Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
In the last days, nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place; and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky. Jesus warned us not to be terrified in those days, and not to be deceived, either, because many false messiahs will appear. If we successfully avoid the false messiahs and their deceptions, and if we faithfully follow the true Messiah alone, then we will have no need to be afraid, even as the world around us descends into chaos and apocalypse.
Before the coming of the last days, as we inhabit this middle time, we must make it our business to reject the deceptions of false messiahs, over and over again. We must make it our business to seek the true Messiah, over and over again, and reattach ourselves to Him. This is the business of the seven sacraments, like baptism and confession and holy communion. This is the business of catechesis and theology. This is the business of Ignatian spirituality, too, in its own way. To learn how to love the things that God loves, namely truth, goodness, and beauty, and to hate the things that God hates, namely falsehood, evil and disorder. To be joined in Spirit to the true Messiah, Jesus Christ, and to be humbled with Him now, so as to be lifted up with Him when the days end.