Today's 1st Sunday of Advent readings DO NOT endorse the "rapture" because there is no such thing; read this carefully so you wont be left behind. LOL!

The “Rapture.” The reading from Romans contains a disputed reference to the so-called "rapture," an event in which, it is supposed, some people will be taken up from life on earth directly into the air to meet the returning Christ.  This concept of “dispensationalism," proposed by Rev. Nelson Darby an Irish Anglican lawyer -pastor  in A.D. 1800, is a misinterpretation, however.   The belief in the Rapture is rooted in the fourth and fifth chapters of 1 Thessalonians, which are placed into an elaborate chronology of "end-time" events based on other passages from Revelation, Daniel, and Matthew 24. In this scheme, the Rapture was called the "day of the Lord" which would come like “a thief in the night" (1 Thess. 5:2). After this secret removal of believers would come the rise of the Antichrist and the placement of the "Mark of the Beast" on his followers during seven years of Tribulation. At the end of those seven years, the second coming of Christ and Armageddon, the final battle between good and evil, would take place. The passage in Matthew (24: 40-41), does, indeed, talk about some people being "taken" and some being "left behind,” but the word for "taken" (paralambanomai) means, not "to go up" but rather "to go along with.”  It isn't a magical word about the “born again and saved” people floating up in the air as many of our Protestant brothers believe.  It is much more like Jesus' words to the apostles by the Sea of Galilee:  “follow me” or “come along with me."

Be alert even while you work: The man working in the field and the woman working at the mill will be “left", because they won’t leave their work.  True enough – work is important.  We need to provide food and shelter for ourselves and our families.  But there is something more important than our work: the coming of the Son of Man. God will arrive unexpectedly. We don't know when a thief might break into our house, so we are prepared for him at all times.  We lock our doors and windows.  We leave a light on when we're gone. We put in an alarm system. We insure our possessions.  We do these things now because a thief could come at some unknown time.  Hence, even during this busy Christmas season we must keep our daily life centered on Christ.

 

Read the whole article here: http://cbci.in/Sunday-Reflections.aspx

If at first you don't succeed; predict the rapture again!

Rapture actually is coming in October, radio host says now
Published: Tuesday, May 24, 2011, 9:00 AM Updated: Tuesday, May 24, 2011, 10:34 AM
By The Associated Press The Times-Picayune

Print OAKLAND, California — California preacher Harold Camping said Monday his prophecy that the world would end was off by five months; Judgment Day actually will come on Oct. 21.

Camping, who predicted that 200 million Christians would be taken to heaven Saturday before the Earth was destroyed, said he felt so terrible when his doomsday prediction did not come true that he left home and took refuge in a motel with his wife. His independent ministry, Family Radio International, spent millions — some of it from donations made by followers — on more than 5,000 billboards and 20 RVs plastered with the Judgment Day message.

But Camping said that he has now realized the apocalypse will come five months after May 21, the original date he predicted. He had earlier said Oct. 21 was when the globe would be consumed by a fireball.

Saturday was "an invisible judgment day" in which a spiritual judgment took place, he said. But the timing and the structure is the same as it has always been, he said.

"We've always said May 21 was the day, but we didn't understand altogether the spiritual meaning," he said. "May 21 is the day that Christ came and put the world under judgment."

It's not the first time the independent Christian radio host has been forced to explain when his prediction didn't come to pass. He also predicted the Apocalypse would come in 1994, but said it didn't happen then because of a mathematical error.

Rather than give his normal daily broadcast on Monday, Camping made a special statement to reporters at the Oakland headquarters of the media empire that has broadcast his message. His show, "Open Forum," has for months headlined his doomsday message via the group's radio stations, TV channels, satellite broadcasts and website.

When the Rapture didn't arrive Saturday, crestfallen followers began turning their attention to more earthly concerns.

Jeff Hopkins had figured the gas money he spent driving back and forth from Long Island to New York City would be worth it, as long as people could see the ominous sign atop his car warning that the end of the world was nigh.

"I've been mocked and scoffed and cursed at and I've been through a lot with this lighted sign on top of my car," said Hopkins, 52, a former television producer who lives in Great River, New York. "I was doing what I've been instructed to do through the Bible, but now I've been stymied. It's like getting slapped in the face."

Camping said Family Radio would never tell anyone what they should do with their possessions.

"That is between them and God," he said.

But he said he wouldn't give away all his possessions ahead of Oct 21.

"I still have to live in a house, I still have to drive a car," he said. "What would be the value of that? If it is Judgment Day why would I give it away?"

Apocalyptic thinking has always been part of American religious life and popular culture. Teachings about the end of the world vary dramatically — even within faith traditions — about how they will occur.

Still, the overwhelming majority of Christians reject the idea that the exact date or time of Jesus' return can be predicted.

Tim LaHaye, co-author of the best-selling "Left Behind" novels about the end times, recently called Camping's prediction "not only bizarre but 100 percent wrong!" He cited the Bible verse Matthew 24:36, "but about that day or hour no one knows" except God.

"While it may be in the near future, many signs of our times certainly indicate so, but anyone who thinks they 'know' the day and the hour is flat out wrong," LaHaye wrote on his website, leftbehind.com.

In 2009, the nonprofit Family Radio reported in IRS filings that it received $18.3 million in donations, and had assets of more than $104 million, including $34 million in stocks or other publicly traded securities.

