What a gathering on that bright and golden morning, 

When the Son of Man shall come.

31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C (30 October 2016)

2nd Reading

Because of this, too, we pray always for you, so that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may complete every act of his goodness, as well as his work of faith in virtue, in order that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, in accord with the grace of our God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.

But we ask you, brothers, concerning the advent of our Lord Jesus Christ and of our gathering to him, that you not be readily disturbed or terrified in your minds, by any spirit, or word, or epistle, supposedly sent from us, claiming that the day of the Lord is close by.

Lesson: The grace of God the Father and his Son, Jesus, helps us to accomplish what he begins in us. Faith in the Lord produces works of virtue that bring glory to Christ and sanctifies us.

St. Paul was repudiating a forged letter that supposedly came from him purporting that Jesus's Second Coming was at hand. Judgment Day will come after the Tribulation and the appearance of the Antichrist.

Meditation: God gives us limitless opportunities to bring him glory and increase our sanctity. If you don't like the one before you, be patient. He will bring another one that may be more to your liking. Personally speaking, in high school I was courted by the Redemptorists to become a priest. I chose marriage instead. Late in life, I wrote several prayer books, became a lector and adult altar server, and eventually a tour guide for the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Shrine in Emmitsburg, MD. Now I write a Catholic blog. Like I said, God gives us many opportunities to serve him. Now I'm looking forward to seeing what he has in store for me next!

What a Gathering

by Fanny Crosby

On that bright and golden morning,
When the Son of Man shall come,
And the radiance of His glory we shall see;
When from ev’ry clime and nation
He shall call His people home,
What a gath’ring of the ransomed that will be!

When the blest, who sleep in Jesus,
At His bidding shall arise
From the silence of the grave, and from the sea,
And with bodies all celestial
They shall meet Him in the skies,
What a gath’ring and rejoicing there will be!

When our eyes behold the city,
With its many mansions bright,
And its river, calm and restful, flowing free;
When the friends that death hath parted
Shall in bliss again unite,
What a gath’ring and a greeting there will be!

O the King is surely coming,
And the time is drawing nigh,
When the blessèd day of promise we shall see;
Then the changing in a moment,
In the twinkling of an eye,
And forever in His presence we shall be.

Refrain

What a gath’ring, what a gath’ring,
What a gath’ring of the ransomed
In the summer land of love!
What a gath’ring, what a gath’ring,
Of the ransomed in that happy home above.

Scriptural texts: Ronald L. Conte Jr., translator and editor: The SacredBible, Catholic Public Domain Version, Original Edition.
Song retrieved from The Cyber Hymnal™ which lists over 11,000 Christian hymns with bios, midi files, and sheet music.

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Here is Psalm 22 from my book, "Praying the Psalms for the Unborn Child."

Psalm 22

A Cry of Anguish and a Song of Praise.
Crucifixion

1My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?
Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning.
2O my God, I cry by day, but You do not answer;
And by night, but I have no rest.
3Yet You are holy,
O You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel.
4In You our fathers trusted;
They trusted and You delivered them.
5To You they cried out and were delivered;
In You they trusted and were not disappointed.6But I am a worm and not a man,
A reproach of men and despised by the people.
7All who see me sneer at me;
They separate with the lip, they wag the head, saying,
8"Commit yourself to the LORD; let Him deliver him;
Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him."
9Yet You are He who brought me forth from the womb;
You made me trust when upon my mother's breasts.
10Upon You I was cast from birth;
You have been my God from my mother's womb.
11Be not far from me, for trouble is near;
For there is none to help.
12Many bulls have surrounded me;
Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me.
13They open wide their mouth at me,
As a ravening and a roaring lion.
14I am poured out like water,
And all my bones are out of joint;
My heart is like wax;
It is melted within me.
15My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And my tongue cleaves to my jaws;
And You lay me in the dust of death.
16For dogs have surrounded me;
A band of evildoers has encompassed me;
They pierced my hands and my feet.
17I can count all my bones.
They look, they stare at me;
18They divide my garments among them,
And for my clothing they cast lots.
19But You, O LORD, be not far off;
O You my help, hasten to my assistance.
20Deliver my soul from the sword,
My only life from the power of the dog.
21Save me from the lion's mouth;
From the horns of the wild oxen You answer me.
22I will tell of Your name to my brethren;
In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
23You who fear the LORD, praise Him;
All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him,
And stand in awe of Him, all you descendants of Israel.
24For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;
Nor has He hidden His face from him;
But when he cried to Him for help, He heard.
25From You comes my praise in the great assembly;
I shall pay my vows before those who fear Him.
26The afflicted will eat and be satisfied;
Those who seek Him will praise the LORD
Let your heart live forever!
27All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD,
And all the families of the nations will worship before You.
28For the kingdom is the LORD'S
And He rules over the nations.
29All the prosperous of the earth will eat and worship,
All those who go down to the dust will bow before Him,
Even he who cannot keep his soul alive.
30Posterity will serve Him;
It will be told of the Lord to the coming generation.
31They will come and will declare His righteousness
To a people who will be born, that He has performed it.

Jesus prayed this psalm as He suffered on the cross as referenced in the New Testament: MT 27:46, MK 15:34 (22:1), MT 27:43 (22:8) and MT 27:35 (22:18)³⁶. Jesus feels abandoned by God who helped His ancestors (22:2-6). Scoffers jeer at Him (22:7-8)³⁷. Until this moment, the Father had been with Him since His Blessed Mother, who stands at the foot of His Cross, gave birth to Him (22:9-10)³⁸. Jesus now asks the Father for His help again (22:11) as enemies thirsting for blood surround Him (22:12-13). His weak, tortured, pierced body thirsts as He awaits the arrival of death and the soldiers gamble for His clothing (22:14-18). He continues to ask for God's help (22:19-21). In loving gratitude, Jesus and all the members of His Church will praise the Father forever and ever (22: 22-31)³⁹.

Prayer for life: Dear Lord, You still suffer greatly because of those who scoff at Your laws and murder the innocent unborn. Our ignoring Your divine law has led to the genocide of millions of our brothers and sisters. Our callous disrespect for life are the nails that pierced You sacred hands; our arrogant insistence on doing what we think is right or makes us feel good, rather than submitting to the will of God, are the thorns that pierced Your sacred head. Have mercy on us, Lord, and help us to change our evil ways before it is too late. For the blood of our murdered brethren cries out for vengeance. Amen.

Have a blessed day!
John

³⁶ Reardon, Patrick. Christ in the Psalms. Ben Lomond, CA: Conciliar Press, 2000. 42. Print.

³⁷ Kleist, James, and Thomas Lynam. The Psalms in Rhythmic Prose. 1st ed. Milwaukee: The Bruce Publishing Company, 1954. 27. Print.

³⁸ Reardon 42.

³⁹ Kleist, and Lynam 27.

Scripture (Psalm 22) taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Copyright © 2010 by John P. Gross. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this material must be done in its entirety with the copyright notice intact. This book is not for sale, but is offered to the public free of charge in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary and for the glory of God.