Destruction has its Day

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary on the last day of the Liturgical year offer us meditation on the destruction which we see around us and the challenge of facing the end of life of our own body. Friar Jude Winkler reminds us, in his reflection today, that apocalyptic literature like the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelations, in the New Testament is often about the persecution happening in the time of the author but is set in some future time. The message for those experiencing persecution now is that it is temporary. It will come to an end and the power of evil will not overcome the transcendent relationship of intimacy with God offered to those confronting intense difficulty. The Gospel of Luke advises us to maintain our link in relationship with God as that is the strength we need for whatever challenges may spring upon us in end days of our "liturgical journey" in time and space.