[ Today's Readings ]
Children, it is the last hour; We are called to be ready. We don't know when Jesus will return or call us home. But we do know that it will come like a thief. How do we prepare for it? We prepare by being faithful to what we have heard from the beginning.
In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
We might be tempted to seek out novel and new solutions when the problems we face seem to be worse and worse. But the Word is unchanging. From the beginning he sees clear through to the end. All is taken into account in the plan he has for us. So we don't need something new. We are reminded of this "not because you do not know the truth but because you do". Rather than seeking something new we need to get more and more grounded in the truth we already know. This is how Saint John of the Cross puts it:
In giving us his Son, his only word (for he possesses no other), he spoke everything to us at once in this sole word—and he has no more to say ... Any person questioning God or desiring some vision or revelation would not only be guilty of foolish behavior but also of offending him, by not fixing his eyes entirely upon Christ and by living with the desire for some other novelty (II Ascent 22, 3&5)The Word already spoken is echoed over us at baptism. It gives the power to become children of God and makes us truly to be so, not by man's decision, but by God. This is now the deepest truth of our identities. This is where we must begin our efforts to be prepared. That is why John's warning starts with "Children" when he tells s it is the last hour. When we remember this reality and live from it we realize that we are not powerless before the Antichrists of the world.
you have the anointing that comes from the Holy One,
and you all have knowledge.
A challenge today would be to periodically say this to ourselves, out loud, about ourselves, and to keep saying it until we believe it. It is scripture. And if we are children of God is shouldn't really be unbelievable. Say, "I have the anointing that comes from the Holy One". And even, "I have all knowledge", especially at times when we are tempted to doubt and fear.
We are children of the light and of the day. We shine as lights of the world. This is the light that the darkness can neither comprehend nor overcome.
What came to be through him was life,
and this life was the light of the human race;
the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.
The end times may be coming, but the solution exists already. It is he who gives us grace in place of grace and makes us ready for whatever may come.
The LORD comes,
he comes to rule the earth.
He shall rule the world with justice
and the peoples with his constancy
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