Enduring Forever

November 29, 2007

Thursday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

I decree that throughout my royal domain the God of Daniel is to be reverenced and feared: “For he is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be without end. He is a deliverer and savior, working signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, and he delivered Daniel from the lions' power.” Daniel 6:27-28

And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand. Luke 21:27-28

Piety

Our Father

Who art in heaven,

Hallow be your name.

Your kingdom come,

Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.

Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/112907.shtml

The End.

The End of the Liturgical Year.

The End of the Gospel according to St. Luke.

The End of the World.

The End of the Road.

Our lives are finite. Whether our life is cut off abruptly, early like Sean Taylor’s tragic murder this week or whether we live out our days until the end of our natural life, our lives are finite.

Only God is infinite.

However, when we meet our end, God will survive. And we will survive with God. Because of His infinite goodness, God is to be praised, not feared. We might disappear from the face of the earth tomorrow, yet God will endure forever.

Tomorrow, the sun will rise. A new day will dawn and a new cycle will begin. Always we begin again.

Action

Let us vow to live in the least destructive means possible. Reflect on these enduring words from Henri Nouwen:

Our hard and very urgent task is to realize that nature is not primarily a property to be possessed, but a gift to be received with admiration and gratitude. How differently we would live if we always sensed that the nature around us is full of desire to tell us the great story of God’s love, to which it points.

Consider these ideas from Matthew Colwell, Sabbath Economics and Household Practices, (Chapter 4, pages 56-58):

Purchase food from a local farmers’ market.

Use some means of public transportation or share a ride with a carpool or riders in the HOV lanes this week. Walk to Metro. Leave your car behind.

Evaluate or inspect your home for dangerous substances like carbon monoxide, lead paint or asbestos.

Get an area ready for next spring where you can grow your own food. Purchase seeds this winter and start them growing indoors.

Reduce, reuse and recycle.