2nd Sunday of Advent
Beloved in the Lord Jesus, in the 10th Century BC, the Israelites were under the leadership of King Saul. It was a difficult period because they were constantly being attacked by enemy tribes.
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Now there came a day when Israel was in a face-off with the brutal Philistine tribe; on that day, Jesse called his youngest son David in from the field – he was a shepherd – and asked him to take some food to the front lines of the army, where his older brothers were facing down the Philistines.
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So young David made his way there, and on arriving, he saw the worry on the soldier’s faces and asked what is going on. ‘Hey kid, you see that tyrant of a Philistine down there – the one that is over 6 cubits tall – somebody has to fight him. If we lose, we’ll be slaves of the Philistines. But who do we have that can beat that giant? He said that, because Goliath’s height of 6 cubits works out to over 9 feet tall, he WAS a giant.
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So little David goes straight up to King Saul and says, I can fight him! ‘you kid?’ come on! Seriously King, in my work as a shepherd, I’ve killed a lion and a bear with my own hands, and I can beat Goliath.
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So Saul said, ‘Why not give the kid a shot?’ But you better put on my armor. So he put on his armor, and gave him his heavy sword, but it was way too heavy. ‘I’m not used to these, he said. So David took it all off, and without any armor, ran down toward Goliath with only his trusty sling-shot and staff. He stopped at the brook, to collect 5 stones and then ran toward the towering monster.
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Looking down at him, Goliath said with disdain: ‘Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” I will give your flesh to the birds of the air. Then David said, “You come to me with sword and spear; but I come in the name of the LORD of hosts, this day the LORD will deliver you into my hand.
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David ran to the right, then to the left, and then, taking careful aim, shot a stone that embedded itself in Goliath’s forehead. The giant came towering down in a thud; then David took Goliath’s own, huge sword, and cut off his head.
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Friends in Christ, The victory of little David over Goliath is a ‘type’, a symbol that points to something greater. Goliath was 6 cubits tall, his spearhead weighed 6 hundred sheckels, and he wore 6 pieces of armor: 666. This cruel giant is a symbol of the Devil. And against all odds, a little shepherd – defeats him.
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David is a ‘type’ of the coming Savior, Jesus, who will call himself the Good Shepherd. It will be Christ who will defeat the Devil, the seemingly unbeatable monster, not by a sling shot, but with the Cross.
The story of the Old Testament is filled with ‘types,’ images, prophecies and symbols: and these ‘precursors,’ were preparing the way for the Savior. The final and greatest of these precursors is encountered in the gospel today: St. John the Baptist. St. John represents the last and final preparation for this long foretold Savior. He was the ‘voice of one crying out in the desert: “Prepare the way of the Lord.’
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How many hundreds of prophecies pointed to this coming Christ.
His Incarnation was foretold: ‘the Desired of all nations shall come… thy King will come the just Savior.’
His birth was foretold: ‘Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son.’
His mission and preaching were foretold: For it was written: ‘Behold, I myself will seek my sheep, I will save my flock.’
And his Passion: ‘they will tear holes in my hands and feet.’
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This Messiah had been foretold in types and signs for a thousand years, but then comes St. John the Baptist. His followers say to him, ‘Is Jesus the excepted Messiah?’ ‘Go ask him, says St. John. So they go to Jesus and say to him:’ Art thou he who is to come? And he answered them, ‘go and report to John what you have heard and seen; the blind see,[i] the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead rise, the poor have the gospel preached to them.
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Why does Our Lord give this answer? Because he is reminding them of many things that were foretold about the coming Savior. Isaiah said that the Redeemer would cure the blind, and the lame and the deaf, and that the dead would be raised – all of which they were seeing Jesus do.
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You know, history is full of famous religious leaders. Buddha, Mohammed, Confucius, LaoZi, Bahaullah, Joseph Smith, and many others. Of these religious figures then we must ask them: ‘What record was there before you were born, that you were coming?[ii] Buddha had no one to foretell his birth or his message. For Confucius, the events of his birth and his mother were not recorded, nor were they written down centuries before his arrival.
There were no predictions about Bahaullah, Joseph Smith, or Mohammed, or anyone else. They just came and said, ‘Here I am, you must believe me.’
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But the collection of the prophecies of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, are simply staggering. It was a torrent of prophecy that preceded Him. Oh, He is the Savior, the one foretold!
