Reflection for November 28, Saturday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 21:34-36

Gospel: Luke 21:34-36

Jesus said to his disciples: “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. 

For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.”

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Reflection:

What is the best protection against the uncertainties and anxieties of this world?  Our best protection is our connection with Jesus. Connection that will cost us nothing except a little of our time. We connect with Jesus when we pray, we talk and establish contact with Him through our fervent prayer life.   

What does prayer do to us? It gives us inner peace. We are always calm amidst the struggles and complexities of daily life. Active prayer life prepares us for whatever eventualities that life may bring us. 

Calamities, unforeseen disasters and the threat of wars happen every now and then and often times it catch us unexpectedly and it disturbs us. But if we are always prepared spiritually we would somehow learn to cope with it emotionally and we would still be calm. 

The world that we are in right now is so uncertain we don’t know what may happen next. For example, the covid-19 pandemic nobody expected it to happen but it happened. The threat of war and terrorism in many parts of the world is real and it’s happening. We therefore have to pray for peace and ask Jesus to make our world more peaceful.    

In the gospel for today Jesus told the disciples: “Pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man (Luke 21:36).” – Marino J. Dasmarinas