This is our duty all year. As we wind down the liturgical year of the Church, and get ready to start again with the upcoming Advent. We give thanks to God Almighty for all He has given us, whether it is joy or sorrow. In all things, give thanks. And, be vigilant in prayer, especially to overcome our failures, so we can, after Confession, receive Him in Holy Communion in a more worthy fashion. He's always there for us, waiting.
In our epistle for today, St. Paul teaches us (Col. 9), to pray for our neighbor, and to thank God especially for the light of the true, only saving Faith. Let us endeavor to imitate St. Paul in his love and zeal for the salvation of souls, then we shall also one day partake of his glorious reward in heaven.
In our Gospel from Matthew, we will hear about the end of things. However, we will NOT despair, because we have the promises of Jesus Himself, that, if we are true to Him and His teachings, we can share eternal happiness with Him. Following is an explanation from , concerning this Gospel.
When you shall see the abomination of desolation. The abomination of desolation of which Daniel (IX. 27.) and Christ here speak, is the desecration of the temple and the city of Jerusalem by the rebellious Jews by perpetrating the most abominable vices, injustices and robberies, &c., but principally by the pagan Romans by putting up their idols. This destruction which was accomplished in the most fearful manner about forty years after the death of Christ, was foretold by Him according to the testimony of St. Luke. (XXI. 20.) At the same time He speaks of the end of the world and of His coming to judgment, of which the desolation of Jerusalem was a figure.
Pray that your flight be not in the winter or on the Sabbath. Because, as St. Jerome says, ...'the severe cold which reigns in the deserts and mountains would prevent the people from going thither to seek security, and because it was forbidden by the law for the Jews to travel on the Sabbath.'
There shall rise false Christs and false prophets. According to the testimony of the Jewish historian Josephus, who was an eyewitness of the destruction of Jerusalem, Eleazar, John, Simon, &c., were such 'false' prophets who under the pretense of helping the Jews, brought them into still greater misfortunes; before the end of the world it will be Antichrist with his followers, whom St. Paul calls the man of sin and the son of perdition, (II Thess. II. 3.) on account of his diabolical malice and cruelty. He will rise up, sit in the temple, proclaim himself God, and kill all who will not recognize him as such. His splendor, his promises and his false miracles will be such that even the holy and just will be in danger of being seduced, but for their sake God will shorten these days of persecution.
Wheresoever the body shall be, there shall the eagles also be gathered together. That is, where the wicked are, who have aimed at spiritual corruption, there punishment will overtake and destroy them.
This generation shall not pass till all these things be done. By these words Christ defines the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, and says that many of His hearers would live to see it, which also happened. But when the end of the world will come, He says, not even the angels in heaven know. (Matt. XXIV. 36.) Let us endeavor to be always ready by leading a holy life, for the coming of the divine Judge, and meditate often on the words of our divine Lord: Heaven and earth shall pass, but my words shall not pass.
One of the most significant signs of the end of the world will be the so-called abomination of desolation. Jesus himself says this in Matthew 24:15. He says that Prophet Daniel predicted the abomination of desolation and he adds, "He that readeth, let him understand."
This means that some of us must read Prophet Daniel, and also books I and 2 of the Maccabees at the end of the Old Testament because these books also speak of the abomination actually happening, for example in I Maccabees VI:VII.
There we read that the conquering faithful Jewish army had re-taken Jerusalem, and they had "thrown down the abomination from the altar" in the temple. These words indicate the abomination was some kind of pagan statue that the pagans and the pagan-minded, unfaithful Jews had set up on the holy Temple altar.
It also suggests what other Bible evidence shows, that the abomination or evil sacrilegious thing is the abolition, the doing away with, of the daily, Holy Sacrifice on the Temple altar, and the substitution of a false-god statue with some false sacrifice or worship, on the holy altar. (To me this seems to infer all of the not-so-good things that happen in our churches today. Not very many, including some priests, believe in the Real Presence of Jesus Christ Himself in the tabernacle. Hardly anyone gives thanks to Him and for Him. And, I think that 'Communion in the Hand' is NOT a good idea. Even Mother Teresa thought it 'made her the saddest to see it', in an interview with Fr. Rutler. John Paul II even mentioned it: "There is an apostolic letter on the existence of a special valid permission for this [Communion in the hand]. But I tell you that I am not in favor of this practice, nor do I recommend it." If he thought this way, why didn't he condemn it with another Apostolic letter? Nobody has bothered to wash their hands before receiving Him into their un-consecrated fingers. And, the Hosts are dealt out like a deck of cards. The words when receiving are not true to Him and His Presence. 'body of Christ' is more like an expedient thing, rather than the adoring that should be present. (It should be, "This IS the Body of Christ" as well as the Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ Himself. For over 50 years this has NOT been taught!)
The prayer I have to the right>>>>>>>> from the angel at Fatima sums it up pretty well. It was, most assuredly, told to the children for our times.)
These would be most grave mortal sins against the First Commandment, which says, "I am the Lord, thy God; thou shalt not have strange gods before me." In I Maccabees, we read that the cruel pagan King Antiochus invaded Jerusalem, entered the holy Temple, stole or destroyed all the holy vessels for worship, and forbade the Jews to offer their usual sacrifices, holocausts and atonements. He also killed many of the Jews. So we read in I Mac 1:30-60.
Will we lose this also?
Let us end with the prayer from the Postcommunion for this Sunday:
Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord that whatsoever is faulty in our souls may be cured by the virtue of the mysteries we have received.
Come, Lord Jesus. Help us prepare and be ready.
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