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Mar
29

Gospel of Luke 21 Jesus Talks about the End Times

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Day 65, Luke 21

Good Day Everyone on this Tuesday in Holy Week!

Yesterday I visited the Shrine for the Miraculous Medal in Philadelphia!  It was awesome!

What a great gift!  I prayed for all of you!!

What are you doing this week that is different than usual — think about it now!  You may be saying to yourself –”I’ve got too much to do this week — you just don’t understand!!!”  Jesus understands exactly what you are going through — give it all to Him and be like Mary Sister of Lazarus at some point this week — let go of Martha and sit at the feet of Jesus!!!

Today the Jewish Passover begins — and so we join our Hebrew brothers and sisters in prayer –

Today I see three glorious points!

  1. Offering Your Livelihood
  2. Perseverance Secures Your Life
  3. Be Vigilant

1- Offering Your Livelihood

Don’t you just love this story about the widow with the two coins? How can it be that her two small coins were a greater contribution than all the rest -

- Jesus says “The poor widow put in more than all the rest”

Why?

Because she gave of her poverty — not of her wealth –

When you give from your poverty it hurts!!!  Jesus gave from His poverty!!  The King of kings and Lord of Lords!!!  He emptied Himself to become a slave — so that He could  be poor and show us how to give!

This kind of giving hurts — this kind of giving shows that you Trust God — we must give till it hurts!!

We also must give of ourselves — the best part — this is about giving your best to God — your best time of day — your best talents your best skills -

- in your prime time — both of age – life- and not have an attitude like I am getting old or I am too young!!!

But also — in your time of day!  Give God your best and He cannot be outdone!

So remember God and to give him your livelihood!  What makes you lively???  What makes you feel alive?

For a poor person two coins makes them know that they can be alive because they have food to eat!!!  They rely on those two coins to live —

For a rich person — they may like the coins but they aren’t going to make or break them!

May we consistently strive to turn everything over to God and wait with joyful hope with continual prayers for grace. 

2- Perserverance Secures Your Life

There are a few things my earthly father taught me that stick with me forever — and one is..

“Never give up!”

Seems like that would pay off here!  But you see Jesus isn’t talking about just showing up – just so that I’ll be able to cash in on what He has to offer!

Perseverance includes daily disciplines and actions that bring me closer to God and keep me in tune with His Word!  This is so important so that I can hear His voice –

Jesus talks about a wisdom here that He will give that will make all our enemies POWERLESS to RESIST or REFUTE!!!

We cannot tap into this wisdom unless we are plugged into the inspirations of God!  Especially His Holy Spirit!

With all the coming persecutions the sure way to secure your life is to persevere in Christ!

3- Be Vigilant

Now this is the key to it all!!!

Jesus says that the powers of the heavens will be shaken — at the Coming of the Son of Man — He says some will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming!

Can you imagine… after all Jesus said about not being afraid!!!  And then to die of fright!  WE had better let go of the fear now!

Shaking the powers of heaven — makes me think again of this shaking!!!

Really faith is shaken at different times for a reason — so that it might grow!

Whenever there is a shaking much good will come out of it!

I was thinking of the tree bearing fruit that we first shake to see if any fall to the ground then we know that the fruit is ripe!!!

The fruit still holding on is not ready!!!  We have to totally detach so that we don’t allow certain things to keep us in bondage!

We cannot allow our hearts to become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life!

We pray in the Mass — “Protect us from anxieties as we wait in joyful hope for our Savior Jesus Christ”

Jesus says… “Be vigilant at all times and pray that your have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.”

This requires vigilance at all times — this is not a joke!! These are the Master’s words!

Notice the last words of the chapter — this is His direction to us —

= “All the people would get up early each morning to listen to him in the temple area.”

So here is the key that  being disciplined and persevere in prayer it might require getting up early!

When I first came back to church that was one things I noticed right way that I was not going to be sleeping in!!!

A friend of mine said to me today — “I get up early because the early bird catches the worm”  But then she says… “what if I don’t want the worm?”

Bottom line is this — if you know Christ and love HIM — you’ll take a worm for HIM!

- You’ll get humiliated for him, you’ll be rejected for him — you’ll look bad for him!!!

That would be the worm — we all need to be vigilant in order to hear Christ’s word and when he calls! 

This is the week to practice — to wait and watch and listen and to stand in the gap — again as a friend of mine said… for all those who are not going — who are lost at Easter time — we pray for all those lost souls –

This Holy Week is our World Series — it is about the World — we all win — because JESUS WON!

It is all about Redemption!!!  Make sure you are vigilant and the Lord will be your Deliverer!!!

