One of the many stories told about St. Francis of Assisi recounts a day when he was interrupted from his gardening by one of his brothers.
“Brother Francis, if you knew that today was the Day of Judgment, and that the Lord would come at any moment, what would you do?”
And without hesitation Saint Francis replied,
“I would finish my gardening.”
In today’s Gospel Jesus gives us many signs by which we will know that the “End of Days” is imminent. But finally He reminds us that we cannot know the exact day, only the Father knows that.
For two thousand years many have claimed to know the date of the end of the world. They have all been wrong. This should not surprise us. And even though it sometimes seems as if the world is in such a state that the end must surely be near, God Himself has told us that we cannot calculate the day or the hour.
But it isn’t really important that we know. What is important is whether we accept God, and are numbered among the elect who will live forever; or do we reject Him and face everlasting horror and disgrace?
If we choose life, and He who is life itself, like St. Francis we should not be apprehensive about the end. We can trust in the promises made to us, that if we live as the Lord has commanded us to, if we are always ready, we need not fear death.
Pax Vobiscum
33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time