If you find this site helpful, we suggest you bookmark it. It does not always show up in Google search.   Bookmark this page:
  1. On Windows: Ctrl+D
  2. On Mac: Command+D
  3. On iOS: Tap and hold
  4. On Android: Tap and hold

Posted on

Violent Transition

Thunderstorm

This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.


As the liturgical year ends, Scripture once again confronts us–virtually assails us–with what the end of this annual period symbolizes, that is, the end of the world and of time.

Revelation today paints a beautiful, but also powerful and striking picture. From the throne of God flows the river of life, with the tree of life on either side, bearing fruit twelve times each year.

The image is that of Christ’s Church come to full maturity in eternity. As the passage states, “Nothing accursed will be found anymore.” This is beautiful and yet “terrible,” in the sense of awe-inspiring and fearsome–for those who cling to that which is tainted will be wiped out, in a place of torment, as preceding days’ passages from Revelation have shown.

The symbol also stretches to the Christian Church here on earth, however, as an imperfect precursor to the heavenly Church. Here too, the river of life-giving water flows from the throne of God to His people through the Church. The twelvefold-fruitful tree of life, symbolizing the Church founded firmly on the twelve apostles, provides life through its sacraments–sustenance through its fruit, and medicine through its leaves–until we come to take part in the fully transformed, heavenly Church.

The transformation process in the end times, to reach this beautiful state, will be produced through great travail, like the birth of a beautiful baby. In the Gospel passage today, Jesus says that that last days arrival will “assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth.”

The earth, for all its human conflicts, lives for now in an uneasy peace with God. That will not always be the case. The current compromised state of humankind and of our broken world will come to an end, and we will be wise to be ready through a vigilant and wakeful commitment to the teachings of Jesus.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Ask Jesus to give you the courage to live with the fragile transience of the world always in mind, without, however, ever despairing or growing impatient. Ask Him for unfailing, vibrant hope in His victory, which will bring grandeur and beauty like you have never seen. Ask Him also for the gift of trusting that He will keep you in His grace if you persistently ask Him to.

Follow the Author on Twitter:
  If you find this site helpful, we suggest you bookmark it. It does not always show up in Google search.   Bookmark this page:
  1. On Windows: Ctrl+D
  2. On Mac: Command+D
  3. On iOS: Tap and hold
  4. On Android: Tap and hold

Posted on

Done Like Dinner

Dinner

This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.


The flow of Scripture over the course of the liturgical year is rich in signification.

It is interesting how the Scriptures from final days of the liturgical year dovetail like hand in glove with those of the rebirth of the liturgical year, in Advent. In Advent, in addition to commemorating and contemplating that time in history when the world silently and breathlessly awaited the arrival of its Savior, Scripture also encourages us to contemplate and anticipate the second and final coming of Jesus.

That coming of Jesus in the end times is precisely what Scripture commemorates also at the end of the liturgical year, which symbolically represents the close of salvation history.

On days like today, we hear about the world trembling to its foundations, and the Son of Man coming upon a cloud.

There are two realities at work in our world. The first is the fundamental orientation of humankind, which is an orientation based on original sin toward a sort of mediocre fixation on personal gratification, with a modicum of virtue necessary for social relations. The second is the glorious action of Divine Providence, which, in the midst of human blunt-minded selfishness, sustains not only the workings of mortally wounded nature, but also the limited success of human endeavor.

The first reading shows us, however, that at Jesus’ final coming, the city of selfishness–Babylon–will be definitively brought down.

The current delicate balance of things will not last forever. It is destined for transformation.

Rationalists call the dramatic foretellers of an imminent apocalypse among us insane, inasmuch as these doomsayers place too much weight on catastrophes which they claim signify the end times.

In truth, these apocalyptic sorts are not mistaken because they see the signs of the end in our time–their only mistake is to fail to see them in all times. Everything about our world, with this delicate balance between benevolent, powerful, yet subtle Providence, and the catastrophic effects of sin, screams and has always screamed: “It Cannot Go On. It Is Destined to End.”

All of which turns our hearts once again to the topic of eternity. A life spent oriented toward helping as many as possible to embrace the radical demands of God’s love for the sake of their eternal welfare–such a life is a life well spent.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Imagine as vividly as you can the final coming of Jesus. Imagine it occurring right now. How abrupt it feels! Why did we not prepare for this, when we were so amply warned, not only by Scripture but by the signs all around us? Ask Jesus to help you live with a sense of the imminent end in mind, for whenever it comes, it is the world’s definitive destiny.

Follow the Author on Twitter: