Spiritually Prepared

Tuesday of the Twenty-Ninth Week in Ordinary Time

Feast Day of Blessed John Paul II

Gospel of Luke 12:35-38

Jesus said to his disciples:  "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."

All of us lead very busy lives.  We seem to always be "preparing" for something from the routine to the special.  Thanksgiving preparation includes cooking the turkey with all the fixings.  A couple prepares for the highly anticipated arrival of a new son or daughter.  A college student prepares for the MCAT or LSAT.  A family prepares for a move to a new city for employment.  I see preparation as an anticipatory action, readiness for either something good or bad.  Sometimes we must prepare our homes for a natural disaster such as a hurricane or tornado.

With all of this preparation in our every day life, are we spiritually prepared? Are we following Our Lord as a vigilant servant?

Christianity is in a crisis throughout the globe.  Persecutions and violations of religious liberties headline in the news media.  We as Christians, especially Catholic Christians, need to become more vigilant in defense of the faith.  As Blessed John Paul II wrote:

 "We are now facing the final confrontation between the Church and the anti-Church, between the Gospel and the anti-gospel, between Christ and the antichrist.  This confrontation lies within the plans of Divine Providence.  It is, therefore, in God's Plan, and it must be a trial which the Church must take up, and face courageously."

Spiritual preparation involves faith, love, and charity.  It involves frequent prayer, confession, and reception of the Eucharist. A deep moral sense of right from wrong is paramount if we are to "light our lamps" in anticipation of Christ.  We don't know when he will knock and expect us to change our lives:  The way we think, act, or react.  The way we view others and the world around us.

So many people do not understand "the language of the Church."  This lack of understanding draws them toward secularism, commercialism, materialism, and even atheism (or pseudo-atheism).  People are lost in understanding how religious vigilance can enhance their lives.  Thinking about how we can minister to others appears over-whelming.

How can I be a humble servant of God?  It seems impossible to prepare for something untouchable, body-less, motionless, without physical form...... 

We think so many people simply don't want to listen or simply don't care.  On the contrary, we may not be reaching out to them in a godly and meaningful way.

As vigilant servants, Catholic Christians should think of creative, sustainable, and positive ways of helping  "prepare" those who do not acknowledge a Christ in their lives.  We do not seem to mind preparing for the physical and material.  But do we have the strength to become spiritually prepared and ready when Christ calls us to serve and follow?

Blessed John Paul II, Pray for Us!

-J.