Looking at the Gospel reading, it can seem quite frightening: 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. This is a foretelling of what will happen at the end of time. However, it still offers us hope. It is presenting to us the near ending of the ordinary time in the liturgy. As Advent draws near, we must concentrate on the coming of our Lord at His birth and the end of time.

Moreover, the Gospel reading provides three sources of hope and certainty for us in the midst of such a terrifying situation. First, we are told not to worry about what will happen because wisdom will come our way, and all our adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute us. Second, though we will encounter hatred because of Him, there is a promise that not even a hair on our head will be harmed because of His name. Third, by perseverance, our lives will be secured. Though all things we possess are only temporal, the word of God remains forever.

If we look positively at the three crucial factors mentioned above, we can already be assured not to worry, and our anxieties will be relieved. God’s promises are unshaken, and He will not abandon us because He loves us. With our faith, He will give us strength despite the many hardships we might encounter. What we need is a change of perspective to broaden our horizons. For those who trust in Him will experience abundance in life—a positive outlook beyond what our eyes can see.

The lives of the saints in our Church are living testimonies of their full trust and love for the Lord. In their weakness, they found strength; in their losses and failures, they experienced triumphs in their journey of Christ-centered passion for humanity.

How about us? Are we willing to accept the challenge ourselves? We cannot deny that we are already experiencing what the Gospel describes: earthquakes, floods, wars and violence, disturbances in emotional and mental health, human trafficking, and more. Let us all be alert and courageous. Yes, the time has come, and yet we do not know what will happen next. But have faith that God will save us. Amen.