A reading of the holy Gospel according to LK 17:26-37
Jesus said to his disciples:“As it was in the days of Noah,so it will be in the days of the Son of Man;they were eating and drinking,marrying and giving in marriage up to the daythat Noah entered the ark,and the flood came and destroyed them all.Similarly, as it was in the days of Lot:they were eating, drinking, buying,selling, planting, building;on the day when Lot left Sodom,fire and brimstone rained from the sky to destroy them all.So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed.On that day, someone who is on the housetopand whose belongings are in the housemust not go down to get them,and likewise one in the fieldmust not return to what was left behind.Remember the wife of Lot.Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it,but whoever loses it will save it.I tell you, on that night there will be two people in one bed;one will be taken, the other left.And there will be two women grinding meal together;one will be taken, the other left.” They said to him in reply, “Where, Lord?”He said to them, “Where the body is,there also the vultures will gather.”
REFLECTION
one will be taken, the other left
After you get to a certain age, Medicare and all the eye and dental plans that are available for a premium start arriving at the house via the postal service for enrollment.
Funeral homes invite you for a dinner seminar so as to have you consider their services when you are the "one taken". They talk about the dignity of life, convenience for family members for you to pick out the casket, the food for the reception, the picture frame by the casket, and of course, the plot in the cemetery.
The Last Will and Testament is necessary so that you can decide what happens with your belongings rather than the state deciding for you.
Death will happen to all of us. We can sign all the proper contracts and start preparing for the inevitable.
But....
Are we really prepared for that day? Some go on retreats, increase their prayer life, read about Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell: Meditation on the Four Last Things by St Alphonsus Liguori, and spiritually start exercising our heart, mind and will to be closer to God.
How have we responded to God's gracious mercies and gifts? We will each have to give an account to Jesus how we have accepted or rejected His Word and His gifts. God is so good: He freely gives us what we need to embrace His holy will. We are warned over and over again to be prepared because Jesus wishes no one to be lost.
Start now preparing for Judgement Day. Our PAPA website papamio.org has many prayers, reflections, recordings of Bible study and teachings by our spiritual advisor, Father Michael to help us in our growth and our journey.
Today's saint is St Martin of Tours. He was one of the first nonmartyrs to be publicly venerated as a saint. He was born around 316 in modern day Hungary. His family later moved to Italy. He fought paganism though his parents were pagan. He entered the army at the age of 15.
St Martin lived a humble and upright life in the military, giving away much of his pay to the poor. A life changing event for him was when he encountered a man freezing without warm clothing near a gate at the city of Amiens in Gaul. He cut his own cloak into two halves with his sword, giving one half to the freezing beggar. That night in a dream, he saw Jesus, wearing the half cloak he had given to the poor man. Jesus said, " Martin, a catechumen, has clothed me with this garment."
He was baptized at the age of 18 and remained in the army for two years more. Eventually he converted his mother but not his father.
He established a French monastery near Poitiers. The land was given to him by Bishop Hilary of Poitiers. He lived an austere life, driving out pagan practices, healing people and raising two people from the dead. His holiness led him to be appointed Bishop of Tours.
Heretics were being put to death by the civil authorities in Gaul. St Martin along with the Pope and St Ambrose of Milan opposed this. He helped many people with their moral, intellectual and spiritual problems.
Close to his death in 397, he passed his last nights in prayer in the presence of God. He told his followers, "Allow me, my brethren, to look rather towards heaven than upon the earth, that my soul may be directed to take its flight to the Lord to whom it is going."
He is the patron of beggars, soldiers and police officers. .
Comments