St. Paul of the Cross - priest, religious founder


Scripture from today's Liturgy of the Word:

Romans 6:12-18
Psalm 124:1-8
Luke 12:39-48


A reflection on today's Scripture:

Jesus said that we must be spiritually prepared, for the Son of Man will come at an hour that we least expect. The concept of readiness is something which we should always keep in mind.

It is easy to think to oneself that:

I will pray more tomorrow
I will work on a particular sin tomorrow
I will work on a troubled relationship tomorrow
I will forgive someone tomorrow
I will tell someone how much I love them and appreciate them tomorrow
I will help the poor or feed the hungry tomorrow
I will call someone who is lonely or sick tomorrow...
And the list goes on...

At some point, and some day, "tomorrow" will never come. Jesus refers to the state of readiness numerous times in the Gospel; something we need to take seriously. For we will never know when God will demand our life from us, and we will be standing before Jesus.

The great question is: "Will I be ready?"


- Steve Shawl