Weekly Catholic Bible Study

Weeks 701-710
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Oratory of Divine Love Reflection 703: The End of All Things : A Reflection on the Gospel of Mark (Mark 13 : 24-32)

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24 “But in those days after that tribulation the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

 

26 And then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in the clouds’ with great power and glory, 27and then he will send out the angels and gather [his] elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky.

 

28 “Learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 In the same way, when you see these things happening, know that he is near, at the gates.

 

30 Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

 

32“But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

 

     “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away”. As the liturgical year draws to a close, the liturgy invites us to reflect on the things that pass away and the things that remain in our lives. It is not exactly a pleasant topic: reflecting on the end of everything. On the end of the things we love, the people we love, and ultimately on our own end.

 

    Many years ago, when I visited a hospital and witnessed the suffering of a child with a severe and rare illness, I said to myself: I want to be prepared for my end, and I want God to prepare me for the end of those I love. I then began to pray that God would prepare me for the end of my parents’ lives. They were both in good health at the time, but I began to pray daily for this grace: that God would prepare me for the end of the lives of my parents whom I loved so much.

 

    Seven years later, my father’s health began to decline. It did not seem serious at first – he was in no pain, but we could not find out what was wrong with him. But when the diagnosis came, it was a shock: he had gallbladder cancer, which was already metastatic, widely spread in his liver and pancreas. A few days later, he went to the ICU. At that moment, my superior allowed me to visit him. And I said to myself and then to my mother and sisters: “This is dad’s Easter. And we must prepare ourselves for it. It is the most important moment of his life. And we are going to live it as the disciples of Christ that we are.” I gave the anointing of the sick and absolution to my unconscious father, and at home, I celebrated Mass every day on this intention. Every time I visited him in the hospital, I always told him how much we all loved him, how important he was to us, but that he should go in peace. That was his end, and our end would come later, not so long after his. Finally, I asked my mom to reconcile with my father, giving him her forgiveness, asking for his forgiveness, and expressing her love for him. He passed away twelve hours later. I celebrated the funeral Mass as if it were Easter.

 

    Of course, none of this was easy. But I learned a lot from my dad’s Easter. I learned that even heaven and earth will pass away, that my dad and I myself will pass away, but that the love we cherish for those we love never passes away – because this love is the very essence of Christ’s words, and of the person of God himself: God is love.

 

    While I celebrated my dad’s funeral Mass, I felt God saying to me: “Now you go and love every human being with the love you had for your father.” I don’t always succeed, but I never forget this lesson. Love is only love when it is incarnated. God is only a meaningful God when He becomes incarnate in our lives and saves us from our chaos. And He saves us when He loves us and He becomes incarnate in us when we love others as He loves us. It’s not easy, but that’s the meaning of life.

 

    Jesus compares our life to that of the fig tree, which gives signs that the end is approaching. God gives us many signs. It’s up to us to accept them or not. When Jesus speaks of the end, he is not so much speaking of the end of life and time, but he is speaking about the end, the purpose, the goal of our lives: which is to love as God loves us, even to the point of sacrificing our lives, which is what Jesus did once and for all on Calvary and which we are celebrating now, in this Mass. “Heaven and earth will pass away,” our lives will pass away, all those we love will pass away. “But my words” and the love behind them “will not pass away.” May God fill our hearts with much love, with a love that never passes away and that will never end – even after the end of times.

 

Fr. Gabriel Vecchi

 

Prayer: “O God, great and omnipotent judge of the living and the dead, we are to appear before you after this short life to render an account of our works. Give us the grace to prepare for our last hour by a devout and holy life, and protect us against a sudden and unprovided death. Let us remember our frailty and mortality, that we may always live in the ways of your commandments. Teach us to "watch and pray" (Lk 21:36), that when your summons comes for our departure from this world, we may go forth to meet you, experience a merciful judgment, and rejoice in everlasting happiness. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.”

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Quote from a Saint: “Live so as not to fear death. For those who live well in the world, death is not frightening but sweet and precious.” – St. Rose of Viterbo

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Questions for reflection:

1. Do you think that it is important to start preparing spiritually for the end of the world and your earthly life?

2. Do you pray to be prepared for the death of your loved ones? How does this concept make you feel? Do you think that doing this on a regular basis could help you to prepare for your own or your loved one’s death?

