Jesus said to his disciples:
“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.“And then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in the clouds’with great power and glory,
and then he will send out the angels
and gather his elect from the four winds,
from the end of the earth to the end of the sky.
Our history is not a circle, but a linear history from beginning to end. Salvation history has a beginning, the Creation by God, in the book of Genesis; and an end, the end of history with the great tribulation described by Jesus. All of Sacred Scripture tells us where we came from and where we are going.
The great mystery for us is that, to some degree, we are free and independent actors, as well, in this history of salvation. Our particular destiny is our choice.
In the Old Testament we have teaching about this choice from the prophet Daniel.
“Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake;some shall live forever,
others shall be an everlasting horror and disgrace.“But 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.”
The choice of everlasting horror and disgrace, … or living forever, is largely our own choice, the result of our faith and moral choices in life. We must learn to be “wise” in the eyes of God.
We will go through many trials. Undoubtedly, one of those choices will be how we choose to live with the Church Jesus founded. We are living in a time of trial right now with our Church. Many say that the scandal and the Church’s confusing responses mean the Church will come to an end; and that the Catholic Church in the USA is damaged beyond all hope and will not recover.
I am comforted by the response of St. Peter when confronted by betrayal of many disciples. Jesus asked Peter, “Are you going to leave me, too?” Peter responded, “To whom shall we go? Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.”
That is also my position. I trust that our Church will never pass away, as Jesus promised, “The gates of Hell will not prevail against” his Church, founded upon the “Rock” of Peter and the Apostles.
My purpose is to be among those who will live forever, as Daniel said of the end-time,
“Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake;some shall live forever,
And my purpose is to shepherd you to the same purpose and outcome. So, I have chosen to stay the course and be obedient to Mother Church, praying for St. Michael to defend us in battle against the snares of the devil.
I urge all of you to make your own decision to join me in this great purpose to be faithful Catholics to the end. Pray for our Church, our Pope and our Bishops. In disunity we shall surely die. United to Jesus Christ we shall surely live forever.
As part of this commitment, we must continue to support the Church, both spiritually and materially. Today I ask you to join me to finish this Capital Campaign for our Bishop, our Diocese and the future of our parish. I ask you to make a five-year pledge to help us reach our goal.