Are we ready for the journey?
Are we ready for the journey?
Recently, Pope Leo XIV gave a short reflection on the parable of the Good Samaritan found in Luke 10. “The priest and the Levite represent all of us—in a hurry to get home. This hurry can keep us from being compassionate because, the Pope warned, people "who believe their journey takes priority are not willing to stop for others." The reason I thought of bringing it up is that this Sunday's readings invite us to be ready for the second coming of Christ. How can we be ready? The Gospel passage from Luke (12:32-48) begins with these words, “Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your belongings and give alms.” We are his flock, he is our shepherd. This reflects the Gospel of John chapter 10, Jesus the Good Shepherd. We don’t have to be afraid; he is our shepherd, and the Heavenly Father is going to give us the kingdom. Then he says – Give alms. The word alms comes from the Greek word “eleemosyne,” which means mercy. We need to give mercy so we can have purses that do not grow old, which means we can have treasure in heaven, which is eternally safe. Generosity is an expression of spiritual poverty.
The Gospel warns Christians to be ready for the second coming, like servants who are waiting for the master’s return to the house. The parable of the faithful and the unfaithful servant is about leadership and responsibility. The apostles were compared to domestic servants who were charged with various duties in the household of the kingdom.
The Gospel talks about the necessity of watchfulness. The Romans divided the nights into four watches, and the Jews divided them into three watches. If the master comes during the second watch, which is between 10 pm and sunrise, the faithful servant would be ready to receive him. We can see a similar message in the Gospel of Matthew 25:1, “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.” The message is to be prepared and be vigilant.
In the First reading from the Book of Wisdom (18:6-9), they were warned of the coming Passover; they were made known beforehand: Israel’s departure from Egypt as foretold to Abraham (Genesis 15:13-14) and Jacob (Genesis 46:3-4). The first reading reflects the Exodus chapters 11 and 12. While the angel of the Lord was striking down the first-born of Pharaoh and other Egyptians, Israelites were vigilantly offering righteous sacrifice to the Lord and eating the meat of the lamb to fortify themselves for their coming escape. That night was the first Passover. They were full of hope and confidence in their God, the liberator. At the end of the Passover meal, they praise God by singing the Psalms. We read in the Gospels that Jesus celebrated the Passover with his disciples. In Matthew 26:30, we read, “Then, after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.” We read in the Gospel of Mark 14:26, the same. The firstborn males of the Israelites were spared by the blood of the sacrificial lamb, which is a type of Christ, the Lamb of God (John 1:29), who leads us to heaven.
As Christians, we are foretold the second coming of Christ, but we do not know the time. We are asked to live the Gospel and be watchful. According to the Fathers of the Church, Jesus’ words in this Gospel passage have two senses. In the narrower sense, the words refer to the Second Coming of Jesus, but in the broader sense, they refer to the time of our death, when God will call us to meet Him and to give Him an account of our life on earth. The question for reflection is, how do we prepare? In a nutshell: Be prepared by loving God and loving one another. Pope Leo XIV's reflection on the Good Samaritan is relevant here: “The priest and the Levite represent all of us—in a hurry to get home. This hurry can keep us from being compassionate because, the Pope warned, people who believe their journey takes priority are not willing to stop for others."
The exterior renovation project is completed at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Butternut.
Little more than a year ago, you heard the announcement of the exterior renovation of our beautiful church. Additionally, you might have received a letter recently regarding the project. As most of you noticed, last week Krause Konstruction completed the renovation project. We have received $18,500 as of August 4, 2025, toward this project. I would like to join the Parish and Finance Councils and the Building Committee to express our gratitude for your generosity. If you didn’t get a chance to donate to this project, there is still time to do it. As you noticed, we have taken a couple of trees based on the suggestions of the engineers. It helps the church building get sunlight and dry the walls. As we mentioned in the announcement and recent letter, there are interior works that need to be done, but they need to wait for 6 months to a year. If the bricks dry well, the interior work will last longer. We will keep you posted. Thank you, everyone, for your generosity through prayer and financial contribution. Thank you!