In Chapter 6 of the gospel of St. John in verses 39 & 40 Jesus speaks these words to us: “It is the will of Him who sent me that I should not lose any of all those He has given me, but that I should raise them all to life…For what my Father wants is that all who see the Son and believe in Him should have eternal life…”. As we rejoice in the Resurrection of the Lord each Sunday, we do so because we know that since Jesus lives, we will live. His Resurrection is our resurrection because He will share His victory with us. Recently I came across a reflection by the late great scientist Wernher von Braun who was perhaps the most important of the founders of the American space program. Shortly before he died, von Braun gave this testimony concerning life after death. “I think science has a real surprise for the skeptics. Nothing in nature, not even the tiniest particle, can disappear without a trace. Nature does not know extinction. All it knows is transformation. Everything science has taught me and continues to teach me strengthens my belief in the continuity of our spiritual existence after death.” It is not surprising that God who created nature would place in it glimpses of the future that He intends for all of us. We are created for eternal life and in nature and most clearly in the Resurrection of the Lord we see our future. The great Catholic thinker and apologist G.K. Chesterton expressed it beautifully in these words: “If seeds in the black earth can turn into such beautiful roses, what might the heart of man become in its long journey to the stars.”
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