Hello McFly
0
0
Ya know, the more I learn about God, the more I learn about the Catholic Church, and the more I grow in my faith, the more I realize how much of an blind idiot I’ve been.
I think about how ignorant I’ve been – because I have blatantly ignored God.
How could my “faith” in God have been so empty?
Just reading through the 2nd Reading today made me realize how plainly God tells us how things are, how they should be, and how they’re going to be:
Do not ignore this one fact, beloved,
that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years
and a thousand years like one day.
The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard “delay,”
but he is patient with you,
not wishing that any should perish
but that all should come to repentance.
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief,
and then the heavens will pass away with a mighty roar
and the elements will be dissolved by fire,
and the earth and everything done on it will be found out.
Since everything is to be dissolved in this way,
what sort of persons ought you to be,
conducting yourselves in holiness and devotion,
waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God,
because of which the heavens will be dissolved in flames
and the elements melted by fire.
But according to his promise
we await new heavens and a new earth
in which righteousness dwells.
Therefore, beloved, since you await these things,
be eager to be found without spot or blemish before him, at peace.
I read that and I feel like God is doing this to me:
of course in a loving way.
God gives us opportunity after opportunity to turn back to Him. And we just sit back, ignore Him, and take advantage of His patience.
These readings repeat every three years, so if you’re my age, you’ve heard it at least 11 times (and that’s if you’ve gone to Mass every week… or at least every 2nd Sunday of Advent).
For so long I attended Mass and thought it was boring, and knew I wasn’t getting anything out of it – but that’s because I wasn’t paying attention or even trying to get something out of it. I thought me just showing up and putting my butt in the pew was enough.
But if I took this reading to heart, and thought about it sincerely when I was younger, I would’ve realized that I not only needed to get my butt in the pew, but I needed to get off my butt right after Mass and get to work!
If we are awaiting a new heaven and a new earth, we need to prepare ourselves while we wait. It’s not enough just to be around. We need to be found worthy.
Thanks Homedeepu….this was very near to my homily this weekend….”What sort of person ought you be?” great insight with Back to the Future humor.
blessings on you