At that time
shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your
people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never
has been since there was a nation till that time (Daniel 12:1.
First Reading).
Readings
(Jerusalem Bible: Australia, [England
& Wales], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland)
Readings(New American Bible: Philippines, USA)
Gospel Mark 13:24-32 (English Standard Version Anglicised: India)
Jesus said
to his disciples:
“But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will
be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be
falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with
great power and glory. And then he will send
out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds,
from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.
“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes
tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these
things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all
these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass
away, but my words will not pass away.
“But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even
the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
We have reached the
last two weeks of the liturgical year. Let
us thank the Lord who has once again granted us to make this journey of
faith old and ever new in the great
spiritual family of the Church! It is a precious gift, which enables us to
live the mystery of Christ in history, receiving
in the furrows of our personal and community existence the seed of the word of
God, a seed of eternity that transforms this world from within and opens it to
the Kingdom of Heaven. This year, we have been accompanied along our
itinerary through the Sunday biblical Readings by St Mark's Gospel, which today
presents to us part of Jesus' discourse on the end of times. In this discourse
is a phrase whose terse clarity is striking: Heaven and earth will pass away, but
my words will not pass away (Mk 13: 31). Let us pause a moment to
reflect on this prophecy of Christ.
The expression Heaven and earth recurs frequently in
the Bible in reference to the whole universe, the entire cosmos. Jesus declares
that all this is destined to pass away; not only the earth but also Heaven, which here is meant in a purely
cosmic sense and not as synonymous with God. Sacred Scripture knows no
ambiguity: all Creation is marked by finitude, including the elements divinized
by ancient mythologies; there is no
confusion between Creation and the Creator but rather a decided difference.
With this clear distinction Jesus says
that his words will not pass away,
that is to say they are part of God and therefore eternal. Even if they
were spoken in the concreteness of his earthly existence, they are prophetic
words par excellence, as Jesus affirms elsewhere, addressing the heavenly
Father: I have given them the words which
you gave me, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from
you; and they have believed that you sent me (Jn 17: 8). In a well-known
parable Christ compares himself to the
sower and explains that the seed is the word (cf. Mk 4: 14); those who hear
it, accept it and bear fruit (cf. Mk 4: 20) take part in the Kingdom of God,
that is, they live under his lordship.
They remain in the
world, but are no longer of the
world. They bear within them a seed of eternity a principle of transformation
that is already manifest now in a good life, enlivened by charity, and that in
the end will produce the resurrection of the flesh. This is the power of
Christ's word.
Dear friends, the Virgin Mary is the living sign of this truth. Her heart was ‘good soil’ that received with complete willingness the Word of God, so that her whole life, transformed according to the image of the Son, was introduced into eternity, body and soul, in anticipation of the eternal vocation of every human being. Let us now make our own in prayer her response to the Angel: Let it be to me according to your word (Lk 1: 38), so that in following Christ on the way of the Cross we too may be able to attain the glory of the Resurrection.
Christ compares himself to the sower and explains that the seed is the word (cf. Mk 4: 14).
Communion Antiphon (Mark 11:23-24)
Amen dico vobis, quidquid orantes petitis,
Amen, I say
to you: Whatever you ask in prayer,
credite quia accipietis, et fiet vobis, [dicit Dominus].
believe that
you will receive, and it will be given to you [says the Lord].
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