Posted on 11/27/2025 7:58:11 AM PST by fidelis
“And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.” Luke 21:28
This passage above concludes a series of teachings by Jesus on the suffering and persecution that will come in this world. But His teachings conclude with this line above, which offers great hope in anticipation of Jesus’ return in glory. This passage speaks of the prophetic vision of Daniel (Daniel 7:13–14) that terrified Daniel when he saw it. He witnessed the great persecution to come, as well as the destruction of all evil that will accompany the return of the Son of Man.
When you think about both the final coming of Christ as well as your own future death, what comes to mind? If you were informed by an angel that tomorrow would be that day, the day that the Son of Man would return in all His splendor and glory to bring about an end to this world and to issue forth His judgment upon it, how would you react? Would you be terrified?
Overjoyed? Hopeful? Confused? Perhaps a little of each of these reactions would be present. Of this time, Jesus said that “nations would be in dismay” and that “People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming into the world.” So what is your reaction to this promised day of our Lord?
Those who “die of fright” are clearly those who will experience this day completely unprepared. Meeting the Son of Man, the Son of God, the Savior of the World and the Eternal Judge when you are completely unprepared should be frightful. Imagine, for example, that you were hosting a large dinner party and you got your days mixed up. The day arrived and you weren’t expecting anyone until the following week, but the guests started to arrive in great numbers. Imagine your anxiety and embarrassment. Such an experience would be nothing compared to being unprepared for the judgment of Christ when we stand before Him at the time of our death and then at the Final Judgment at the end of the world.
The good news is that on that day, for those who are truly prepared through a life of faith and selfless service of God’s will, they are told to “stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.” If you do all you can to prepare for that day, then it will be a day in which you anticipate with the utmost hope and excitement. You will indeed be able to stand erect, turn your eyes to the coming Judge of All, and receive the eternal reward that He so deeply desires to bestow. But this will be your experience only if you are truly ready for that day through a life lived in complete imitation of Christ.
Reflect, today, upon that final day. Imagine every person ever created standing before the Judgment Seat of Christ. Every sin and every virtue will be made manifest on that day. The minds and hearts of all will be seen in the light as they are revealed to all by God. And those who have lived lives of fidelity will rejoice as they see God’s justice and His mercy unite as His judgments are issued forth. If this day is one that frightens you, consider the reasons why. If you do not look forward to this definitive moment in time, then perhaps you need to ponder more deeply those things you need to do so as to be fully prepared. Prepare yourself today. Do not wait. Our Lord could return at any time. Do not be caught off guard.
My eternal Judge, You promise to return to earth at a definitive moment in time to bring about the fullness of justice. May I always be prepared for that day through a life lived in union with You and Your holy will. I pray for that day to come quickly, dear Lord, and that all Your children will be ready to meet You when You come. Jesus, I trust in You.
Please keep in mind that this is a Catholic Caucus/Devotional thread for the purpose of prayerful reflection on the Sacred Scriptures and is closed to debate of any kind. Per FR policy on Religion Caucus threads, off-topic, argumentative, and abusive comments are not allowed and will be submitted to the Mods for deletion. Thanks, and God bless you.
The Month of November is Dedicated to Praying for the Holy Souls in Purgatory
“He took up a collection, and sent it to Jerusalem to provide for a sin offering. In doing this he acted very well and honorably, taking account of the resurrection. For if he were not expecting that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead. But if he was looking to the splendid reward that is laid up for those who fall asleep in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Therefore he made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin.” (2 Maccabees 12:43-45)
Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intentions for the month of November, 2025:
For the prevention of suicide
Let us pray that those who are struggling with suicidal thoughts might find the support, care, and love they need in their community, and be open to the beauty of life.
First Reading:
From: Daniel 6:12-28
Daniel Sentenced to be Put in the Lions’ Den (Continuation)
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([11] Then these men came by agreement (into the upper chamber of Daniel's house) and found Daniel making petition and supplication before his God.) [12] Then they came near and said before the king, concerning the interdict, “O king! Did you not sign an interdict, that any man who makes petition to any god or man within thirty days except to you, 0 king, shall be cast into the den of lions?” The king answered, “The thing stands fast, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be revoked.” [13] Then they answered before the king, “That Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no heed to you, O king, or the interdict you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.”
