Pray That You Will Be Ready.

Today’s First Reading is taken from the Book of the Prophet Daniel (21:34-36)


Daniel was anxious and afraid. The thoughts that entered his head during this dream frightened him. So, he approached one of those standing with him, and asked what all this meant. The angel explained the dream to Daniel.

The four great beasts are four kings, who will rule with power upon the earth. The first kingdom was the kingdom of Babylon; the second, the kingdom of the Medes and Persians; the third, the kingdom of Greece; the fourth, the kingdom of Rome. All of these kingdoms seemed very powerful, like the beasts in Daniel’s dream. But the one true God will grant the kingdom to his holy people, to possess it forever and ever.

Daniel wanted to know more about the fourth animal. It was different from the others, more terrible and frightening. It broke both things and people into pieces with its claws of bronze, and consumed them. It trampled whatever was left over with its feet. Daniel wanted to know more about the ten horns on the beast’s head. The angel told him that the fourth beast represents a fourth kingdom on the earth, which will be different from the earlier ones. It will devour the entire earth, beat it down and crush it. The ten horns will be ten kings rising out of that kingdom. They will rule, and after them another king will come, different from the earlier kings, three of whom he will defeat. He will speak against God, and oppress God’s holy people. He will command everyone to observe the religious festivals established in the law of the land, and forbid them to serve the one true God.

God will allow this to go on only for “one time, two times, and half a time”, that is, three and one half years. But when the judgment is made, his power will be taken away and it will be finally and absolutely destroyed. Then the kingdom, the power and the glory of every land under heaven will be given to the holy people of the Most High God. And he shall reign forever and ever and ever.

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Responsorial Psalm
Daniel 3

R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.

“You sons of men, bless the Lord;
Praise and exalt him above all forever.”

R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.

“O Israel, bless the Lord;
Praise and exalt him above all forever.”

R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.

“Priests of the Lord, bless the Lord;
Praise and exalt him above all forever.”

R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.

“Servants of the Lord, bless the Lord;
Praise and exalt him above all forever.”

R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.

“Spirits and souls of the just, bless the Lord;
Praise and exalt him above all forever.”

R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.

“Holy men of humble heart, bless the Lord;
Praise and exalt him above all forever.”

R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.

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Today’s Gospel is taken from Luke (21:34-36):

Jesus had already warned his disciples that they should be prepared to greet him when he comes again in glory. He told them the parable of the servants (Luke 12:35); he described the fate of the people who lived at the time of Noah and of Lot (Luke 17:22-29). Now he warns them, “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness, or from the anxieties of every day, or that day (of his coming) will close upon you unexpected, like a trap. That day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times. Pray that you will have the strength to escape the coming tribulations, and be ready to stand before the Son of Man."


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Most of us do not like to think about death. Thoughts about death can be very unpleasant. And yet we are forced to confront death often when family members, relatives, and friends die. And all of us know with utter certainty that we are going to die. The problem is that we don't know when our death will occur. Most of us would prefer to think that death will not come for many years. But we have no guarantee of that. The reality is that death can come at any time. It can come suddenly and unexpectedly. It can come slowly after a long illness. It can come to the young and to the old. This past week I have been confronted by the death of a 22 year old woman and an 85 year old man. About the only thing they had in common was that their deaths occurred within days of each other. I found it much more difficult to comprehend the death of the young woman. At her age it seemed like her whole life was in front of her. But death came to her, and now I believe that she has embarked on a much better life. The death of the elderly man was easier to accept. He had lived a long life, and left many good memories for his loved ones. It is never really easy to accept the death of a loved one, But the circumstances of each death are very important in our attempt to cope with the loss.

Today is the last day of the liturgical year. At this time of the liturgical year the Church, through the daily Mass readings from scripture, focuses our attention on the last things and the end of our earthly life. Today's gospel is no exception. In this gospel Jesus gives us some very practical advice. Since we don't know when our death will occur, he tells us to live so that we are always prepared to meet God. He exhorts us to vigilance, so that death will not catch us unprepared. Jesus wants us to live lives that are marked by fidelity to his teaching and to the commandments. He wants us to know that living our lives in this way is the best way to prepare for death and to avoid being surprised by it. The reason why this message is repeated often during these days is that repetition helps us to really hear the advice of Jesus. Hearing the words of Jesus is not the problem. The problem is hearing the words in such a way that we want to immediately follow the advice of Jesus. Many of us are procrastinators. Even when we know what we should do, we often put off doing it. We have many excuses. We are too busy right now. The time is not right. In a few weeks or months I will have more time. I'll do it then. But how often do we find that the time never comes? Something always seems to interfere with our plan. Or we convince ourselves that since death is a long way off, there is no rush. We procrastinate.

Today Jesus is telling us to listen to his advice. He is asking us to really and truly confront the idea of our death. He is asking us to pray for the strength to follow his advice. He wants us to be prepared for our death whenever it comes. If we listen carefully to the words of Jesus and do as he asks, we will be better able to confront the idea of our death. And when our death approaches, we will be prepared to meet it peacefully.

Tom Bannantine, S.J.
Creighton University Online Ministries