November 15, 2015

33rd Sun. in Ordinary Time

November 15, 2015:  Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Find 13 connections with today?
Legend below
Listen
Pope Francis Angelus
The goal of our lives on earth is our encounter with the Risen Christ.  The problem isn't when the warning signs of the end occur but whether we'll be ready.  The problem isn't what will happen, but how we should act now.
Live in the present, building the future with serenity, trust, and hope in God.  Hope is the hardest virtue to live out, but it's also the strongest as it reflects the face of the Risen Christ.  Jesus, the final destination of our pilgrimage, is also here now to accompany us and rescue us from false prophets and fatalistic ideas....

I express my deepest condolences to the French President and all whose family members were killed or wounded in Friday's multiple attacks in Paris.  Such barbarity leaves us stunned as we wonder how people can think up and carry out such atrocities.  Violence and hatred don't resolve problems; whoever uses God’s name to justify that path is guilty of blasphemy.
Read

  • Dn 12:1-3  I, Daniel heard the Lord:  "Michael, your people's guardian, shall arise; it shall be a time of distress.  Your people shall escape.  Many of the dead shall awake; some shall live forever, others shall be an everlasting disgrace.  But the wise shall shine brightly, and those who lead people to justice shall be like stars."
  • Ps 16:5, 8-11  "You are my inheritance, O Lord!"  Lord, my portion and cup, you who hold fast my lot.  I set you ever before me; I won't be disturbed.  My heart and soul rejoice; you won't abandon me to the netherworld nor allow me to undergo corruption.  You'll show me the path to life, joy in your presence, delight at your right hand.
  • Heb 10:11-14, 18  Every day a priest offers sacrifices that can't take away sins, but Jesus Christ offered one sacrifice, and took his seat at God's right hand.  By one offering he made perfect those being consecrated.  Where there's forgiveness, there's no longer offering for sin.
  • Mk 13:24-32  "The sun will be dark, the moon won't give light, stars will fall from the sky, the heavens will be shaken, and the Son of Man will come with power and glory and send angels out and gather his elect.  As you know summer is near when the fig tree sprouts leaves, so know he's near when you see these things happen; they'll take place in this generation.  My words won't pass away.  No one knows the day or hour but the Father."
Reflect
    • Creighton:  Be awake and present to Christ every part of every day.  Recognize Christ within us all the time.  If we do, it won’t matter when Christ comes because we'll be united with him already.  Ask, “How am I awake to Christ within me?”  “What's keeping me from being awake?”  “How can I prepare and respond to my trials from a place of Christ-centeredness?”
    • One Bread, One Body:  "The end of the end":  Just before the end of the world, we'll have trials; there will be distress and a mass apostasy.  "Because of the increase of evil, the love of most will grow cold, but those who persevere will be saved.  God's people shall escape; the wise shall shine brightly, and those who lead people to justice shall be like the stars."  May we live for Jesus alone....
    • Passionist:  People have had a fascination about "the end," even naming its date, but Jesus was more interested in inviting us to love and teaching us how to live than scaring us about the end times.  He got into this topic because his apostles asked him about the timing of the destruction of the temple; he assured them it would be soon and there would be signs.  But he went on to describe the grand final end:  dark sun and moon, falling stars, Son of Man coming on the clouds, the just gathered to him.  May I stay awake, and live each moment for him.
    • DailyScripture.net:  "The Son of man will come with great power and glory":  Do you recognize the signs of God's kingdom, signs of his power and action in our lives and the world?  The Lord came to bring us his kingdom; he told his disciples it was for their benefit that he return to his Father and the Spirit come fill the earth with his love, truth, and glory.  The Lord fills his people with the Spirit so each of us can hear and understand him and sow the good news.  He's preparing us for his return.  Jesus used the title "Son of Man," a direct reference to the prophetic vision in Daniel 7:  I saw one like a son of man come with the clouds of heaven, presented before the Ancient of Days, and given glory and kingship, that all should serve him; his dominion is everlasting....  God gives this king authority to rule over all; the kingdom can't be destroyed because it's built on his justice, truth, and holiness.  Jesus' first coming was to free us; his second coming will be the completion of his mission to "make all things new" after putting down the last enemy, death, and restoring us to immortality. / Fig trees, an important source of food, bore fruit twice a year.  Joel mentions its fruit-bearing as a sign of the Lord's favor.  The Talmud said the first fruit came the day after Passover; Jews believed that the Messiah would usher in God's kingdom at Passover time.  The parable foretells the joy of God's kingdom.  As the signs of spring are evident, so are the signs of God's kingdom.  The "budding" of God's kingdom begins in those receptive to God's word; they'll bear the fruits of his kingdom:  justice, peace, and joy....  We can experience the first-fruits of God's kingdom and the fruits of the Spirit:   love, peace, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, and more, enabling us to love and serve others with mercy, patience, and goodness.
    Dress legend
    • 'Owl' tie pin:  "The wise shall shine brightly..." (1st reading)
    • 'Star' tie pin:  "...and those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars." (1st reading); "In those days... the stars will fall from the sky" (gospel)
    • 'Cups' tie :  "Lord, my allotted portion and my cup." (psalm)
    • 'Hand' tie pin:  With the Lord at my right hand I shall not be disturbed (psalm); Jesus took his seat at God's right hand (2nd reading)
    • 'Girl with heart' pin:  My heart is glad and my soul rejoices (psalm)
    • 'Jubilee year' button:  You will show me fullness of joys in your presence (psalm)
    • Crucifix:  This priest [Jesus] offered one sacrifice for sins (2nd reading)
    • 'Angel' pin:  "The Son of Man will send out angels and gather his elect"; the angels don't know the day or hour (gospel)
    • 'Tree' pin:  "When the fig tree's branch sprouts leaves, you know summer is near" (gospel)
    • Green shirt:  Ordinary Time season
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