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St. Paul, writing about the Old Testament says:[iii] ‘What things soever were written, were written for our learning: that, through the comfort of the Scriptures, we might have hope.
We believe. We believe Lord, that you are the Christ, the Son of the Living God, who have come to save us from our sins.
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Advent is a time in which our hope is raised up.
‘What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him?[iv]
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During this season, may the Blessed Virgin obtain a sure hope for us, in the confidence and faith in Jesus Christ, our Savior.
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[Entrusted to the prayers of St. Peter]
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[i] Isaiah 35:5; 26:19
[ii] It is Fulton Sheen who makes this point.
[iii] Rom 15:4
[iv] Rom 8:31
Friends in Christ, today is the Feast of St. Nicholas. St. Nicholas was born during the 3rd century, in present day Turkey, and it is the memory of this great saint which has led to the stories of Santa Claus. St. Nicholas is a saint and confessor of the Catholic Church, and also he is very revered among Orthodox Christians.
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Nicholas was a monk in the monastery of Holy Zion; widely known for sanctity, he was elected abbot, and then a bishop.
During the reign of Diocletian, he was put in prison for preaching the gospel, but later he was released when Constantine came to the throne. For this reason he is venerated as a Confessor of the Faith.
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Many miracles occurred in the life of St. Nicholas, and for this reason he is also called Nicholas the Wonderworker.
He was present at the great council of Nicea;[i] During the council, Arius the heretic, who denied that Jesus is truly God, stood up on his seat to be better heard. Enraged by this offense against Jesus Christ, Nicholas went quickly over to Arius pulled him down by his beard.[ii]
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But bishop Nicholas had a reputation for secret gift-giving; people in those days left their shoes outside the threshold of the house, and children would often find coins or candy in them from the kindly bishop. Many continue this tradition in homes today.
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It is related that a poor man had three daughters but could not afford a dowry for them. They were soon tempted to support their family by illicit means. But Nicholas felt sad about this, and so he decided to help; under the cover of night, he went to the house and threw a bag of gold coins through the window into the room where the father lay sleeping. He did this on three consecutive nights, and one time, the gold landed right in the man’s stocking which was hanging up to dry by the fireplace.
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After Nicholas’ death, his relics were placed in the city of Myra, and were highly venerated. When the Muslims conquered Asia Minor, the relics were in danger of being lost forever, so in 1087 a courageous group of men in Naples made a plan to recover the relics. Sailing in 3 ships, they reached Myra, and secretly stole into the city. As they gathered the bones of Nicholas, they were discovered, but raced back to their ships just in time; they brought the relics to Bari. The next day, 30 persons were cured by intercession to St. Nicholas. An oily substance valued for its medicinal powers, still flows from his relics today.
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St. Nicholas is a great friend and intercessor; he is the patron saint of children, of sailors, and of many other causes. He truly is, St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.
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[i] and died as bishop of Myra in 352.
[ii] and punched him!
Friends in Christ, today is the Feast of St. John Damascene. St. John is famous for his fight against iconoclasm. Iconoclasm is the idea that it is wrong to use sacred images of Christ or the saints.
Icons – these were and still are very important in the faith of Easter Rite Catholics and Orthodox Christians. But there were times when strong passions flared up against their use, leading even to violence. This was called iconoclasm.
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The major iconoclasm period was 730 – 787AD, and in the end, the Church called a Council to deal with it, declaring at the 2nd Council of Nicea that it is fine to make images of Christ and the saints. St. John Damascene was one of the strong defenders of the right to make icons and images, and he wrote beautifully on this subject and on the sacred Liturgy.
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Today is also the Feast day of St. Barbara; although she is not on the public calendar, I know a number of people who have a special love for her, so we should say something about her.
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St. Barbara was the daughter of a rich man named Dioscorus who was a pagan. Because she was so beautiful, Dioscorus did not allow any man to see her. In fact, he kept her locked in a tower all the time.
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One day, her father went on a journey, at which point Barbara came down from the tower to see a bath-house that her father was having built. She saw in it, two windows that the workmen had made; thinking that 3 windows would well-symbolize the Holy Trinity, she said to them: ‘Make me here another window’, which they did. Days later in secret, a priest came and baptized Barbara in that bathhouse.
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When her father came home and she told him that she was a Christian, he was outraged, and dragged her before the Prefect who had her cruelly tortured. Then she was ordered to sacrifice to the gods. Barbara said: ‘I offer myself to God, Jesus Christ, who has created heaven and earth and all things.’
