OMELIE / Omelie EN

16 nov 2025

16/11/2025 - 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C

16/11/2025 - 33^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C

First Reading MAL 3:19-20 Psalm 97 Second Reading 2 THES 3:7-12 Gospel LK 21:5-19

This Sunday is the last Sunday before the last of the liturgical year; for this reason, we are presented with readings that speak of the end, the end of time, the end of things and the end of our earthly life.

In fact, we realise the precariousness of everything and the danger in which we find ourselves constantly due to illness, accidents and unforeseen events, as well as revolutions and wars. Jesus speaks of this reality; he does not hide it from us or make it taboo. His words help us not to live superficially, they encourage us to be vigilant, and they warn us not to make idols out of the beautiful things of this world.

We see how easy it is for people to make idols out of what they themselves produce. When these things turn out to be beautiful, attractive, useful, we admire those who make them, we give them glory, we build monuments to them, we dedicate squares to them. And we forget the one who gave the man the intelligence and health that man has enjoyed in order to accomplish everything.

Today, Jesus answers some people who have pointed out to him the architectural and artistic beauty of the temple in Jerusalem, the rebuilding of which had been commenced by King Herod forty-six years earlier. Everyone stood in awe as they observed the building and the votive gifts, the work of goldsmiths, which made it shine. Jesus, on the other hand, does not want to lose sight of the man, much less of God. If the man does not obey God, his beautiful works become a trap. The wealth of the temple will attract the attention of greedy kings, who will try to take it with their armies. They will not care about art and beauty, and in order to get their hands on the gold, they will destroy everything.

“Will not be left a stone upon another stone.” These words proved prophetic for the temple: forty years later, it will be literally razed to the ground, and the gold of the temple will be triumphantly carried off to Rome. ‘“Will not be left a stone upon another stone.” These words were prophetic also for thousands of other buildings erected by men, including Christians. And we must not forget that these are “words that will not pass away,’ while our beautiful monuments, our cathedrals, our splendid buildings, and even all our social and charitable achievements will come to an end. We must not forget this, lest we forget to focus our attention on our inner life, on our unity with the Lord, on our obedience to him, on the construction of the spiritual building pleasing to God.

Nothing in the world is stable, nothing remains forever. Peoples move, dragging their selfishness and arrogance with them, imposing their sins with the destructive force they have.

Those who listen to Jesus must be ready for these events, ready to defend themselves from the attraction of the appearance of good that idolatry and atheism can offer, ready to bear witness to the only Saviour of mankind. Those who love Jesus have no security at human level: the things that seem to offer that are the most dangerous. Even relatives will betray them, and even from those who declare their love for them, they will experience hatred and deceit. It is not earthquakes and plagues that are to be feared, but one's own weakness in faith, one's own inability to bear witness, one's own superficiality, similar to that of Noah's contemporaries.

The future will hold many opportunities for us to show who we are, or rather, who it is that gives us life and joy, who gives us the strength to love, who gives meaning and sure direction to our lives. We will have the joy of offering many people the opportunity to come to the salvation of Jesus, but we must be vigilant, alert, and able to discern what is coming from God from what simply appears beautiful or good. We will be able to see in the painful events that will occur the opportunities offered to us to bear witness to the Lord Jesus, to his goodness and to the holiness of God, so that others may welcome him and hold on to him, and thus be saved from treacherous sin.

We must never forget that everything ends if we want to hold on firmly to what remains, indeed to the one who remains, and who truly loves us and is blessed forever!