As we draw near to the end of the liturgical year we may wonder, how seriously should we take the gospel predictions about the end of this world and the day of judgment? In reflecting on this, we should keep in mind life's one great certainty, that one day we will die. The moment of death will put an end, absolutely and beyond recall, to all our works, all our plans, all the seemingly vital concerns which lend a certain purpose to our daily lives. Every human soul that has cast off this worldly body goes forth into the unknown like a traveller entering into unexplored territory. Cardinal Newman once wrote about the hereafter, "Do not fear that your life shall come to an end, but rather that it shall never have a beginning." It is when our new life begins that understanding of our present life will be clear to us, how we carried out our role in the spread of God's kingdom.
In these final Sundays of our church year the liturgy invites us to look beyond our immediate worries, troubles, interests and largely selfish concerns. It confronts us with the four last things death, judgment, heaven and hell. People who never look beyond the immediate here-and-now may resent the idea of asking us to think on these things, but there is nothing morbid about it. For if we are exiles and wayfarers on this earth, we are drawing ever nearer to our ultimate home in heaven, a thought that need not fill us with sorrow, but with a longing to be with Christ in the life to come.
It is useless speculating about the time of the second coming of Christ, even although many of the early Christians expected it in their own lifetime. But the message in this Gospel is to be watchful, to let the thought of what is to come guide our present life, since the trials of this life are small compared with the glory to come. Nor should we be alarmed by the imagery of wars, earthquakes, famines, stars falling from the heavens. These are Jewish apocalyptic terms employed by the early Church to denote their hope for some radical changes at the second coming of Christ.
If we love God we need never be alarmed, for perfect love casts out all fear. But until the day when the Lord calls us, we must try to be ready and prepared to meet him. This after all is what he taught us: We must watch and we must pray.
With my best wishes and prayers
Fr Nick
The sick and housebound
Those who have recently died: Damian de Souza
Years Mind:
Monday: Terry Proudfoot, Fr Terence Howes
Tuesday: Fr James Allis
Thursday: Frank & Louise Stratham, Fr Richard (Dick) Ashton
Saturday: Fr John Harden
Sunday: Fr James Linburgh
Stay awake, praying at all times for the strength to stand with confidence before the Son of Man
Luke 21:36
First Reading 2 Samuel 5:1-3
David is chosen as the undisputed king of Israel by all the tribes at Hebron. David was God's choice; people agree
that he alone is fit to lead God's people.
Second Reading Colossians 1:12-20
The Son of God is the image of the unseen God, the firstborn of all creation, the one who existed before anything was
created.
Gospel Luke 23:35-43
The kingship of Jesus is recognised by the unlikeliest of people: a self-confessed criminal who admits he deserves
to die for what he has done.