The apocalyptic imagery of this week’s scripture readings promises the ultimate victory of the good. With all the destruction and what can only be called evil in the world today, do you really believe in this victory? How will it come about?

There are certain lessons you stand to learn when you head out into nature. “Don’t touch the ivy, the oak, or the sumac” is one. Or, depending on your neck of the woods, “Don’t back into the cactus.” You can learn such lessons by accepting the wisdom of others who know this stretch of land better than you do, or you can opt for rueful personal experience.

No one knows the day or hour—of a betrayal, of a diagnosis, of a hurricane, of upheaval that changes everything. We go about our lives, sometimes kidding ourselves that we’re in control, until we’re dramatically reminded that we’re not.

It wasn’t hard for Susan to make a lot of money. She had the education and the skills to get a top-paying job anywhere. She liked the money and the things the money could buy, like a nice apartment, a really cool car, and fun vacations.

Let us pray that in the present hour and in the end-times to come God may find us faithful.

Do not accept anything as truth that lacks love, and do not accept anything as love that lacks truth. One without the other is a destructive lie.