Just the Beginning

Saint Cecilia, Virgin, Martyr

Alleluia, alleluia!
This is the wise virgin whom the Lord found watching;
she went in to the wedding feast with him when he came.
Alleluia!

The violent death of Saint Cecelia was not the end of her life but just the beginning.

That men could brutally kill a defenseless young woman shows the depth that evil can lie in a heart. That a young woman could courageously face such a death without compromising her faith shows the heights that courage and faith can blossom. 

What appears to be a tragedy is celebrated by the Church as a mighty victory. Why? Because the Church always has an eternal perspective. Cecelia's martyrdom opened the door for her into the wedding feast, the same feast I have hope to participate in. 

As Jesus says in today's feria Gospel, "Now he is God, not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all men are in fact alive." 

Jesus said it. I believe it.

Jesus, thank you for the hope of eternal life with you, a hope that does not disappoint.
Saint Cecelia, please pray for us.