turn, with another feeling which is always present: the concern that arises from the possibility that such Love can be lost. This, and no other, is the fear that clouds the existence of those who have made their choice against God or have decided to dispense with Him, although they may not want to admit it. Those who think that there is nothing beyond death, or those who say that they do not expect anything but immerse themselves in nothingness, cruelly force their hearts to make them believe that there is no such thing as Perfect Joy or Total Happiness. And yet, in moments of solitude –those very instants that give way to short intervals of sincerity that sometimes besiege every human being with no possibility of escaping them— all those who share this attitude know that their existence is doomed to despair. The stoic, as well as the agnostic; the skeptic and the atheist, they cannot deceive anyone but themselves. 

• Acaba de publicarse un nuevo libro del P. Alfonso Gálvez: "El Invierno Eclesial"
• En este libro el P. Alfonso hace un análisis de los problemas más acuciantes de la Iglesia actual al tiempo que ofrece soluciones para los mismos.
• Puede encontrar más información del mismo en el área de libros de esta página web.