Nov. 18, 2007, is the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). Next Sunday is Christ the King, and then Advent starts!

Today, the Italian priest Antonio Rosmini (1797-1855) will be beatified by Pope Benedict XVI in Novara, Italy. Father Rosmini founded the Institute of Charity and the Sisters of Providence. Several of his works were put on the index of forbidden books for years before being rehabilitated.

Parish

EPriest.com features submissions from parishes of their “Best Parish Practices.” With the holiday season approaching, what better time to plan an all-night vigil? Our Lady of Peace in New York did.

“I have seen that the vigil is the perfect place for today’s young people, so many of whom are frustrated and lack direction,” said Mario Bruschi, all-night vigil coordinator.

Family

FamiiliaUSA.net features “Next Sunday Activities” with suggestions for family activities based on the Sunday Mass readings. This week:

“Choose a time when everyone is at home. Set the timer for an hour. When the timer sounds, come together and evaluate how you spent that hour. Did you quarrel?

“Were you lazy? Did you get your homework done, your chores? Did you do your part to make your home a happy place?

Readings

Malachi 3:19-20; Psalms 98:5-9; 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12; Luke 21:5-19

Our Take

Why are this week’s readings so filled with warnings? Even the Gospel points to deceptive teachers, wars, earthquakes, famines and persecutions. There are two things happening here. One is comforting, the other, not so much.

What’s not comforting is that, very clearly, Scripture is warning us to get our act together because a day of reckoning will be coming, sooner than we think.

There is much speculation about whether or not the predictions in this Gospel are a reference to our times or not. The Church answers: Of course they are. Ever since Christ rose from the dead, we have been in these “end times.” We are to react with urgency, repentance and reform of life.

But we will find in Advent how John the Baptist echoes Malachi’s prophesy of a radical change to come. Then, at the end of Advent, we will find just what that radical new mode of religion looks like — it comes in the form of a babe in the manger, calling us to radically change our conceptions of power and position. And we can find plenty of comfort in that.

Tom and April Hoopes are editorial directors of Faith & Family (FaithandFamilyMag.com).