Saturday last week in ordinary time

"Lk 21:34-36"

"But take heed to yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a snare; for it will come upon all who dwell upon the face of the whole earth. But watch at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of man."

Jesus asks us to be on our guard because one day He will come to take us to Heaven and we need to be ready. And the best way to be always ready is to do what we are supposed to do and do it as we should. "Do you really want to be a saint?" St Josemaría teaches, "Carry out the little duty of each moment: do what you ought and concentrate on what you are doing." That would mean to live our life as someone who knows that Life is eternal.

Christians are not afraid of death or of the future, any more than an athlete is afraid of a race. They train for it. We, however, prepare ourselves for eternal Life. On days when the athlete is tired and thinks about giving up, he can think about the race, about the prize. When things get difficult for us we also keep our mind on Heaven.

Saints tried to live their lives as if they might die at any moment. In this way, whenever God came to call them to Heaven they were ready. Usually they made an examination of conscience at night, asking for forgiveness for that day's failures and help for the following day's struggle to love and be more holy. That examination of conscience, finished with a good act of contrition, could make up for all the failures of their day. Thus they were always ready. They were constantly doing what they had to do, as they should do it. If they failed, an act of contrition put things right again.

St Charles Borromeo was relaxing one day playing chess with some priests. One of them asked the others what they would do if they were told by an angel that they would die within the hour. Some priests said they would pray and go to Confession in order to get ready. St Charles replied that he would continue his game of chess - for that was precisely what he should be doing at that time. Mary, Mother of Divine Grace, help me to do always what I should do at each moment.