PERSEVERING HOPE

November 27 Saturday

THIRTY-FOURTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

 

The vision of the author of the book of Daniel confirms that, however terrifying the persecutions of the Syrian king, God has the final say in history, evil will be overcome, and God’s powers of goodness will be victorious.

Still, the Gospel: warns us. We may not choose the easy way of indifference or evil. We shall have to give an account to the Son of Man. We have to be watchful, so that we can stand before him with confidence. But our hope is great. We are a people of hope.

 

First Reading: Daniel 7:15-27

“But as for me, Daniel, I was disturbed. All these dream-visions had me agitated. So I went up to one of those standing by and asked him the meaning of all this. And he told me, interpreting the dream for me:

 “‘These four huge animals,’ he said, ‘mean that four kingdoms will appear on earth. But eventually the holy people of the High God will be given the kingdom and have it ever after—yes, forever and ever.’

 “But I wanted to know more. I was curious about the fourth animal, the one so different from the others, the hideous monster with the iron teeth and the bronze claws, gulping down what it ripped to pieces and trampling the leftovers into the dirt. And I wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and the other horn that sprouted up while three of the original horns were removed. This new horn had eyes and a big mouth and spoke arrogantly, dominating the other horns. I watched as this horn was making war on God’s holy people and getting the best of them. But then The Old One intervened and decided things in favor of the people of the High God. In the end, God’s holy people took over the kingdom.

 “The bystander continued, telling me this: ‘The fourth animal is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from the first three kingdoms, a monster kingdom that will chew up everyone in sight and spit them out. The ten horns are ten kings, one after another, that will come from this kingdom. But then another king will arrive. He will be different from the earlier kings. He will begin by toppling three kings. Then he will blaspheme the High God, persecute the followers of the High God, and try to get rid of sacred worship and moral practice. God’s holy people will be persecuted by him for a time, two times, half a time.

 “‘But when the court comes to order, the horn will be stripped of its power and totally destroyed. Then the royal rule and the authority and the glory of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the people of the High God. Their royal rule will last forever. All other rulers will serve and obey them.’

 

Gospel: Luke 21:34-36

“But be on your guard. Don’t let the sharp edge of your expectation get dulled by parties and drinking and shopping. Otherwise, that Day is going to take you by complete surprise, spring on you suddenly like a trap, for it’s going to come on everyone, everywhere, at once. So, whatever you do, don’t go to sleep at the switch. Pray constantly that you will have the strength and wits to make it through everything that’s coming and end up on your feet before the Son of Man.”

 

Prayer

Our saving God,
long ago you sent your Son Jesus, among us,
but we have been too little aware of his presence
and we hide him from others.
Wake us up, make us recognize him,
that he may be the light of our lives
and that we may eagerly lead people to him.
May he build up among us and with us
a world and a kingdom of peace and love
where we serve you in one another,
as we move forward in hope
to your home of endless joy and rest.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

 

Reflection:

To be mindful and to pray

Pope Francis suggests to develop these two attitudes to live the time between now and Christmas. To be mindful and to pray. Have you ever experienced lack of direction and restlessness in life? It could be the result of our self-centeredness lack of concern for others. We are so focussed on our individual projects and plans and we forget to be mindful of the needy brother or sister in our neighbourhood, whom we come across on the streets.  We are being blocked by our own lives, with its problems, its joy, and suffering, and we are always turning around ourselves. “I … me and mine,” that’s all what concerns me.

But this attitude destroys the virtues charity and empathy; it makes one’s life so dull and drives us away from hope. The root of the lethargy and laziness that the Gospel speaks about begins with our self-centred and selfish attitude.

The season of Advent invites us to a commitment to vigilance, looking beyond ourselves, expanding our mind and heart in order to open ourselves up to the needs of brothers and sisters, and to the desire for a new world. It is the desire of many people tormented by hunger, by injustice and by war. It is the desire of the poor, the weak, the abandoned. This is a favourable time to open our hearts, to ask ourselves concrete questions about how and for whom we expend our lives.

The Gospel is a caution: “Pray constantly” is the invitation. We await Jesus in prayer and vigilance. Praying, awaiting Jesus, opening oneself to others, being mindful, not withdrawn to ourselves. Speaking at the general audience on May 19 this year, Pope Francis spoke of three enemies of prayer: distractions, spiritual dryness, and sloth. “Praying is not easy: many difficulties present themselves in prayer. It is necessary to know them, recognize them and overcome them,” he said. Sloth is one of the seven deadly sins because “it can lead to the death of the soul.”

The pope urged the faithful to fight against distractions, developing the often-forgotten virtue of vigilance. Throughout the Gospels Jesus urged his disciples to practice this virtue. In a moment that we do not know, the voice of our Lord will resound: on that day, blessed will be those servants whom He will find industrious, still focused on what really matters.

True progress in the spiritual life consist in being able to persevere in difficult times. The pope asks us to “Learn to pray like the biblical figure of Job, protesting at God’s actions. We too, who are far less holy and patient than Job, know that in the end, at the end of this time of struggles , knowing that God will answer our prayers.”

 

Video available on Youtube: To be mindful and to pray