Bishop Schlert’s Sunday Gospel Reflection:
As we enter the final weeks of the liturgical year, our readings tell of earth’s final days, reminding us of the realities of persecution and judgement. While we may wince at the first reading’s images of fire and stubble, we remember that “fearing God’s name,” does not mean we should be afraid of the Lord and His justice. On the contrary, the justice of God is a reason for our peace and hope—our confidence that God will make all things right.
The call to “fear” God’s name is an exhortation to take God seriously—to acknowledge with awe His presence and power. To have “fear of the Lord” is to humbly and wholeheartedly obey the Father who only commands the good. The first reading foretells the “sun of justice with its healing rays.” God’s justice is not vicious revenge—it is a healing and erasing of the sin which has broken the world. Only the proud and evildoers have real reason to fear God’s justice—so let us strive with our whole lives not to be among them.
When Jesus speaks of the end times in today’s Gospel, He tells of the persecution and hatred His followers can expect—even from their own families. Once again, we should not allow anxiety over these words to hinder our trust in God’s loving providence. Jesus says: “You will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives.” Yes, we may face bodily harm from this world, but our eternal lives are untouchable so long as we persevere in the faith. That pain can be our path to paradise, and we rejoice knowing that death and suffering never has the last word.
Join me in prayer today for the conversion of sinners. Ask God to soften the hearts of the proud—especially our own—that they may not be subject to punishment. All the while, let us thank the Lord for permitting us to know the truth, the goodness of His justice, and for His assurance that all will be well for those who follow Him.
Please be assured of my prayers for you before Our Lord, present in the Most Blessed Sacrament.
+ Bishop Schlert
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Gospel Reflection: Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time - AD Today
Lo, the day is coming, blazing like an oven, when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire, leaving them neither root nor branch, says the LORD of … Continue reading
