NOVEMBER 13, 2026 MSGR. ROBERT NUSCA
With the Season of Advent fast approaching, the readings convey a heightened sense of urgency, as they draw our thoughts to the return of Christ at the end of time, and the “last things”: death, judgement, heaven and hell. Indeed, beginning on Monday, the First Readings will be taken from the Book of Revelation.
So it is that in today’s Gospel we find Our Lord speaking about His return in glory and judgement at the end of time. In this ‘Day of the Lord’ or simply ‘the Day’ we find a tradition of Old Testament prophetic and apocalyptic reflection concerning the arrival of divine judgement, as God eradicates evil and ushers in the era of everlasting peace. It was expected that this “Day of the Lord” would arrive suddenly– like a thief in the night– and with dire consequences for those who had not prepared.
As we have heard, Jesus draws our attention to the suddenness of His return and its unpredictability, issuing a strong warning to those who fail to prepare. He speaks of the time of Noah when people were unprepared for the arrival of the waters of the flood. So too, in the time of Lot, people were simply going about their daily routine when disaster struck.
At the same time, when Jesus says “Be prepared for my return and don’t be caught off guard,” He is certainly not providing us with a blueprint concerning the last days. We need to reflect upon how as Catholics our understanding of the return of Jesus is rather more complex. As we see in the First Letter of St. John, for instance, we are already living in the ‘final hour,’ and indeed, have been living in this ‘final hour’ since the Ascension of Our Lord. CCC670 And so yes, we expect the return of Christ at the end of time, but we can encounter Him every day in the Sacraments of the Church, especially in the Eucharist, where He is really and truly present. The same Jesus who will return upon the clouds in power and glory to judge the world at the end of time is present to us every day, through the life of faith and prayer.
And so, as we live out our lives in this “final hour,” let us turn to Jesus in prayer and the Sacraments, especially in the Eucharist and the Sacrament of Reconciliation – which is a kind of judgment in miniature. In the Sacrament of Confession, we have the opportunity to review our actions in light of the Holy Spirit and ask for the forgiveness of our sins. Let us encounter Jesus in the Word of God whenever it is proclaimed, but also through prayer with Scripture, or Lectio Divina.
For our faith teaches us that it is precisely our attitude toward Christ in the present that will be decisive for our encounter with Him as the glorified Son of Man at the end of time. It is in this context- we could say, in the context of the ongoing presence or better, presences of Christ in our lives, that His teachings concerning His return in judgement at the end of time should be heard. And so, we need to be on guard against any oversimplified view that the Bible is somehow giving us a timetable or checklist of future events.
Admittedly, in our time, there is no shortage of interest in apocalyptic images in popular culture, from images of zombies and the walking dead, to the millions of people drawn to the writings of Nostradamus. Someone once said that it is a particular mark of our time that in our world today there are far too many images of endings without new beginnings. For as one scholar points out: ‘Earlier generations of doomsayers,’ had tended to retain at least something of the hope that out of the ruins would come renewal and regeneration.’ Krishan Kumar, “Apocalypse, Millennium and Utopia Today,” in Apocalypse Theory and the Ends of the World, ed. Malcolm Bull (Oxford: Blackwell, 1995), 204ff.
Yes, there will be upheavals, wars, rumors of war, and nation will rise against nation. But don’t surrender to fear, and don’t fall prey to false prophecy. Jesus teaches us to: “Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation…Be alert at all times…” “Be dressed for action. Have your lamps lit…” The idea is not that people should look to the future with fear and desperation but that they should prepare for the arrival of the Kingdom of God with hope, joy and trust in God.
Indeed, in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus goes so far as to call people to focus on the brightness of His return at the end of time, amid the cosmic upheavals, and the fear and distress that will be associated with His return. In Luke 21:28 Jesus says clearly: “Now when these things begin to take place, look up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” Ultimately, Our Lord’s teachings, encourage us to distance ourselves as far as possible from the corrupt values of an old, sinful order that is rapidly passing away.
For our faith teaches us that the world did not begin with the fall of Adam, nor does it end with the destruction of the world. The world begins with God saying that creation is good, and it ends amid visions of the bliss of a new heaven and a new earth. So that, God’s last word in the Bible, is not about judgment, but about a new heaven and a new earth. For as God says toward the end of the Book of Revelation: ‘Behold I make all things new.”
With regard to being prepared for Christ’s return, I have mentioned on other occasions, that in Eastern Christian and Orthodox spirituality the idea of watchfulness is very important. Watchfulness or “nepsis” is the state of the person who lives in a spirit of constant alertness, watchfulness, sobriety, vigilance, attentiveness to the presence of God and the workings of the Holy Spirit at all times.
Ultimately, it is remaining always in the light of Christ – in the Sacraments, in His Word; Christ in our hearts, Christ in our prayer lives through the power of the Holy Spirit, that will help us to prepare for our encounter with Him in final judgment. And so, our faith calls us every day to keep watch over our inward thoughts and attitudes; to keep constant guard over the heart, the intellect and our inner psychological and spiritual processes. And closely linked with all of these, is the virtue of purity of heart as well as a state of interior stillness and peace.
Again, it is our attitude toward Christ in the present with His offer of grace, and our relationship to Him in the here and now that will be determinative for our encounter with Him as the glorified Son of Man at the close of the age. And so let us be prepared.
Our Lord calls us in the midst of the challenges, the fears and difficulties of the moment to focus on the task at hand, to live the Gospel, and to do so with a sense of heightened urgency: to pray, to live our faith to the full, to do the good work of the Gospel, to feed the hungry, heal the sick, console those who are sad and living in fear, to consecrate ourselves to Christ through Mary the Mother of God and to strive to be holy.
As we continue to celebrate this Mass, let us pray that God may grant us the grace to prepare faithfully for His return in Glory. Let us pray that like Noah’s ark, our faith may carry us safely through the storms of time on our journey to the everlasting Kingdom of God. And let us pray that in our postmodern, post-truth world we may always give testimony to the Gospel and to the transforming power of the Cross, that amid the dangers of this passing world, we may be a people of authentic Christian faith, hope, charity and joy.
