December 02, 2017

Luke 21: 34-36

“Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly, like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.

Thanks and hope

Today’s Gospel passage from St. Luke reminds us to be “vigilant at all times” amidst the “anxieties of daily life.” This final weekend of the 2017 Church year gives me the opportunity to look back with gratitude...and then to look forward with hope. What have been some surprising, even pivotal experiences of life and faith in recent months – at home, in school, at work? How have I strengthened my relationships with family and good friends? And where have I been vigilant in noticing God’s presence within my daily routine?

This past weekend we celebrated the feast of Christ the King, a time to bless God for all the ways the life and strength of Jesus help me make sense of my daily experience. How is God’s grace percolating in my heart, helping me fit the pieces of my life together?

Spend some time giving thanks to God for “all that has been” …and look forward in hope to what is “still to come.”

—The Jesuit Prayer team

Prayer

Glory be to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever.
Amen!

—Traditional prayer