Wake me up

to the glory

of Your presence,

Lord –

I want

to be ready

for You.

Gospel Mt 24:37-44

Jesus said to his disciples:
“As it was in the days of Noah,
so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
In those days before the flood,
they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage,
up to the day that Noah entered the ark.
They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away.
So will it be also at the coming of the Son of Man.
Two men will be out in the field;
one will be taken, and one will be left.
Two women will be grinding at the mill;
one will be taken, and one will be left.
Therefore, stay awake!
For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.
Be sure of this: if the master of the house
had known the hour of night when the thief was coming,
he would have stayed awake
and not let his house be broken into.
So too, you also must be prepared,
for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”

Lord, there is so much we do not know. We have no idea when Your spirit will move us or what it will inspire us to do, and we are especially uncertain about when you’ll ultimately return or what it will be like when You do. We have no way to know exactly where we fit into Your plan for humanity or why life has to be so hard sometimes. But one thing we do know for sure is that You are like the ark. You are the only safe passage through the storms that we are going through right now and the greater ones to come.

As we live our ordinary lives, help us to remember Your extraordinary presence here with us and also remember your promise to return in a final way. Give us the grace to admit when we’re wrong and seek Your Spirit through prayer, so we can always live in alignment with your will and be ready for your return. Teach us to follow the Spirit promptings, so we can remain safe in Your plan for our lives, like Noah did.

Purify our hearts. Wake us up to Your presence all around us, to our callings, to Your guidance and most importantly to Your love for us and all the people around us. Prepare us to be fully ready for Your return! And prepare the hearts of our loved ones as well.

In Jesus name, we pray.

What do you feel in your heart God is trying to tell you through this Gospel message? Are you awake and prepared for His return? Comment below, and I’ll be delighted to keep you in my prayers. 

Source of this Gospel and additional readings for this day: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/120119.cfm