She was then ordered to be beheaded, at which point her own father dragged her up a mountain to kill her himself. Before her death, she prayed ‘Oh Jesus, I beseech thee to hear my prayer, that for all who call on you in my memory, you will not remember their sins.’ Then with a sword, Dioscorus put his own daughter to death. But when he was coming down the mountain he was struck by lightening and nothing remained of him except ashes.
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St. Barbara is the patron saint of architects, prisoners, soldiers, and cooks, but most importantly, she is the patron against a sudden death, that a person could receive the sacraments and die in peace.
Friends in the Lord, as we begin this Advent season, Mother Church gives us to read from Isaiah the prophet. ‘On that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from it’s roots a bud shall blossom, and the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him.’
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Isaiah is a remarkable book, that in so many ways he foretells the coming Messiah, Jesus. Our Lord will be a descendent in the line of David, whose father was Jesse. So it DID come to pass, that a ‘shoot’ sprouted from the stump of Jesse.
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At the time of Isaiah’s writing, this passage had a reference to the fact that Assyria had caused a massive, wide-ranging destruction by it’s war-machine, leveling the entire world they knew. All that remained was Jerusalem, the ‘stump;’ this ‘stump,’ Jerusalem, was the one sign of life that survived the near-total destruction, bringing hope to the world.
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But the pen of Isaiah was guided by the Holy Spirit, and whether Isaiah knew it or not, he was also writing a prophecy of a coming Savior, who would come forth from this ‘stump,’ the line of David.
This is the 3rd Emmanuel prophecy, and it tells us some things about the coming Savior. He will have exceptional qualities, thanks to the Holy Spirit who will descend upon him.
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Here we find the list of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit; Jesus will have the fullness of the Holy Spirit’s Gifts, and as we know, he will in turn impart these Gifts on us when we become his disciples.
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The Hebrew version of Isaiah lists only 6 Gifts, but the Greek Septuagint which was used by the early Church lists the 7 Gifts of the Holy Spirit. (The Septuagint divides the Gift of Fear into two: Piety and Fear of the Lord)
Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and Fear of the Lord.
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The Messiah who will be born will usher in a new era of peace. The Kingdom of the Christ will have the harmony that was first seen in the Garden of Eden, in paradise, which was broken by the wound of sin. Even violence in the animal world will disappear. ‘The wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid.’ Such a peace, is the Kingdom of Christ, this is the harmony that we seek, and will find in heaven.
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I once asked the school children, ‘What kind of world would it be if everyone lived the way Jesus wanted us to: No anger or hatred, no hurting or lies; only goodness and kindness everywhere?’ One child said: ‘it would be paradise.’
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And that is what this Savior wants to bring us to.
1st Sunday of Advent
Beloved in the Lord Jesus, today we begin Advent, this time of waiting for the Coming of Christ. The Mass today brings to our mind the TWO comings of the Lord: His first coming as an Infant in Bethlehem, and his 2nd coming in Power at the end of the world.
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Many seem to think that the 2nd coming and the end of the world are getting near, but we don’t know when. Nevertheless, Jesus says that we should live as always being prepared. Our Lord says, ‘Be watchful and alert![i] ‘You do not know when the time will come.’
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So we should always be living the best that we can, because the end of our life or the End of the world could come anytime.
Today we consider the 2nd Coming and the End of the world. So let’s today restate those things that we know for sure about it.
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The End, will involve a sequence of 6 major events. These can be seen in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and also in the Catechism of the Council of Trent, and other books on doctrine.[ii]] The first sign of the End is that the Gospel will have been preached to the whole world. Our Lord has said, ‘the Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world….and then the end will come.’[iii]
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Has the Gospel been sufficiently preached to the whole world today? Probably not yet, there are many who do not really know Jesus Christ or his Church. It is not uncommon now to meet a 15 year old young person who has never been baptized – they’d like to know Jesus and the way of salvation.
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A 2nd sign of the End times, is that many Jewish people will accept Christ as the Messiah, and enter the Faith. St. Paul speaks of this in Romans, Chapter 11, and this will be an important sign, as the Catechism teaches.
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The 3rd event that signals the coming End, is the appearance of the Anti-christ, who will lead a cruel persecution against the Church, and many will fall away.
