Jesus prophesied that the Temple would be demolished. He then goes on to say that the whole world will be destroyed. He says that natural disasters, earthquakes and hurricanes, and political turmoil demonstrate that the world is coming to an end. At the same time he says that when you see these things, know that the end is still in the future. Jesus says that there will be many claiming that the end is at hand. In fact, every few years someone pops up with a list of why the world is going to end at a specific time. Remember what Jesus says: «Ignore them.» Jesus is adamant that we Christians are not to get flustered, distraught, or full of anxiety. These are the feelings of those who refuse to commit their lives to the Kingdom of God. What we need to do is to give witness to Christ, particularly in the face of persecution. The Lord was not just addressing the early Christians when he said that you will be delivered up to those who will murder you for being faithful. He was also talking to Archbishop Oscar Romero, Jane Donovan and the Maryknoll sisters and the six Jesuits who were all murdered in El Salvador for demanding that the poor be treated with respect. He was talking to Maximilian Kolbe and all the religious leaders particularly from Poland as well as many parts of Europe who were put to death by Nazis and Communists during the last blood stained century. He was talking to the Catholics and other Christians who are being persecuted and killed right now in Egypt, the Sudan and throughout the world. And He is talking to everyone of us who is mocked for hanging on to what the media presents as a dated morality. When Jesus spoke about persecution, He pointed His words to all of us who fight for traditional family values and responsibility against those that deify self-gratification. All people, from the martyrs of the past to those living in your house, may be put to death, or at least commit social suicide for their Christian witness. But patient endurance will save their lives. Patient endurance will save our lives! That phrase, «patient endurance» is the New Testament catch word for martyrdom. By patient endurance we will be saved. By becoming martyrs we will be saved. We Christians are called to martyrdom. That is the challenging part of today’s Gospel. We must become witnesses to Jesus Christ, martyrs, to be saved. Affirming our Christianity demands suffering. All Christians experience this in many ways. The world and those who live by its values may appear to be winning. But their victories are hollow, their lives are shallow. Through patient endurance of all this and more, you are saving your life. The Temple that was built in Jerusalem might be destroyed, but the Temple that is the Life of Christ within us will never be destroyed. In the sixth chapter of the Book of Revelation, the Book of God’s plan for mankind is brought forward, sealed with seven seals. When the fifth seal is opened the voice of the martyrs cries out from their place underneath the altar, the place where the blood of sacrificial animals was caught. «How Long, O Lord, How Long?» they shriek. Our pleas join theirs. «How long, O Lord, how long do we have to keep on suffering while evil doers prosper? When will the world see the purpose of our suffering? When will we be vindicated? Today’s gospel is challenging. It is challenging because Jesus demands that we give witness, become martyrs, if we want to be saved. It is challenging because the Lord demands that we stand up for him, his kingdom and the Christian way of life in a materialistic, self-centered world. It is challenging because it demands that we accept grief from those who mock us. It is challenging because it proclaims that only by patient endurance can we be saved. This is the challenge of Christianity! We pray today for the grace to endure patiently any trials that are essential to our affirmation of our identity as followers of Lord Jesus Christ • AE
Autumn Readings
Fr. Agustin’s Schedule for the Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
St Dominic Catholic Church
Saturday November 12, 2022
3.30 p.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confessional)
5.00 p.m. (English Mass @ Main Church)
Sunday November 13, 2022
7.30 a.m. Holy Mass (English Mass @ Main Church)
10.00 a.m. Holy Mass (English Mass @ Main Church)
XXXIII Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario (Ciclo C)
Cómo vivir estos tiempos de crisis religiosa con lucidez y responsabilidad, sin desviamos del Evangelio y sin hundimos en la desesperanza? Ésta es, tal vez, una de las preguntas más inquietantes que se despiertan hoy, 2022, en quienes creemos en Jesucristo. Es claro que la fe cristiana no se puede vivir ni comunicar desde actitudes negativas. Es inútil alimentar el victimismo, vivir de la nostalgia o acumular resentimiento. Todo eso nos aleja del espíritu con el que vivía Jesús. Los cristianos debemos leer y vivir estos tiempos de manera más positiva, confiada y evangélica. La llamada que hoy nos hace el Señor en el evangelio a perseverar, debería hacernos reflexionar. Es un error demonizar la crisis actual viviéndola como una situación imposible. Dios no está en crisis. Nunca lo ha estado, Él continúa actuando en cada ser humano. Ninguna crisis puede impedir que Él siga ofreciéndose, comunicándose y salvando a cada uno de sus hijos e hijas por caminos que a nosotros se nos escapan. Esta humanidad tan querida por Dios vive sufriendo. No acierta con el camino que la podría conducir a una vida más digna y más dichosa. La crisis religiosa de la que tanto hablamos los creyentes es sólo un fragmento de una crisis más global que lo sacude todo. Nos puede inquietar qué va a ser de la Iglesia entre nosotros, pero, si miramos las cosas desde Dios, lo que nos ha de preocupar es qué va a ser del mundo. Lo importante es perseverar, es seguir caminando, sin quitar los ojos del Evangelio; buscando siempre el Reino de Dios y su justicia, no nuestros pequeños intereses, y actuando desde el espíritu de Jesús, no desde nuestro instinto de conservación. No nos engañemos: el que realmente piensa en la felicidad de todos es Dios, no nosotros. Perseverar no es repetir de manera vacía palabras que ya no dicen nada, sino encender nuestra fe en contacto directo y personal y diario con Cristo. Perseverar no es ponemos a la defensiva ante ciertos cambios, sino mantener la capacidad de escuchar la acción de Dios en nuestros días. Perseverar no es exigir a otros, sino vivir en continua, diaria conversión, contagiando nuestra fe; atrayendo a los demás por el amor con el que vivimos • AE
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LA MEDITACION DE LA ESPOSA 