Celebrant: The day of the Lord is coming, when He will bring us the fullness of joy and salvation. Trusting in Him, we now pray with confidence.

Deacon/Lector:

That the Church may joyfully announce the first coming of Christ and prophetically prepare for His Second Coming, we pray to the Lord...

That all elected officials may seek the wisdom of God and put their trust in His guidance, we pray to the Lord...

For those who have been unjustly accused of wrongdoing because they have stood up for God's law and defended the sanctity of life, we pray to the Lord...

For all students, that through their studies they may discern the hand of the Lord in history and in current events, we pray to the Lord...

That the sick may be comforted, strengthened, and healed according to God's will, we pray to the Lord...

That all the departed may enjoy eternal light, peace, and joy in the Kingdom of Heaven, we pray to the Lord...

Celebrant:

Father,
We wait in joyful hope
For the coming of Your Son.
Until that Day,
Give us the joy of faithfulness to You in all things.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

My one regret

"My abortion is definitely the one thing I regret. There will always be remorse and sadness. The feeling of the loss of a child will always be there. I wish I could have known then what abortion was all about and its devastating effects on the woman. So many women feel that if they had more support and truth during their crisis pregnancy many lives would have been saved." - - from the testimonies of those who have had abortions - see www.AbortionTestimonies.com 

Mal 3:19-20a
2 Thes 3:7-12
Lk 21:5-19

Watch a video with homily hints

The liturgical readings in these days are pointing us toward the end of time, and the culmination of salvation history. It is good for the preacher to point out that the themes about the second coming, in these final Sundays of the liturgical year, will blend smoothly with the first part of Advent, when the theme is likewise the second coming of the Lord.

The readings of today convey conflict on many levels - within oneself, in families and communities, between Church and state, between nations, and in the heavens. Although God is almighty, he allows good and evil to conflict with each other, and allows his people to choose sides. Once we choose, we have to fight for what we have chosen, and even when we are on God's side, it will not be easy. There is always a price to pay for doing what is right, because evil is always fighting against the good.

This is the overall context in which the Church's defense of human life in our day needs to be understood, and in which our own acknowledgement of the sanctity of life needs to be understood. It is never enough just to be content with acknowledging to others the beauty of life and presenting that beauty. Some, in doing this, consider themselves exempt from the full-scale war that has been launched against the sanctity of life in our day.

John Paul II's encyclical "Evangelium Vitae" (The Gospel of Life) makes it clear that nobody is exempt from this war. Some pay a higher price than others for their conscientious objection to the forces of death - for example, medical professionals who refuse to take part in actions that take or endanger the very lives they are committed to serve. Our suffering may, on the other hand, simply be the ridicule or misunderstanding of family, friends, or fellow Christians when we take a strong stand against abortion.

We have to be ready to fight, both as individuals and as a Church community. We have to be fearless in the face of laws and public policies which contradict the Gospel of Life, and challenge those laws. In the end, "not a hair on your head will be destroyed."