Things Will Be A Changin'

Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,                         and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
The calf and the young lion shall browse together,
with a little child to guide them.
The cow and the bear shall be neighbors,
together their young shall rest;
the lion shall eat hay like the ox.
The baby shall play by the cobra's den,
and the child lay his hand on the adder's lair.
There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD, as water covers the sea.

When you go to the movies today, you see previews of coming attractions. Movies that are scheduled to be there in the future but are not there yet. Our reading today from the book of the Prophet Isiah is just that, a preview of what is to be.  On the day the Lord returns, everything will change. Enemies will become friends. The nature of relationships between creatures will become one of peace and mutual care. On that day, Isiah says, there will be no harm or ruin, there will be peace.

This is what we are waiting for, the return of the Lord and the restoration of the world to how it was intended from the start.  When the Lord returns, those of us who are dead will rise to a great new morning, a world of wonders and a world of peace.  The Church wants us to know what it is that we are waiting for and wants us to know that we can help bring this about by living a worthy life now and to promote peace between peoples and to care for one another as it was intended for us to do from the start.  The Lord's day is coming and the Lord's day is already here! 

Our brothers and sisters in Purgatory long the Lord's day to manifest itself in their lives. They wait patiently and joyfully to be taken into the presence of God.  Your prayers and sacrifices can help them.  Won't you please pray for them today?  As they are, someday you might be.