Friday, November 28, 2014



Friday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

(Revelation 20:1-4.11-21:2; Luke 21:29-33)

James Foley was the young journalist whom the ISIS captured and beheaded.  Foley was a devout man who believed that God called him to report the truth about a besieged people.  He seems worthy to stand among those dead being brought to life in today’s first reading.

The Book of Revelation was written to support first century Christians undergoing persecution.  It promises relief for those under siege and eternal life for those who succumbed to the force of the enemy.  Today’s passage relates the culmination of the saga.  The martyred come back to life.  The survivors are judged according to their deeds.

The brutality of war and of religious bigotry clash with the experience of Thanksgiving and the hustle-bustle of Christmas shopping.  However, we would be foolish to drop them from our consciousness.  After all, we withhold our greatest thanks for Christ’s coming to share with us his love and peace.