Please share!!  Please be tuned in for HOLY WEEK!

 

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  • Anonymous

    I like Lucas’ narrative of the end of times, the fall and destruction of Jerusalem and the suffering they would go through for Him. Because even in the narrative of horror. There is hope. He will be with them, He will talk through them. And right away I see my vision of standing on the rocking boat, with the sea going wild and I hanging on to Jesus hand adn looking at his light, with my head above the clouds, filled with His bright and shining light. And I imagine, without comparing myself with them, what the apostles and early christian went through. Even when they were staring at death in the face, at death by tigers and lions and by fire, they were full of Jesus and His Spirit, and they sang.

    I know that sometimes I’ve heard people say to me “You are so courageous going through what you went through” and I feel that I didn’t go through anything so bad. And I realize that for me wasn’t so bad, becasue I was walking the path with Jesus. But for anyone who is not hanging on to Him, anything that is not perfect would seem a tragedy. He makes de difference.

    The part about giving is so beautuful too. Specially when you give of yourself. But you have to have before you can give. SO we go back to loving ourselves. We need to grow spiritually, be ready, so we can give to others. I love this. Loving ourselves is a responsibility and an obligation we have. We need to ask the Lord to fill us with His Holy Spirit, always. We need to give what we receive, so we need to keep asking for more so we are always full and we can keep on giving. The minute we don’t give, we stop receiving. That is why it is so good to give.

    The same thing happens to me, Marie, about not sleeping in. I have to do my praying early in the morning, when I am not tired or overwhelmed by things that happen during the day. That is the best time for me to get filled up with Jesus. And it makes a big difference. Praise God.

  • http://FiredUpCatholics.com/ Marie Joseph

    Praise the Lord — YOU are truly blessed!!! I just think of a motor that can’t run without the proper fuel! If I am not fired up by the fuel of grace and the HOLY SPIRIT — my spiritual being cannot move!!! We don’t see that earthly fire — tiny explosions of fire propel the car to go — the same way we cannot see that the fire of the Holy Spirit and the grace of God with our yes — fuels our spiritual beings and we move in the spirit — I’d much rather be moved in spirit than in flesh — I can testify — much easier — What you are going through — touch times — don’t seem tough as difficult for you because you are full of grace!!! Just like Mary who gracefully delivered Jesus to us — now she will gracefully go to the cross and watch HIM DIE for us!!! What she did was tough — she just made it look so easy — Praise the LORD!

  • Anonymous

    Reading this chapter today then reading the news about the flooding in the Northeast from these rains makes me shiver!! Also plagues – I never thought of it this way but the AIDS virus and Ebola and bad flu strains ARE plagues aren’t they?? There is huge belief we are in the end times, not particularly at the end but at the beginning of the end.

    And are we not the new jerusalem? and again I like what Cuqui said about “hanging on to Jesus”, very appropriate in these times especially.

    I do my prayers in the morning also, after Mass at home. But I have such a hard time getting out of bed!! I am awake but don’t want to get up. I talk to the souls in purgatory and they really do help me, they wake me up every morning. I learned at an early age in Catholic school to ask them for little things, like helping me wake up at the right time.

    One last thing about Jesus putting the words in our mouths, we need to be open to that word. Many times I have tried to do that…depend on the Holy Spirit, however I was not in the state of grace and was doing nothing in my heart to help myself either. Lately I have been more open and HIS words have come to me when I need them.

  • Anonymous

    perseverance is the hardest. at sunday mass the priest was waving palms and he said: all of you who only come to mass 3 times a year probably dont know why im waving palms.

    it makes me wonder why i have the desire and discipline to get up for mass every day. i just know if i dont, my whole day is miserable. and i know it is the Holy Spirit. i would never have the strength even thou i know when i come out of church i feel Jesus is coming with me and i can face anything.

  • cuquilavergne

    I like Lucas' narrative of the end of times, the fall and destruction of Jerusalem and the suffering they would go through for Him. Because even in the narrative of horror. There is hope. He will be with them, He will talk through them. And right away I see my vision of standing on the rocking boat, with the sea going wild and I hanging on to Jesus hand adn looking at his light, with my head above the clouds, filled with His bright and shining light. And I imagine, without comparing myself with them, what the apostles and early christian went through. Even when they were staring at death in the face, at death by tigers and lions and by fire, they were full of Jesus and His Spirit, and they sang.

    I know that sometimes I've heard people say to me “You are so courageous going through what you went through” and I feel that I didn't go through anything so bad. And I realize that for me wasn't so bad, becasue I was walking the path with Jesus. But for anyone who is not hanging on to Him, anything that is not perfect would seem a tragedy. He makes de difference.

