By Deacon Richard Hay
“Prepare purposefully…”
Did you notice how quickly things shifted after Halloween? The moment that Friday ended, holiday commercials took over, and stores jumped straight into Christmas mode. It’s like there’s no pause—no chance to catch our breath before Thanksgiving. Everything just rushes ahead to Christmas.
And don’t get me started on Black Friday – what used to be a single day is now multiple days and weeks in length.
Now, don’t get me wrong—Christmas is a time of joy. It’s when we celebrate the birth of Jesus, our Savior, and that’s something we should never lose sight of. But while the world races from one holiday to the next, the church invites us to slow down, to move through the seasons with intention.
In a few weeks we will begin the Season of Advent, which will lead us to Christmas but in a much more reflective preparation compared to the rush of the secular world.
Just like the rush of holiday related advertising throws us forward on the calendar whether we want to or not, if we rush through these final days and weeks of the church year, we will miss the beauty of what the church has giving us, which helps us to understand that we must prepare for the end times in a measured and thoughtful way.
Although the month of November is not a formal season of the church year like Advent or Lent, it is a time where we have the opportunity to prepare our hearts and souls for the coming of the Lord and our encounter with him when our life in this world ends – when it is time for us to stand in front of the throne of judgement and give an account of our lives.
One way November helps us prepare for that is focusing our prayers on our family and friends who have passed from this life to the next. We pray very particularly for their souls and for the souls in purgatory. In praying for them we acknowledge that one day we will experience that change in our lives as well.
Through Sacred Scripture, over the course of this past week in the daily readings, a beautiful tapestry has been weaved leading up to this weekend’s liturgy. We have heard in these readings about how we should prepare for the end of our lives on this earth and being ready for that encounter with Christ.
On Monday, we were reminded that if we perform the corporal works of mercy we will be blessed because we did it for them even though they had no means to repay us – that we will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous. If we act without fanfare, celebration or expectation of a return, then the Lord knows all that we do and will reward us.
On Tuesday we heard the parable of the man who was having a great dinner and those who were invited made excuses not to attend. He sent his servants out to invite the poor, crippled, blind, and lame instead and proclaimed that those who were invited before would not taste the dinner prepared for them because they did not accept the invitation. Don’t miss the opportunities to grow closer to the Lord.
On Wednesday Jesus said that anyone who comes to him without hating his father, mother, wife, children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life – cannot be his disciple. We heard that we must carry our own cross and renounce all our possessions to be his disciples. In other words, we must be willing to let go of our attachments in this world, such as relationships as we know them and our possessions, to be ready for the next life with God.
On Thursday we were reminded that we are the Lord’s whether we live or die and that each of us must eventually give an account of ourselves to God. We were also reminded that there will be rejoicing in heaven among the angels of God when the one who was lost repents and returns to the Lord. There is always hope in the Lord if we turn towards Him.
Then on Friday, we heard again the parable of the steward who squandered his master’s property. He was removed from his position but was praised for acting prudently in dealing with his master’s debtors to save himself in this life. It is a reminder that what we do in this world, must be done for the love of God and our neighbors – not for selfish reasons as that is contrary to what God asks of us in this life.
All of this leads us to this weekend’s Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome. A physical building that is the seat of the Bishop of Rome – our Holy Father Pope Leo XIV. Initially it might seem like an odd feast because it is for the dedication of a building. It is celebrated as a feast on our church calendar because it reminds us that the beauty of this world which we see in our churches and other places such as shrines and in nature, are a gift from God.
It is also a reminder that our bodies are temples of the Lord – that we are the church of God – built in His image. As St. Paul writes in our second reading, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for the temple of God, which you are, is holy.”
Keeping ourselves holy requires continuous effort just like physical buildings such as the Lateran Basilica in Rome and our church here in Fleming Island, require maintenance to remain sturdy, sound and beautiful. The church provides us with the means to maintain our own bodies and souls so they can remain sturdy, sound, and beautiful. Through Sacred Scripture, that weaves together a message to help us in this life, God gives us His inspired words because he loves us and desires us to be holy. The Sacraments given to us through Jesus, allow us to receive God’s graces to sustain us when this life is challenging and difficult. Then Sacred Tradition, given to us by the church herself, enriches our lives of faith these days with belief and understanding from across the more than 2,000 years of the church’s existence.
If we can make an effort to not succumb to the frantic pace of life in the secular world, to take our time in the seasons of the church to grow and deepen our love of God and his people, then we can be blessed in this life and be ready for the next when we finally get to encounter the God of all Creation, the God who makes us all that we are and gives us all that we need. Then we will be ready to hear him say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
