Apocalypse Now
Jesus ushers in the end times
Dear Friends,
In these last few weeks of the liturgical year (before a new one starts up with Advent), the Church looks at matters of eternal significance.
Thematically, the readings and prayers for Mass point to the “last things” of Catholic teaching – death, judgment, heaven, and hell – but they also cause us to reflect on how our lives today are shaped by God’s promised, and in-breaking, future.
That's a hefty sentence! Let's unpack it after this cool picture.
'Siege and destruction of Jerusalem', La Passion de Nostre Seigneur c.1504
When Jesus talks about an end-of-the-world scenario in the Gospel this weekend, he's probably anticipating the siege of Jerusalem in 70AD. The historian Josephus tells us that people ate their own babies to stay alive, which is about as "end of the world" as anything I've ever heard.
The destruction of Jerusalem seems severe by any measure, but it was also some foretaste of God's putting the world to rights. The powers that opposed Jesus, Jerusalem's whole corrupted regime, needed to be firmly and finally condemned and uprooted.
The horror and severity of this "either... or" (either Jesus or Jerusalem) reaches us today. It's a question of where our allegiance lies, and the answer determines the course of our lives both here and hereafter.
What will it be? Either Jesus or __________ ?
Jesus is, here and now, ushering in the end times. God's promised future, the reign of his merciful love, is coming. It's inevitable. By trusting and following Jesus in every aspect of our lives, we can bring about God’s just and loving rule that will – when Jesus returns at the end of the age – reach every corner of his creation.
I look forward to seeing you soon.
In Christ's Love,
Father Daniel
δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ
PS Bishop Serratelli is celebrating our 5:15pm Mass this weekend!
PPS We'll come back to the following Mass parts, the Missa de Angelis, for the Advent and Christmas Seasons:
Kyrie
Gloria (Christmas only)
Sanctus
Agnus Dei
Preparing for Mass?
Check out this weekend's readings:
Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
David Roberts, The Siege and Destruction of Jerusalem