Malachi 3.19-20a | 1 Thessalonians 3.7-12 | Luke 21.5-19

We begin the penultimate week of Ordinary Time with Mother Church. Next Sunday, the Liturgical Year will conclude with the Solemnity of Christ the King of the Universe.
The Sunday before this solemnity, which is today, is the World Day of the Poor. It was an initiative of Pope Francis, started in 2017.
Of course, Christians should think about and care for the poor 365 days a year. But the proposal was to have a common day for reflection and witness of charity, in all parishes and Catholic institutions.
In 2025, the IX World Day of the Poor will take place, with the motto "You are my hope" (cf. Psalm 71:5), proposed by Pope Leo XIV, in line with the Jubilee Year.
In his message (available for free on the Internet), Pope Leo XIV speaks of poverty as a result of unjust social structures that must be corrected; he says that the poor are a "theological place," from where God speaks to us and calls us to conversion through charity; and he says that Christian hope is not optimism, but an anchor that provides security in the present and future.
Today the evangelist Luke tells us about the beauty of the Temple in Jerusalem and its destruction.
The Temple was a very important place for the Jews, where worship was performed and sacrifices were offered. The Temple, which had religious and economic importance, had been destroyed twice, once by the Babylonians and once by the Greeks.
When the Gospel of Luke was written, around the year 85, the Temple had already been destroyed for the last time by the Romans. In other words, the evangelist wrote about something he knew.
Jesus told His disciples to reject people who come in His Name to deceive them about His identity and about the end times.
Jesus said that before the end, there would be wars between countries, great earthquakes, famines and plagues in many places, and terrifying things and great signs seen in the sky. But Jesus told His disciples not to be afraid.
When human beings turn away from God, they can do terrible things to themselves and to nature. We see this every day in the news on our cell phones, on TV and on the radio.
We should pray to God with confidence, asking for protection and peace for the world, praying for the victims of violence and natural tragedies. Let us not be afraid! Let us have hope! God is in control and takes care of us!
The life of Jesus was not easy, and the life of His disciples is not either. Jesus was betrayed by the apostle Judas Iscariot. He was hated, imprisoned and persecuted by His enemies. He was brought before Governor Pontius Pilate. He testified with righteous words, which none of His enemies could resist or refute. He was condemned to death, but, because of His steadfastness, He gained life in the resurrection.
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus prepared His disciples for the persecutions they would also suffer, telling them that they should persevere with confidence to overcome death and attain life. In fact, Luke witnessed the persecution of the first generations of Christians by the Jews and Romans. Some examples were the apostles Peter and Paul and the deacon Stephen. But they followed Jesus' recommendations and reign with Him in Heaven.
Let us learn from Jesus and the first Christians to witness our faith with courage and firmness, without fear of persecution, in the certainty that we will inherit Heaven after death.
Today the prophet Malachi speaks to us of the day of the Lord, with the condemnation of the proud and wicked and with the salvation of those who fear His Name.
The expression "day of the Lord" referred to divine justice that would come through the Savior, like the sunrise.
For the proud and wicked, that coming day would be terrible, like straw burned in a blazing furnace. But for those who feared the Name of the Lord, that day would be one of salvation.
It is interesting to note that we live in times of global warming, aggravated by proud and wicked businessmen, which intensifies wildfires in various countries, compromising life on the planet, particularly affecting the poorest.
The salvation we all need (in History and beyond History) comes from the Savior Jesus, but the Lord demands that we fear His Name, abandoning sin, which destroys humanity and the planet.
Today the apostle Paul speaks to us in his second letter to the Thessalonians about the importance of working to earn one's bread.
Some members of the community were ceasing to work, thinking that the second coming of Christ would be soon. The apostle exhorted them to live responsibly.
We do not know the day or the hour when the Son of Man will return (cf. Matthew 24:36-37). Therefore, our hope must be active, working in charity while we wait in faith.
Starting in youth, Christians should work, support themselves and their families, and contribute to society and the Church, without being a burden on civil and religious leaders.
We should help the poorest (materially and spiritually) to meet their immediate needs, without creating financial dependence in them, publicizing public and private initiatives that offer them vocational courses and job opportunities, so that they can become self-sufficient.