Signed for and by Christ

In today’s first reading, Ez 9: 1-7, 10; 18:22, we are presented with the fact that those who were faithful to the Lord and who lamented the abominations practiced by some of the Chosen People were marked on their foreheads with a “Thau” cross and were spared from being wiped off the face of the earth. In Baptism, you and I were marked on our foreheads, as well, and sealed for Christ in our Confirmation. We belong to the Lord and He will never abandon us. The Lord God will protect us in all of the vicissitudes of our lives. The day will come, as with Ezekiel, when we will see the glory of the Lord above us in eternity, where a place is prepared for us as well. Truly, as we pray in today’s responsorial psalm, “From the rising to the setting of the sun is the name of the Lord to be praised. High above all nations is the Lord; above the heavens is his glory. Who [we ask with the psalmist] is like the Lord, our God, who is enthroned on high, and looks upon the heaves and the earth below?”

What am I doing to ready myself to see the Lord in my midst when God chooses to reveal Himself? What am I doing as I await the Lord’s appearances? As Satan prowls the earth, will the Lord say to the evil spirits: “See the Thau cross on her/his forehead; do not touch her/him?” And finally, what am I doing to prepare myself for that day when the heavens will open and the Lord escorts me into paradise?  Am I keeping my focus on Jesus each day, each hour, as I live my life for God alone, as I strive to become one the Trinity?