1st Sunday of Advent - Rapture, Preparing for Christmas

 

Advent is a time to prepare for the celebration of the Birth of Jesus and to prepare for His 2nd Coming.

The Gospel today Jesus said, "Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left." 

Many Protestants believe the "taken" are the faithful who are raptured away, and the unfortunate sinners are "left behind". They also think the rapture will be secret and before the great persecution, so that only the elect will not the great persecution caused by the anti-Christ.

But is their really such a thing as a rapture, when one will be taken and another left behind? Will the rapture be in secret? Will it occur before the great tribulation or at the moment of the Second Coming of Jesus?

Catholics believe no one is exempt from the great persecution. No one is exempt from suffering from the anti-Christ. We believe Jesus does not come twice, but once. His coming will not be in secret, but rather for everyone to see. And His 2nd Coming will coincide with the General Judgment. Catholics believe when Our Divine Lord comes on the clouds of heaven, everyone will be caught up to meet Him in the air and we will all receive our recompense whether good or bad as to the good deeds we did or failed to do. We will all get a new resurrected body. All in heaven and in hell will get a new resurrected body. Those in hell their resurrected body will add to their torment, but those in heaven, it will add to their glory.

  St. Cyril of Jerusalem explains the meaning of "one will be taken and the other left." He said, “…Those who are taken"….confess their good deeds before the Father in heaven, and their "works follow them" while those who are "left" are those who are passed over because, despite their great titles or impressive speech, "had no charity" (did no charitable deeds) and thus have no reward from God.”  So we will be judged by our deeds of mercy. The truth is-- the Protestant rapture theory is a false doctrine. The idea never existed until the 1800’s when John Nelson Darby, a member of the Plymouth Brethren Congregation, began to heavily promote his idea of a secret rapture.

How are we to prepare for the coming of Jesus and the celebration of His birth at Christmas? Here are some examples.

Accept the cross-- First pray that God will take it away, and at the same time accept it, out of love for Jesus. We can offer up the pain and suffering of our cross for others. Whether it's illness, or a difficult job situation, or a problem that never seems to go away, ask the Lord to help you to endure it. We can give Jesus the gift of accepting our suffering.

Prayer. Daily make time to pray. You can come to pray during Eucharistic Adoration or before Jesus in the tabernacle. Come as a family or make shorts visits. We can offer our Holy Hour for specific people.

Decide to daily pray the Rosary, especially as a family. If you already pray one Rosary, pray 2 or 3 rosaries a day.

You can pray at home together as a family, by each person mentioning one particular intention or something you are thankful for, and then pray the Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be. We can give Jesus the gift of family prayer or spending time with Him in prayer.

Read a short paragraph from the Bible and meditate on it. Do some spiritual reading such as read the Catechism of the Catholic Church or read lives of the saints. We can give Jesus the gift of learning more about Our Lord and His Church.

Visit and Call. Go to visit someone in a nursing home, or someone who is home bound. Call a family member or friend whom you haven’t talked to in a long time.

Forgive. Perhaps there is someone you haven’t talked to for a long time because you are holding a grudge. Give Jesus the gift of forgiving someone who hurt you.

Attend Mass during the week. In addition to Sunday Mass, come to a weekday Mass and give Jesus the gift of allowing Him to come into your heart in Holy Communion.

Stop Wasting Time on the Computer. Instead of Facebook, call or speak to others in person.

Help a Neighbor. Rake leaves, remove snow or do a good deed for others. Give an anonymous donation or a food basket to a needy family.

Confession. There are most likely some who haven’t been to confession for a long time. How beautiful will your gift be to give Jesus, the gift of a truly repentant heart. Resolve to confess monthly, by giving Jesus the gift of overcoming your fear of confession and to regularly confess our venial sins.

Give Jesus the daily practice of a particular virtue or try to avoid a particular sin. We can practice patience, or try not to gossip, or to try to practice humility. One can have a negative attitude, put others down and complain about everything. Maybe try to have a grateful heart and positive attitude and give heartfelt compliments to others.

Young husbands and wives, you can give Jesus, the gift of being open to life, by giving up contraception and making the commitment to take Natural Family Planning Classes.

Parents once a week spend time with your children, playing board games or cards.

Children, be obedient to your parents, and do your homework without being told. We can give Jesus the gift of loving our family more and spending more time with our family.

Create a group to go Christmas Caroling to the homes of the elderly. By doing these things, you will give Jesus the gift of making Him the reason for the season.

