We are God's people. What a blessing and a challenge to us. We recognize that God has worked so marvelously in our lives, always remaining faithful. Yet we have not always responded in righteous living, to the point that God turns His face away from us.
So we plead with God to turn toward us again, that we may behold Him. He is coming again, so we make ourselves ready to welcome Him in, always keeping watch, living a sense of readiness in our lives by using those spiritual gifts He gives to keep us irreproachable.
It's interesting to note how the servants in the Gospel reading don't know when the Master is going to return. In our day and age, we have schedules that can allow us to be specific in regards to arrivals and departures, but travel was much less fixed and predictable back then. So they, and we, must keep watch for the Master's return. We keep careful vigilance in righteous living to receive Him in, even in those unexpected kind of moments in our lives when He arrives.
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Sunday, November 23, 2014
November 23, 2014: Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
So I'm helping dog-sit my grandma's dog. He's claimed two different chairs in the living room as his own, and has for several nights gotten into the habit of hopping up on my bed to sleep there, as if he's my bedmate. This has prompted my Mom to refer to him as "king of the castle".
This feast celebrates Christ as King. He is the One who reigns over the world, working to bring us back to God our Father, which is the ultimate victory that comes at the End of Time, as St. Paul speaks of in the 2nd reading.
To this end, He is a King that comes down to be present and identify with the lowly of this world. He cares for His vulnerable, weak sheep.
And He makes it clear that as His people, we are to do the same. In the Judgment at the End of Time, He holds us accountable for how we have cared for those who He cares about, with whom He identifies.
This feast celebrates Christ as King. He is the One who reigns over the world, working to bring us back to God our Father, which is the ultimate victory that comes at the End of Time, as St. Paul speaks of in the 2nd reading.
To this end, He is a King that comes down to be present and identify with the lowly of this world. He cares for His vulnerable, weak sheep.
And He makes it clear that as His people, we are to do the same. In the Judgment at the End of Time, He holds us accountable for how we have cared for those who He cares about, with whom He identifies.
Sunday, November 16, 2014
November 16, 2014: 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
The focus of the readings at the end of the liturgical year in November turns us toward the end of all things, when Christ shall come again.
The readings this weekend are very practical in the directives they provide for how we should live our lives as we await Christ's return. We recognize the great talents God has given us, and get earnestly to work, putting them to good use. And we surround ourselves with good influences that help us live righteously before God, as the king's son in the reading from Proverbs is urged to find a wife who will urge him on in doing what is right, as she conducts herself in a praiseworthy way.
As we do this, we are already engaging in the ways of the Kingdom, and will be ready to enter in when Christ returns.
The readings this weekend are very practical in the directives they provide for how we should live our lives as we await Christ's return. We recognize the great talents God has given us, and get earnestly to work, putting them to good use. And we surround ourselves with good influences that help us live righteously before God, as the king's son in the reading from Proverbs is urged to find a wife who will urge him on in doing what is right, as she conducts herself in a praiseworthy way.
As we do this, we are already engaging in the ways of the Kingdom, and will be ready to enter in when Christ returns.
Sunday, November 9, 2014
November 9, 2014: Feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran
We celebrate the dedication of the Pope's official church, the Basilica of St. John Lateran, which was on November 9, 324. It is considered the Mother Church of Christianity. But as the readings make clear, this church is more than a building--it is a symbol of who we are as the people of God.
God gathers us into one Body, His Body, which is the Church, by which we make His presence known. We come because Christ was destroyed on the Cross, and rose again, to become the new and Living Temple, into which He draws us. So no longer would people worship God in the Temple in Jerusalem, but rather in the Spirit of Jesus. And He constantly nourishes us by Living Waters to be His people, His very presence in the world.
Throughout the centuries, the faithful have drawn people to God in His Church. I had the privilege of celebrating with the St. Martin de Porres Parish Community on their Feast Day weekend. He was a mixed-race man who sought to draw all varied peoples together in God in his sphere of influence in colonial Peru. He, like all others before and since who have done this work, have done so in the Spirit of Christ, who is the foundation for His Church.
God gathers us into one Body, His Body, which is the Church, by which we make His presence known. We come because Christ was destroyed on the Cross, and rose again, to become the new and Living Temple, into which He draws us. So no longer would people worship God in the Temple in Jerusalem, but rather in the Spirit of Jesus. And He constantly nourishes us by Living Waters to be His people, His very presence in the world.
Throughout the centuries, the faithful have drawn people to God in His Church. I had the privilege of celebrating with the St. Martin de Porres Parish Community on their Feast Day weekend. He was a mixed-race man who sought to draw all varied peoples together in God in his sphere of influence in colonial Peru. He, like all others before and since who have done this work, have done so in the Spirit of Christ, who is the foundation for His Church.
Sunday, November 2, 2014
November 2, 2014: The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls)
As we draw near the end of the liturgical year, and the world around us in the midcontinent of North America is shutting down heading toward winter, it's fitting to think about the end of all things. (Later this month comes Veterans' Day, when we remember those who have served our country.)
So we celebrate All Souls' Day at the head of this month. We remember our beloved who have passed on from this life. And we remember that the destiny of all the faithful departed is now with God. Because of the Resurrection of Jesus, all of us in faith have hope, upon reaching death, of experiencing our own Resurrection, as God has now redeemed even death for His purposes. As we strive to live faithfully now, we have hope of abiding with God forever. What a hope to have in this life, and what comfort we take from it as we remember our beloved who have fallen asleep.
So we celebrate All Souls' Day at the head of this month. We remember our beloved who have passed on from this life. And we remember that the destiny of all the faithful departed is now with God. Because of the Resurrection of Jesus, all of us in faith have hope, upon reaching death, of experiencing our own Resurrection, as God has now redeemed even death for His purposes. As we strive to live faithfully now, we have hope of abiding with God forever. What a hope to have in this life, and what comfort we take from it as we remember our beloved who have fallen asleep.
November 1, 2014: All Saints' Day
This is a religious holy day that I like very much.
It's a day to celebrate all those saints we look to, both the ones the Church formally recognizes, and all others we know who have striven for God in our lives.
We celebrate how God has made us His specially Chosen people, in His love. We renew ourselves in seeking this God who has so marvelously worked in our lives, living lives as people who have been purified, awaiting the day we join the great throng giving praise to God. We are inspired by the examples of those who have gone before us, the "cloud of witnesses" in Hebrews 12, and we strive in those same paths living for God.
It's a day to celebrate all those saints we look to, both the ones the Church formally recognizes, and all others we know who have striven for God in our lives.
We celebrate how God has made us His specially Chosen people, in His love. We renew ourselves in seeking this God who has so marvelously worked in our lives, living lives as people who have been purified, awaiting the day we join the great throng giving praise to God. We are inspired by the examples of those who have gone before us, the "cloud of witnesses" in Hebrews 12, and we strive in those same paths living for God.
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