Reflection for the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time, Part 2

Thursday – A Prophecy

Jesus weeps over Jerusalem. He knows that in only a few years, the city will be destroyed. He also knows that the people of Jerusalem have brought their fate upon themselves because they failed to recognize the One Who could have saved them.

So Jesus speaks a prophecy over the city. “For the days are coming upon you,” He says, “when your enemies will raise a palisade against you; they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides. They will smash you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another within you...”

No one in Jerusalem could ever say that Jesus didn't warn them about the consequences of their sin and lack of faith. The same goes for all of us. Jesus has given us plenty of warnings, too. We face the same choice as the people of Jerusalem. Will we listen to Jesus and change our lives? Or will we ignore Him and face destruction?

Friday – Sweetness

My Jesus,
May Your promises always be sweet to me.
May Your Word always be sweet to me.
May Your moral law always be sweet to me.
May Your sacraments always be sweet to me.
May Your Church's teaching always be sweet to me.
May Your grace always be sweet to me.
May Your gift of prayer always be sweet to me.
May I savor the sweetness of Your love for all eternity.
Amen.

Saturday – God of the Living

Our God is a God of the living. Those who have died physically are still alive spiritually if they are in Him. In fact, they are more alive than ever before. Even if they are being purified in Purgatory, they know that they are on their way to Heaven, and they rejoice in the depth and breadth of their new life. And those in Heaven experience an abundance of life beyond their wildest imaginings.

We who still live on this earth can also be more alive than ever if we allow the God of the living to live and move in us. Jesus proclaimed that He is the way, the truth, and the life, and He explained that He has come that we might “have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). In Jesus, we can begin living Heaven right now because we can share in the very life of God through His grace.

So let's choose life in every way. May we choose life for ourselves, the abundant life that God offers us in Himself. May we choose life for others, recognizing their human dignity from conception to natural death. May we choose life at every moment, for God is a God of the living.