Finally, you can make Advent like a little Lent, make sacrifices and do penance. Deny yourself chocolate, or candy or your favorite food. And each time you offer a sacrifice, or a mortification, place a piece of straw in the manger, so that when Christmas comes, Jesus will have a comfortable bed to lay His head.

What will you give the baby Jesus for Christmas? How will you spend your Advent? How will you prepare for Christmas and the 2nd coming of Jesus? Do as St. Cyril said which was to do deeds of charity and acts of mercy and you will be very well prepared. Let us ask the Virgin Mary to enter into mystery of Her preparation for the birth of Jesus and Our Lord’s second coming.

Christ the King - Martyrs

                       

This weekend is the 100th anniversary of the establishment of Solemnity of Christ the King. In 1925, Pope Pius XI introduced the feast in response to the rise of secularism, atheism, fascist dictators and political turmoil in the early 20th century. The abuse of power is what led to its introduction—using power in the opposite way that Jesus used His power.

For example, during the Mexico revolution, from 1910 to 1920, the government wanted to extinguish the influence of the Catholic Church throughout the country. They started executing priests, seizing the Catholic Church's property, and closing religious schools and convents, in accordance with anti-clerical laws that were written into the Mexican Constitution. People from many of the central and western states in Mexico rebelled against the government in defense of the Catholic Church.

Fr. Miguel Pro, a priest, and Jose Sanchez, a 14 year old boy, were martyred both bearing witness to Christ the King.

Fr. Miguel Pro had a great love for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and had great devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe. Despite his illness and the fierce persecution from the government, which forbid all worship, he continued to minister to the faithful with great courage and zeal. He disguised himself as a layman, so he could administer the sacraments secretly. By wearing regular clothes, he was able to go about the city giving 1,300 Holy Communion in a single day. Despite the danger of getting caught by police, he continued to administer the sacraments and was arrested several times.

In 1927, a bomb exploded, aimed at killing the president. Although Fr. Miguel had nothing to do with it, he blamed for it and was arrested. He had no trial, but was condemned to death. Just before his death, as he stood before a firing squad, with arms outstretched, his last words were, “Vivo Christo Rey”, “Long live Christ the King”.

St. Jose Luis Sánchez del Río was born in 1913 in Mexico. Jose loved his faith and grew up with a strong devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe. He was 12-years-old when the Cristero War began in Mexico and was allowed to become the flag-bearer for the troop.

On January 25, 1928, Jose was captured by the government troops and imprisoned in the sacristy of the local church. During his captivity, Jose was ordered to renounce his faith in Christ. Even under the threat of death, he refused. He was forced to watch the hanging of another Cristero. Instead of breaking his resolve, Jose encouraged the man, telling him they would meet again soon in Heaven.

During his time in captivity, he prayed the rosary daily and wrote a letter to his mother. He told her he was ready to fulfill the will of God.

On February 10, 1928, after realizing they would not break Jose's faith, the government troops cut the bottom of his feet and forced him to walk around the town toward the cemetery. As he walked in great pain he recited the rosary, prayed for his enemies, and sang songs to Our Lady of Guadalupe.

They told him that if he shouted, "Death to Christ the King," they would spare his life. Instead, Jose shouted, "I will never give in. Viva Cristo Rey y Santa Maria de Guadalupe! (Long Live Christ the King and Holy Mary of Guadalupe!)."

They transferred Jose to a building close to where he was being held and told his family that he would be shot. One of his aunts brought him Holy Communion. At the age of 14, Jose was shot and died as a martyr. St. José Luis Sánchez del Río was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI in 2005 and Pope Francis canonized him on October 16, 2016.

Both martyrs proclaimed Jesus Christ the King. But Our Lord was not a worldly king. He was not a military leader. Rather, Jesus is the King of heaven and earth, but He was not given a royal cloak, but mocked when given a scarlet military cloak. He was not crowned with a golden crown, but was crowned with a crown of thorns. He was not given a royal scepter, but a reed was placed in His hands. Rather than bowing out of reverence, the soldiers bowed to their knees mocking Jesus, saying “All Hail, King of the Jews”. While Jesus was on the Cross, the soldiers said, “If you are King of the Jews, save yourself.” As King, He did not issue any decrees, but a decree was nailed above His head, which read, “This is Jesus, King of the Jews”.

