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The Last Judgment , Peter Cornelius, 1836-39 Fresco, Ludwigskirche, Munich [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)  Gospel   Matthew 25:31-46   ( New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition , Canada)   Jesus said to his disciples: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory.     All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats,   and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left.     Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;   for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me som

The Widow’s Mite by Tissot (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons). I was thinking recently about St. Therese and Judgment Day. Therese wanted to stand before God with “empty hands.” As part of her plan to trust in God rather than in her merits, she chose to give away all her spiritual goods. She offered them to God, not for herself, but for others. She left herself spiritually poor and naked. Then she was able to focus, not on her acts of virtue and self-denial, but on the merits of Jesus. She believed that, seeing her with no works on which to be judged, God would apply Jesus’ works to her account. Thus, her confidence was in Jesus alone. Following St. Therese, when I make a sacrifice, accept the trials and disappointments of my day, or act virtuously, I picture myself handing a plain brown box to the Blessed Virgin Mary. This is my gift for the Infant Jesus. Mary takes the package and wraps it splendidly with her  love and virtues. Then she passes it on to her Son,

The Savior is coming!  The Savior is coming! You Also Must Be Prepared [Mt 24] While sitting in my car recently, waiting for my son, a song (from earlier this year) came on the radio that I never heard of before… A song that very unexpectedly led me into thinking about THE coming.  It was just a few days before Advent at the time, when Catholics are especially reminded of the “last things”, nearing the threshold of our season of hope & preparation. The song, however, is actually about the ruin of Pompeii , the ancient Roman city near modern-day Naples , as it was suddenly buried under the volcanic ash of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.  Apparently, the songwriter was inspired by the people of Pompeii ; that is, in how their remains were forever preserved in their positions, at that exact moment in time... “caught up and lost in… vices.”  It made me wonder… Will I (we), too, be caught, off-guard & unprepared for last things; for judgment?  …Which led me to also consider how