Tagged: promise of the day

“You must be prepared.” –Matthew 24:44 Mass Readings: August 25 First: 1 Corinthians 1:1-9; Resp: Psalm 145:2-7; Gospel: Matthew 24:42-51 Jesus warns us to be prepared for His final coming and the end of the world. In fact, we must be always prepared since we “cannot know the day” our Lord is coming (Mt 24:42). Jesus describes our preparations in four ways: working to give food to those in need (Mt 24:45-46). While this can refer to feeding people physically (see Mt 25:35), Jesus is probably referring to dispensing the spiritual food of God’s Word (see Mt 4:4) by our...

“Come, I will show you the woman who is the bride of the Lamb.” –Revelation 21:9 Do you belong to the Church that Jesus founded? If you do, you belong to the body of Christ (e.g. Eph 1:22-23) and the bride of Christ. If you belong to Christ’s Church, you belong to the Church which holds the keys to the kingdom of heaven (Mt 16:19) and is the pillar and bulwark of truth (1 Tm 3:15). How do you know if you belong to Christ’s Church? Some people think that the Church with the best and holiest people must be...

The Lord “has made the world firm, not to be moved.” –Psalm 96:10 Satan tries to disturb the peace. He wants everything in an uproar. He specializes in chaos. However, “God is a God, not of confusion, but of peace” (1 Cor 14:33). He is “happy to see good order among” us and the firmness of our faith in Christ (Col 2:5). We should not let anything agitate or terrify us – even rumors about the end of the world (2 Thes 2:2). What if “the consummation of all is close at hand” (see 1 Pt 4:7)? We should still...

“We thank God unceasingly for you, brothers, because your faith grows apace and your mutual love increases; so much so that in God’s communities we can boast of your constancy and your faith in persecution and trial.” –2 Thessalonians 1:3-4 The Christian community of Thessalonica was famous for its faith. Paul proclaimed: “Throughout every region your faith in God is celebrated” (1 Thes 1:8). The Lord wants us to have famous faith as well. May your faith be celebrated, imitated, and surpassed by your children and their children’s children, until Christ comes again. May your parish church be famous not...

“Lord, are they few in number who are to be saved?” –Luke 13:23 Jesus taught: “The gate that leads to damnation is wide, the road is clear, and many choose to travel it. But how narrow is the gate that leads to life, how rough the road, and how few there are who find it!” (Mt 7:13-14) Jesus seems to have said that only a few people are saved from damnation. If this is a correct interpretation, our future is terrifying. To make sure he was understanding Jesus correctly, “someone asked Him, ‘Lord, are they few in number who are...