[14] Then the king, when he heard these words, was much distressed, and set his mind to deliver Daniel; and he labored till the sun went down to rescue him. [15] Then these men came by agreement to the king, and said to the king, “Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no interdict or ordinance which the king establishes can be changed.”
[16] Then the king commanded, and Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!” [17] And a stone was brought and laid upon the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. [18] Then the king went to his palace, and spent the night fasting; no diversions were brought to him, and sleep fled from him.
Daniel’s Miraculous Escape
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[19] Then, at break of day, the king arose and went in haste to the den of lions. [20] When he came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of anguish and said to Daniel, “0 Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” [21] Then Daniel said to the king, “0 king, live for ever! [22] My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not hurt me, because I was found blameless before him, and also before you, 0 king, I have done no wrong.” [23] Then the king was exceedingly glad, and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of hurt was found upon him, because he had trusted in his God.
The King’s Profession of Faith
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[24] And the king commanded, and those men who had accused Daniel were brought and cast into the den of lions--they, their children, and their wives and before they reached the bottom of the den the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces.
[25] Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: “Peace be multiplied to you. [26] I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God, enduring for ever his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end. [27] He delivers and rescues, he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, he who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions.” ([28] So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.)
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Commentary:
6:1-28. This passage, which is similar in parts to chapter 3, begins by showing how difficult it was for the Jews to stay true to their religion in the midst of a pagan society (vv. 1-18); then we see how God comes to their rescue (vv. 19-24); finally, the pagan king acknowledges the God of Israel (vv. 25-28). As in chapter 5, Daniel is center-stage; in fact, his companions are not even mentioned. The episode has no particular connection with the previous ones; in fact, it seems to be a unit in its own right; it rounds off the part of the book dealing with Daniel at the court of Babylon. The fact that the story involves Darius the Mede, a king unknown to historical scholarship (see pp. 794f, above), reinforces the impression that this is a moral tale designed to get across the message that God helps those who strive to obey the precepts of the Jewish religion.
6:1-18. Daniel seems to be very much part of the social and political world of Babylon; thanks to his skill and loyalty, he is second only to the king. The plot against him may have been hatched out of jealousy, but the fact that he was an foreigner and a Jew probably did not help. His enemies set a sort of legal trap for Daniel. The king in his vanity issues a decree which, for a period of thirty days, makes him the only god there is. It is a decree that even he cannot revoke--much as he would wish to do so, in order to liberate Daniel from its penalty. Here Daniel the Jew is not being obliged to do something against his religion: he is being required to refrain from doing something that his religion enjoins--to pray to God facing towards Jerusalem (cf. 1 Kings 8:48). Daniel’s opponents have managed to manipulate the king and change the law, in such a way that they can accuse Daniel of breaking the law for religious reasons; he cannot be faulted on any other score.
When Daniel learned about the interdict, he did not change his standard pattern of prayer (v. 11); there is a lesson here for Christians, as the Fathers point out. Origen, for example, says: “The commandment to "pray without ceasing" (cf. Lk18:1) can be understood and fulfilled only if we believe that the whole of man’s life is a single, unbroken prayer. One part of this long prayer of life is what we call prayer, and we should pray no less than three times a day, as is made clear in the book of Daniel, who prayed three times a day even in the midst of great dangers” ("De Oratione", 12, 2).
6:19-24. Through divine intervention (once again by means of an angel: cf. 3:26), no harm comes to Daniel from the lions. It is as if Daniel is innocent in the sight of God--a point not lost on the king (v. 22) either; in fact, it spurs him to take control of the situation, assert his rights, and see that justice is done (vv. 23-24). Daniel’s fidelity to his religion, and the fact that God protected him in his ordeal, expose the perversity of the king’s edict, and cause the king to right the wrong he has done. The sacred writer points out why God intervened miraculously--because Daniel “trusted in his God” (v. 23). Daniel’s rivals were punished in line with the customs of the time, that is, they were punished very severely.
