Tag: second coming

“The Kingdom of God is among you.” | Thursday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 17:20-25)

Asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, Jesus said in reply, “The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed, and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’ For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus says that no one will be able to announce when the Kingdom of God comes and at the same time that “the Kingdom of God is among you.” He says to the disciples: “For just as lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation.” The coming of the kingdom is already here and is still to come; it is both. Because Jesus perfectly fulfilled the will of the Father in his passion, death, and resurrection, he is one with him in being beyond space and time.

Father in heaven, you are present now, always have been, and always will be—present eternally. You reign over heaven and earth now and in the Second Coming in the return of Christ. By allowing your kingdom to come in my words and actions, help me today prepare for eternal life. Jesus said to the disciples, “The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.” Give me the grace, Lord, to long for your Son in my desires and in choices I make. Help me see him today and, having prepared for his return, when he comes again.

From the Gospel acclamation: “I am the vine, you are the branches, says the Lord: whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit.” Your word is forever, Lord.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“Stay awake!” | Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 25:1-13)

Jesus told his disciples this parable: “The kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise.”

Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to ten virgins who took their lamps to meet the bridegroom at his arrival at midnight. Five of them were wise and had extra oil for their lamps, while the other five were foolish and did not bring any extra oil. As the foolish virgins went off to buy oil, the others went in with the bridegroom to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut. At the end of the parable, the five virgins who returned to the wedding feast cried out to the bridegroom, “‘Lord, Lord, open the door for us!’ But he said in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.'” And then Jesus says to conclude the parable: “Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” In the first reading, wisdom is found by those who seek her. In the responsorial psalm, the flesh pines and the soul thirsts in those who seek God. In the Gospel, Jesus exhorts us to stay awake and be prepared for his return. The message is unmistakable.

Father in heaven, help me in my desire to wait for you, to watch for you, as one waits for wisdom and is vigilant for her arrival. Help me keep from falling asleep in waiting, in lapsing into apathy or being held captive by the foolishness of this world. What does it mean to pine for you, Lord? To pine is to yearn to the point of suffering, to experience pain in longing for you. The irony is that I often fail to recognize that—that anything in this world will never be enough, that you alone through your condescending love make me whole, wanting nothing else. Give me the grace, Lord, to always be ready to recognize you at your coming.

From the responsorial psalm: “O God, you are my God whom I seek; for you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts like the earth, parched, lifeless and without water. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.” Lord, you are my help.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Friday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 25:1-13)

Jesus told his disciples this parable: “The Kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them, but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps.”

As in yesterday’s Gospel, Jesus urges the disciples to be vigilant for the second coming of the Son of Man and his final judgment. In sharing the parable of the ten virgins, Jesus teaches about the importance of readiness for the coming of the Kingdom of heaven. On his return, will Jesus find us waiting for him in the light of our faith?

Father in heaven, help me grasp the meaning of this parable. Teach me vigilance for the second coming, and teach me day-to-day preparedness as he comes through his words, in the moments of the day, through the people I encounter, and in the sacraments. Give me the grace to respond immediately to your Son’s call at whatever time to come out to meet him. “Therefore, stay awake,” Jesus says to me, “for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

From the Gospel acclamation: “Be vigilant at all time and pray, that you may have the strength to stand before the Son of Man.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.