Dominica XXIV post Pentecosten

LESSON: This world is passing, we must be prepared

A number of years ago, around the turn of the millennium, when there was some trepidation about the future, and the Y2K scare was in full swing, a french newspaper in Quebec ran a cartoon, with a decidedly Canadian twist.

In the cartoon, was depicted a character you might see in movies or on television, a rather unkempt-looking man holding a sign predicting the end of the world. The sign read, “The world will end at Midnight, 12:30 in Newfoundland”.

Of course, none of us knows when the day or the hour will come when we will either be called to stand before the Judgement Seat of Christ individually at our own Particular Judgement, or when God will bring this world to an end and all of humanity will stand before God in the General Judgement.

What we do know however, is that this world will come to an end. All the things of this world will pass away. The dead will be raised, and the bodies of the just will be glorified and rejoice around the heavenly throne, while sinners will be cast into Hell to be tormented for all eternity.

In our Gospel today, Our Lord also reminds us that we will not have much warning when the last day comes, and so we must remain attentive and prepared at all times.

EXPLANATION: St. Vincent Ferrer, Angel of the Apocalypse

Six hundred years ago, in 1419, one of the great saints of the Middle ages came to the end of his earthly life. St. Vincent Ferrer was a Dominican priest renowned for his holiness, his powerful preaching, and the working of miracles.

As a Dominican priest, Vincent Ferrer preached in his own native language or Latin, yet wherever he went, everyone miraculously understood his every word as if he were preaching in their language. Sinners by the thousands, even the most hardened, repented. When the curious Moorish king sent for him, after St. Vincent gave just three sermons, 8,000 Moors converted and wanted to be baptized. Modest estimates put his conversion of Jews in city after city in Spain at 25,000.

At one major Church conference, Vincent’s preaching saw 14 of 16 rabbis converted on the spot. In Toledo as Jews became Christians they turned their synagogue into a church under the patronage of the Blessed Mother.

Like Jesus raising the widow of Naim’s son, through the power of Christ St. Vincent stopped a funeral procession and commanded the corpse to rise, restoring the dead man to life. In all, he restored 28 dead people back to life. Even after he died, two dead people placed on his tomb came back to life.

But beyond his holiness, and miraculous life, St. Vincent is best known for his preaching on the Final Judgement and the coming of the Antichrist, which earned him the title, in Pope Pius II’s Bull of Canonization, “the Angel of the Apocalypse”.

In his sermons and letters, St. Vincent gave several warning signs of the impending end of the world, just as Our Lord does in the Gospel. He explained that the sun being darkened does not refer to the Sun in the sky, but the obscuring of the Sun of Justice (Christ himself), “by the interposition of temporal goods and the wealth which Antichrist will bestow on the world”. Even the hearts of Christians will be turned to Materialism.

The moon refers to Our Holy Mother the Church, and in the last age, the Church will be “turned round to pride, pomp and vanity... mercy and liberality [will be] changed into simony [and] usury ... chastity becomes licentiousness, uncleanness and corruption; the brightness of virtue is changed into envy and malignity; temperance [will] become gluttony and voracity; patience [will give] place to anger, war and divisions among the peoples; diligence [will be] superseded by negligence.”

Finally, the stars falling from heaven, St. Vincent tells us, refers to the masters and doctors of theology, some of whom “will fall from heaven, that is from the heights of the Faith”. In other words, heresy will abound, and many will be lead astray from the true faith.

APPLICATION: Being among the sheep

Of course, understanding Our Lord’s warning, is insufficient, if we are not properly prepared. We need to be found among the flock of Christ’s faithful sheep when the Day of the Lord arrives, and St. Vincent gives us five virtues that distinguish the sheep from the goats, “simple innocence, ample mercy, steadfast patience, true obedience, and worthy penance.”

First, simple innocence is when a person “lives simply, nor hurts anyone in his heart, by hating, nor by defaming in speech, nor striking with hands, nor by stealing. Such a life “is called simple innocence, which makes a man a sheep of Christ.” Simply put, this means living an upright life, not seeking to harm anyone by our words or deeds.

Second, ample mercy means distributing your God-given temporal and spiritual gifts to the needy. St. Vincent reminds of Jesus telling the sheep, “For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink... naked, and you covered me”.

Third, steadfast patience takes different forms, such as when someone “suffering from injuries inflicted or spoken to him does not want to concern himself with taking revenge. Rather he loves everyone in general, and prays for them all.”

Fourth, true obedience means ordering all thoughts, words and actions according to God’s will, not ours, just as sheep are so obedient that a child with a staff “can easily guide 30 or 40 sheep.”

Fifth, worthy penance must be performed for sins we’ve committed. The Angel of the Apocalypse emphasizes no one is exempt from sin.

If we excel in these virtues, then we can have confidence that we will be found among the faithful sheep when the Day of the Lord comes. If we do not yet possess these virtues, then we need to be diligent in asking for the graces we need to attain them.

Today, when Our Lord comes to us in this Holy Eucharist, let us thank him for reminding us to be well prepared for the day of His coming, and let us ask him for the graces we need to be counted among the elect when he comes.