Sunday, November 17

Dear Parishioners

On this Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, both our first reading and our gospel speak of the end times. All things shall at some point in time come to an end and then Christ will reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Every generation has imagined these last days from the medieval Latin poem, “Dies Irae” to the famous “Last Judgment” of Michelangelo on the wall of the Sistine Chapel to the (to me at least) rather severe mosaic of Christ Pantocrator in the apse of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC. Pope Benedict used to remind us that, yes, there will be final, universal judgment to the end of time as we know it but there will also be a particular judgment of each individual soul at the moment of death. I personally have never worried too much about whether the end of the world is near because I know that MY end is probably much nearer! Whether I go with the rest of the world or in my bed (or to be honest, in any of the possible ways in which I can die), the important thing is to be prepared. Jesus reminds us that no one knows the day or the hour, not even the Son (imagine that) but only the Father. Let us, as Saint Paul says in his Letter to the Philippians, “work out our salvation in fear and trembling.” But let us also be reassured of a merciful and forgiving God. On the Last Day (the world’s or our own), may we put our trust in God so that we may share His glory for all eternity.

Fr. Al