3. Have you thought of the time of someone’s passing as being their Easter? Do you agree that the time just before someone’s death is the most important moment of their life?

4. “And we are going to live it as the disciples of Christ that we are.” How can you, as a person accompanying someone at the time of their death, live as a disciple of Christ? What does that look like?

5. Have you ever lost anyone close to you? After reading this homily do you think these concepts could have helped you get through that time of loss?

6. Have you started to prepare for your own death? What do those preparations look like? What benefits does such preparation give you and your family?

7. Do you love the people around you with the same love you have for your family members? Why is important to do so?

8. How do your actions convey God’s love out into the world? Do you consider this to be the meaning of life?

--Benjamin & Kristen Rinaldo, CfP

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Oratory of Divine Love Reflection 702: Our Family in Heaven : A Reflection on the Book of the Prophet Isaiah and the Gospel of John (Isaiah 61 : 9-11 & John 15 : 1-8)

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​[Isaiah]

Their descendants shall be known among the nations, and their offspring in the midst of the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are a people whom the LORD has blessed.

 

I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.

 

[John]

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already made clean by the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.

 

I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples.

 

 

The words of God through the prophet Isaiah most fittingly describe the saints - canonized or not - of the huge Benedictine Family, centuries old. Our own brothers beginning with Brother Denis and recently ending with Brother Walter are crowned, clothed with a robe of salvation, wrapped in a mantle of justice, embraced in the eternal love of God. They knew that God’s hand was upon them so they sought, they found, they lived Benedictine life and now repose in that love forever, never ending and always new. These monks and nuns are the bridegrooms, the brides in Jesus, the Bridegroom whom they see face to face.

 

The reading from Isaiah and the Gospel of John speak of growth, of fruitfulness, the very reality that must mark our vowed lives as it did our brothers and sisters now assumed into eternal life. Our growth, our fruitfulness is never too haphazard, or of our own choosing. The Sacred Word could not be any clearer: “The fruit of the Spirit is charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5: 22ff)

 

These monks and nuns entered into eternal glory not yet perfect, not without faults or weaknesses but in the moment of death all were consumed in God’s love and all were transformed completely into an eternal communion with the Most Holy Trinity. The anointing with grace begun in this life was complete, total, fulfilled beyond all imagination, beyond all joy.

 

Someone made this comment: “Even God is not successful in bringing forth all the plants but He is faithful to the process.” Being aware of our own limits, our inadequacies, we pray, in our efforts to grow in grace, to be faithful to this sacred process, to live each day with the strength of God’s grace, with the mindfulness of His presence, with renewed resolve.  Here and now we are surrounded by witnesses beyond number, may their presence be our encouragement, our inspiration and our peace.

 

Fr. John Denburger

 

Prayer: “Lord, I believe: I wish to believe in Thee. Lord, let my faith be full and unreserved, and let it penetrate my thought, my way of judging Divine things and human things. Lord, let my faith be joyful and give peace and gladness to my spirit, and dispose it for prayer with God and conversation with men, so that the inner bliss of its fortunate possession may shine forth in sacred and secular conversation. Lord, let my faith be humble and not presume to be based on the experience of my thought and of my feeling; but let it surrender to the testimony of the Holy Spirit, and not have any better guarantee than in docility to Tradition and to the authority of the magisterium of the Holy Church. Amen.”

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Quote from a Saint “If we wish to make any progress in the service of God we must begin every day of our life with new eagerness.”– St. Charles Borromeo

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Questions for reflection:

1. How do you remember, honor, and pray for those in your family and community that have gone before you?

2. Being a member of a religious order, either as a professed or a lay member, makes you part of a wider religious family that spreads across the church militant, suffering and triumphant. Are you or have you considered membership in an order? Do you think that would help you in your quest for Heaven?

3. Have you given much consideration as to how you are growing in faith? Have you ever considered that you should be growing in your faith and producing fruit?

4. What do you imagine that it will be like to be “consumed in God’s love” at the time of your death?

5. Are you “faithful to this sacred process”? Are you mindful of God’s presence in your everyday life?

6. When you are at Mass you are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses. When you attend Mass do you meditate on this fact? How does this change the way you look at Mass? Does their presence help you to feel supported and encouraged?

7. Are you concerned with your growth in grace? Have you ever prayed to grow in grace?

--Benjamin & Kristen Rinaldo, CfP