Memorial of Saint Andrew Dũng-Lac, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs

“See that you not be deceived, for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and ‘The time has come.’ Do not follow them! When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for such things must happen first, but it will not immediately be the end.” Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place; and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky.”

As followers of Jesus, we pray for the end times to come and hope to be found among the good and faithful servants when it arrives, but we shouldn’t be so focused on the Day of Judgment that we lose sight of our chances to love God and His children today. Yes, it’s good to plan for the future, but we should never do so at the expense of doing God’s Will in the present. Our best laid plans cannot foresee everything that will come into our lives and so we should be willing to let go and let God lead us when the time comes. When things don’t turn out how we hoped or imagined they might, we should not lose faith, but rather see our trials and tribulations as opportunities to grow in our trust of the Lord. When the end comes, we will know it, so rather than worrying about when it will come, we should focus our energies on ensuring that if it does come, we will be ready for it.

What things have we hoped for, but never obtained? Do we believe God has a good reason for keeping these things away from us? Are we properly focused on being the best disciple of Christ today rather than tomorrow?

O Lord, we want only to follow you, not our own petty desires.

Amen.