Who this will be is unknown, but the attraction to his promises will be very great. The Catechism says, ‘it will be a religious deception, offering men an apparent solution to their problems, at the price of apostasy.’ St. Paul: ‘Let no one deceive you, for the day of the Lord will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of sin is revealed.’[iv]
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Now for those who stand firm in the Truth, this persecution will be very great. But whether we are present at that time or not, Our Lord urges us to live today, now – live our life in faithfulness to God.
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Are we faithful under pressure? We urge our young people to refuse peer pressure – are we resisting peer pressure? When our neighbor announces that her daughter has moved in with her boyfriend, do we smile in friendly agreement in order to get along?
When a co-worker tells an impure joke, do we laugh in order to be accepted, for fear that we might be called – a Christian?
When the whole world is carried away by false ideas of marriage, do we take an unpopular stand?
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In Iraq, a group of Christian kids were told by ISIS, ‘Convert, say the words! or die. ‘No,’ was the answer from these children. ‘We love Jesus.’ And all their heads were chopped off.
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They withstood the greatest test, but do we stand up for the teachings of Christ in far easier tests? If we cannot resist the pagan world today, we will be no match at all for the Anti-christ.
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The 4th event leading to the end of the world is the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ. It will be during a dark time of persecution when Jesus will return: ‘On the earth, distress of nations, men withering away for fear. And then they shall see the Son of Man coming on a cloud with great power and majesty.’[v]
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A young girl said, the End of the world makes me nervous, Father. I said, listen, it will be a bad day for the wicked, but a great day for we faithful Christians. Say in a few years, you are at home. You are doing your homework in your room at night, when suddenly, the windows are bright, sunlight is pouring into your room at 9pm; ‘What is happening?, you think.’ Then your mother calls from outside: ‘Gale, come out, come out and see!’ And you run outside, and you have never seen your mother so happy – you look into the sky, and there is Jesus coming in glory! And you too, are filled with an unexplained happiness.
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‘And then they shall see the Son of Man coming on a cloud with great power and majesty. But when these things come to pass, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is at hand.’[vi]
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‘The word ‘Advent’ means ‘Coming.’ This season is preparation for Christmas, which was the first coming of Christ, but we are also reminded today of the 2nd coming, when Christ will come, not as a meek child, but as a Judge.
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The 5th event then, is the resurrection of the dead, and Judgment. The dead will all be resurrected, and together we will face the General Judgment of all.
‘The hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear the voice of the Son of God, they who have done good, shall come forth to resurrection of life, they who have done evil, unto resurrection of judgment.’[vii]
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For us, who have stood firm in Faith, it will be a great and joyful day. If we are still alive at the 2nd Coming, we will be there; but if we have died, we will be resurrected, and we will be there too!
St. Paul describes it: ‘We who live, who survive until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God will descend from heaven; and the dead in Christ will rise up first.’[viii]
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The Judgment will be made. The Just, risen in glorified bodies, the wicked in hideous bodies to hell. And finally, the End of the world – this universe, obliterated, we will enter the New Creation: Paradise.
‘Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the former heaven and the former earth had passed away…. And he who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’[ix]
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May the Blessed Virgin pray for us;
Mary, pray for us, that we will always be preparing ourselves to meet our Savior;
always ready, for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.
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[Entrusted to the prayers of St. Mary, niece of Abraham]
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[i] Mark 13:33
[ii] These events are nicely explained in ‘Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma’ by Ludwig Ott.
[iii] Matt 24:14
[iv] 2 Thess 2:3
[v] Luke 21:25
[vi] Luke 21:28
[vii] John 5:28
[viii] 1 Thess 4:15
[ix] Rev 21:1
Friends in the Lord, today we continue to read from the Book of Revelation, about the mysterious signs and symbols described by St. John.
John says that he saw an Angel come down from heaven who seized the serpent who is the Devil, and tied him up with a chain – for a thousand years. He says the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.
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These texts have made many people wonder over the centuries, they are symbolic, and mysterious.
Our Lord describes the establishment of his kingdom as happening in two stages – his first coming when he demonstrates his power over the devil, and his second coming at the end of time, when that kingdom will be established in its finished form.
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Now there are some who read this at face value only, and say that Christ will return to rule the earth for a thousand years; this is called millenarianism, but this is a false interpretation. Like other numbers mentioned in scripture, this number is highly symbolic.
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St. Augustine explains it this way: According to him, this thousand years, or ‘millennium,’ covers the time between the incarnation of the Son of God, and his coming at the end of the world. So this is the time we are in now, awaiting the 2nd coming of Christ.
