Thursday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Those who are wicked, according to the prophet Malachi, tempt God with seeming impunity, and they even prosper in this life. Those who are just, on the other hand, serve God and keep his commandments and do penance. That is the way of the world. A day is coming, though, when this world and its ways will end. That day, according to the prophecy, will be “blazing like an oven” (Mal 3:19). Then the evildoers will be set on fire and reduced to stubble, but those who fear God’s name will behold the sun of justice and be healed by it. Judgment day. The end of the world. Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.
Even though its time is limited, this world is a good world. You have a responsibility to accept it and act in it, but without making an idol out of it, without holding on to it. Rather, hold on to God alone and let this world pass away. In fact, this world is hardly more than stubble in comparison with God’s infinite greatness. Compare the planet Earth to the Sun, and it will seem to be no more than a dark speck of space dust. So, let go of this stubble and turn towards the sun of justice. This world is merely one of God’s gifts to you. It is here to prepare you for an even greater gift.