Sunday Reflection: 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

1^st Reading      Daniel 12:1-3
2^nd Reading     Hebrews 10:11-14, 18
Gospel             Mark 13:24-32

As we are about end the Liturgical Year, our readings this Sunday invite us to re-examine our goals in life. Our lives are determined by the goal that we set. So, we have to be conscious of our choices.

The Lord Jesus in our Gospel this Sunday reminds us to be vigilant and to remain faithful to His teachings. The “signs of the times” should make us be aware of what the Lord is pointing out and what the world is showing us. We have to be conscious of where we are being led to. Jesus wants us to see beyond our own experience, to see what is happening around us and not only within us. God would make His will clear to us if we are not constrained only with our own experiences. The world is full of life, and all these can be signs for us. God manifests Himself in varied ways to be able to reach out to us. We have read the signs of God in a way that they will enrich us and make us more and more adhere to Christ’s message and teachings. Christ became like us to save us and to show us the way. He entered our world to led us through this world back to the Father.

As Christians, our goal in life is to go to heaven, to have the eternal life that God has promised us through Christ Jesus. The very life of Jesus is the way towards the fulfillment of God’s promise of pure joy in heaven, but we have to walk also the way of Cross as Jesus did, a life of total dedication to the Father. As the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us, “For by one offering he has made perfect forever those who are being consecrated.” The sacrifice of Christ has made us perfect, made us worthy of eternal life. So, we should not let this opportunity go.

Our 1^st Reading, from the Book of Daniel, should challenge us to continue walking in the path of Christ and living the virtues life according to God’s call for each of us. In the end, we will be rewarded if we have lived our lives in the way God wants it to be. The Prophet Daniel says, “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 “end of the world” should never frighten us. Jesus has promised us the heavenly life, but we have the responsibility of making our lives worthy of Jesus’ sacrifice. We have to live the life of Christ the very way we connect with the Father in heaven and with our brothers and sisters in this world. May we become also signs that will lead people to God and eventually to eternal life.

May the Blessed Mother, Nuestra Señora de la Salud, St. Joseph, and all the Saints be our inspiration and joy as we continue on the way to heaven.