November is the last month of the liturgical year, as the church is called to reflect on the reality of death. Our gospel raises apocalyptic signs of destruction that will precede the coming of the Son of Man. We are brought back to the days of Noah before the flood. In various ways, people are once again drawn to signs of the great destruction of the world.

Jesus speaks about the coming of the Kingdom of God and the suddenness of His return. This passage serves as a warning and a call to be prepared for the end times. “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man,” emphasizes the sudden and unexpected nature of God’s judgment. People were living their everyday lives, unaware of the impending flood, lacking in the importance of vigilance. In the days of Lot, the people in Sodom and Gomorrah were living normally, carefree lives before sudden destruction came upon them.

Personally, I disagree with doom-sayers. Our hearts unite in prayer for those who have suffered from recent tragedies and natural disasters. These events challenge our trust in the goodness of God. He offers to us the reality of the death of his own Son for the life of the world. This mystery is made present to us in the celebration of the Eucharist.

The Rule of Life of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament, #26, speaks of this Eschatological dimension, describing how our trials and afflictions, when brought to the celebration of the Eucharist, transform us in love and fill us with hope. We share the bread of eternal life. Think of your reception of Holy Communion as a preparation for the ultimate final coming of the Lord.

Let us pray:

Attentive to the cry of the poor and their distress, we discover in every instance of injustice a call of Christ to share in his mission of announcing good news to the poor and proclaiming liberty to captives. (Luke 4:18 and Rule of Life 37)