Today’s Gospel gives us a certain sense of audio deja vu (that is a strange sense of having heard this Gospel before, even though it is being read for the first time this week in the Liturgical year). Today’s Gospel is, in fact, an echo of the Gospel from the Feast of Christ the King which, if your remember, gave us the prophecy of Jesus’ coming to the world as Lord and King at the end of time. But today’s Gospel is a bit more detailed. (Today’s evangelist, Luke, was an artist at heart, hence, he liked detail.)
Like the Gospel on the feast of Christ the King, this prophecy is directly related first of all to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman Legion in 70AD. This is its literal historical meaning. But because all Scripture has multiple senses, a literal sense and three spiritual senses, this Gospel also spiritually pertains to the future; and in this case, to the future end of the world, when the Son of Man is sure to come in judgment. In light of this future coming, the end of the world and the destruction of this present world, today’s prophetical utterance from the Scripture also invites us to think not only about the future, but about my personal spiritual future, and so such thoughts as my own death and my own judgment.
As I said there are multiple sense of Scripture—we always start with the first which is the literal historical meaning; in this case the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D. The Second is one of three spiritual meaning of Scripture and this is the future sense or anagogical sense-pointing to how a particular passage refers to a future unfolding past the literally historical meaning; as we have said, in the case of today’s Gospel the historical destruction of the temple also pointing to the future end of time. But how a scripture passage refers to the soul and to me personally, that is another spiritual sense to Scripture, a spiritual meaning known as the moral sense.
And so there is a third way of approaching today’s end time prophecy. In our readings we, in light of the end of times, that is in light of the second coming of Jesus at the end the world or at the end of our life, which ever comes first, we are given infallible norms for living in the divine favor against the day when—in Jesus’ words—the appointed time for judgment in God’s presence, which will most certainly come, not only for the world but for us personally. In light of this truth, this reality, we must be vigilant at all times “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life . . . “Be vigilant at all times and pray.”
And so, in a sense, we are being told today, not only to remain vigilant, but we are given some helps for maintaining vigilance, especially in the context of the darkness that so frequently surrounds us in this present life and age; especially our present age—a age of darkness emerging from so many things: financial troubles, illnesses (so many sick), family difficulties, depressions and anxieties of all kinds, physical disabilities, loneliness, rejection or abandonment by friends, bereavements—all those things that contribute to this world which is so disordered by sin and are which are themselves ultimately caused by sin, our own or others.
And so what do we learn in light of all of this, in light of today’s Scripture and its apocalyptic prophecy, how are we to act in the darkness in our world and in our life; what are we to do in light of the signs of the times as we talked about last week? What we are today is told to us in the collect of today’s liturgy, “We are to resolve to run forth to meet God’s Christ with righteous deeds at his coming, so that, gathered at his right hand, we may be worthy to possess the heavenly kingdom!”
We run forward to Christ by righteous deeds, first of all, by never falling into the error of thinking that the world around us is only darkness and sin and so we must hideout from the world. No, we are in the world to stand up in Christ, with Christ and for Christ in the midst of the present trial. Jesus tells us clearly we are to do so because “our ransom, our redemption is already near at hand.”—
Already even in this sinful and ever darkening present age Jesus has saved us, is saving us and will, if we cooperate, save us. As Jeremiah the great prophet in the days of great darkness and distress, reminded the disconsolate Israelites in the midst of tragedy that God will surely come with out fail to save them; so too, we are reminded that even in the midst of the blackest night there is always light. And it is a light meant for us—for you and for me—it is the light that entered into the world and the darkness did not and continues not to overcome It—It is the light of our redemption, the Light of Christ Himself—this is the true Light of Christmas Hope.
And so, if we happen to live in a time of tension, or violence, or earthquake or turmoil, as we all certainly do in these the darkest of all days the world has ever seen, the most peace-less days the world has ever seen for nations or even for the Church) we nevertheless, have it on God’s own word that we, not our grandparents or any other of our ancestors, were purposely chosen by God Himself—for this our present age. God trusted us to be alive now. He trusted us and trusts us not to fail him or His Mystical Body—the Holy Church and Her members. The second-century Christians in the presence of great darkness and persecution used to say: “For the sake of us Christians, this era exists.” We have a mission, therefore, to help witness to light in the midst of darkness, of the solution—God’s pledge—in the midst of apparent chaos.
And so we have a mission to be light for others in our community and world—as always this begins right here in our parish family and in our families—In light of this mission, we have a duty, a duty of love, to be faithful to our parish family and to her families and to all her members. We have been chosen to be in this parish at this particular difficult time of darkness; God Himself has first chosen us to be here, it is not us who first chose to be here. And so Fidelity! Fidelity to the mission of St. Patrick’s is fidelity to our mission from God; this is fidelity to Christ!!!
