Will I go to Heaven ?

                                     

Last week a couple of acquaintances, a brother and sister, were found to be COVID -19 positive, although fortunately asymptomatic thus far. Faced with the sudden possibility of death people often have a change of outlook, re-evaluate their lives in the light of a realization of their mortality. 

My thoughts went to the children of Fatima and particularly Jacinta and Francisco who died very young during the last global pandemic of Spanish flu a century ago. As I recall the story, Our Lady had told them that she would be taking them soon and they asked if they would be going to heaven. The answer was ‘yes’ but in Francisco’s case he would have to ‘pray many rosaries’. 

What is interesting is his wholehearted response. He stopped schooling and rid himself of all trivial pursuits even the play natural for children, and devoted himself to prayer and making sacrifices. It is hard to imagine someone that young having much to atone for – how much more for those of us whose lives have been many times as long as his already! The need for atonement and sanctification must be very great indeed. 

Another thing that makes Francisco’s witness very compelling is that the children had all seen Heaven, Hell and Purgatory in a vision and I imagine this too must have prompted such a resolute response. 

In the last few months more than half a million people have died of this virus, I bet none of them expected to die this year anymore than the ones who will join them between now and December do. If we can draw a lesson from the pandemic I think it’s to ‘be prepared,’ take a moment to reassess the important things in life, consider what happens if … and focus on making atonement for our sins and through prayer to seek the sanctification we need.

 

Renewing the face of the earth

I live in one of the most polluted cities in Asia; but today (still in lockdown) I sit under a cloudless sky with the sun on my face and the only air traffic is a majestic bird of prey (an escapee from the zoo next door) which is encircling our house. Earlier I read this verse from Habakkuk 1:5 “Look at the nations and watch- and be utterly amazed, for I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told” 

Many atheists in the world are rather alarmed as the structures they trust in, start to break down as a result of the corona virus. 

A similar plague occurred during the cultural revolution in China, centered around a labour camp which housed political prisoners including many Christian evangelists. One evangelist named, Miao Zizhong from Zhejiang had a particularly spectacular rescue from the virus. It killed more than a thousand of the 1300 prisoners in a few days and once he caught it he was examined by the camp doctor and sent to a side room which was filled with corpses awaiting burial in a pit that was still being dug. 

He fell to his knees and prayed for healing. At this point an angel appeared to him and transported him to a dazzlingly white room where the angel breathed into his lungs and he immediately felt relieved and was then returned to the side room. He exited and returned to the doctor who was terrified and thought he was a ghost! No one recovered from this disease. Miao testified that his prayer had been answered and God had healed him. The doctor fell to his knees, saying “your God is true, Jesus is alive, I now believe and ask Jesus to receive me”. 

The current state of flux we find ourselves in, reminds me of a quote from the ‘Vicar of Baghdad,’ an Anglican priest stationed there who said “we only knew that Jesus was all we needed, when he was all we had left”. 

Whatever the circumstances that surround the inception and spread of this latest virus it does present a great opportunity for a change of mindset in how we live generally and in particular, it’s an invitation to return to God... 

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (2 chronicles 7:14)