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Friday, November 16, 2001

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St. Margaret of Scotland
St. Gertrude


Wisdom 13:1-9
Psalm 19
Luke 17:26-37

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the last day

"It will be like that on the day the Son of Man is revealed." —Luke 17:30

Jesus will return and the world will end:

  • when we least expect it (Lk 12:40),
  • when it is "business as usual" (see Lk 17:27-28),
  • suddenly (see Lk 17:24, 31),
  • after a most severe persecution of the Church (Lk 21:12),
  • after "great earthquakes, plagues, and famines in various places — and in the sky fearful omens and great signs" (Lk 21:11),
  • after the mass apostasy (2 Thes 2:3),
  • after the Antichrist is destroyed (2 Thes 2:8),
  • when "the love of most" has grown cold (Mt 24:12),
  • after the gospel has been "proclaimed throughout the world" (Mt 24:14),
  • when "all Israel" has been saved (Rm 11:26), and
  • when the Church is "holy and immaculate, without stain or wrinkle or anything of that sort" (Eph 5:27).

Are you ready for Jesus to come back now? Do you love Him so much that you are trying to hasten His return? (2 Pt 3:12) Do you have no reason to be afraid of Judgment Day? In love, faith, repentance, and holiness, let us "wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ" (the prayer following the "Our Father" at Mass). Maranatha! "Come, Lord Jesus!" (Rv 22:20)

Prayer:  Father, when Jesus returns, may He find me feeding Your people (see Lk 12:42).

Promise:  "Let them know how far more excellent is the Lord than these; for the original Source of beauty fashioned them." —Wis 13:3

Praise:  St. Margaret, queen of Scotland, and her husband, the king, prayed together and personally fed the poor of their country.

Nihil Obstat:  Reverend Robert A. Stricker, May 8, 2001


Imprimatur:  †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, May 18, 2001