During this period, this millennial period of God’s kingdom, the activity of the devil is to some degree restricted, he is chained up. The devil is chained up, but like a mean, nasty, dog, he still lures us with his puppy eyes, lures us to come close to pet him. If we are foolish we will get bitten, and sometimes we do. But if we take care, and hold fast to the grace of Christ, and try to live a holy life, that chained devil cannot bite us.
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In the End he will be ‘let loose,’ and that will be the great tribulation of the Church before the end of the world. Christ reigns fully in that part of the Church already in heaven, the Triumphant Church, but he only reigns incompletely, in the Church on earth. The devil here is chained, but he still causes us some trouble. He will be unchained for the great tribulation, the great persecution by the Anti-christ, and many will be weak and turn from God;
but God-willing, We will stand firm in our Faith, and then will occur the glorious 2nd coming of Christ, and his final victory over the Enemy
Friends in Christ, today our country celebrates Thanksgiving. A number of people recently have complained about stores being opened and the mad shopping frenzy beginning today. The most often heard comment is: ‘It’s a day for families!’
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It is true that in this busy world, Thanksgiving seems to be a day when families actually are all home for a meal. The modern American household often has so many activities – kids sports, choir practice, night classes, bowling league – sometimes people say ‘hi’ and ‘bye’ as they are grabbing a sandwich or a leg of chicken, and out the door!
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Today is an opportune day for us to ask the question: ‘Are we valuing the members of our family and nurturing our family in the way that God wishes?’
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Jesus says, ‘Your treasure is where your heart is.’ Well, if our family is our treasure, are we nurturing it rightly? Father Fernandez[i] says that to live family life properly we must spend time:
– Try to protect the family meal-time, so that every one can be together and speak in a relaxed way about everything.
– Take the time to celebrate family occasions and anniversaries.
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It isn’t enough to only have general good-will toward our family members, we must make it overt, we must SHOW our love for our children, spouse, and siblings. A home should not be lacking in hugs and kisses, and opportunities to just sit and talk.
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If you haven’t noticed, the family is under attack these days. The spirit of the world is trying to undermine the family. This is why the Holy Father is having a double-synod – on the family. It is why in the United States, we are hosting the World Meeting of Families. Mother Church knows that the family is the most critical foundation of society, and it is suffering. The best way of defending our family is by means of lots of human affection, and by making God present in our home.
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An extended family was having a very large celebration at a restaurant, their little girl goes to our school. The mother told me, ‘Father, I was so proud of my daughter. The waitress was bringing the food and everyone was starting to eat, when our 6 year old stood up and yelled ‘Stop!’ Everyone looked at her, and she said, ‘We have to pray.’
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Our children sometimes remind us, but really, we are supposed to be reminding them, to pray in the morning, at every meal, and how beautiful for a family to pray night prayers together at a home-altar shrine.
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Servant of God Father Patrick Peyton was known as the Rosary Priest, promoting the family rosary as a means of sanctifying the home. It was he who always said: ‘The family that prays together stays together.’
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Perhaps this Thanksgiving Day we can think of how we can bring the love of God, and a lot more affection into our home.
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[i] Conversation with God, V3, p. 630
Friends in Christ, today is the Feast of St. Catherine of Alexandria. St. Catherine lived back in the 4th century, and she was known for her great mind and wisdom. She received a thorough education, and during her studies, she had a vision of Mary and the Holy Child, which led her to become a Catholic.
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When she was 18 she saw many Christians under threat of their life because of their faith. She boldly made her way to the emperor to speak to him. She told him that the gods they worship are nothing. And using her vast knowledge, she spoke of creation; the sun and moon, the stars, the earth and asked: how could all this come to be? Does this not point to God, who is Lord of all? We must adore this God and give him glory, she said. Then she taught him of the Incarnation: of Jesus Christ.
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He was overwhelmed with her knowledge and also with her beauty. But when the emperor saw that her arguments made sense, he became angry. He brought in all of his brilliant masters of logic to debate her. They said, ‘Have this maiden brought before us, she will be put to shame, for she has never met wise men like us before.’
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Catherine, having sought the help of God, used their own pagan teachings to subvert their arguments, convincing them that God indeed has become Man. Those men changed their minds, and became Christians on the spot; for this reason, they were executed by the Emperor. Catherine was then beaten with clubs, and shut up for 12 days in a dark cell.
