Will you be ready when the Lord shall come?

Dan. 12:1-3, Heb. 10:11-14.18, Mk 13:24-32. On this Thirty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B, the Church invites us to awaken our hope and trust in God, living the present with joy and intensity. Today's first reading reminds us of the reality of the resurrection of the just one: “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake; some shall live forever, others shall be an everlasting horror and disgrace.” We hope that we shall be among those who shall live forever. If we look at the Scripture as a whole, the possibility of hell and of being rejected is always there. On the other hand, it is never the great focus of the Scripture. The focus of Scripture is on God’s everlasting love for us; God’s desire that all be saved; God’s walking with us to lead us in the path of salvation. While we are conscious of not rejecting God, we should be more aware of God’s love for us and try to respond to that love. God invites us to know His love, His saving power and His delight in us.

In today's Gospel, in an apocalyptic tone, Jesus expounded the same line of thought to us on the reality of the end and on the certitude of it occurrence: “In those days, after the time of distress, the sun will be darkened, the moon will lose its brightness, the stars will come falling from heaven and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.” The end is a reality that everybody must experience. Sometimes we are carried away by the busy nature of life and constant inflow of activity that we forget to think about the end, not just as a community of persons, but also as individuals. Irrespective of how long and well we wish to live, one sure thing is that the end will surely come, to us as individuals and collectively. It is therefore, left for us to make the constant and daily effort, assisted by the grace of God, to be ready at all times, because “as for that day or hour, nobody knows it, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son; no one but the Father” (Mk 13:24-32). Making plans for the end involves embracing the great fruits and merits of the Priesthood of Christ and living them out concretely for “by virtue of that one single offering, He has achieved the eternal perfection of all whom He is sanctifying” (Heb. 10:11-14, 18). Today's second reading, recalls how the Priesthood that was lived and exercised concretely amongst us is effectively relived and codified for us in the sacraments and other celebrations of the Church, the Body of Christ. This Priest is the God and Master of history, the first and the last, the beginning and the end, hence He knows how to lead us through history and subsequently to lead us to a happy and fulfilling blissful end.

May the Lord enlighten us, so that our paths may be guided as we progressively journey towards Him who made us! Amen!! Good morning and happy Sunday!!!