By Garance Burke, Associated Press

Associated Press writer Tom Breen in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Videographer Ted Shaffrey and AP Religion Writer Rachel Zoll in New York, contributed to this report.

Know not the hour or the day...

So much has been written about the rapture prediction of Harold Camping that, like all others, did not come true.  Why do we waste so much time on these things.  The Gospels of both St. Matthew and St. Mark tells us that no one knows the hour or the day.  I enjoyed the whole of Saturday for what it was; another fabulous day the Lord has made.  At 6 p.m. I was preparing for a nice dinner with family.

As I digest the news of the last few hours I wonder if it felt like the last day in Joplin, Missouri.  As a quiet southwest Missouri town faced another Sunday and the predicted bad weather, little did they know it would be such a ghastly day.  At this hour, 89 are reported dead while others are hurt and still others are missing.  I guess it must have felt like end times recently for the good folks of Alabama, or Japan or even my own region some six years ago because of Katrina.

How about those whose days end unexpectedly due to an accident or perhaps an act of violence or even a medical emergency previously undected?

The lesson from all of this is simple: be prepared?  At all times and in all situations live life as if today may be your last on earth.  We who call ourselves Christians know by faith that this life is not the end.  No!  One way or the other we will live on eternally.  Our hope is that it will be in sheer happiness with God.  For Catholics this means we strive to live in a state of grace free from the poison of mortal sin. 

Catholics who paid even the least bit of attention to this latest "rapture" prediction and are moved by the fates of those who experience a Joplin or Katrina moment should pause and reflect on what the Church teaches about grace, sin, mercy, judgement.  For starters we can examine our own conscience, deeply and sincerely so as to consider our own sinfulness and need for God's mercy.  Yes, Jesus paid a debt for our sins, but we must continue to repent and confess.  For us Catholics, confession or reconciliation is sacramental.  We are obliged by our faith to confess our sins.  If you have not been to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, even if it be a very long time, please consider doing so soon.  You will be so happy that you did so!

Catholics believe all that divine Scripture declares, as authentically interpreted by the Church.  We believe all of John Chapter 6.  To have eternal life we must eat His body and drink His blood in Holy Communion as presented to us in the holy sacrifice of the Mass.  Again, if you have been far from the Mass for a long time, or you may attend but can't receive Him in the Eucharist, come back and talk to a priest or deacon or someone who can guide you authentically.

It is true that all will reach the end of this walk on earth.  And yes, Jesus will indeed come again.  But He will not come in foolhearty predictions of those who wish to interpret the Bible their way.  And in that statement lies all the reason to believe in one body, one church.

Jesus founded a Church some 2,000 years ago and She was born on Pentecost.  She is alive today helping people achieve their eternal life with the Father and the Son.  Come find out more and visit us at any Catholic parish!

The end, the last days, the rapture?

This weekend's readings from Daniel and the 13th chapter of St. Mark, as well as our upcoming Advent reading from the 21st chapter of St. Luke, give rise to discussion about the second coming of Jesus and the end of the world. Often, introduced to this discussion, is a question about the rapture. Many have read the books or watched the movie series called Left Behind. It is very important to understand the Church's teachings about such subject matter.

First it is important to know what living in the end times really refers to. The end times refers to the New Covenant and the gathering of God's people in the Church. The Apostle's referred to it in Scripture, the Church fathers taught about it throughout the ages and we preach it today. But Catholic understanding of the end times differs greatly from the belief in the rapture.

The rise in interest in the rapture is credited to the Left Behind series. In the rapture there will be this secret snatching up or disappearance act of true believers only. The rest are left behind. After 7 years of tribulation, Christ then will come again to reign on earth from his headquarters in Jerusalem. This almost sounds like his 3rd coming?

Amazingly, despite a 2,000 year church, established by Christ himself endowed with a teaching authority, we don't hear of a dispensational view of the rapture until 1830 by a disgruntled Anglican priest. This dispensationalist view, which is at odds with traditional Catholicism, is then picked up by 20 and 21st century fundemantalist and evangelicals.

Let's look next at eschatology, the study of last things. Those who follow dispensationalism believe God has two people, the Church and Israel. The Catholic Church teaches one people, one family, and has done so for 2,000 years. The Catholic Church is also intimately related to the Kingdom of God and is endowed with four marks; one, holy, catholic and apostolic. Because of her, the Kingdom of Heaven and the Reign of God already exists. The Kingdom is not yet complete. The Church is the kingdom's beginning, inaugurated by Christ. The Church still awaits the eschatological manifestation.

Those who believe in the rapture believe the Kingdom is a 1,000 year reign. This is millennialism; soundly rejected by Catholicism. St. Augustine clarified this as early as the late 300's.

So cutting to the chase, the Catholic Church rejects the secret rapture. She does teach that Jesus will physically and visibly return to earth. Rapture has become then a term owned and copyrighted by dispensationalists. The secret snatching away is distict from the second coming.

The church clearly teaches that there will be a second coming and the fulfillment of the Kingdom that has already begun in the Church.

So we still ask, are we living in the end times? Yes. Does that mean the end is near or we can predict it? No. Just ask Nostradamus, if you could. As I said in today's homily; let God be God; let the end happen and be prepared and live your life to the fullest.

* Based on "Are We Living in the Last Days? by Carl E. Olson via Catholic Education Resource Center.