El Shaddai Windsor Outreach
St. Alphonsus Church 85 Park Street East N9A 3A8 Windsor, ON, Canada

TODAY'S WORD OF GOD - NOVEMBER 25, 2020 They sang the song . . . of the Lamb. (Revelation 15:3) The Book of Revelation is filled with elaborate imagery and apocalyptic visions of the end of all thingsand that can make it difficult to understand. But the richness and beauty of this book lies in its extraordinary witness to Jesus. True to its name, Revelation unwraps the mystery of Christ and draws back the curtain to reveal Jesus in new ways. In every chapter it uses distinct...ive names to describe different facets of Jesus’ calling and his attributes. Today, for instance, we read about Jesus as a lamb. We first encounter the image of a lamb in chapter 5 of Revelation. First, Jesus is introduced as a triumphant lion of . . . Judah (5:5). But then surprisingly, when that lion appears, he is shown to be a lamb instead (5:6). Even more astounding, he is a lamb who was slain (5:6, 9). This seems illogical because lionsand humanswin by killing. But Jesus triumphed by being killed. It’s through his death and resurrection that Jesus conquered all sin, all evil, all death. No wonder all the saints sing a song to the Lamb of God! The people of Israel sang the Song of Moses after God delivered them from slavery in Egypt (Exodus 15). In heaven, everyone will sing to Jesus, the Lamb who delivered all people from slavery to sin. One day, we will join them. We too will praise the Lamb who bore our sins, who died that we might live, and whose blood has washed us clean. On that day, we will see him face-to-face and rejoice in his victory. On that day, freed from every weakness, we will join our departed loved ones and all the heavenly hosts in singing this new song. But why wait? You can sing this song right now. In fact, you sing it at every Mass: Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world. It’s so important, in fact, that you sing it three times! And by doing so, you sing of what Jesus has already done, what he is doing right now, and what he will do when he returns. You sing this song in faith, but one day you will sing it in nothing but pure joy. Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world. Grant us peace.

TODAY'S WORD OF GOD - NOVEMBER 24, 2020 The Lord . . . comes to rule the earth . . . with justice. (Psalm 96:13) The theme for the readings for the end of Ordinary Time is similar to what we will hear in the first two weeks of Advent: Jesus will come again. Our faith tells us that this is good news, but these readings can still scare us. Just look at today’s passage from Revelation: God’s angel wielding his sharp sickle and reaping the harvest of souls at the end of time!... The Church teaches us how to hear these difficult Scripture passages, and it’s exactly what today’s responsorial psalm proclaims: The Lord . . . comes to rule the earth. And how will he rule it? With justice (Psalm 96:13). What will that look like? Try to imagine a world in which every person is valued and respected, a world in which horrors like abortion, human trafficking, war, and racism no longer exist. Imagine a world that is freed once and for all from sin, death, and the lies of the evil one. We all long for this. We all look forward to the day when we are welcomed into the new heaven and the new earth (Revelation 21:1). It may begin with a high-stakes Last Judgment, but it is fulfilled when Jesus comes to reign and makes right all that is wrong in the world. We don’t know how or when this will happen. But God doesn’t want us to resign ourselves to the sad state of the world. Jesus inaugurated his kingdom when he came to earth, and he now asks us to work together to build a better world, in whatever area he is calling us to do that. God doesn’t want us to live in fear. He wants us to remember that he is not only just but merciful as well. As long as we stay close to the Lord, we have no reason to be afraid. Instead, we should see Jesus’ coming as a sign of joy and the promise of our final, glorious rescue. In spite of the darkness around us, we can place our hope in him and look forward to the reign of God when all things will be put right. Just imagine what a glorious day that will be! Lord Jesus, I trust in your mercy and wait with eager expectation for you to come again.

