Jesus, remember me 

Lk 23:42 

t the age of 103. She completed the Christian Life Program with 100 percent attendance when she was 98 years old, still able to climb the stairs to the second-floor venue of the CLP. During her 100th birthday, she danced and enjoyed herself tremendously. Like my father, she remained lucid with no memory loss, never used a hearing aid, and used the wheelchair only during the final four months of her life. She was hospitalized in Lucena, recovered and stayed with my elder sister in Lucena, and passed on shortly thereafter. She was in no apparent pai We once asked friends in the community, “Who was the first to enter heaven after Jesus died?”  

One answered, “James, the brother of John, also known as James the Greater.” He was the first apostle to be martyred, decapitated with a sword on the orders of King Herod Agrippa I, around A.D. 44 in Jerusalem. The event is explicitly recorded in the Book of Acts:  

1. About that time King Herod laid hands upon some members of the church to harm them. 

2. He had James, the brother of John, killed by the sword (Acts 12:1-2). 

Another responded, “Stephen, a deacon in the early church who was killed by stoning at the hands of an angry mob outside the city of Jerusalem.” He was brought before the Sanhedrin. In his defense, Stephen delivered a long speech recounting Israel’s history but concluded by denouncing the Jewish authorities for resisting the Holy Spirit and murdering Jesus. This event is recorded in chapters 6 to 7 of the Book of Acts. Stephen is recognized as the first Christian martyr. 

They are both good answers, but they are not correct.  

The Penitent Thief 

The first to enter heaven after Jesus died was the criminal crucified with Jesus. He rebuked the other thief, acknowledged their shared condemnation as just punishment for their crimes, and recognized Jesus’ innocence. Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” (Luke 23:42). To this, Jesus replied, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43). He was Dismas, the name widely attributed to him from the 4th century apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus. 

Reflect deeply on this. The very first person to enter heaven after Jesus accomplished the task given by his Father was a criminal. He admitted this: 

Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us.” The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, “Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal.” 

—Luke 23:39-41 

According to St. John Chrysostom and Pope Gregory I, tradition held that Dismas was a desert nomad who robbed or murdered anyone in his path. This description comes from extra-biblical stories such as those found in the apocryphal Arabic Gospel for Children and the Gospel of Nicodemus, which circulated widely in the early Christian world and the Middle Ages. 

How did a criminal enter heaven? 

Dismas lived a life of sin and violence. He did not earn any merit through good works or religious rituals. He did not have opportunity to do so because he was hanging on the cross.  

But in his dying moment, Dismas acknowledged his guilt (“the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes”) and recognized Jesus’ innocence (“this man has done nothing criminal”). He made a humble appeal (“Jesus, remember me”) and demonstrated genuine faith in Jesus by acknowledging his divine kingship (“when you come into your kingdom”) despite Jesus’ apparent helplessness and defeat. Thus, Dismas did not pass through purgatory. His entry into heaven was immediate (“today you will be with me in Paradise”). This is Good News! 

The story of Dismas reveals to us that salvation is a free gift of God’s grace. We are saved by God’s grace, by God’s love, mercy and compassion. And no one is beyond the reach of God’s mercy. Jesus’ use of the word “today” stresses that salvation is not a delayed promise but an immediate entry into God’s presence in heaven. 

The story of the repentant murderer and thief declares a powerful message of hope that even the most dreadful sinner can humbly turn to Jesus in their final moments and receive forgiveness. 

Towards our final home 

Brothers and sisters, I am now 80 and Jean is 79. Many of our friends and contemporaries have passed on: friends from college (Mars, Jun, Pol, Rene, Willy, etc.), partners in business (Ed, Buddy, Ben, Bindoy, Gerry, etc.), brethren in the community (Joey, Nina, Baby, Joe, Noe, etc.), and colleagues and clients in the engineering and scientific profession (Cef, Gerardo, George, Celso, Rey, etc.). We too will be called by the Lord, our Creator, sooner or later, perhaps five years from now, but hopefully, at least ten years from now. 

We have shared with friends in the community that our prayer is for our grandson, James, to be called to priestly vocation and that we may live long enough to be able to receive the Holy Eucharist from Fr. James during the very first Mass that he will celebrate, which means we need to live for 10 more years. 

Long life is a gift from God. My parents received this wonderful gift from the Lord. My father passed on at the age of 95. He wore eyeglasses only for reading, never needed a hearing aid or a wheelchair, and remained lucid with no memory loss his entire life. He was hospitalized in Manila, recovered and returned to Unisan, and then passed on shortly thereafter. 

My mother passed on a n, died peacefully calling on her mother and after praying the Hail Mary and singing the Ave, Ave Maria with me. 

Indeed, longevity is what we all desire, but it should be with good health and sound mind. Why stay alive longer in pain, discomfort and distress, fully dependent on one’s children for living expenses and medical care? What use is it to live long, but be dependent on mobility, visual, and hearing aids, and most of all, attention and care of caregivers and nurses? Do not misunderstand. We need to value life. 

If it happens that God allows illness or other health issues (strokes and other debilitating illnesses) to affect you, you must seek medical or surgical interventions to preserve and protect life. 

But God created us not for this world but for heaven, our final home. And dying is the only means to enter it. But heaven opens only through God’s grace. Jesus is the only Gate. Jesus is the Way. Thus, our prayer as we breathe our last should be a humble

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