Since Our Lord's Kingship is exercised through service, by laying down His life for us out of love, then it stands to reason we allow Jesus to rule over us serving His kingdom by doing God’s will in our life. The feast was established as a sign against all those who at that time seeking to absolutize their own political ideologies, and the Church boldly insists that no earthly power, no particular political system, or military dictatorship is ever absolute. Rather, only God is eternal and only the Kingdom of God is absolute.

Every family should place Christ the King as their center of their lives. We do this first and foremost by attending Mass together as a family. In homes families pray before meals and more and more families are praying the Rosary together. When a family prays the Rosary together, wonderful and beautiful things will happen. There is so much pain, suffering, hurt feelings and unforgiveness in families and individuals. However, through the family Rosary, God through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, will help families to love, to forgive each other and practice sacrifice and virtue.

We need to take Christ wherever we go. A number of restaurants and businesses in Lyons, Hutchinson, Newton, and Wichita display a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe or a Crucifix and high schools throughout the US are starting Christian organizations at their schools. By doing these things proclaiming Christ the King.

May God's kingdom on earth come as it is heaven, through Jesus Christ the King and Mary, the Queen of heaven and earth.

33rd Sunday - 10 Signs Before Second Coming of Jesus

 

Every year just before Advent and sometimes in the first weeks of Advent the Church focuses on the Second Coming of Jesus. The purpose of Advent is to prepare for the celebration of the Birth of Jesus and prepare for the Second Coming.

The Catholic Encyclopedia, not Catechism of the Catholic Church, gives us 9 Signs that will precede the 2^nd Coming of Jesus. I will add an additional sign that comes from the Catechism.

In the Gospel today, Jesus gives three of the 10 signs. He says there will be 1. wars, 2. earthquakes, plagues and famines and 3 a great persecution. The signs I will list are in no particular order.

1. Extraordinary Perturbations of Nature - Perturbations means nature is perturbed and acts violently. Jesus said, “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be pestilences and famines and earthquakes in places. There will be awesome sights and mighty sings will come from the sky.”(Matt. 24:6-7)

2. General Preaching of the Christian Religion Throughout the Earth. "And this Gospel of the kingdom, shall be preached in the whole world, for a testimony to all nations, and then shall the consummation come." (Matthew 24:14) Saint Pope John Paul II said the Gospel has been preached to all the world.

3. Great Apostasy – Apostasy is the abandonment of the faith. St. Paul speaks about apostasy in the Thessalonians (2 Thessalonians 2:3), “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first. And that man of sin be revealed. The son of perdition.” The “falling away” means falling away from the faith (apostasy). Today many have fallen away from the faith, including leaders of the Church. Cardinal Burke said, ‘No matter what we are asked to suffer, we must remain with Him (Jesus), even if those in the highest positions of authority in the Church should abandon Him, should commit the grievous crime of apostasy from the Catholic faith..”

4. Great Persecution. The Church will enter the glory of the kingdom only through this final Passover (pass from death to new life), when she will follow her Lord in His death and Resurrection. Before Christ's 2nd coming the Church must pass through a final trial. During the great persecution many will suffer and be martyred for the faith. The book of Revelation speaks about how Christians will not be able to buy or sell food, “And the second beast required all people small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark—the name of the beast or the number of its name.” I’m going to give you an idea that is popular today with regard what could happen. We could surmise due to a world wide economic collapse, there would be one world monetary system. No longer individual countries with their own money. Instead, through communism, a card or a microchip would given to every person to purchase food or obtain healthcare, but to obtain it, one must deny their faith joining one world religion, that denies Jesus.

5. Reign of the Antichrist – In (2 Thessalonians 2:3) “The man of sin" is the Antichrist. He will rise against Christ to seduce the nations. “From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days.” (Daniel 12:11) The “daily sacrifice” means the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass will be abolished.

The Antichrist will work false miracles: physically heal, change the weather, raise a person from the dead. But they will be illusions and done by human or natural means, but will fool many.

The Antichrist will create a religious deception offering an apparent solution to their problems at the price of denying their faith (apostasy) and cause the great persecution against Christians.

