"Looking for Signs"

March 2, 2010
Year for the Priest

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

We are always looking for signs. The disciples looked for signs, especially signs for the end of times. Jesus told them, “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name claiming, I am the Christ, and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.”

Now with earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, Tsunami and severe winter storms, there will be those who say these are signs of the end times. Of course there are certain things that we can learn from the current signs.

The first is that no matter how powerful we believe man may be with his weapons of mass destruction, the power of Mother Nature is far greater. Therefore we should exercise a healthy respect for nature and understand that we should be responsible stewards of God’s creation.

Second, disasters happen spontaneously without notice; lives can be changed in an instant. Therefore we should always be prepared for an encounter with the Lord. If we have an active prayer life, seek to avoid sin and seek to do good, then we will be ready when he comes. Our mission is not to know when Our Lord will return but to follow his teachings with faithfulness.

Third, we are called to exercise our commitment to the Gospel when confronted with the needs of those affected by disasters. Now with the most recent devastation in Chile we are offered an opportunity to demonstrate our solidarity with brothers and sisters in need in the name of Jesus. I will be sending my donation to our World Mission Office to assist the relief efforts in Chile. I hope others will also contribute to this worthy cause.

We are so blessed to be members of his church. The church keeps us on track. The teachings of the church help us to navigate through the difficulties of life. The end times will happen, but it is not ours to know the exact day or the hour. If we follow the path to holiness then in the end, whenever it occurs, our loving relationship with the Lord will be affirmed and the end will just be the beginning.

See you at Mass!

Most Reverend Jerome E. Listecki
Archbishop of Milwaukee

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