THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Her Doctrine and Morals Septuagesima Sunday 5 February 2012

The Sunday Sermon

Dear Friends,

We are all called upon to work in the Church (The Kingdom of God). St. Gregory relates that each of the different hours of the day relates to the different times in history of the Church. The morning hour related to the time from Adam until Noah; the third hour related to the time from Noah to Abraham; the sixth hour is from Abraham to Moses; the ninth from Moses to the coming of Our Lord; we are currently in the eleventh hour – the time from Our Lord to the end of the world. No matter which time period we look at men were always called to labor for the Kingdom of God.

This is the last chance that we have to labor for God. All too often we have focused our labors upon our own desires and dismissed thoughtlessly the wishes of God. Now is the time to rouse ourselves out of this stupor and wake up to the realization that we must work for the Kingdom of God if we wish to obtain its reward. It is not too late. It will only be too late once our lives have passed from this world into the next.

On the farm we soon learn that there is a time or season for everything. There is a time to plow and till the earth, a time to plant, a time to prune, and a time to harvest. Our Lord once asked the people to pray to the Lord of the Harvest to send laborers into the field. The harvest was ready but there were too few laborers. In the history of the world we know that we are drawing very near to the end of this harvest and therefore the end of the day of this world. Time is running out and the darkness of night is drawing near. It will soon be time to call all the workers from throughout history together to give each one his promised payment. Let us note well that only those who labored were paid.

Concerning our own lives many do not know if they are actually in the morning hours of their life or if the eleventh hour is passing. For God may take any of us at any time. Likewise for many others we see without a doubt that they are in the eleventh hour for their age lets us know that there is not much more time left. Each and every day we are drawing closer to our own end.

We are therefore in the eleventh hour of the world and many likewise are in the eleventh hour of their own lives. (Perhaps we are all in the eleventh hour of our lives because the end may come at any time.) In any case the time is running out. We must make the best use of the remaining time that we have if we desire to be paid an eternal reward in heaven. What is left for us to do in the last hour? We must harvest the crop. There is an abundance of God’s graces scattered throughout the world. We have a tremendous history of The Church showing us countless saints and their faith and courage that they had. We are called upon to harvest the doctrines and faith of the church making them part of ourselves. We must not just read of these wonders of the past but, we are called upon to imitate and perfect them in ourselves.

In this eleventh hour time is precious; we have a lot of catching up to do before the day ends. How can we expect to receive the same payment of eternal happiness in heaven if we have not done the same things that the saints have done before us? It seems rather impossible for us to accomplish what they have done. It is not however impossible if we consider what it is that we are to harvest in the Kingdom of God. We are called upon to labor in picking the most precious of fruits and grains and gathering them together for our Lord.

It appears that most of the harvest has been brought in already, but there is still the remnant that awaits us. We must each do our own part in bringing this remnant into the Kingdom. We must remember too as we work to bring the remnant in that we ourselves are part of that remnant. Time is running out quickly because the days are being shortened for the sake of the elect. What this means is that we must choose the quickest and the best means to achieve the completion of our task.

The key for us to achieve this miracle with the help of God’s grace is found in Charity. It is in love that we find entrance into the heart of God. It is the work of loving Him with our entire being that earns for us even in the eleventh hour the denarius of eternal happiness in Heaven.