YOUR ENDURANCE WILL WIN YOUR LIVES

XXXIII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Luke 21:5-19

In this Sunday’s readings, the gospel acclamation gives us the theme for this Sunday:

“Stand erect, hold your heads high,

because your liberation is near at hand.”

As we approach the end of the liturgical year, the readings invite us to look to the end of times. We must be prepared for the Day of the Lord, which will come “burning like a furnace”, according to the prophet Malachi (Malachi 3:19-20). Before such an outcome, people tremble with fear. How will the end of the world be? Will there be chaos, violence, endless suffering and agonising death? In Malachi’s words, all that is worthless will be burnt up. 

The gospel speaks of the destruction of the Temple: “the time will come when not a single stone will be left on another: everything will be destroyed.” This would be one of the big accusations presented against Jesus during his trial before the High Priest. However, Jesus’ words proved true, but the Temple's destruction did not signal the end of the world. “There will be great earthquakes and plagues and famines here and there; there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.” And there will be wars between nations, but that is not the end of the world yet. While in this world, Jesus’ disciples must be prepared to suffer rejection and persecution. And “that will be your opportunity to bear witness.” At such a time, we must show endurance, and “Your endurance will win you your lives.”

About the day of the Lord, we must not allow ourselves to be deceived. Many will appear claiming to be the Christ. Jesus warns us: “Refuse to join them.” They are false prophets. We must remain faithful to Jesus Christ up to the end.

WE ARE THE TEMPLE OF GOD

XXXII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Dedication of the Lateran Basilica - 1 Corinthians 3:9-11, 16-17

On 9th November, we celebrate the dedication of the Lateran Basilica, which is the cathedral of the Bishop of Rome, who is the Pope. In the liturgical calendar, this celebration is a feast and takes precedence over the Sunday celebration, thus manifesting the important role of this basilica in the history of the Church. After legalising Christianity in 313, Constantine gave the Laterani family palace to the Bishop of Rome. The palace would become the pope’s residence. And the basilica was built there, being consecrated in 324 by Pope Sylvester I.  It was dedicated to Christ the Saviour and later also to St John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist. Being the cathedral of Rome, it is considered the mother of all churches.

Today’s celebration invites us to reflect upon the role of the Church/Temple in our Christian life and in the life of the Christian community. The temple is both the house of God and the house of the community who are His people. It facilitates a personal encounter with God. There, it is easier to become aware of God’s mystery. In there, God’s word is proclaimed and His mysteries are celebrated. At one voice, gathered together as a people, we sing God’s praise. However, we should not forget that the temple exists for our sake and our convenience. We must always be on the alert so that we don’t abuse the temple of the Lord. Moved by the zeal of the house of God, Jesus took a drastic action, expelling the money changers and those who were selling animals for the sacrifices. The temple is built by human hands and can be corrupted, like anything else touched by them. When touched by corruption, the temple loses its purpose, and it will end up being destroyed.  

Jesus presents himself as being the true temple of God that will not be touched by decay. By killing him on the cross, they will try to destroy him once and for all, but he will rise on the third day. It is from Jesus, the true temple of God, that the living water will come, bringing life and salvation to all. It is in Jesus that the prophecy of Ezekiel will be fulfilled.

In the second reading, Paul tells the Corinthians that we are God’s temple, a sacred temple that must be treated with respect. If we destroy this temple, we will be answerable to God, and God will bring us down. Paul tells the Corinthians that, in their case, by announcing Jesus Christ, he was the architect. And the foundation is Jesus Christ. “For the foundation, nobody can lay any other than the one which has already been laid, that is Jesus Christ.” (1 Co 3:9-11, 16-17).

MY SOUL CLINGS TO YOU

ALL SOULS DAY - Luke 7:11-17

This year, All Souls Day falls on a Sunday. Confronted with death, we look forward to resurrection. Death will not have the last word, and life will come out victorious. Whenever death comes our way, we must remember that we are called to life, and life will reach its plenitude in Jesus Christ, who is “the resurrection and the life”. (Jn 11:25)

Reading the gospels, we discover that, time and again, Jesus is touched by other people’s suffering. While entering the town of Nain, Jesus saw the funeral of a young man being carried for burial. He was the only son of a widow who remained helpless and defenceless. Faced with the suffering of that mother, Jesus felt compassion and addressed her with reassuring words: “Do not cry.” Then, he ordered the young man to get up, “and Jesus gave him to his mother.” This act of mercy to that mother is also a promise of resurrection and life to all of us.

On All Souls Day, aware of the deep bond that unites us to all of our dead, we remember them and pray for them. We entrust them to God’s mercy, that He may welcome them in His Kingdom. In the first reading, taken from 2 Maccabees, we learn from Judas, who sent the money from a collection "to Jerusalem to have a sacrifice for sin offered” for those who had died (2 Maccabees 12:42-45). Before death, faced with our own fragility and mortality, we recognise our sinfulness and put ourselves in God’s hands. We know that our lives go beyond death, and we ask the Lord to receive us with welcoming arms. Thus, we pray for our dead and offer for them Jesus’ sacrifice, a sacrifice for the redeeming of sins and reconciliation.

And we end with the words of Paul to the Philippians: 

For us, our homeland is in heaven, and from heaven comes the saviour we are waiting for, the Lord Jesus Christ, and he will transfigure these wretched bodies of ours into copies of his glorious body. He will do that by the same power with which he can subdue the whole universe. (Philippians 3:20-21).

May the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.