Sunday November 17th: Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
St. Francis Parish | November 15, 2019, 10:23 pm | Reflections
In today’s readings we hear an important message of remaining steadfast in our faithfulness to The Lord. Malachi speaks of “healing rays” that will arise for God’s faithful. St. Paul reminds us of the need to continue our work of building God’s Kingdom in his second letter to the Thessalonians. In the Gospel, Jesus warns us against being fooled by false prophets as well as the need to remain strong in our faith so that despite being seized, persecuted or even put to death as He says, “By your perseverance you will secure your lives.” (LK 21:19)
As we approach this season of giving, this message of remaining faithful to God can speak to us in different ways. It is a time to evaluate how we have been doing in our faith and to ask ourselves if we have been truly faithful to Him this past year. How can we improve upon our efforts to put Him first in our lives? It is a time for us to recall and take stock of the many blessings we have received from God through His faithfulness to us. How can we show our gratitude for these many blessings? It is a time for us to give thanks to God for all that we have received and to further commit to sharing the gifts we have through giving of our time, talent and treasure in His name.
Thank you God for your steadfast faithfulness to us. In this coming season, with your help, may we in turn increase our faithfulness to you.