Your Redemption is at Hand.”

Today's Mass Reading

A common theme in this week’s readings is that of salvation. In the first reading, we see this again. We have been following this story of Daniel throughout our week, and today we finally reach one of the most well-known passages of the Old Testament – the story of Daniel in the lion’s den. The reluctant king who throws him in to the lions for praying to God hopes that Daniel will survive, and indeed he does. This is enough to convert King Darius, who writes to all the nations to tell them to honor and reverence this God who delivered Daniel from the lions. Imagine, a foreign king, converted to belief in the Jewish God! In the Gospel passage, Jesus continues to talk about the end times. The picture sounds depressing: terrible calamity and wrathful judgment. And yet, the passage today ends not with this, but with the Son of Man coming in glory. He tells his disciples to stand erect because their redemption is at hand.

As our liturgical year comes to a close, we must have our eyes, and more importantly, our hearts, on what lies ahead for us in terms of deliverance, salvation, redemption. Our God saves his faithful people. Out of love, he offers his life for us. This gift is ours to have. We need only open ourselves to it and to receive it willingly, graciously, and gratefully. And yet, this is often a challenge to do. It is easy to be distracted by the everyday things of this world and to neglect our treasure in heaven. Let us try, this day and every day, to receive willingly the tremendous gift of salvation, and to live our lives in a manner that indicates how important this gift is to us.

- Maria Morrow