A Sacrament of Christ

Thirty-third Sunday in

Ordinary Time

14 November 2021 

 

First Reading: DN 12:1-3

Responsorial Psalm: PS 16:5, 8. 9-10, 11

Second Reading: HEB 10:11-14, 18

Gospel: MK 13:24-32

 

Reflection

By Pietro S. Albano

 

Know that he is near.

Jesus spoke to His disciples about His second coming. There is a sense of fear that one would feel as Jesus mentioned the destruction of the sun, moon, and stars. After this scene, Jesus will come in glory and will send His angels to gather those who remained faithful to Him until the end. 

In his message on the Fifth World Day of the Poor, which we celebrate today, Pope Francis wrote:  “The face of God revealed by Jesus is that of a Father concerned for and close to the poor. In everything, Jesus teaches that poverty is not the result of fate, but a concrete sign pointing to His presence among us. We do not find Him when and where we want, but see Him in the lives of the poor, in their sufferings and needs, in the often inhuman conditions in which they are forced to live….[B]elievers, when they want to see Jesus in person and touch him with their hands, know where to turn. The poor are a sacrament of Christ; they represent his person and point to him.” We do not know the day or hour of Jesus’ Second Coming. However, we can prepare for it by reaching out to His least brothers and sisters, the poor in our midst. The Holy Father warns us: “Today, in fact, in the more economically developed areas of the world, people are less willing than in the past to confront poverty. The state of relative affluence to which we have become accustomed makes it more difficult to accept sacrifices and deprivation. People are ready to do anything rather than to be  deprived of the fruits of easy gain. As a result, they fall into forms of resentment, spasmodic nervousness and demands that lead to fear, anxiety and, in some cases, violence.  This is no way to build our future; those attitudes are themselves forms of poverty which we cannot disregard. We need to be open to reading the signs of the times that ask us to find new ways of being evangelizers in the contemporary world. Immediate assistance in responding to the needs of the poor must not prevent us from showing foresight in implementing new signs of Christian love and charity as a response to the new forms of poverty experienced by humanity today.”

• What new signs of Christian love and charity must the Church implement to address poverty?
• How can the poor help you get ready for the Lord’s Coming?

• What is the difference between almsgiving and mutual sharing?

Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank You for Your Word today. Help us realize that we too are poor because only in this way will we truly be able to recognize them, to make them part of our lives and an instrument of our salvation. Amen.