Just a word before we go...Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time...November 16, 2025
Both the first reading from the prophet Malachi and our Gospel today paint a frightening picture of the future. That we are living in times that are fraught with wars, famines and natural disasters cannot be denied. We have all experienced the destruction of symbolic edifices that we might have thought immune to the ravages of time or circumstance. We should be aware at this point in history though, that nothing on this earth possesses such immunity.
How are we to cope with living in these turbulent times? Do we attribute the troubles of our world to the imminence of the day of the Lord? If so, how can we dismiss the fact that the world has always had turmoil and violence? St. Paul tells us that this is not the time to be idle. It is the time to be grounded in the Lord.
If the times in which we find ourselves are unsettling for us, who are among the most fortunate in the world, imagine what it must be like for those who do not have the resources or protections that we enjoy. In a most unusual statement, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops this week addressed the situation of the immigrants in this country by issuing what is referred to as a “Special Message,” one that was almost unanimously approved by the bishops. The statement calls for Catholics to recognize the face of Christ in every person, urging “all people of good will to continue and expand ...efforts to accompany and assist immigrants in meeting their basic needs.” In this regard, the bishops have recently highlighted the life and example of Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini, an Italian immigrant to the United States who, while facing discrimination herself, ministered to poor Italian immigrants at the request of Pope Leo XIII. Mother Cabrini founded schools, orphanages and hospitals, in New York and elsewhere in the country. Becoming a citizen in 1909, she was the first American to be named a saint, the patron saint of immigrants.
The circumstances of our world situation can cause us to become anxious, fearful of the future. But by living in the present, and being grounded in the Lord, we can learn to place our trust not in the temple, no matter how glorious, but in keeping our eyes on what that temple represents, on what the Lord ask of us as Christians, and on what our responsibility is to one another. If we do these things, then we need not worry about what we are to say or do when we are confronted with whatever life throws at us, for the Lord will provide our defense. Trusting God, as Mother Cabrini did, and persevering in the faith that gives us hope, is the order of the day.
Please join us for a viewing of Mother Cabrini’s story this/tomorrow afternoon at 1pm in the Parish hall.