NOTE: Christ in Our Neighborhood is a parish-based program consisting of small groups that gather in the home weekly to discuss and pray through the upcoming Sunday Mass readings. Find out more at Christ in Our Neighborhood – The Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix (dphx.org)
This coming Sunday, we celebrate the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time. The question the Christ in Our Neighborhood reflection asks us is: What is your reaction to apocalyptic literature?
My reaction to apocalyptic literature depends on the author. I don’t care for books in which the author endeavors to connect current political and social trends to “hidden codes” in the Bible and then make frightening predictions about the future.
That’s because Jesus Himself in this Gospel passage from Mark tells us that while heaven and earth will pass away amid mighty signs such as stars falling from the sky, still, “of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father (Mark 13: 32, emphasis mine.)
In other words, we should be warned but not scared for God “did not give us a spirit of fear but rather of power, love, and self-control.”
We don’t need to be afraid. Instead, we need to be prepared — prepared to make an accounting of our lives because that day will come for each of us, either at the end of the world or the end of our earthly lives.
Watch the video of the weekly podcast segment featuring Christ in Our Neighborhood with Bishop Dolan by clicking HERE.
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