"We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures; we are the sum of the Father's love for us…" –St. John Paul II
The Lord has given us another year of growth. Throughout the world, the people of God have grown both in width and in depth. How many more children have been born and baptized this year? How much deeper is our knowledge and love for God? Christ Jesus came into the world to testify to the truth, and more have chosen to listen to his voice and belong to it.
Today we hear a type of Scripture called apocalyptic. The last book of the Bible, the Book of Revelation, is also apocalyptic, but in the Gospel of Mark we find a condensed version of it right here in Jesus’ words as he speaks with his disciples. This year, humanity has experienced many terrible events: most recently the terrorist attacks in Paris, but also the failure of our culture to protect God’s universal plan for marriage. Some Christians believe there will be a single terrible event that is coming, the great tribulation, but rather, could it be that all tribulation is united to Christ’s own that he faced on the cross? By speaking to his disciples this way, Jesus prepares them, prepares us, for a history of tribulation, a great tribulation which he has already conquered himself. Through Apocalyptic scripture, God expresses his concern that we are ready for difficult times, and that we help one another through them.