HOMILY 1. Delivered to the people in the basilica of Saint Peter the Apostle, on the Second Sunday of Advent of the Lord.
READING FROM THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE. At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: There will be signs in the sun, and moon, and stars, and on the earth distress of nations, because of the confusion of the sound of the sea and the waves, men withering away from fear and expectation of what will come upon the whole world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and majesty. But when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near. And he told them a parable: Look at the fig tree and all the trees; when they now produce fruit from themselves, you know that summer is near. So also you, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near. Amen I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things come to pass. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
Our Lord and Redeemer, most beloved brethren, desiring to find us prepared, announces what evils will follow upon the aging world, so that He might restrain us from love of it. He makes known what great calamities will precede its approaching end, so that if we are unwilling to fear God in times of peace, we may at least fear His judgment drawing near, worn down by these afflictions. For to this reading of the Holy Gospel which your brotherhood has just heard, the Lord prefaced a little earlier, saying: "Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be great earthquakes in various places, and pestilences, and famines." And after some intervening matters, He added what you have just heard: "There shall be signs in the sun, and moon, and stars, and upon the earth distress of nations, from the confusion of the roaring of the sea and waves." Of all these things, we certainly see some already accomplished, and we dread others as soon to come. For we see nation rising against nation and their pressure bearing down upon the lands more in our own times than we read of in books. How often we have heard from other parts of the world that earthquakes have destroyed countless cities, you well know. We suffer pestilences without ceasing. Signs in the sun, and moon, and stars we do not yet see openly, but that these too are not far off we gather from the very changes in the atmosphere. Indeed, before Italy was handed over to be struck by the barbarian sword, we saw fiery battle lines in the sky, flashing with that very blood of the human race which was afterward shed. The confusion of the sea and waves has not yet newly arisen. But since many things foretold have already been fulfilled, there is no doubt that the few which remain will also follow, for the fulfillment of past events is the certainty of things to come.
We say these things, dearly beloved brethren, so that your minds may be awakened to the pursuit of caution, lest they grow sluggish through security, lest they become feeble through ignorance, but that fear may always stir them and solicitude strengthen them in good work, considering what is added by the voice of our Redeemer: "Men withering away from fear and expectation of what shall come upon the whole world. For the powers of heaven shall be moved." For what does the Lord call the powers of heaven except angels, archangels, thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers, which at the coming of the strict Judge will then visibly appear to our eyes, so that they may then strictly demand from us what the invisible Creator now patiently bears with us? And there it is added: "And then they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and majesty." As if it were openly said: They shall see in power and majesty Him whom, placed in humility, they refused to hear, so that they may then feel His power all the more strictly, inasmuch as now they do not bow the neck of their heart to His patience.
But because these things have been said against the reprobate, the words soon turn to the consolation of the elect. For it is added: "But when these things begin to come to pass, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near." As if the Truth openly admonishes His elect, saying: When the calamities of the world increase, when the terror of judgment is shown by the powers being shaken, lift up your heads, that is, gladden your hearts, because while the world, to which you are not friends, comes to an end, the redemption which you have sought draws near. For in Sacred Scripture the head is often used to mean the mind, because just as the members are governed by the head, so thoughts are arranged by the mind. Therefore to lift up our heads is to raise our minds to the joys of the heavenly homeland. Those who love God are therefore commanded to rejoice and be glad at the end of the world, because indeed they soon find Him whom they love, while that which they did not love passes away. For far be it that any of the faithful who desires to see God should grieve over the afflictions of the world, knowing that it will end through these very afflictions. For it is written: "Whoever wishes to be a friend of this world is made an enemy of God." Therefore whoever does not rejoice as the end of the world approaches testifies that he is its friend, and by this is convicted of being an enemy of God. But far be this from the hearts of the faithful, far be it from those who both believe by faith that there is another life, and love it through their deeds. For to grieve over the destruction of the world belongs to those who have planted the roots of their heart in love of it, who do not seek the life to come, who do not even suspect that it exists. But we who have known the eternal joys of the heavenly homeland ought to hasten to them as quickly as possible. We should desire to journey there sooner and to arrive by a shorter way. For by what evils is the world not oppressed? What sadness, what adversity does not distress us? What is mortal life but a journey? And consider, my brothers, what it means to grow weary from the labor of the journey, and yet not want that same journey to end. Moreover, our Redeemer shows by a thoughtful comparison that the world ought to be trampled upon and despised, when He immediately adds: "See the fig tree and all the trees; when they now produce fruit from themselves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near." As if He openly said: Just as the approaching summer is known from the fruit of trees, so from the ruin of the world it is recognized that the kingdom of God is near. By these words it is certainly shown that the fruit of the world is ruin. For it grows in order to fall. It sprouts forth in order to consume with disasters whatever it has sprouted. But the kingdom of God is rightly compared to summer, because then the clouds of our sorrow pass away, and the days of life shine bright with the radiance of the eternal sun.
