Thirty–Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (B) There are many kinds of calendars. There is the chronological calendar that ends on December 31^st, the tax year that ends in June, and the school calendar. The Catholic Church also has a calendar. The Catholic Church calendar is called the Liturgical Calendar. It begins with the first Sunday of Advent and finishes on the feast of Christ, the King of the universe. At the end of the Liturgical Calendar Year, the Church invites us to meditate on death, the end of our life in this world.

Everything has an end. The 2009 summer has passed, as have most people’s vacations.  A delicious lunch has just end, and soon this Mass too will end. People leave.  People die. Nobody is eternal.  As someone once said to me, people are a gift from heaven with an expiration date.

Today our lord Jesus tells us that even this world will end.  We could go to the theatre to watch the movie “2012.”  This is a movie that tells of the world ending in 2012. Have you seen the trailer? The special effects look wonderful!  Does the movie show what is going to happen at the end of the world?  Probably not. 

The gospel says: “In those days after that tribulation the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken”.  Jesus once said, "But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father".

We have to remember that the Gospel was written in a different time than the present time, and it must be read within its context. It has a peculiar literary style. The language used in that time was different than our language.  The gospel was written when Christianity still had many problems-it was not accepted, Christians were persecuted, et cetera.  Understandably, the early Christians were afraid. They needed hope. Mark wrote his Gospel with this in mind, intending to give those Christians hope. Mark’s style attempts to express God’s power. Mark tells us the second coming of our Lord Jesus will be both amazing and powerful.

We must not forget about the second coming and the amazing power of the Lord.  Instead of thinking about chaos or catastrophes, we should think of the end of the earthly world as the beginning of God’s celestial kingdom. All of the things of this world will come to an end, but death is the beginning of our new lives in Christ.  Even so, our time on earth is precious.  We should use our time on earth as God’s time, allowing our souls to use our bodies to do God’s will. “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake; some shall live forever”, says Daniel. He also said: “The wise shall shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament, and those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars forever”.

Our lives are like the calendar year-they will come to an end.  Like the calendar year, the end of our mortal life is not the end, but rather, the beginning of new life in Christ.  Upon death, we will be born again in Christ. Are we ready for that?  We are called to prepare for that life while we are still living here on earth.  To better help us prepare for the next life, we come to Mass every Sunday to learn how to make the proper preparations.

May God bless you,

Father Eduardo Mendoza