33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Sunday 13th November 2016)
Endurance will win you your lives – Luke 21:5-19
This Sunday’s Gospel is very real for us during these days. Over the last few months we have seen the devastation of the earthquakes in Italy, the destruction of the beautiful basilica of St. Benedict in Norcia. Each night our TVs are filled with scenes from Aleppo and Mosul. The world at presents seems a very uncertain place. Lots of the old certainties have been questioned.
We are called to live our faith in the midst of all that is happening. We are called to endure many trials and difficulties. The faith doesn’t remove us from the challenges of life as Pope Francis reminds us in his encyclical on faith: “Faith is not a light which scatters all our darkness, but a lamp which guides our steps in the night and suffices for the journey.” We now journey in the company of Jesus, confident of his loving presence and with his strong influence in our lives. We persevere knowing that we walk with Christ. As Pope Benedict reminded us so often “Only when we meet the living God in Christ do we know what life is”. His presence makes life worthwhile.
Fr. John Harris O.P.