TODAY'S WORD OF GOD - NOVEMBER 23, 2020 He noticed a poor widow putting in . . . more than all the rest. (Luke 21:2, 3) Show me the money! That line from a 1990s movie quickly became a popular catchphrase. In other words, money talks. This was just as popular a mindset in Jesus’ time as it is now. But Jesus was different. While the clinking coins attracted the attention and admiration of the Jewish leaders, he was not impressed. He saw the hearts of the contributors, not th...e amount they were giving. Rather than admiring their impressive sums, he was impressed by a poor widow’s humble offering. In her lowly attire and with her meager offering, this woman may have been practically invisible to everyone else in the Temple that day. But Jesus saw her. Perhaps that was because her humble trust that God would care for her reminded him of his heavenly home. It’s like the way you would feel if you were on a trip on the other side of the world and bumped into someone who spoke your language. In a similar way, Jesus found a kindred spirit in this woman. This story shows us that faith and humility are the surest way to Jesus’ heart. He longs to see in us what is at the center of his own lifethe generosity and trust in God’s provision that enabled him to go to the cross for us. This is what it means to be a kindred spirit with Jesus. It means trusting in his Father and offering ourselves to him and his people in whatever ways we can. It means not holding back on our money, our time, or our love when opportunities to give present themselves. It means believing that God will help provide for us if we decide to give just a little more than we have in the past. It means showing Jesus the money of a heart given over to him in trust and faith. So ask God today to give you a heart like this poor widow and like Jesus himself. Believe that whatever you offer to him in faith and trust, he can turn into a heavenly treasureeven two small coins! Jesus, may you recognize in me what you saw in this poor widow.

OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, KING OF THE UNIVERSE (SOLEMNITY) - NOVEMBER 22, 2020 Inherit the kingdom. (Matthew 25:34) Today, on the feast of Christ the King, we celebrate Jesus’ sovereignty over all creation. We celebrate the fact that all things were created through him, all things are redeemed through him, and all people will be judged by him.... It’s this last pointJesus as judgethat today’s Gospel focuses on. It tells us that as our King, Jesus has the right to set the standard by which we will be judged. Other judges exercise their office based on the existing laws of the land. But Jesus is the law of the kingdom. His life, his way, is the standard by which we will be judged. If you want to be a judge in this world, you have to know the law intimately. Just one word in one statute can affect the entire outcome of a case. Not so with Jesus. His law is simple. We will inherit the kingdom based on this guiding principle: Whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me (Matthew 25:34, 40). That’s the standard: mercy, generosity, and self-giving love. It’s often said that you can’t take it with you, and there is a lot of truth to that. All our money, all our honors, all our possessions are temporary. They won’t follow us to heaven, and they can’t help us get in. But there is something we can take with us: our acts of charity. In fact, they are the very things that will open the gates of heaven to us! Jesus will not be impressed if we have many possessions, and he will not be disappointed if we have just a few. What matters is whether we have let him soften our hearts so that we feed the hungry, forgive those who have sinned against us, and reach out to the lonely. Because his kingdom is not a kingdom of wealth and power; it is a kingdom of humility, love, and service. Jesus, my King and my Judge, teach me to love as you love.

TODAY'S WORD OF GOD - NOVEMBER 21, 2020 He is not God of the dead, but of the living. (Luke 20:38) The Sadducees in today’s Gospel present Jesus with a tragic but unlikely situation. A woman marries and is widowed seven times, and her husbands were all brothers. She leaves no children behind. In heaven, they ask, Whose wife will that woman be? (Luke 20:33).... The Sadducees weren’t really interested in this theoretical woman and her marriages. They were only trying to trip Jesus up. Yet they raised an interesting question, and Jesus gave them an interesting answer. People in heaven will not be married, at least not in the sense we understand on earth. Have you ever wondered what it will be like being in heaven with your family members? We all know people who have been divorced or widowed and then remarried. What will their relationship with their ex-spouses and stepchildren be like in heaven? Even those who go through life with only one spouse, or who have never been married, may still have worry about unresolved family strife. The good news is that we won’t have conflicts in heaven. There, Scripture tells us, God will wipe every tear, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain (Revelation 21:4). We won’t suffer or be weighed down by the sins that result in so many of our difficulties. There may be more than one spouse waiting for us in heaven or maybe a sibling we didn’t get along with. It may be hard to imagine these relationships without all the problems, complications, or bad feelings, but that’s how it will be. And we will love it! As we go through our days trying to bring peace to our households, neighborhoods, and workplaces, it’s comforting to remember that someday our relationships will be healed and perfected. In fact, these struggles can bring us closer to God and prepare us for the life to come! So take comfort from Jesus’ words today. He is the God of the living. That means he can bring new life and hope to all your relationships now. It also means that he is eager to welcome you into heaven with a love far beyond anything you have experienced here on earth! Jesus, help me to keep my eyes on heaven, my true home.