6. Return of Enoch and Elijah. Fathers of the Church believed these two men, who never died, are reserved for the last times to be precursors of the Second Coming. Saint Mechtilda of Hackeborn (d. 1298) said, “Enoch and Elijah will expose the devilish trickery of the Antichrist to the people. As a consequence he will put them to death. For three and one-half days their bodies will be exposed to insults and the followers of Antichrist will presume that all danger is now past, but suddenly the bodies of the two prophets will move, rise and gaze on the crowd and begin to praise God. A great earthquake, similar to that at Christ's resurrection, will take place: Jerusalem will be partially destroyed and thousands killed. Then a voice from heaven will call out "Ascend," whereupon the prophets will ascend into heaven, resulting in the conversion of many. The Antichrist will reign thirty days after their ascension."

7. The Conversion of the Jews. Saint Paul said, "For I would not have you ignorant, brethren, of this mystery, . . . that blindness in part has happened in Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles should come in. And so all Israel should be saved…” (Romans 11:25-26) Jews will follow the Antichrist thinking he is the messiah, but later discover Jesus in the true Messiah and so convert to Christianity.

8. Universal Conflagration. Saint Peter speaks about Conflagration (a catastrophic fire on the earth). “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a mighty roar and the elements will be dissolved by fire, and the earth and everything done on it will be found out.” (2 Peter 3:10) Conflagration is a fire that renews creation and does not destroy it.

9. Son of Man Appearing in the Heavens. “And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming upon the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” (Matthew 24:30) In the sky appears the Cross our Savior died or a wonderful cross of light. Saint Faustina Kowalska (d.1938) said, “All light in the heavens will be extinguished, and there will be great darkness over the whole earth. Then the sign of the Cross will be seen in the sky, and from the openings where the hands and the feet of the Savior were nailed will come forth great lights which will light up the earth for a period of time.”

10. Trumpet of Resurrection. St. Paul said, “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.”(Thessalonians 4:16) The living and dead will receive their resurrected bodies, including those in heaven and in hell. When all receive their resurrected body, then will come, the Last Judgment, when the sins of everyone in the world will be revealed for all to see.

Jesus said, “And then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in the clouds' with great power and glory, and 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.” (Mark 13:26-27).

Will the 2^nd Coming happen in our lifetime? Nobody knows the day nor the hour, but Signs help us to be ready. Jesus told St. Faustina the Divine Mercy devotion was to prepare for His Second Coming. He said, “You will prepare the world for My final coming”. (Diary 429) “Speak to the world about My mercy... It is a sign for the end times.”

In every age, we can believe Jesus is coming in our time. Saints have done so too, especially St. Vincent Ferrer, who is the apostle of the apocalypse. He preached on the 2^nd Coming of Jesus telling people Jesus is coming soon, which resulted in the conversion of thousands. Was he wrong? Yes, he was wrong in the fact Jesus’ Second Coming did not come, but he was right in the fact each would have their own personal judgment when they die.

To prepare for the Second Coming, the messages of Our Lady in Medjugorje will help us to be ready. We should daily repent of our sins, and go to Confession monthly, spend personal prayer time with Jesus, turn our life over to Him, live a life doing good for others, attend daily Mass, pray the Rosary everyday, fast on Wednesday and Friday, daily read a short paragraph from the bible, spend time every week in Eucharistic Adoration, and be ready to suffer for our faith, even to the point of dying for it.

If we have Jesus, we have nothing to fear. However, we should fear sins, because only sins can keep us from being with Jesus forever in heaven.

May the Virgin Mary, Mediatrix of All Grace, Co-redemptrix and Queen of peace watch over all our families and keep us close to Jesus Her Son, so that we may be ready for whatever may happen in the future and live each day as though it was our last.

Dedication of St. John Lateran, Nov 9th

 

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Dedication of St. John Lateran Basilica, which is the cathedral of Rome. There is an inscription on the outside of the basilica, that says, “The holy church of the Lateran, mother and head of all the churches of the city and of the world.”

The Lateran family donated the land to build the church. After the church was constructed by the emperor Constantine and given to pope Sylvester I, it was consecrated in 324. The pope lived at the Lateran palace for about 1000 yrs, before moving to St. Peter’s Basilica. The church also possesses the relics of the heads of Peter and Paul and the holy table our Lord used at the Last Supper.

Many think that St. Peter’s Basilica is the Cathedral of Rome, but it’s not. It’s St. John Lateran and has the bishop of Rome’s chair called the cathedra.

We celebrate the dedication of the physical structure of the Lateran Basilica, not only because because it is the first papal residence, not only because the pope resided there for 1000 yrs., not only because its the mother of all Christian churches, not only because its the Cathedral of Rome because but most importantly, because of who is in the Church. Our Lord Jesus Christ truly present in the Eucharist now resides in the Lateran Basilica and every Catholic church in the world.