All these things are confirmed with great certainty when the sentence is added which says: "Amen I say to you, this generation shall not pass away until all things come to pass. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." For nothing in the nature of corporeal things is more enduring than heaven and earth, and nothing in nature passes as quickly as speech. For words, as long as they are incomplete, are not words; but when they have been completed, they no longer exist at all, because they cannot be completed except by passing away. Therefore he says: "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." As if he were saying openly: Everything that is enduring among you is not enduring unto eternity without change; and everything that is seen to pass away in me is held fixed and without passing away, because my speech which passes away expresses judgments that remain without mutability.
Behold, my brothers, we now see what we used to only hear about. The world is pressed by new and ever-increasing evils daily. You see how few remain from that countless multitude; and yet still daily scourges press upon us, sudden disasters overwhelm us, new and unforeseen calamities afflict us. For just as in youth the body thrives, the chest remains strong and healthy, the neck muscular, the lungs full; but in old age the stature becomes bent, the withered neck droops, the chest is burdened with frequent sighs, strength fails, and shortness of breath interrupts the words of one speaking; indeed even if illness is absent, for the senses their very health is often itself a sickness: so the world in its earlier years flourished as if in youth, was robust for propagating the offspring of the human race, vigorous in bodily health, rich in abundance of things; but now it is weighed down by its very old age, and is pressed as if toward imminent death by increasing troubles. Therefore, my brothers, do not love what you see cannot stand for long. Keep the apostolic precepts in your mind, by which he admonishes us, saying: Do not love the world, nor the things that are in the world, because if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Three days ago, brothers, you learned how by a sudden whirlwind ancient trees were uprooted, houses destroyed, and churches overthrown from their foundations. How many who were healthy and well at evening thought they would do something on the morrow, and yet that same night perished by sudden death, caught in the snare of ruin?
But we must consider, dearly beloved, that to accomplish these things the invisible judge moved the breath of the gentlest wind, stirred up the storm of a single cloud, and undermined the earth, shaking the foundations of so many buildings about to fall. What then will this judge do when he comes in person, and his wrath blazes forth in vengeance for sins, if he cannot be endured when he strikes us through the gentlest cloud? In the presence of his wrath, what flesh will stand, if he moved the wind and undermined the earth, stirred up the air, and laid low so many buildings? Paul, considering this severity of the coming judge, says: "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." The Psalmist expresses this, saying: "God shall come manifestly, our God, and he shall not be silent. Fire shall burn in his sight, and around him a mighty tempest." For tempest and fire accompany the severity of such great justice, because the tempest tests those whom the fire will burn. Therefore, dearest brothers, place that day before your eyes, and whatever now seems burdensome is lightened in comparison to it. For concerning that day it is said through the prophet: "Near is the great day of the Lord, near and exceedingly swift. The voice of the day of the Lord is bitter; there the mighty man shall be troubled. A day of wrath, that day, a day of tribulation and distress, a day of calamity and misery, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of cloud and whirlwind, a day of trumpet and clamor." Concerning this day the Lord again says through the prophet: "Yet once more I will move not only the earth, but also heaven." Behold, as we have said, he moved the air, and the earth did not stand; who then will endure when he moves heaven? What else shall we call the terrors we see but heralds of the wrath to come? Hence we must also consider that these tribulations differ from that final tribulation as much as the person of a herald differs from the power of the judge. Therefore, dearest brothers, think upon that day with all your attention, correct your life, change your ways, overcome evil temptations by resisting them, and punish sins committed with tears. For you will one day behold the coming of the eternal judge with as much greater security as you now anticipate his severity by fearing it.