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In her cell, angels appeared to her, and filled the place with a brilliant light. This was witnessed by the Queen herself, who came to visit Catherine in prison. They spoke late into the night of the things of God, and many soldiers who came to the cell lay at her feet listening.
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When the Emperor heard of this, he was furious. She was therefore to be tortured, by a special method. 4 wheels studded with iron saws and sharp, pointed nails would be set upon her to mangle and tear her to pieces. But when the machine was set upon her, the device shattered to pieces.
Catherine was finally sentenced to death by beheading, and there she raised her eyes to heaven saying: ‘O glory of virgins, Jesus good King, I ask you that anyone who honors my memory, may receive the benefit of your kindness. When she was beheaded, milk rather than blood flowed from her body. For years, an oil flowed also from her bones which healed many people.
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St. Catherine of Alexandria had a brilliant mind, but it was her heart of love which made her a saint.
Her symbol is a spiked wheel; she is the patron saint of philosophers, teachers, and girls.
Friends in Christ,[i] today is the Feast of St. Andrew Dung-Lac and the 117 martyrs of Vietnam. The Catholic Faith came to Vietnam in 1615, by Jesuit missionaries, but soon the king banned all foreign missionaries; and tried to make the people deny their faith. Catholics had to survive secretly. Over the centuries, several persecutions were launched, but the Faith continued to grow.
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Dung An Trân was born in 1795 to a poor, pagan family in North Vietnam. When he was 12, his family moved to Hanoi where his parents could find work, and there he met a catechist and also received assistance. He was educated in the Faith for 3 years, and was baptized Andrew Dung.
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After more studies including learning Latin, he himself became a catechist. He was chosen to study theology, and then ordained a priest. As a parish priest, he was tireless in his preaching. He often fasted and lived a very simple life of sacrifice; he was a good example for the people, and many were baptized. In 1835 Fr. Andrew was imprisoned under emperor Minh-Mang’s persecutions, but his parish collected donations and bought his freedom.
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To avoid persecutions he changed his name to Andrew Lac and moved to another city to continue his work. Arrested for the 3rd time, he was taken to Hanoi, where he and another priest were brutally tortured and then beheaded.
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In 1988, Pope John Paul II canonized 117 martyrs of Vietnam, who gave their lives for Christ during this persecution. There were 8 bishops, 50 priests, and 59 lay Catholics who laid down their life for Christ.
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One of those martyrs of Vietnam[ii] wrote a letter from prison to encourage the others. He says this:
I wish to tell you of the trials besetting me daily, that you may be inflamed with love for God. The prison here is a true image of everlasting hell: cruel tortures of every kind—shackles, iron chains, manacles— also hatred, swearing and curses. In the midst of these torments by the grace of God I am full of joy, because I am not alone—Christ is with me.
Aid me with your prayers, that I may have the strength to fight the good fight and finish the race. We may not again see each other in this life, but we will see each other in the world to come, where at the throne of the Lamb, we will exult forever in the joy of our triumph.’
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Martyrs are the seeds for Faith; today there are over 5 million Catholics in Vietnam.
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[i] The write-up here borrows largely from Saints of the Roman Calendar by Enzo Lodi, provided by Catholicculture.com.
[ii] From a letter of Saint Paul Le-Bao-Tinh sent to students of the Seminary of Ke-Vinh in 1843
Latin Mass: 24th or Last Sunday after Pentecost
Beloved in Jesus Christ, today is the last Sunday of the liturgical year, and so the Gospel calls to mind the final destruction of this world; the End.
The scene is striking. Our Lord had just spent the whole day in the Temple[i] debating with the Scribes and Pharisees, but it was impossible to penetrate their stone hearts.
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As Christ was leaving there in the evening, with a heavy heart, his disciples, perhaps to lift his spirits, called his attention to the beauty of the Temple. ‘And as Jesus left and was going away, his disciples came forward to show him the buildings of the temple. But he said to them, ‘Do you see all these things? Amen, I say to you, there will not be left one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.’ The disciples were breathless with fear of what his words might mean.
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It was then that Christ spoke those shocking prophecies: the total destruction of the great Temple of Jerusalem, and the future destruction of the world.
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In the Holy Scriptures, we find that the earth – creation itself – is really seen as one giant temple. The Garden of Eden was described using some temple-imagery, the psalmist uses imagery to depict creation as a temple; creation, with Man at the top, possessing a mind and will – Man, who alone is able to offer everything in adoration to God.
