THE END?

T. S. Eliot, in his poem ( 1925)  “The Hollow Men,” wrote, “This is the way the world ends/ Not with a bang but a whimper.”  If this is true, we are far away from the end, as our world seems to be rushing towards a cataclysmic ending. Riots breaking out all over our cities, people killed, monuments toppled, buildings burned, a killer virus, and people afraid to venture far from home -  not to mention climate change, natural disasters and wild fires ravaging mother nature.

The Great Day of His Wrath-  John Martin 1852

I have been hearing  “the end is coming" since I can remember, but the story of apocalypse is as old as time itself. Whenever we are in crises, prophets arise to interpret unprecedented or shocking events. I suppose if we go back through history, we will find that the bad times were a presage to good times- that what seems like a meltdown of society, of culture, of all that we hold dear, is really a wake-up call to faith, a sign of God’s coming judgment or both.  Jesus even told His disciples, “Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time is” (Mk 13:33). 

In these most uncertain times we are finding great cracks in what we thought to be stable, unshakable. We thought we had, for the most part, overcome racial discrimination, only to find we have failed miserably.  We thought our economy could only get better, that our children  would have a better future, and on and on.

It seems our whole world, especially our own country, has been turned upside down!  Now we are looking for some sort of "new norm".

Father Rupnik

We know one thing for certain: we do not know what will come next. This uncertainty and lack of foreknowledge must not stop us from  living our lives to the fullest- of finding new ways  to be better- to be holy. The best way is to care for each other and connect in the many ways that we can and through the Eucharist.  While we may ponder the uncertain future, we have the presence of Christ with us in the Eucharist.
Why wait for His coming when He is already here?

We must be grateful for the days that come, no matter how dark or dire they seem to be. We may not be able to celebrate the Mass in church in person, but our every day and every action must become an offering on the spiritual altar of our lives.