    The part about giving is so beautuful too. Specially when you give of yourself. But you have to have before you can give. SO we go back to loving ourselves. We need to grow spiritually, be ready, so we can give to others. I love this. Loving ourselves is a responsibility and an obligation we have. We need to ask the Lord to fill us with His Holy Spirit, always. We need to give what we receive, so we need to keep asking for more so we are always full and we can keep on giving. The minute we don't give, we stop receiving. That is why it is so good to give.

    The same thing happens to me, Marie, about not sleeping in. I have to do my praying early in the morning, when I am not tired or overwhelmed by things that happen during the day. That is the best time for me to get filled up with Jesus. And it makes a big difference. Praise God.

  • http://FiredUpCatholics.com/ Marie Joseph

    Praise the Lord — YOU are truly blessed!!! I just think of a motor that can't run without the proper fuel! If I am not fired up by the fuel of grace and the HOLY SPIRIT — my spiritual being cannot move!!! We don't see that earthly fire — tiny explosions of fire propel the car to go — the same way we cannot see that the fire of the Holy Spirit and the grace of God with our yes — fuels our spiritual beings and we move in the spirit — I'd much rather be moved in spirit than in flesh — I can testify — much easier — What you are going through — touch times — don't seem tough as difficult for you because you are full of grace!!! Just like Mary who gracefully delivered Jesus to us — now she will gracefully go to the cross and watch HIM DIE for us!!! What she did was tough — she just made it look so easy — Praise the LORD!

  • judystefencavage

    Reading this chapter today then reading the news about the flooding in the Northeast from these rains makes me shiver!! Also plagues – I never thought of it this way but the AIDS virus and Ebola and bad flu strains ARE plagues aren't they?? There is huge belief we are in the end times, not particularly at the end but at the beginning of the end.

    And are we not the new jerusalem? and again I like what Cuqui said about “hanging on to Jesus”, very appropriate in these times especially.

    I do my prayers in the morning also, after Mass at home. But I have such a hard time getting out of bed!! I am awake but don't want to get up. I talk to the souls in purgatory and they really do help me, they wake me up every morning. I learned at an early age in Catholic school to ask them for little things, like helping me wake up at the right time.

    One last thing about Jesus putting the words in our mouths, we need to be open to that word. Many times I have tried to do that…depend on the Holy Spirit, however I was not in the state of grace and was doing nothing in my heart to help myself either. Lately I have been more open and HIS words have come to me when I need them.

  • marionraffa

    perseverance is the hardest. at sunday mass the priest was waving palms and he said: all of you who only come to mass 3 times a year probably dont know why im waving palms.

    it makes me wonder why i have the desire and discipline to get up for mass every day. i just know if i dont, my whole day is miserable. and i know it is the Holy Spirit. i would never have the strength even thou i know when i come out of church i feel Jesus is coming with me and i can face anything.

  • Anonymous

    Hi, Marie,I’m back. I loved what you said to Persevere in Christ. Which I hope I do daily. I say two prayers befor I get out of the bed,one to our Father and one to my guardian Angel and if I remember other prayers. Mass is always a must everyday that’s were I get my strength. And then after Mass we all say the Rosary together. Then I say some more prayers I try to stay for an hour each day. The poor widows Contribution: The widow has no attachments of material possessions and depends on God. Her’s was a simple offering. I feel to that we are in end times,earthquakes,famines, but not to fear if we persevere in the Lord!!!!!! wooooooo I like what you said about being Vigliant and pray,pray pray.

  • marylatini

    Hi, Marie,I'm back. I loved what you said to Persevere in Christ. Which I hope I do daily. I say two prayers befor I get out of the bed,one to our Father and one to my guardian Angel and if I remember other prayers. Mass is always a must everyday that's were I get my strength. And then after Mass we all say the Rosary together. Then I say some more prayers I try to stay for an hour each day. The poor widows Contribution: The widow has no attachments of material possessions and depends on God. Her's was a simple offering. I feel to that we are in end times,earthquakes,famines, but not to fear if we persevere in the Lord!!!!!! wooooooo I like what you said about being Vigliant and pray,pray pray.

  • http://FiredUpCatholics.com/ Marie Joseph

    Welcome back — so glad you are well and ready for Holy Week!!!! Whooo hooo! Get fired up in the Holy Spirit and let’s go to the Cross with HIM!

  • http://FiredUpCatholics.com/ Marie Joseph

    Welcome back — so glad you are well and ready for Holy Week!!!! Whooo hooo! Get fired up in the Holy Spirit and let's go to the Cross with HIM!