With the end of the liturgical year well in sight, we continue our eschatalogical focus in the readings.
At the End of Time, God will come to judge the Earth with the fullness of justice that is part of His very character. The reading from Malachi depicts His justice like a great hot force: For those who abide in the ways of evil, His coming will bring a terrible blow of destruction. But for those who abide in the way of righteousness, God's arrival will bring full healing as we are restored along with the whole world to true perfection.
Jesus helps His disciples focus on the End of Time, when there will be great destruction and terrible events on the Earth, Even the great troubles we experience now are signs that, in general, the end of the world is coming, even though it is not yet imminent. But Jesus promises that we His people, by faith, will be safe through all these troubles.
That should compel us to stand firm in faith, and keep active in doing deeds of righteousness that show God is present on Earth through us. That is the true transformative power of faith, as demonstrated so marvelously in the life of St. Augustine, born November 13, 354, who turned from lawless ways to righteous living in total commitment to God.
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