Eternal Life

Last Tuesday, a two-year old toddler "Chase Martens" went missing from his family's farm in Manitoba, Canada. When the parents could not find him they asked for help. Immediately, hundreds of Canadians went on the search for the little one. RCMP and search-and-rescue crews combed a four-kilometer radius in the fields around the family's home near Austin including air and land search.  On Easter Saturday, the body of the toddler was found dead in a creek half-a-kilometer from home. We hope Chase is with God, but why have so many Canadians spent their efforts for a single toddler?  How important was his life for Canadians?

Life is important...It is important because society itself cannot survive without respect for every life and cooperation which could ultimately lead to love. The clear message is found in the development of civilization rooted in the death and resurrection of Christ. Before Christ, only kings and governors mattered, but with the humanism initiated by him, emperors and kings gave way to the culture of life for every human person. The early Church developed among peasants and soldiers in the base before the proclamation arrived to the palaces. Christian faith defends the vulnerable, the poor, the weak, and yes the Church prays for those who commit suicide. God always works through his Spirit in every soul on earth to help the seekers of goodness and truth repent and find God in Christ. "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock" says Christ (Revelation 3: 20). He wants to give life - eternal life and joy!

This is also why the Church does not agree with any measures or laws that are anti-life such as abortion of children in the wombs of their mothers, and assisted suicide.  Not only life here, but joy in eternal life that humanity seeks.

In scripture "Love is strong as death". What is stronger than death? Love of God that emerges from God. It is the other that can carry me not as a shadow but in reality when I die. This is only a small excerpt from Joseph Ratzinger's thought on the truth of the Resurrection of Christ here:
Joseph Ratzinger: The Truth of the Resurrection
http://todayquestions.blogspot.ca/2012/04/joseph-ratzinger-truth-of-resurrection.html