5th Sunday of Lent Raising of Lazarus
I wonder what it was like for Lazarus to be
dead and suddenly find himself alive?
Interviews with people who claim to have
had near-death experiences, and been
pronounced clinically dead, reveal that after
the glimpse of a figure of light waiting for
them on the other side, they were reluctant
to be brought back again to life. “Some
people who have undergone near-death
experiences claim that it transformed their
entire attitude; they no longer feared death,” writes Fr. Ron Witherup. The story of Lazarus in this Sunday’s
gospel is a biblical case in point.
Jesus wept when he arrived at the tomb of his friend Lazarus. Here we are confronted with a scene that is both
familiar yet most distressing: the death of a loved one. Death is a reality we resist thinking about and tend to
avoid. Yet there are times when we are forced to confront it. We are often too overwhelmed to focus on anything
but our loss. We weep because our loved one deserves our tears. A mystic like St Bernard wept profusely at his
brother’s funeral. “I tried to hold back thinking wrongly that my faith in the Resurrection would prevent the tears
from flowing, but flow they did.” (Serm 27 on the Song of Songs)
In such events, Jesus faces us again like he faced Martha and Mary: “Do you believe?” Many dwell on the
difficulties of believing in the afterlife. I think it is harder to live the lifestyle of the resurrection than to believe in
it. Jesus taught that God offers a covenant of forgiveness that cannot be destroyed and the invitation to live a life
after the pattern of forgiving and unconditional love. “As we are loved, so we love; as we are forgiven, so we
forgive; as we receive mercy, so we must be merciful; and as our lives are transformed, so we must help to
transform the lives of others,” writes Thomas O’Loughlin.
“Visionary experiences of heaven, hell and purgatory were received by medieval religious women. The 12th
century Benedictines Hildegard of Bingen and Elizabeth of Schonau offer detailed representations of a celestial
city but fewer specifics regarding the netherworld. Hildegard’s perception of the cosmos informs her view of
heaven, whereas for Elizabeth it symbolises the longed-for end to life’s journey. Among the Cistercian women
residing at Helfta in the 13th century, graphic descriptions of otherworldly realms are offered by Mechthild of
Magdeburg.” The Afterlife in Visionary Experiences, Debra L. Stoudt.
Quantum physics has shown by physical tests that a higher dimension of the universe exists. The former head of
the Max Planck Institute for Physics in Munich, Prof Hans-Peter Durr, believes that “the brain by thinking forms a
field of consciousness (quantum field) that can exist after the death of the body in a higher dimension. The body
dies but the spiritual field of consciousness continues.” The writings of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin sj and his
followers, especially Ilia Delio osf, have shone a light on this whole area of the field of consciousness in the here
and hereafter.
Fr. QQ – 22/03/2023
Image: pixabay.com
An archive of these Scripture reflections is available on the Carmelite Sisters website here:
https://www.carmelitesisters.ie/category/blog/
5th Sunday of Lent
Raising of Lazarus
I
wonder what it was like for Lazarus to be dead and
suddenly find himself alive? Interviews with people who
claim to have had near-death experiences, and been
pronounced clinically dead, reveal that after the glimpse of
a figure of light waiting for them on the other side, they
were reluctant to be brought back again to life. “Some
people who have undergone near-death experiences claim
that it transformed their entire attitude; they no longer
feared death,” writes Fr. Ron Witherup. The story of
Lazarus in this Sunday’s gospel is a biblical case in point.
Jesus wept when he arrived at the tomb of his friend
Lazarus. Here we are confronted with a scene that is both
familiar yet most distressing: the death of a loved one.
Death is a reality we resist thinking about and tend to
avoid. Yet there are times when we are forced to confront
it. We are often too overwhelmed to focus on anything but
our loss. We weep because our loved one deserves our
tears. A mystic like St Bernard wept profusely at his
brother’s funeral. “I tried to hold back thinking wrongly that
my faith in the Resurrection would prevent the tears from
flowing, but flow they did.” (Serm 27 on the Song of
Songs)
In such events, Jesus faces us again like he faced Martha
and Mary: “Do you believe?” Many dwell on the difficulties
of believing in the afterlife. I think it is harder to live the
lifestyle of the resurrection than to believe in it. Jesus
taught that God offers a covenant of forgiveness that
cannot be destroyed and the invitation to live a life after
the pattern of forgiving and unconditional love. “As we are
loved, so we love; as we are forgiven, so we forgive; as we
receive mercy, so we must be merciful; and as our lives
are transformed, so we must help to transform the lives of
others,” writes Thomas O’Loughlin.
“Visionary experiences of heaven, hell and purgatory were
received by medieval religious women. The 12th century
Benedictines Hildegard of Bingen and Elizabeth of
Schonau offer detailed representations of a celestial city
but fewer specifics regarding the netherworld. Hildegard’s
perception of the cosmos informs her view of heaven,
whereas for Elizabeth it symbolises the longed-for end to
life’s journey. Among the Cistercian women residing at
Helfta in the 13th century, graphic descriptions of
otherworldly realms are offered by Mechthild of
Magdeburg.” The Afterlife in Visionary Experiences, Debra
L. Stoudt.
Quantum physics has shown by physical tests that a
higher dimension of the universe exists. The former head
of the Max Planck Institute for Physics in Munich, Prof
Hans-Peter Durr, believes that “the brain by thinking forms
a field of consciousness (quantum field) that can exist after
the death of the body in a higher dimension. The body dies
but the spiritual field of consciousness continues.” The
writings of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin sj and his followers,
especially Ilia Delio osf, have shone a light on this whole
area of the field of consciousness in the here and
hereafter.
Fr. QQ – 22/03/2023
Image: pixabay.com
An archive of these Scripture reflections is available on the
Carmelite Sisters website here:
https://www.carmelitesisters.ie/category/blog/