In today’s Gospel, Jesus reminds us to be on guard for we do not know the day or hour when we will be called back to Him.  It is a challenge to live everyday like it is the last day of our life.    We take His Words by heart and stay close to Him as we journey through life, we have nothing to fear. His gift to us is His presence with us ‘till the end of the world. As He said, “heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”

Speaking of our own limitations and weaknesses, there are times that we have failed to live our life the way Jesus wants us to live. We repeatedly commit the same mistakes all over again. There are days that we do not acknowledge His presence to the least of our brethren that we come in contact with everyday. We neglect His daily miracles that are just in front of us. We do not value the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat that comes from His abundant providence.

As we reflect on this Gospel, we are reminded to be ready at all times. We should be vigilant, day and night. We need to prepare ourselves for His coming.  We need to pray to purify ourselves, to forgive others and ourselves, and to be in service to others.

We need to pray because in prayer, we shall find faith, hope and love as what our Father founder Blessed Francisco Palau taught us. He also reminded us to repeat these words frequently: “Take care of me Lord, and I will take care of you; I will take care of you and you will take care of me.” (Lt. 42:4) In prayer, we encounter our God who knows us and loves us unconditionally.

We need to purify ourselves through the sacrament of confession. Jesus Christ, in His abundant love and mercy, established this sacrament, so that we, sinners can obtain forgiveness for our sins and reconcile with the Church, God and neighbor. The sacrament “washes us clean,” and renews us in Christ. Repent and be renewed now!

We need to be in service to others.  Our   life as a Christian is motivated by love for God, followed by love of our neighbor, and must be manifested in our daily lives. Serving others means making space for their existence and seeing them as valuable and worthy to serve and be served, simply because God views them that way.   To serve others well, we need to have faith that we are ultimately serving someone greater.

So, live everyday like Jesus is coming back today because we do not know the specific time or day of His coming.  When you hear people who are afraid and get paranoid about the coming of Jesus Christ, don’t fall into that.   Live with optimism about His coming.

Live a purpose-driven life. Follow God’s will.   Renew yourself daily with Christ and live with His Words.

 

Queen of Carmel Community

Lucena, Filipinas