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Now scholars tell us that the Temple of Jerusalem was really supposed to be a microcosm of this world, it was an image, if you will, of this world: The huge ‘sea’ of water, walls carved with flowers, a giant grape vine over the entrance; the blue veil in front of the Holy of Holies symbolized the sky, and beyond the sky, the Holy of Holies represented heaven.
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If it is then a sign of this universe, what does it mean if it is destroyed? A sign of the coming end of this world; and so, in one breath Our Lord speaks of both.
‘I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.’ ‘This generation shall not pass away, until all these things have been accomplished.’ And so it was true – the shocking destruction of the temple took place in those people’s generation, just 37 years after Jesus’ prophecy.
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After it was burned to the ground, the greedy soldiers searching for the gold that melted from the fire, turned over every single stone to get it.
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But not just the end of the temple was prophesied; the world as well: ‘the day nor the hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven,’ says the Lord. ‘People will be eating and drinking – partying away – as in the days of Noah.
‘You will hear of wars and rumors of wars; nation will rise against nation; there will be pestilence and famines and earthquakes. They will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my names sake. And there will be a great tribulation such as has not been from the beginning of the world.
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So Our Lord is speaking at once about the end of the Temple, and also the coming end of the world.
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I was at an airport, and a young Jewish man came over to talk. He was studying to be a Rabbi, and he recognized me as a Catholic priest.
‘This is a sad time for us, he said, ‘it is the ‘Three Weeks;’ the Bein ha-Metzarim.[ii] This is when we remember the destruction of the Temple. I said to him, Yes, the destruction of the temple in 70AD. But you know, we Christians have another understanding of this, not so sad.
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The temple was great and glorious, for sure, and it was the site of the sacrifices by the priests. But the temple was a sign, a pre-figurement, pointing to a new priesthood of Jesus, the Messiah – a new Sacrifice – and a New Temple.
Ezekiel prophesied an entirely new, glorious temple. And this glorious temple is in heaven, which the Jewish temple was preparing for.
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Destroyed? Only in the sense that it was a sign, preparing the way. That temple offered sheep and goats in sacrifice, but those pre-figured the True Sacrifice of the Messiah, which we renew on our altars today. The priesthood continues, the priesthood of Jesus – and at the Catholic Mass, we are participating in the praise of God in the Eternal Temple of heaven.
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We spoke some more, especially about the Jewish roots of our Faith. The Mass as fulfillment of Passover.
Then he said, ‘Father, almost no one knows, even few Jewish people know, that it was also at this time of the Three Weeks, that we believe Moses threw down and broke the 10 commandments because of sin.[iii] So we are mourning this too.
‘That’s VERY interesting,’ I told him. And I thanked him for the discussion, time to get on the plane, he was on a different flight.
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So I’m on the plane, sitting down, and the woman next to me says, ‘You’re a priest.’ ‘Yes,’ I said.
I’m Jewish!, she said. In fact, I have been doing research on my religion in Israel. Father, did you know that this is a very sad time for us? It is when the Temple was destroyed.
‘I said, yes. ‘And you know, it is very interesting, that it was also during this time, long ago, that Moses broke the 10 commandments.’ ‘How did you know that?!!!!!!’, she asked me!
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Friends, people today live as if the world will never end, as if THEY will never end. When I cover the subject of the End Times with the kids in school, one question I always ask is very simple: ‘True or false: This world will one day come to an end.’ True. Strangely, we have to be reminded of this.
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At the end of the Liturgical Year, Mother Church presents to us this subject, to be pondered: the End Times. Jesus prophesied the destruction of the Temple, which happened in the exact detail as he described it. So when he tells us that this world will end, it will. This world, this life – is temporary.
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Next week we will speak of what will be the signs of the End of the World, and the 2nd Coming. But this week, we remember our mortality; we know not when the world will end, nor when our life will end. So let’s live each day for the glory of God.
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As St. John Vianney used to day, ‘All the saints did not start out so well, but they ended well.’
May the Blessed Virgin help all of us, to end well.
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[Entrusted to the prayers of St. Augustine]
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[i] A Parochial Course in Doctrinal Instructions, p. 540
[ii] The day the destruction of the Temple is remembered is Tisha B’Av, the 9th day of the month of Av at the end of the Three Weeks.
[iii] The breaking of the 10 Commandments was on the first day of the Three Weeks, Tammuz 17.
