This day is a gift

This is truly a great day to be thankful, for we are blessed. It’s a great day to reflect on where we’ve been and where we hope to live for eternity. It’s just a great day to begin to really believe that God is in charge, and we must be prepared. And that we know from Scripture!

Scripture fulfills what the prophets have said, and our Lord many times in the Gospels speaks of His second coming. But he says that various signs would mark the beginning of this event. Signs such as famine, pestilence and natural disasters. False prophets who claim to be the Messiah will deceive and mislead the people.

Nations will wage war against each other. The Church will endure persecution. Worse yet, the faith of many will grow cold and many will abandon their faith, even betraying and hating one another, even those within the family.

And then, our Lord will come suddenly. "The Son of Man in His day will be like the lightening that flashes from one end of the sky to the other" (Lk 17:24).

St. Peter predicts, "The day of the Lord will come like a thief and on that day the heavens will vanish with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire and the earth and all its deeds will be made manifest" (2 Pt 3:10).

And Jesus himself tells us today, “I will come like the thief in the night”

It is on that very night we will meet our just Judge. Jesus said, "Those who have done right shall rise to life; the evildoers shall rise to be damned" (Jn 5:29).

He tells us, "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, escorted by all the angels of heaven, He will sit upon His royal throne and all the nations will be assembled before Him. Then He will separate them into two groups, as a shepherd separated sheep from goats" (Mt 25:31-32).

It is the moment of truth, the moment we should be prepared for, the moment that many will dread, and yet others will feel blessed that it has arrived. It is the very moment we account for our earthly conduct and the deepest secrets of our soul are revealed.

Those who have rejected the Lord in this life, who have shown no remorse for sin and have not seeked forgiveness, will have condemned themselves to hell for all eternity.

Those who do not take Scripture seriously, and live in a world that pleases themselves are the goats, are the weeds, who will not live in Paradise. 

The souls of the righteous, those who are blessed, will enter heavenly glory and enjoy the beatific vision and those who need purification will undergo it.

But, for today we are here, enjoying another beautiful gift from God. Yes, this day is a gift to be used wisely. How we choose to use this gift is up to us. For we have another God given gift, our free will to decide.

There is one way to use this gift of another day and that is to reflect on Jesus’ powerful words. “But know this, if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.” Make this a day you won’t regret.