November 27, 2013: Wednesday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time Dn 5:1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-28; Dn 3:62-67; Lk 21:12-19 The readings for the past few days and those of the next few speak of persecutions and the fall of kingdoms and nations. The theme of these readings are clear: the end of the world. The Jews of the time of the Prophet Daniel as well as Jewish communities at the time of Jesus believed that the end of the world was at hand. This belief was also central to the lives of the early Christians. In fact, Saint Paul had to remind some in his community that just because the Son of Man would return soon did not mean that they did not have to work anymore. This doomsday attitude is still present today. We all remember Y2K and the Mayan calendar scare. We even have TV shows dedicated to people who have devoted their live “prepping” for the end. However, we Catholic Christians take a more holistic view of the subject. Yes, we must always prepare our hearts and souls to meet the Lord and we pray for the coming of the Kingdom every day. However, the Kingdom is not about destruction and suffering. The suffering and persecution that Christians endure is not because the end is near; it is because the Kingdom of God has not yet fully been revealed. We pray for the coming of the Jesus because he will put an end to all of the suffering, sin and death which we deal with every day. So today let us pray even more fervently for the coming of the Kingdom and the coming of Christ in to the world. Thy Kingdom Come! Fr. Ted Dorcey, C.Ss.R. usccb.org/bible/readings/112713.cfm
Posted on: Wed, 27 Nov 2013 15:00:01 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015