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“We Do Not Know the Day or Hour”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

 November 26-27, 2022

Gospel:  Matthew 24:37-44

³⁷ ‘As it was in Noah’s day, so will it be when the Son of man comes.  ³⁸ For in those days before the Flood people were eating, drinking, taking wives, taking husbands, right up to the day Noah went into the ark, ³⁹ and they suspected nothing till the Flood came and swept them all away. This is what it will be like when the Son of man comes.  ⁴⁰ Then of two men in the fields, one is taken, one left; ⁴¹ of two women grinding at the mill, one is taken, one left.  ⁴² ‘So stay awake, because you do not know the day when your Master is coming.  ⁴³ You may be quite sure of this, that if the householder had known at what time of the night the burglar would come, he would have stayed awake and would not have allowed anyone to break through the wall of his house. ⁴⁴ Therefore, you too must stand ready because the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

In the Gospel, they talk about “eschaton” which means the last days before God comes and judges the world.  We look forward to and honor His first coming on December 25^th.   And we look forward to His last coming.  Will we be alive at the eschaton?  No one knows the day or the time.   But He comes in between those two periods which we are now in.   He comes in a lot of ways.  He’s already here in the Blessed Sacrament.  He comes again and again offering Himself to us in the Sacraments. 

Whether Mass is in Latin, Spanish, or English, people say, “I get nothing from Mass.”  That’s pure blasphemy and heresy because the Sacraments are God’s gift of Himself to us.  “I get nothing from God and His gift of Sacrifice.”  Really?  Then you don’t need to be here.  Come back when you are ready.  This is how God gives Himself to us.  He offers Himself again and again especially in the Sacraments of Confession and Holy Communion.  God makes Himself present in our soul.  And He comes to prepare us for what?   His second coming at the end of the world.  Smart money says He will come at our own personal death.  We do not know the date or time.  For instance, my cousin outlived her prognosis.  We also do not know how.  His presence and attempted coming into our souls – we are the ones who control His arrival or not – prepare us for that time when we will meet Him face-to-face.  So, take His advice: “Keep watch, for you do not know the day or the hour.”   

Now, I’m not much, as you all well know, but I can read a calendar.  The average life span of a male is about 73 or 74 years.  In July, I will be 70.  If I move again, it will be to a house right next to Atrium.  I don’t know when the time will come but prepare to meet our Lord and be ready to greet Him when He comes.  He comes to us a lot in ordinary ways and at ordinary times.  I told you the story about finding the quarter, and that was fun.  I even found a dime last night.  Hey, my cousin is generous!   She was a VA psych nurse, so she really knows how to handle me. 

Our God tells us, even in the midst of our afflictions and crosses, if you look for the signs, He will tell us that He is with us.  You will find all these little signs but sometimes we get too busy to notice. My cousin had stopped the chemotherapy.  She was sitting on the deck in East Nowhere, Massachusetts – there is such a place as East Nowhere, and she lived there.  Out of nothing, a distinguished voice – not a soft one but a real one – said “I love you.”  Just to let her know that during her final time on the cross, she was loved.   She was prepared to go and joyfully meet her Savior.  So, our good Lord is coming, and that’s the good news.  And what does that give us?  It gives us time.  Time to put on the wedding garment as Scripture tells us. Time to take advantage of His presence and His comings so that we may be ready to go joyfully to meet Him when the time comes.  So be prepared.  We get distracted by many things…Black Friday sales and all that stuff.  But our good Lord is coming back, and that is the good news.

Father’s Reflections. . .

Please keep Theresa Cutrone in your prayers.  She fell and banged her head.  I happened to be there when the rescue squad came.  One of the medics asked Theresa what had happened, and she said, “My husband pushed me.”  The medic said that he could call the law.  And I said, “You’ll need to call Ghostbusters. . .I buried her husband two years ago.”    It’s never dull in my world. 

On a personal note, I want to thank you for your prayers for my cousin.  Kathy passed away on Friday morning.  She was diagnosed a year ago with Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer which is not a fun way to go.   I also want to thank her medical team.  They bought her a lot of time she would not have had.  I appreciate them and your prayers. 

On Friday night I was driving to a restaurant to eat fish…I hate fish, but I have to eat it.     I looked up at the sky and saw a beautiful sunset.   I said, “Kathy you are in Heaven now.  Please pray for me.”  As I was getting out of the car at Blue Bay, I looked down at the ground and there was a quarter.   Wow. . .that was quick!  And then, I had an evil thought.  My cheap brother only sent me a penny when he passed.  But in his defense maybe God bumped it up to adjust for inflation. 

How will you apply this message to your life? _____________________________

You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to annunciationcatholicalbemarle.com and clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” then “Sermon Notes.”  On a cell phone: click on “Blog” then “Menu” and then “Categories”

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