8-11-19 19th Sunday: Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.

Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.  Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be. “Gird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival. Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them. And should he come in the second or third watch and find them prepared in this way, blessed are those servants.  Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”  Then Peter said, “Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?” And the Lord replied, “Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute the food allowance at the proper time? Blessed is that servant  whom his master on arrival finds doing so. Truly, I say to you, the master will put the servant in charge of all his property. But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk, then that servant’s master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish the servant severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful. That servant who knew his master’s will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely; and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly. Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.” 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church

672     ……. According to the Lord, the present time is the time of the Spirit and of witness, but also a time still marked by “distress” and the trial of evil which does not spare the Church and ushers in the struggles of the last days.  It is a time of waiting and watching.

2551 “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also”

1040 The Last Judgment will come when Christ returns in glory.  Only the Father knows the day and the hour; only he determines the moment of its coming.

2849   Such a battle and such a victory become possible only through prayer. It is by his prayer that Jesus vanquishes the tempter, both at the outset of his public mission and in the ultimate struggle of his agony.  In this petition to our heavenly Father, Christ unites us to his battle and his agony.  He urges us to vigilance of the heart in communion with his own. Vigilance is “custody of the heart,” and Jesus prayed for us to the Father: “Keep them in your name.” The Holy Spirit constantly seeks to awaken us to keep watch. Finally, this petition takes on all its dramatic meaning in relation to the last temptation of our earthly battle; it asks for final perseverance. “Lo, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is he who is awake.”

From “The Great Crusade of Mercy” Testimony of Catalina Rivas 

(CM-138:11-13)

11) It is important for you to reflect on this. You, My people, suffer from the influence of your environment, and every day you are in very grave danger. Satan, the world and you yourselves carry his furious attacks to the doors of your souls for the sole purpose of destroying you. I am near and I place obstacles in the way of your enemies. You, My people, should open your eyes wide and be always watchful because in a twinkling, in an instant, you could join the lines of those who are fighting you… So be wide awake and remember that victory is already Mine and, therefore, nothing and no one must attract you with flattery because I will triumph.

12) Get accustomed to solving your problems in the light of My certain triumph, and you also, My people, will be victorious with Me and you will be seated at My banquet.

13) Trust in Me and have no trust at all in yourselves, in your knowledge, in your rationalization, in the world and in Satan.  This is because his game is to make you believe that with your minds, you are capable of doing everything, and that he, the prince of the world, does not exist…

Each week we will be presenting a portion of the following Sunday’s readings, and linking it to relevant parts of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and messages from the Testimony of Catalina.  Pay special attention to the italicized underlined sections. This Sunday it is asked, What kind of soil will you be for the word of God? We hope this is inspiring and educational. Any comments you have are certainly welcomed.