Meditation: 29th Sunday Ordinary Time


The last line of the Gospel for today is a frightening question straight from the lips of our Lord: "But yet the Son of man, when he cometh, shall he find, think you, faith on earth?"

 Given that "Nones" now outnumber Catholics in America, if Christ were to come again now, the answer would seem to be a resounding "no." And with everything happening at the Vatican and the Amazon Synod (Pachamama etc.), that answer would seem to be confirmed even further.

 Everywhere we look, faith seems to be dwindling and the smoke of Satan seems to be winning. Yet we still have hope (really we always have hope), that God's justice will prevail and His elect will be avenged as Jesus promises us before the last line of the Gospel reading for today.

 Jesus also tells us that God's justice is ultimately accomplished through perseverance in prayer. The more we pray, the better able we are to receive the grace and strength we need to overcome sin, Satan and the powers of darkness. When we neglect prayer, we are more easily overcome.

 Prayer also helps us to understand more clearly the Scriptures, so long as we remain united to the Church and check our understanding according to the Deposit of Faith. And when we are certain that we are not in error, we can then be instruments to use the Scriptures to evangelize and bring more people to faith, contrary to what Pope Francis and the synod bishops would have us do.

 The current situation in the Church and the world at large may seem hopeless, but God can neither deceive nor be deceived. When He makes a promise, we can be sure that He will fulfill it, even though it may not be how or when we expect it to be.

 So let us listen to Jesus when he exhorts us to persevere in prayer. Let us listen to St. Paul and use the Scriptures to bring people to faith. Let us listen to Our Lady at Fatima when she asked us to pray the rosary every day for the conversion of sinners. And let us trust that, in the end, her Immaculate Heart will triumph and God's justice will prevail.

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