Stay Awake
Thursday of the Twenty-First Week in Ordinary Time
Read this Gospel passage aloud to the family
Matthew 24:42-51- Jesus said to his disciples: "Stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.
"Who, then, is the faithful and prudent servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household to distribute to them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master on his arrival finds doing so. Amen, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property. But if that wicked servant says to himself, 'My master is long delayed,' and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eat and drink with drunkards, the servant's master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth."
(Parent) Reread this part a few times aloud
"Stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.”
(Parent) Read this meditation aloud to the family
In this section of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus is in Jerusalem. It is the week before His death, and He speaks of His Second Coming. He is telling His listeners what they should do to prepare to encounter the Lord. Everyone has to deal with meeting the Lord—certainly everyone will meet Him at His Second Coming and at our own particular judgment when we die. But we also encounter Him at different times throughout our lives. Christ has a way of suddenly showing up. The Lord is reminding us all to “stay awake,” and to be ready for Him.
The Lord often comes when we aren’t expecting it, and we find we have no more time to prepare. This is a reminder that the time of our death, of our meeting Christ face to face, is unknown. It reminds us, therefore, of how we ought to live—ever watchful for Him! At certain unexpected points of everyone’s life, the Lord passes very close to us as He moves along His way. These encounters are invitations for us to follow Him. So, we must be ready, always looking for Him. We can’t take breaks, even small ones, from our Faith. We need to be faithful to the Sacraments, to the Church’s teachings, and to daily meditation. We must always be seeking God’s will, praying for His direction and help… always, not just sometimes. When Christ passes by, close to us, we will grasp Him if we’re ready. But we will miss Him if we aren’t prepared. We need to be attentive.
As a family, pray a portion of the Rosary together (very short if children are young) reflecting on the Scripture passage above. (Optional: allow a brief time for discussion or questions from children concerning their thoughts and prayer.)
Reminder for Parents: Pier is just meant to be a jumping off point. The real goal is that you pray & eventually use the fruits of your personal prayer as the content of your family’s prayer. Duc in altum.
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