Heaven & Earth

Scripture readings for the Friday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time can be found at http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/112919.cfm

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” Luke 29:33

As we come to the end of Ordinary time in the church year and approach Advent and the preparation of the Birth of Jesus on Christmas Day, we see in our readings talk of the end times and the final judgement of God.

In our first reading from Daniel we hear of Daniel’s visions of large beasts, all scary each in its own way. One is described as “terrifying, horrible, and of extraordinary strength…” (Daniel 7:7) This reading concludes with a description of what sounds like to be Jesus Christ, “One like a son of man coming, on the clouds of heaven.” (Daniel 7:13) It goes on to say that “His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, his kingdom shall not be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:14)

Then our gospel finishes with our Lord saying, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” (Luke 21:33) The Lord is constantly present to us in all the events of our life, both in the good times and the bad times. We may despair that the Lord is not present when we are going through tough times. We may not feel His presence in those times when we are struggling with personnel problems and issues in our lives. We may feel scared and alone during these issues in our lives. But the Lord is ever present to us.

Like the fig tree Jesus is talking about in todays gospel, before the buds burst open, we think that the tree is dead. Also, like in our life when we have problems, we assume God is not present. But then the buds burst open and there’s life. We feel God’s presence and we receive peace and comfort when we find resolution to our problems. We need to be people of faith, hope and charity.  By trusting that the Lord will be present in all instances of our life, it is then we can know and understand that He is ever present.

Let us thank God for the great gift of faith that we have been given, the sacraments we have been given, and the faith community we have to support each other in our journey in our relationship with God.

Lord Jesus, help us to be faithful when there seems to be no reason to do so. Amen.

Relationship with God

The following reflection is based on the readings for the Friday of the 32nd Week in Ordinary Time and can be found at http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/111519.cfm

“Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it.” Luke 17:33

In our gospel for today Jesus is talking about relationship with God, to always have God in the center of our life and to turn away from our sinful ways. He points out two familiar stories from the Old Testament: that of Noah and that of Lot. The people in Noah’s time and Lot’s time, like today, were self-absorbed in their lives and had turned away from God. In Noah’s day he warned them to turn from their selfish ways, but they continued eating, drinking, marrying and giving in marriage up to the day of the flood. They completely ignored the warnings of Noah to turn from their sinful ways and to turn to God. Same with the people in Sodom during the time of Lot. They were so involved in their sinful activities that they had no desire for God and so they continued to live out their sinful lives. As a result, both the people in Noah’s time and in Lot’s time, God punished them for their sinfulness.

Our Lord is encouraging us today to have him in the center of all we do. To turn away from whatever sins we may cling to and to turn to Him to seek forgiveness and healing.

Further, our lives can be so busy and full of worry about our family, children, friends, or even our finances. Listening to bad news on the TV news, worrying about our health, worrying about what can go wrong in our families. These are things that can bring us away from God.

Our Lord in today’s Gospel is telling us to let go of our sinfulness, worries and cares. This is the life that he wants us to lose, and by losing it and turning to the Lord we will save it in the sense that Jesus will bring us that peace and calm that can only come from him.

One way to let go of our sinfulness and worries is to turn to Our Lord in the sacrament of confession. By turning to God in the sacrament of confession, we are placing all our sinfulness, cares and worries in God’s hands and are receiving healing, peace and forgiveness.

Lord, help us to rest in your presence today. Help us to let go of fear and doubt and to trust in your love for us. Amen.

Prudent Children of Light

The scripture readings for the Friday of the 31st Week in Ordinary Time can be found at http://usccb.org/bible/readings/110819.cfm


“And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently. For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than the children of light." Luke 16:8


In our gospel for today it sounds as if Our Lord is praising the dishonest steward for doing things that are dishonest and selfish. In the parable, we see someone that is self-centered and only worried about himself and trying to protect his way of life. He was first stealing from his master, and then when he discovered that he was to be let go, he further cheated his master out the profits due to him from those the steward dealt with.

What our Lord is really teaching us is that we can learn from the dishonest steward in how to conduct our affairs with God. The steward was prudent in the sense that he knew how to protect himself and to obtain a secure position once his master fires him.

We are to be prudent in our relationship with God in the same way he was with his master and with those he dealt with, but for godly reasons. This is to help us gain something far better than material wealth. We are to be prudent with God in order to gain heaven.


The ways we can be prudent with God is to first develop a deeper prayer life with Him. In addition to daily mass and the rosary, we should make time to read Holy Scripture in order to be open what God is trying to communicate to us. The best way to do this is by studying the scripture readings assigned for daily mass. By spending about 10 or 15 minutes daily reading the scriptures from Mass, we are allowing ourselves to be open to the voice of God and what he may wishing to tell us.


In addition to prayer and meditation, we are to take our faith in Jesus to others in our life: our family, friends and those we encounter daily. Like St. Paul in our first reading, we are to be a minister of Christ Jesus to all people we know and meet.


We can show them love and kindness, even to those we really don’t like. By showing love and kindness to those we truly don’t like, we are bringing the love of God to them. That is being a good and prudent steward of the love that God gives to us daily.
Whatever challenges you may face, know that Jesus will help you to respond with love. He loves those in your life as much as he loves you.

Lord Jesus, help us to see you in all people that we meet this day. Amen