In the second reading today, St. Paul said, “Do you not know you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body.”

Today’s feast is a reminder that our body, like that of a church, is a temple, which belongs to God. Our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and because of that we should treat our body with respect. It does not belong to us, it belongs to the Lord. So when we purposely harm our body, we are harming God’s temple.

Surgeries such as face lifts, or if a man or woman gets sterilized, to not have children is harmful to the body. Hysterectomies, although they cause sterilization, are not sinful, because the purpose of getting a hysterectomy due to a medical problem.

Excessive piercing is not treating our body with respect. Overeating and eating excessive sweets can cause obesity and diabetes. If we don’t take care of our health, we are not treating the body as a temple of the Holy Spirit. If we fail to take medicine, it can cause premature death. Due to vanity and a poor self-image one can exercise excessively to have a body that will draw attention to others. Some don’t exercise to remain healthy. Regular bathing keeps our body clean and healthy avoiding viruses, and bacteria.

Smoking harms our lungs (my father, my uncle George and my brother-in-law John, all died from lung cancer). Excessive drinking of alcohol can damage the liver, social problems, fractured families and the loss of one’s job.

Taking drugs like marijuana or meth are sinful because they impair judgment. Side effects of marijuana include: permanent brain difficulties such as the inability to control emotions, impaired memory and attention, reduced IQ, difficulty with problem-solving and decision-making, increased risk of psychosis, anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia, addiction, mood swings, paranoia and hallucinations and hormonal imbalances in women.

More important than physical care of the body is the care of the soul. Whereby we avoid sin, especially mortal sin.

What would your body be like if you bathed only twice a year or bathed only once a month? Pew! And so, what is your soul like, if you confess only once or twice a year.

Saints have a way of saying shocking yet honest things. Saint Padre Pio, known for his mystical experiences and stigmata, once encountered a man confessing lustful sins, describing the spiritual stench as “the smell of a rotting corpse.”

St. Catherine complained to the Pope that “in the Vatican (a place which should have been a paradise of heavenly virtues)-there was instead a stench of all the vices of Hell." The Pontiff was bewildered about the statement and how the Saint knew of such a condition, when she had been in Rome only a few days. St. Catherine responded, “to the honor of Almighty God I dare to say that I could smell the sins being committed in the Roman Court better when I was in Siena, where I was born, than the people who committed them and are still committing them today.”

Saint John Vianney, said “Confession is the soul's bath. Just, as even a clean glass needs to be washed occasionally.”

By coming to Mass today, we recognize our need to drive those things in our heart, which prevent the temple of our soul from truly being the Father’s house. We need to be like Jesus, and have holy zeal, to drive out the sheep, oxen, and money changers within our heart (which are our sins). Our soul must always be in the state of grace when we receive Holy Communion (meaning there can’t be a mortal sin on our soul) and if there is we should first go to Confession before receiving Holy Communion.

St. Padre Pio asked all his penitents to confess weekly. The Virgin Mary at Medjugorje said to confess monthly, attend daily Mass to receive Holy Communion, pray the Rosary daily, and read a short paragraph from the bible daily.

My friends, when we receive Jesus in Holy Communion, we become living tabernacles. And we need to be conscience of the indwelling of God in our soul, for by doing this, we will treat our body and our soul with respect.

Today, let us honor St. John Lateran Church, the mother church of all Christians, and with zeal strive to make our soul immaculate in imitation of Mary, the image and model of the Church. By confessing regularly and receiving Jesus in Holy Communion often, Our Lord will find within us a palace, a little tabernacle, and a home He can dwell.

St. Caesarius of Arles said, “My fellow Christians, let us celebrate with joy the Dedication of St. John Lateran church and also God’s temple in our heart. May we not destroy the living temples of God in ourselves by works of evil. Whenever we come to church, we must prepare our hearts to be as beautiful as we expect this church to be. Do you wish to find this basilica immaculately clean? Then do not soil your soul with the filth of sins. Do you wish this basilica to be full of light? God too wishes that your soul be not in darkness, but that the light of good works shine in us, so that he who dwells in the heavens will be glorified. Just as you enter this church building, so God wishes to enter into your soul, for he promised: I shall live in them, and I shall walk the corridors of their hearts.”