St Augustine comments that the lions refrained from harming Daniel because he was faithful to God: “Submit to the one who has power over you, and you will be raised above those who once held you in thrall. In committing sin, man places above himself what should always be beneath him; he submits to things that are less than him. [...] Acknowledge the one who has power over you, so that the things that are below you will see where you stand above them. For when Daniel acknowledged the power of the Lord God, the lions saw the superiority of Daniel over them and did not touch him” ("In Epistolam Ioannis", 8).
6:25-28: The king readily issues a decree that goes against his earlier one (cf. 6:9); the tenor of it is like that issued by Nebuchadnezzar in 4:1-3. So, both the Babylonian king and Darius the Mede acknowledged the God of the Jews as the one true God whose kingdom lasts forever; and they reached that point thanks to the wisdom that God gave the Jews (particularly Daniel) and to the exemplary fidelity of the Jews to their religion in the midst of trials.
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Gospel Reading:
From: Luke 21:20-28
Discourse on the Destruction of Jerusalem
and the End of the World (Continuation)
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(Jesus said to his disciples), [20] "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. [21] Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it; [22] for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written. [23] Alas for those who are with child and for those who give suck in those days! For great distress shall be upon the earth and wrath upon this people; [24] they shall be upon the earth and wrath upon this people; [24] they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led captive among all nations; and Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
[25] "And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and upon the earth distress of nations in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, [26] men fainting with fear and foreboding of what is coming on the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. [27] And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. [28] Now when these things begin to take place, look up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.
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Commentary:
20-24. Jesus gives quite a detailed prophecy of the destruction of the Holy City. When the Christians living there saw the armies getting closer, they remembered this prophecy and fled to Transjordan (cf. Eusebius, "Ecclesiastical History," III, 5) . Christ had advised them to flee as soon as possible because this is the time when God would punish Jerusalem for its sins, as the Old Testament predicted (Is 5:5-6).
Catholic tradition sees Israel as symbolizing the Church. In fact, in the Book of Revelation the Church triumphant is called the heavenly Jerusalem (cf. Rev 21:2). Therefore, by applying this passage to the Church, the sufferings the Holy City experiences can symbolize the contradictions the pilgrim Church will experience due to the sins of men, for "she herself takes her place among the creatures which groan and travail yet and await the revelation of the children of God" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 48).
24. "The times of the Gentiles" means the period in which the Gentiles, who do not belong to the Jewish people, will become menbers of the new people of God, the Church, until the Jews themselves are converted at the end of the world (cf. Rom 11:11-32).
25-26. Jesus refers to the dramatic changes in natural elements when the world is coming to an end. "The powers of the heavens will be shaken"; that is to say, the whole universe will tremble at the Lord's coming in power and glory.
27-28. Applying to himself the prophecy of Daniel (7:13-14), our Lord speaks of his coming in glory at the end of time. Mankind will see the power and glory of the Son of man, coming to judge the living and the dead. Christ will deliver this judgment in his human capacity. Sacred Scripture describes the solemnity of this event, when the sentence passed on each person in the particular judgment will be confirmed, and God's justice and mercy to men throughout history will shine out for all to see. "It was necessary not only that rewards should await the just and punishments the wicked, in the life to come, but that they should be awarded by a public and general judgment. Thus they will become better known and will be rendered more conspicuous to all, and a tribute of praise will be offered by all to the justice and providence of God" ("St Pius V Catechism", I, 8, 4).
This coming of the Lord is, then, a day of terror for evildoers and of joy for those who have remained faithful. The disciples should hold their heads high because their redemption is at hand. It is the day they will receive their reward. The victory won by Christ on the cross--victory over sin, over the devil and over death--will now be seen clearly, with all its implications. Therefore St Paul recommends that we be "awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ" (Tit 2:13).
"He [Christ] ascended into heaven whence he will come again to judge the living and the dead, each according to his merits. Those who have responded to the love and compassion of God will go into eternal life. Those who have refuse d them to the end will be consigned to the fire that is never extinguished" (Paul VI, "Creed of the People of God", 12).
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