Daily Reflection
November 29, 2025

Lately, I have been thinking about how uncomfortable we become when the topic of death surfaces. The passing of someone we know, whether a close friend or a distant acquaintance, reminds us that our time on earth is short. What makes this more difficult is not death itself, but the uncertainty about when it will happen. These past few weeks, that truth struck me powerfully because I was surprised to hear about the death of a young priest in my province. I trust that he now rests in the fullness and peace of God we cannot yet see. Death touches us in a different way, shaping how we grieve and reflect.

As the liturgical year comes to an end, the Church invites us to pause and look honestly at these realities. The scriptures during these days turn our attention to what ultimately matters: our final destiny and the kind of life we are choosing to live. In today’s gospel, Jesus speaks directly to this. He asks us not to drift through life unprepared, but to stay awake, to live with intention, to allow his teachings to take root in our choices. His invitation is not meant to frighten us but to awaken us. We often know what we should do to deepen our relationship with God, but we put it off, consciously or unconsciously. We tell ourselves that we are too busy or that we will get serious later. But “later” has a way of slipping through our fingers. Jesus’ words call us to live differently. He exhorts us to be vigilant and pray for strength during our trials and tribulations. Moreover, he invites us to pray for the courage to face our mortality by placing our trust in God. The more we live that way, the less frightening death becomes.