The day will come when the Our Father, the only prayer taught by Jesus, will be fulfilled. This will occur with the Second Coming of the Lord.

In the First Reading the Prophet Daniel speaks of a time of great confusion and turmoil before the renewal of the world. According to Bible history the first renewal took place in the times of Noah, around two thousand years after The Fall. God purified the earth with the Great Flood. The second renewal occurred around two thousand years later with the Incarnation of the Son of God and the Redemption. The Roman Empire and pagan nations everywhere were converted by Christians who were willing to die, rather than renounce the Faith.

Through the witness of so many Catholics and evangelization by the Church, society was gradually transformed from within. There was a new respect for human life and the Commandments were imbedded in the laws of the lands. Hospitals, universities and many Religious Orders and works of charity sprang up throughout the world.

The sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross, as explained in the Second Reading brought us back into a graced relationship with God and helped us to live in peace with God and our neighbour. The one eternal Sacrifice of the Cross is renewed in every Mass. So, the Mass holds back the justice of God and the Good Shepherd nourishes us with Himself in Holy Communion and helps us to grow in holiness.  If we are well disposed and cooperate with God’s grace, pray, desire God’s Will, live the Beatitudes and follow the authentic Magisterium of the Church we are on the path to holiness.

In the Gospel, Jesus reminds us to be vigilant in prayer and works of charity, preparing for His return. Before the Second Coming the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. The stars will be falling from Heaven. The destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD as prophesied by Jesus seemed like the end of the world to the Jews of that time. One million Jews lost their lives in the uprising against the Romans, and many died of starvation as supplies were cut off. Only thirty thousand survived. As prophesied by Jesus, not one stone of the Temple was left upon another, and it has never been rebuilt. This event also symbolized the end of the Old Covenant and was a visible sign of the New Covenant and Age of the Church. Before this the Church had already spread throughout the world amidst persecution and rejection as prophesied by The Lord. Our life on earth is temporary. But if we turn to the Lord in life’s difficulties and disappointments, we will grow in humility and all the virtues. If there is no contest, there will be no crown at the end of our life’s journey.

Despite Baptism we still have a Fallen Nature and we all have to overcome the passions which tend to pull us down. Before The Fall, Adam and Eve lived in the Divine Will and had perfect dominion of the soul over the body. With Original Sin they lost this and so we now have to struggle to grow in this dominion over the passions. The Saints are great examples and offer excellent advice. One example St Alphonsus Ligouri, Bishop and Doctor of the Church. He wrote a book titled: Preparation for Death. In this book he warns of three delusions:

1. A sinner says: If I commit sin, I will just go to Confession afterwards. But St Alphonsus says: This is absurd and risky. He gives an analogy: If you have a jewel worth $1 million, would you throw it into the river, saying: I will make a diligent search for it and hope to find it? This is the same as throwing away your soul in sin and hoping to go to Confession.

2. A sinner says: God is merciful. So, living in sin is OK. But St Alphonsus says: He or she who sins with the intention of later repenting is not a penitent, but a mocker of God’s mercy.

3. A sinner says: I am young, I have time to repent later. St Alphonsus says: You never know the day or the hour. This is a risky proposition to live by.

It is no coincidence with the general apostasy or loss of the Faith and today’s consumerist society,  that many Confessionals in Churches have become dustier. I know a fellow Priest who took over a Parish and found that the Confessionals were used as storerooms. It seems that almost no one was going to Confession. The first thing he had to do was clean out the Confessionals and restore the Sacrament of Confession in the Parish. Now people are frequenting this Sacrament once again.

The world around us does not want to think about the repercussions of sin and many don’t consider the eternal consequences of bad choices, but instead they tend to focus on short term pleasures. Jesus however, urges vigilance and obedience to God’s Will. He has provided enormous help with the Sacraments, which are channels of Sanctifying Grace. We have been urged by Our Lady to pray the Holy Rosary, to make Mass central to our lives. We also have Eucharistic Adoration available 24/7 in this Parish. Please consider signing up for a Holy Hour. Spiritual reading is very important too. For example, the Scriptures, the Catechism and the Book of Heaven. It is around two thousand years now since the Redemption and Jesus is bringing about another great renewal of the world, through the Kingdom of the Divine Will. This is the new era of light and peace which has begun and will come in its fullness after the general confusion of today and the final onslaught of evil has ended, and Satan is chained up in the Abyss. Let’s look forward with confidence to that day and begin even now to begin living our Heaven on earth, by learning about the Divine Will and living in It. There are many resources where you can find out about the Book of Heaven and this gift of gifts. One is: https://comingofthekingdom.org/luisateachings/  Praise by Jesus and His Adorable Will now and forever!