16 November 2025 - there will not be left a stone upon another

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

While some people were speaking about
how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings,
Jesus said, "All that you see here--
the days will come when there will not be left
a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down."

If we become too attached to the beauty of this world, a beauty which, while good, is still nevertheless only temporary, how will we respond when it eventually crumbles to dust and fades to nothing? Buildings may collapse, human institutions might fail, and even the apparent permanence of nature will eventually be revealed to be transient. If we place our eternal hope in temporary things we will be at extreme risk when those things inevitably eventually fail. Experiences like these make us all too ready to be deceived by false messiahs and their false promises. We will hear implausible candidates claiming "I am he", and we will want to follow them and believe them even though a part of us may know better. They seem to offer something immediate in which we can invest our hopes in lieu of the disappoint of whatever recent collapse brought us to despair. As our boat through this world of time spring leaks and to sink we become willing to turn to anyone who promises to patch us up, whether or not there is any real reason to think they can do so. 

When you hear of wars and insurrections,
do not be terrified; for such things must happen first,
but it will not immediately be the end."

We need a different strategy. In the face of terrors we must not be terrified (see Jeremiah 1:17). We must instead remember that such things are allowed in the divine plan. We must also remember that it is the divine drama unfolding that will dictate our destiny, not the fickle vicissitudes of chance and circumstance. If we believe that our story is fundamentally natural or political than circumstances might well seem to indicate the end of the world. But we are living for another world, a world without end. When we remember this we are able to keep our cool, not only when things around us are bad, but even when we ourselves are impacted by negative circumstances. We can face persecution without being rendered useless and ineffective by fear. In fact, in some way, when we remember whose story it is of which we are meant to be part, we become even more effective in times of trial, since such times lead to us "giving testimony".

Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand,
for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking
that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.

We don't need to calculate exactly what will lead to our giving testimony in order to be able to successfully do so when the time comes. Obviously we should strive to know Jesus and his teaching. But we need not predict exactly how circumstances will require us to speak. And in fact, the more rigidly we plan in advance, the less the Spirit will be free to move in the moment. It's is good to have the raw materials of knowledge handy, good to have familiarity with the Scriptures and the teachings of the Church, but precisely so that the Spirit himself can more easily call them to our minds in the moment they are needed. He can go further, when he desires, by giving us words of knowledge and words of wisdom that transcend anything we previously knew or could articulate. We should definitely try to be open to these. But we may also say that we shouldn't rely on them entirely. 

You will be hated by all because of my name,
but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.
By your perseverance you will secure your lives.

There will be many reasons we will want to give up along the way. Many things that were seemingly causes for hope will fail. It won't always be smooth sailing. We will long to see the Lord move in history, but instead see many imposters and false messiahs pretending to bring salvation, while only making things worse. But when our lives are situated in the worldview taught by Jesus we will not despair and we will not give up. We will then remember that he commanded "perseverance", rather than any kind of one time set it and forget it spirituality. It is clear he didn't promise to spare us from every storm we might encounter. But he did promise to be with us always, even in the storms. When we remember to listen, we will even then hear his still small voice speaking, giving us the guidance we need.

 The Dwelling Of God Is Among You