Dear Preachers:

We are approaching the end of the Church year – and something is afoot. It is more than just a calendar event; as the opening lines of our first reading from the prophet Malachi make clear: "Lo, the day is coming, blazing like an oven, when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble…."

Malachi was one of the last of the twelve Minor Prophets. He wrote in the fifth century BC, after the exiles had returned from captivity. His name means "my messenger." He was addressing a spiritually lax community of returned exiles in Judah, calling both priests and people back to fidelity to God’s covenant. His message seems fitting for our own times as well. In addition, the prophet announces the coming of the "day of the Lord."

The images of fire and burning stubble symbolize God’s judgment. The world coasts along, committing acts of injustice against the poor, and it may seem to some that no one is held accountable. Does God even notice or care? Malachi stands in the prophetic tradition from Joel to Zephaniah, who describe "the day of the Lord" as both terrifying and decisive.

Yet the reading ends on a note of hope: "But for you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays." This is one of the most beautiful images in prophetic literature. It assures the faithful that, despite appearances, God has indeed noticed the plight of the oppressed. For them, liberation and joy will dawn.

The early Church saw this as a messianic prophecy pointing to Christ—and rightly so. The first readings at our Eucharists are chosen in light of the Gospel. Usually the first reading anticipates the fulfillment found in the Gospel. So, today the two share a common prophetic theme: the coming "day of the Lord," carrying twin messages of judgment and hope.

In the Gospel, Jesus speaks to people admiring the beauty and adornment of the Temple, with its "costly stones and votive offerings." They seem distracted by the externals of religion as they gaze in awe at the building. Jesus, echoing Malachi’s sober voice, offers a wake-up call to those lost in superficial religion: "All that you see here—the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down."

Those gazing in awe at the Temple would have thought it eternal, yet Jesus warns, "not one stone will be left upon another." It is not only a prediction of the Temple’s destruction; Jesus also warns of false prophets, wars, and persecution.

But is God planning to destroy because of false prophets and persecution? Is this simply Malachi’s "day of wrath"? Neither Malachi nor Luke proclaims a God intent on destruction, but rather a God who purifies and renews. On that "day blazing like an oven," Malachi envisions healing and freedom for the faithful. Jesus, foreseeing trials, wars, persecution, and loss, calls his followers to steadfast trust: "By your perseverance you will secure your lives."

We live amid uncertainty, and our world often seems on the verge of collapse – politically, morally, or personally. Our prophetic readings urge us to stand firm and trust in the Lord. Times of judgment and crisis may feel like the end, but they also herald God’s transforming light.

There are many ways we can experience the turmoil Malachi and Jesus describe – not only in great historical events, but in the "small endings" of our personal worlds. Today, the structures of society and leadership can appear unstable or unjust: wars, corruption, the erosion of trust in institutions, and social upheaval. As the people of Jesus’ time viewed the Temple as secure—the very center of Israel’s identity—so too we may cling to what once felt stable. Yet the Gospel reminds us that while human power fades, God’s reign endures.

This truth reaches into our personal lives as well. There are "small apocalypses" when life feels shaken – by illness, betrayal, failure, or deep change. In such moments, Jesus assures us that God remains constant, even when everything else feels uncertain.

At times we may experience collapse and loss. In those moments, Malachi’s image of purifying fire and Christ’s call to endurance remind us that faith – not fear – is our sure foundation.

As the change in tone of our recent readings indicates, the liturgical year is drawing to a close. The Scriptures remind us that we already know the side God has taken and that present injustices will not have the final word. As we await God’s resolution, we continue, as best we can, to live faithfully, to do God’s will, and to stand with God against injustice. After all, has not the "sun of justice" already risen upon us and illuminated our path?

Though his writings were brief, Malachi was important enough to be quoted by Jesus to clarify the role of John the Baptist (see Malachi 3:1 and Matthew 11: 10) as the messenger of preparation for judgment.

And the day of judgment is coming, Malachi insists. Those who fear God will come out ahead of those who surrender to a skeptical and uncommitted age. So how does one prepare for the judgment? My Pentecostal friends in college would make us laugh by staging a "rapture drill," referring to the belief that the Second Coming of Christ would include a snatching up to the heavens of those who were saved before the destruction of the earth. During this drill, my friends would stand with their arms raised, waiting to be "snatched up." The point of the humor was, of course, that one cannot prepare for such an unearthly event, that the real test of readiness is the way we live in relationship to God and others every day.

-----Alice L. Camille, GOD’S WORD IS ALIVE!: ENTERING THE SUNDAY READINGS. (Mystic, CT: Twenty-Third Publications), 1998. ISBN0-89622-926-2, page 352.

JUSTICE BULLETIN BOARD

Across our country during November, envelopes are provided to parishioners to help finance the work of CCHD (Catholic Campaign for Human Development). The 52-year old CCHD is justice and charity in action through the Church.

CCHD funds local community groups that work to change the systems that keep them in poverty. Work is being done to fight poverty at its roots in places that offer inadequate education, tolerate unaffordable housing, and turn away from communities in need. Through CCHD and its beneficiaries, we manifest Catholic social teaching of the preferential option for the poor thus carrying out Jesus’ mission to "bring glad tidings to the poor. . .release to captives. . .sight to the blind, let the oppressed go free" (Lk 4:18). CCHD is the official domestic anti-poverty agency of the U.S. Catholic Bishops and works to break the cycle of poverty by helping people help themselves. Consider these words of Bishop Timothy C. Senior, Chairman, CCHD Subcommittee United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: CCHD empowers the powerless to make their communities better. It helps residents to think about neighborhood problems, propose solutions, and advocate effectively with local leaders and elected officials to make those changes happen. CCHD is designed to put Catholic social teaching into action, helping the poorest of the poor use the gifts that God has given them to improve their communities and care for those around them.

Right now, in the United States, 38 million people are classified by the federal government as living in poverty with 1.5 million children experiencing homelessness in a given year. A lot of factors can send a family below the poverty line—and keep others there who are already poor, such as a lack of adequate housing, health insurance or a living wage, underfunded education systems, challenging family environments, and racism.

CCHD is made possible by the support of Catholics in the United States, especially through this annual parish collection. Grants to local anti-poverty efforts are screened, awarded and monitored in partnership with local dioceses and require the approval of the diocesan bishop. Your support during the November collection this weekend will create lasting change. Make your check payable to Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral for CCHD Collection. Be a ray of healing.

Barbara Molinari Quinby, MPS, Director

Office of Human Life, Dignity, and Justice

Ministries Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral Raleigh, NC

FAITH BOOK

The end time may still be far off, but Christians are persecuted right up to this present time. We can be reassured that even as we suffer for our faith, in big ways, or daily smaller trials, Christ has not left us on our own.

• What is the daily cost to you of being a disciple of Jesus?

• If it doesn’t cost, then why not?

---Pope Francis

--Central Prison P.O. 247 Phoenix, MD 21131

Please note: Central Prison is in Raleigh, NC., but for security purposes, mail to inmates is processed through a clearing house at the above address in Maryland.

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