In light God choosing us to be alive in this dark but also exciting times (it’s a great time to be alive because it’s a great time to be a saint), a second norm for vigilance evident in today’s liturgy is that of prayer, not just any prayer but intense and constant prayers. “Pray constantly” to remain secure in the Faith regardless of the pressure: so Jesus reminds us Christ will strengthen our hearts; yes: St. Paul reaffirms this; but he assumes that we follow the Lord’s instructions, among which is the need to pray that we not be put to the test, that is that we will remain faithful to Him and to His Church and to His Parish of St. Patrick’s no matter what trials and persecutions we may face.
Again, our stance must be optimistic. We must learn to see some glimmer of light even in the darkness situation. We can do this in faith and only in faith; that is with a true, active and living faith-by not just believing, by not just being orthodox, but by living fully the truth of the Gospel in fidelity to the Church--universal, local (diocesan) and particular (St. Patrick’s parish). The community of believers (including this community of believers), is a sign of the love of God, of His justice that is already present in history, but not yet fully realized, and that therefore should always be awaited, invoked, and sought after with patience and courage.” (Pope Benedict Angelus Address, first Sunday of Advent 2012.)
In the light of faith, in this “Year of Faith,” as Christians we can be sure that total darkness is never upon us; there is always some light. But we must scurry quickly to the light while there is still time. So again we must pray.
In the ultimate analysis, prayer is what matters most; sincere prayer-such as praying the rosary sincerely and from the heart, but most especially sincere prayer with faith before Jesus truly present in the most Blessed Sacrament—seeking the Lord while he may be found—in other words, prayer and adoration now before Jesus in the Eucharist strengthens us not lose heart in the darkness when it seems Jesus can’t be found or in times of great persecution when we may not even have access to the Blessed Sacrament.
In order not to lose heart we must more and more fully and completely actively give our hearts to Jesus in the only Eucharist after we first open our hearts to the Love and Mercy of His Sacred Heart; and we must do so now today, not tomorrow-but now!; for now is the appropriate time. Prayer is heart speaking to Heart. We must pray before the Holy Eucharist, which is the Heart of Christ, now that we may not be fail when our faith is put to the test as it most surely will in the days to come—if not that the time shorten even the elect would fall-let us not trust our selves and proudly trust our past faithfulness but in true humility let us place our trust only in the Lord and in His merits and works, not our own.
Advent, then, is a time to focus our minds and hearts, on optimism and on prayer in His Presence. In practice, the latter comes before the former. (Advent actually means to with haste come into His Presence!) Prayer in His Presence serves optimism, adorers of our God in the Eucharist become more and more optimistic even as our world becomes more pessimistic…the more we pray before the Holy Eucharist the more we become optimistic people of hope in the midst of our seemingly hopeless world. In fact, Jesus offers us His own Heart in the Holy Eucharist to be our hope…seek hope only in the Heart of Christ where It may be found.
The world’s greatest optimists were the saints because the saints were the greatest adorers. All the saints prayed, especially the most efficacious prayer, which is prayer before the Crucified but now Risen Jesus truly bodily personally present in the Holy Eucharist. Pessimism and prayer just don’t go together; Pessimism is burned away before the intense heat of love streaming from the pierced and opened Heart of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.
In the end, what the world really needs is saints; it needs us to become saints. Our present darkness and seemingly hopeless present crisis of this age is really a crisis of saints. And so the essence of our mission is really to become saints—to become reflection of Christ and His light to the world. And we have been given the tools to do so; the grace and gift of prayer, the Sacraments, especially Confession and the Most Blessed of all Sacraments the Holy Mass and the Holy Eucharist; and we have been given the tool, better yet, the gift of this parish and its members and families, for we need this parish, not another, but this parish family in order to become saints and so become hope and light for our present age.
What a great time to be alive; let us be optimistic, let us be loyal to our parish family, let us be saints, and let us most of all be the adorers in Spirit and in Truth that our Heavenly Father seeks so that we may with great haste, meet His Christ with righteous deeds (deeds done with, in and for Christ, when He comes for us, so that, gathered at his right hand, we may be worthy to possess the heavenly kingdom. Amen.
Prayer to Our Lady of the New Advent
O Lady and Mother
of the One who was and is and is to come,
dawn of the New Jerusalem,
we earnestly beseech you,
bring us by your intercession
so to live in love
that the Church, the Body of Christ,
may stand in this world's dark
as fiery icon of the New Jerusalem.
We ask you to obtain for us this mercy
through Jesus Christ, your Son and Lord,
who lives and reigns
with the Father in the Holy Spirit,
one God forever and ever.
Amen
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