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Contemplating today's Gospel

Today's Gospel + homily (in 300 words)

Saturday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
View 1st Reading and Psalm
1st Reading (Rev 22,1-7): John said: An angel showed me the river of life-giving water, sparkling like crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the street; on either side of the river grew the tree of life that produces fruit twelve times a year, once each month; the leaves of the trees serve as medicine for the nations. Nothing accursed will be found anymore. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will look upon his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. Night will be no more, nor will they need light from lamp or sun, for the Lord God shall give them light, and they shall reign forever and ever. And he said to me, «These words are trustworthy and true, and the Lord, the God of prophetic spirits, sent his angel to show his servants what must happen soon». «Behold, I am coming soon». Blessed is the one who keeps the prophetic message of this book.
Responsorial Psalm: 94
R/. Marana tha! Come, Lord Jesus!
Come, let us sing joyfully to the Lord; let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation. Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us joyfully sing psalms to him.

For the Lord is a great God, and a great king above all gods. In his hands are the depths of the earth, and the tops of the mountains are his. His is the sea, for he has made it, and the dry land, which his hands have formed.

Come, let us bow down in worship; let us kneel before the Lord who made us. For he is our God, and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
Versicle before the Gospel (Lk 21,36): Alleluia. Be vigilant at all times and pray that you may have the strength to stand before the Son of Man. Alleluia.
Gospel text (Lk 21:34-36): Jesus said to his disciples: “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.”

“Be vigilant at all times and pray”

Fr. Antoni CAROL i Hostench (Sant Cugat del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain)

Today, the last day of Ordinary Time, Jesus clearly warns us about the fate of our pass through life. Should we stubbornly insist on living imbued by the immediacy of our worldly cares, the last day of our earthly existence will come upon us so suddenly that the very blindness of our own greediness will prevent us from recognizing God Himself, who will come (do you remember we are just passersby here?) to take us towards the divine intimacy of His Infinite Love. Something that simliarly happens to a spoiled child: he is so entertained by “his” toys that he ends up by forgetting his parents' tenderness and his friends' company. And when he finally realizes what he has done, he disconsolately wails because of his unexpected loneliness.

The antidote Jesus offers us is equally clear: “Be vigilant at all times and pray” (Lk 21:36). To watch and to pray... The same advise He gave his apostles the night He was betrayed. The prayer has an admirable prophecy component, often forgotten when preaching, that is, to switch from mere “seeing” to “watching” the quotidian in its deepest and crudest reality. As Evagrius Ponticus wrote: “Just as sight is the most worthy of the senses, so also is prayer the most divine of the virtues.” The classics of spirituality name it “supernatural vision”, i.e. to look through God's eyes. Or what equally amounts to, knowing the Truth: about God, about the world, about oneself. The prophets were not only those who “preceded what was about to happen”, but also those who knew how to interpret their present time in its exact measurement, scope and density. The end result: they knew, with God's help, how to redress history.

So often we complaint about our world situation. —Where shall all this lead us to? Today, is the last day of Ordinary Time, it is also a day of definite resolutions. Maybe it is about time that someone may make up his mind and give up his present drunkenness while starting to work for a better future. —Would you like this someone to be you? Then, cheer up! And may God bless you!

Thoughts on Today's Gospel

  • “Dear brothers, we must endure and persevere if we are to attain the truth and freedom we have been allowed to hope for” (Saint Cyprian)

  • “Nostalgia for slavery is nestled in our heart, because it is seemingly more reassuring than freedom, which is far more risky. How we like being captivated by lots of fireworks, beautiful at first glance but which in reality last but a few seconds.” (Francis)

  • “(…) The Letter to the Galatians contrasts the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit: ‘Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry … drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God.’ (Catechism of the Catholic Church, nº 1,852)