Be Vigilant!!!

There was a bumper sticker that simply read, "When the Rapture occurs, this car will be unmanned"!!! Namely, when the Lord calls his church home I am going to be one of those lifted up. We look forward to the day when we will be united with our Lord and with those who have gone before us, especially our loved ones. One thing that we cannot do is predict when the world is going to end as we know it. That is the message in the gospel for today, Luke 17:20-25. The Pharisees wanted to know when the Kingdom of God would come. Like Jesus said, "The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed, and no one will announce, 'Look, here it is,' or 'There it is.' For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you." The day is coming but we do not know when that will occur. I believe there is a reason we do not know when the Lord will return or when the hour of our own death will happen. We have been entrusted with a great mission to build the kingdom of God here in our midst by lives of faithfulness, love, and service. If we knew when the end was coming we would be worrying about that day. Since we do not know, we need to keep living in the present moment and live out the will God has for us. Like Saint Padre Pio says, "Pray, Hope, and Don't Worry"!!! Let us be vigilant because that day is coming that the Lord talked about, but do not be afraid! Jesus has told us what to expect, we just need to be ready when it takes place. God Bless You!!!