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33rd Sunday in OT -Year C
"Neither must you be perturbed when you hear of wars and
insurrections. These things are bound to happen first, but the end does
not follow immediately" (Luke 21).
i. Christ and His Holy Catholic Church are one
Bridegroom and Bride
Head and Body. The two are inseparable. Because of this truth, one can
conclude that the Church will experience in some mysterious way all that
Christ experienced during His earthly pilgrimage. In fact, some have
compared the Life of Christ with the history of the Church. For example,
as the infant Christ was persecuted by the evil Herod, so the infant
Church was persecuted in her beginning years when Mass was celebrated in
the Catacombs and martyrs shed their blood in the Coliseum. Eventually,
the good Lord would live a very hidden life in Nazareth as He approached
adulthood. In her early years the Church would also live a very hidden
life as many of her members embraced the life of solitude in the desert,
as well as the monastic life. Christ would live a very ordinary life as
a grown man, as He took on the duties of a carpenter
the God-Man living in the world, but never of the world. And so His
Catholic Church would grow within the world, in families, in
neighborhoods, in the workplace
even local parishes would develop. But eventually Christ Jesus would
take on the life of a missionary
actively preaching the Holy Gospel. As the Head went out to enlighten,
so the Body of Christ, the Church, would send her own missionaries
throughout the world to tell the Good News. By the time our dear Lord
reached 33 years old, He would experience His Passion and Death on the
Holy Wood of the Cross. Now the Church has certainly experienced
difficult trials and tribulations, but she has not yet gone all the way
to Calvary. Her mysterious crucifixion
her mystical Passion and Death will happen fully in those last days when
the forces of evil will seek to destroy her.
ii. In today's readings, the end of the world is spoken of quite
openly
what the prophet Malachi calls the Day of the Lord. Christ Jesus also
speaks of wars and insurrections, famines and disease, earthquakes and
great signs in the heavens, as well persecutions against His Holy
Catholic Church. And yet our dear Lord cautions His disciples
do not be misled. Many will come in My Name saying... the time is at
hand. Do not follow them... These things are bound to happen first, but
the end is not so soon. In these difficult times in which we live,
when many are speaking about the end being near, let us be cautious.
First, we must realize that we have been in the End Times for the past
2,000 years. Since the Coming of Christ
Since the First Advent of our Savior the Final Word has been spoken
the last chapter of Revelation has been written and the End of the Book
is near. Being in the End Times, therefore, is nothing new for us. But
we ought to avoid being like modern day Chicken Littles claiming that
the sky is falling
we must avoid being like those Thessalonians of old who were constantly
shirking their daily duties as they awaited the Day of the Lord. Rather
we ought to be attending to the message of our dear Holy Father who is
constantly repeating the phrase
Be not afraid.
iii. It is my opinion that the Day of the Lord is not that near.
I say that because the signs of the Last Days have not been fulfilled
Those five major signs mentioned in Sacred Scripture and Sacred
Tradition have yet to be fully seen. The Gospel being preached to every
creature, for example, is still ongoing. The sign of the Jews converting
to Catholicism has not yet been seen. An apostasy
that is a complete rejection of Christianity may be seen in some parts
of the West
but the sign of the Last Days is a universal apostasy that afflicts
every place on earth. The spirit of the Anti-Christ is certainly
present, but as for the actual man of sin, that son of perdition
he may still be restrained at this time. And finally, we know that there
are numerous natural disasters present in our world, along with
persecutions against Christians. But the scale of trials, tribulations,
and persecutions will be much greater towards the Last Days. For right
now, let us be concerned about remaining in the state of grace
staying away from sin, especially mortal sin
and if we have fallen seeking to repent immediately in the Confessional
because our own death and our own particular judgment will be the Second
Coming of Christ for us.
iv. Sr. Agnes of Akita is a member of the Handmaids of the Holy
Eucharist. She is a humble nun living in a religious community in Akita,
Japan. She received revelations from her guardian angel and the Blessed
Virgin between 1975 and 1982. Sr. Agnes also received the stigmata of
our Lord in her right hand which was miraculously matched by a similar
wound in the right hand of the statue of Our Lady in her convent chapel.
The truth of these events and revelations has been attested to by Bishop
Ito and by others in the hierarchy. The reason I mention Sr. Agnes of
Akita is because she represents a long line of saintly witnesses that
attest to a chastisement against the human race because of its sins.
That is, a merciful correction and just punishment inflicted upon us by
God the Father. In one of the messages Our Lady says to Sr. Agnes: In
order that the world might know His anger, the Heavenly Father is
preparing to inflict a great chastisement on all mankind. With my Son I
have intervened so many times to appease the wrath of the Father.
Another message states: If men do not repent and better themselves, the
Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity. It will be a
punishment greater than the flood
fire will fall from the sky and will wipe out a great part of humanity.
v. I could give you literally hundreds of similar messages all
from approved apparitions and the writings of the saints, as well as the
Fathers and Doctors of the Church. In short, we are being told by the
good Lord that a chastisement may come well before the end of the world.
Instead of focusing in on the Day of the Lord to come, focus in on the
present danger. That is, well before the Day of the Lord, we may be
visited with a punishment greater than the flood of old. Many, in fact,
may confuse this with the actual Day of the Lord, when in fact it is a
merciful correction meant to bring about conversion and an eventual age
of peace. But again, we are not to act like Chicken Littles nor like the
Thessalonians of old, but rather like the Ninevites who responded to the
threat of chastisement with prayers, fastings, and penances. We are to
live the present moment seeking holiness now. In addition, we ought to
do everything in our power to join our Lady in holding back the hand of
God
to lessen the chastisement. Our Lady said that our prayers and penances
have power. The Blessed Mother made this appeal to Sr. Agnes and to all
true disciples: I have prevented the coming of calamities by offering
God the Father the sufferings of the Son on the Cross, His Precious
Blood, and beloved souls who console Him forming a group of victim
souls. Our Lady then provides an answer to mitigating the wrath of
God: Prayer, penance, and courageous sacrifices can soften the
Father's anger.
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