on guard!
"You are not in the dark, brothers, that the day should catch you off guard, like a thief." —1 Thessalonians 5:4
How much did you think about the Second Coming of Christ this week? If you're like many Catholics, the message of His coming again goes in one ear and out the other. However, through His Word and the Mass, Jesus constantly warns us that He is coming again. When you attend Sunday Mass, you hear the message of the Second Coming of Christ at least twice and as many as four times, depending upon the prayers and responses chosen. If you attend daily Mass, you heard about the Second Coming between nine and twenty-two times this week! In addition, numerous verses in Scripture are devoted to Jesus' Second Coming.
A good rule of thumb is for us to think about the Second Coming of Christ at least as much as Jesus and the Church think about it. If you haven't recently thought of the day of Jesus' Second Coming, or at least His coming at the day of your death, you are probably "off guard" (1 Thes 5:4). If so, it's not because the Lord and His Church haven't been warning you constantly. "You know very well that the day of the Lord is coming like a thief in the night" (1 Thes 5:2). "Therefore let us not be asleep like the rest, but awake and sober!" (1 Thes 5:6)
A good way to constantly think of the day of the Lord's return is to regularly tell others about it (see 1 Thes 4:18). Spread the good news of salvation (1 Thes 5:9) and "wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ."
Prayer: Father, may I "be ready to greet Him (Jesus) when He comes again."
Promise: "He commands the unclean spirits with authority and power, and they leave." —Lk 4:36
Praise: Eleanor contracted the potentially fatal Hepatitis C virus. She was prayed over at the bishop's healing service, and was healed.
Reference: (This teaching was submitted by a member of our editorial team.)
Rescript: †Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, March 18, 2015
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