Gospel Reflection for The 14th day of November in the year of Our Lord, 2024
Gospel
Luke 17:20-25
20 And being asked by the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come? he answered them, and said: The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
21 Neither shall they say: Behold here, or behold there. For lo, the kingdom of God is within you. 22 And he said to his disciples: The days will come, when you shall desire to see one day of the Son of man; and you shall not see it. 23 And they will say to you: See here, and see there. Go ye not after, nor follow them: 24 For as the lightning that lighteneth from under heaven, shineth unto the parts that are under heaven, so shall the Son of man be in his day. 25 But first he must suffer many things, and be rejected by this generation.
Recently, we experienced a solar eclipse. A lot of people were freaking out, which doesn't make sense as we had just had one a few years before. But just as they reacted to that one, many were convinced the world was coming to an end. Granted, there were a couple of earthquakes a day or two before, lightening struck the Statue of Liberty and the world is in the most violent and immoral state that it has been since the dawn of Christendom. But, just as before, there were signs posted all over, billboards and tons of messages on social media declaring that the “rapture” would happen during the eclipse. … and, just as before, it did not.
As I have explained, the concept of the rapture is not really Biblical and is not at all Catholic teaching. Catholics believe, as our Lord said, “those who endure until the end will be saved.” He told us that we would always have wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes and other natural disasters. But, an eclipse is just a pretty astronomical phenomenon. It should be a time to wonder, in awe at Gods creation. It should not be a time of fear.
Jesus said plainly that all of the supposed signs of the “end times” would be false. As Christians, we are not to pay them any attention. He said that no one knows the date of His second coming but the Father. This is a good reminder that anyone who says they know that date and time is speaking in opposition to the teachings of Christ. Whether it is a friend, family member, preacher, scholar, television or radio pundit, social influencer, etc., anyone who claims to know when the world will end is either a liar, a false prophet, a lunatic or a moron. Ignore them and remain in the faith and teaching of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. Our Lord told us not to be troubled by such people and not to follow them. With this in mind, let us purge all such influences from our lives, entertainment and social media.
Judson Carroll is the author of several books, including his newest, A Daily Catholic Devotional, Reflections on the Daily Mass Readings January-June, 2025 It is Available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DK3M1WDZ
and
Confirmation, an Autobiography of Faith. It is also Available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C47Q1JNK
His new podcast is The Uncensored Catholic https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-uncensored-catholic
Amen, brother!