In his latest “Living the Truth in Love” column for the Florida Catholic, Bishop Barbarito recalls the 1966 fall TV classic from Charles Schulz:
It’s the Great Pumpkin
While spring is considered the season of hope, with its passage into new life and the season of summer, fall can also be considered in the same manner with its passage into winter. Autumn brings with it a reminder of the passing of time and the journey that we are all on. In many parts of our nation, a beautiful array of colored leaves and brisker weather remind us of the goodness of life as it passes before us. It reminds us that, as time moves ahead, ultimately death will arrive.
However, for us, as believers, death is a movement into the fullness of life where every tear and sorrow will be wiped away. Depending on how we view life, death can be an occasion, not which we dread but for which we hope, with its promise of new life with God and those who have gone before us. We will be united in the life of God, which is love. Indeed, in this sense, death as a hope is much in keeping with the theme of this Year of Hope as we travel together on our pilgrimage of life. It is only a finality for those without hope. Certainly, hope assures us that death will not disappoint.
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