Father Michael's Column

The end is near!



No, I don’t mean the end of the world, which may seem far off. Logically, though, each day brings us closer to it, and you never know when it will happen. As I mentioned in my weekend homilies, we could be in the crosshairs of a “gamma ray burst” from a distant exploding star, and we’d never see it coming (it travels at the speed of light), and it would instantly incinerate the earth. That scientific possibility is strangely reminiscent of the prophecy of Malachi in our first reading: “the day is coming, blazing like an oven...the day that is coming will set them on fire.” (Mal 3:19) 

Nor do I mean the end of our individual lives, which may or may not be far off, and is guaranteed in any event, and every day brings us closer to that, too. (Now there’s something to really think about! It tends to put our daily struggles into perspective.) 

No, when I say “the end”, I’m talking about this weekend, because it’s the Feast of Christ the King, which is celebrated as the last Sunday of the liturgical year, and on the following Sunday, the first Sunday of Advent, we begin a new liturgical year. 

The readings at Mass as we approach “the end,” invite us to reflect on “the last things,” including the end of the world as we know it. In the Gospel of Mark, the disciples asked the Lord when this was to occur. (Wouldn’t that be convenient to know!) But the Lord responded, “As to the exact day or hour, no one knows it, neither the angels in heaven nor even the Son, but only the Father.” (Mk: 13:32) But that doesn’t mean we shouldn't be preparing for his coming and his ultimate victory. In fact, in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus finishes the section about “the end of the world” with an example of a master leaving his servants in charge while he’s away, and he expects them to be at their tasks when he returns. That resonates with what I had to say about the readings last Sunday: that the way to deal with the catastrophes and chaos of our lives is to be able to answer “yes” to this question: “At this moment, am I doing what God wants?” 

So, the best way we can prepare for his return is by building his Kingdom now, in whatever situations we find ourselves; by being faithful disciples and doing the Lord’s work, despite trials and difficulties and world turmoil. So much of the apocalyptic writings in the Bible were an encouragement to God’s people to remain faithful even in the midst of persecution.

Again, the best way to prepare for the coming of the King is simply to be a faithful disciple each day. St. Paul for example, in his second letter to the Thessalonians (last Sunday) says that he “worked night and day, to the point of exhaustion,” to present an example to be imitated. But I think Paul gladly worked so hard because he was a real disciple—and that meant he was filled with gratitude for all that the Lord had done for him, and so he wanted to generously respond.

Now there’s a real key to being a good disciple, like Paul. We need to consciously recognize the many good gifts with which God has blessed our lives. (This is a core element of “A Disciple’s Prayer” that we’ve been reciting at Mass for the last several weeks.) Then, as we appreciate those blessings and enjoy them, our gratitude makes us WANT to return something of our joy back to God. Presto. We’re on our way to real discipleship, being good stewards awaiting our Master’s return.

Also, when an “attitude of gratitude” pervades our lives—in everything we do and are—our lives become happy and balanced.

I urge everyone to spend some serious time reflecting on how the Lord has moved in your life, and how he has blessed you—despite the difficulties or grief you may have experienced. St. Paul certainly had lots of grief—and suffering, and persecution—but he was also aware that the blessings he had, far outweighed them.

When we are caught up in struggles and disappointments and setbacks, it’s hard to appreciate the blessings we have been given—unless we take the time to think about them. So I urge you, in some quiet time of prayer, to focus on the blessings, the big ones AND the innumerable small ones that we too often just take for granted.

Then let your heart swell with gratitude. After that, you might consider how to express that gratitude in Prayer, Family, Service, and Finances.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and point out that finances is one area of grateful response that a lot more people would do well to start taking seriously, because it actually impacts the other elements of discipleship more than we might think. Perhaps focusing on this element is especially important today because many Catholics have been influenced by our culture, and tend towards consumerism, even in the practice of their religion. I thank God that there are others who have shaken off the attitudes of “what’s in it for me?” or “how can I get the most and pay the least?.”

“Giving” often gets short shrift in the Catholic Church, in part because of the sometimes-cynical accusations that money is all the Church ever talks about. Cynics would push the belief that financial appeals by the Church are actually attempts to wheedle members out or their money that they’d really rather spend on themselves. Disciples realize that it’s not OUR money! Everything of value is from God! And as stewards of HIS money, our job is to decide where he wants us to spend it for the buildup of his kingdom. As disciples, we give gladly, not grudgingly, as St. Paul would be quick to say.

You and I may not be “a St. Paul” yet, but the more we are filled with gratitude the further we will have travelled along the road of discipleship.

In Jesus,
Fr. Michael