Catholics, Is Your Church “on the Watch”?

CATHOLICS, what is your Church teaching you about Christ’s coming? When did you last hear your parish priest give a homily or sermon explaining the need for all Christians to “be on the watch” for the Master’s second coming?

Your answer to the first question will probably be: “Little or nothing,” and to the second: “I don’t remember his ever mentioning the matter.” These answers would not be surprising. Concerning the return of Jesus, Catholic scholar William Marrin writes of the “opinion, still shared by most Catholics I think, that the whole thing has sort of a craziness about it. . . . In other words, we have a situation in which most Catholics may be willing to let the Second Coming go the way of Eve’s apple and Jonah’s whale.”

Yet a Catholic Bible renders Jesus’ words about his second coming as follows: “Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. Watch therefore​—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, . . .​—lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Watch.”​—Mark 13:33-37, Revised Standard Version (RS), Catholic edition.

If, therefore, so many Catholics are “asleep” as regards Christ’s coming, is it not because their Church, that claims to be the infallible “doorkeeper” in matters of faith and morals, has not been “on the watch”?

IMPORTANCE OF SECOND COMING RECOGNIZED

This is all the more surprising as Catholic worship and dogma recognize the importance of Christ’s return. During Mass itself, the assembled “faithful” are required to reply several times, “We proclaim your death, Lord Jesus, . . . we await your coming in glory. . . . Come, Lord Jesus!”

A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture states quite emphatically:

“That Jesus Christ . . . will come gloriously at the end of the world ‘to judge the living and the dead’ is as established a dogma of Catholic Theology as is the dogma that he has already come and has redeemed mankind.”​—Page 835.

A few pages farther on, this same Catholic reference work is even more categorical when it says: “No Catholic can ignore the Second Coming of Christ.”​—Page 838.

Catholic author Kevin O’Brien writes in his book The Belief of Catholics:

“It is the work of the Church to prepare the world for the majestic Second Coming of Christ. . . .

“The whole of history is a preparation for that day.

“ . . . The Church has always yearned for the Second Coming of her Lord and Saviour. It is the confidence expressed in the very last words of the Bible and which the Church will echo until they become a reality: ‘Surely I am coming soon. Amen.’”

Undeniably, Catholic dogma recognizes the importance of Christ’s return. But has the Catholic Church kept “on the watch,” and is it, in actual practice, ‘preparing the world for the majestic Second Coming of Christ’?

CATHOLIC BIBLES SHOW THE NEED FOR VIGILANCE

Jesus stated in no uncertain terms that he, “the Son of man,” would return. (Matt. 25:31-33) That is unquestionable. However, he did raise the following question: “When the Son of Man comes, will he find any faith on earth?” (Luke 18:8, Jerusalem Bible [Je]) That is the question! There is no doubt that Christ’s return is taught in the Bible. But as things are now developing religionwise, will he find any Christian men and women of faith who are on the lookout for, or even interested in, his return?

Are you interested in Christ’s second coming, and are you keeping spiritually awake, “on the watch,” for it? Did you know that your own Catholic Bibles and Biblical reference works many times show the need for vigilance on your part in this respect? Let us examine a few more passages:

“As it was in Noah’s day, so will it be when the Son of Man comes. For in those days before the Flood people were eating, drinking, taking wives, taking husbands, right up to the day Noah went into the ark, and they suspected nothing till the Flood came and swept all away. It will be like this when the Son of Man comes. . . .

“So stay awake, because you do not know the day when your master is coming. You may be quite sure of this that if the householder had known at what time of the night the burglar would come, he would have stayed awake and would not have allowed anyone to break through the wall of his house. Therefore, you too must stand ready because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”​—Matt. 24:37-44, Je.

In a footnote on those verses, the French Catholic Pirot and Clamer Bible states: “Thus the faithful, who are sure of the Savior’s parousia [presence] but uncertain as to the hour when it will occur, must hold themselves ready at all times, so that his coming might not take them by surprise. The parable forewarns us against the unpleasant surprise we would receive if we did not remain vigilant.”​—Italics ours.

The footnote on 1 Corinthians 1:7, 8 in the Jerusalem Bible has this to say:

“This ‘day of the Lord’ . . . called also the ‘day of Christ’ . . . or ‘the last day’ . . . is the fulfillment in the eschatological era [time of the end], ushered in by Christ, of the ‘day of Yahweh’ foretold by the prophets . . . and this final stage in the history of salvation . . . will be completed by the glorious second coming . . . of the Sovereign Judge . . . This day of light is coming . . . but exactly when is uncertain, . . . meanwhile we must prepare for it.”​—Italics ours; the ellipses represent some fifty Scripture references concerning Christ’s return.

Are you preparing for Christ’s coming? Your own Catholic Bibles require you to do so, even if your priests are failing to point out to you this essential fact.

HOW CHRIST RETURNS

It might be well at this point to state precisely what the Bible means by Christ’s return.

Nowhere does the Bible indicate that Christ will return physically to the earth. At his first coming, he “emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself.” But at his resurrection, “God has highly exalted him.”​—Phil. 2:5-11, RS, Catholic edition.

When he returns, he certainly does not abandon this “exalted” position. The Gospel according to Matthew states: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, escorted by all the angels, then he will take his seat on his throne of glory. All the nations will be assembled before him and he will separate men one from another as the shepherd separates sheep from goats.”​—Matt. 25:31, 32, Je.

In line with this, the supplement to the renowned French Catholic Dictionnarie de la Bible states: “In patristic literature the word parousia [presence] very often refers to the coming of God’s Son to the earth. . . . This use of the word is foreign to the entire New Testament, which mentions only the glorious Parousia.” “[The noun parousia] means first and foremost presence, either of persons or things, with often the idea of active presence in the case of persons.”​—Volume 6, columns 1334, 1331.

So what is often called Christ’s return really refers to the time when, from his highly exalted position in heaven, he becomes actively present with regard to earth’s affairs.

SIGN OF CHRIST’S SPIRITUAL PRESENCE

That Christ’s presence in glory would be invisible is clearly proved by the fact that he saw the need to give his disciples a sign whereby they would know that he was actively present. Indeed, it was in connection with this sign that he told all Christians to keep on the watch. (Mark 13:33-37) We invite you to take any Catholic Bible and to read the details of this sign in Matthew chapters 24 and 25, Mark chapter 13 and Luke chapter 21.

Commenting on these chapters, The Catholic Encyclopedia states:

“The Scriptures mention certain events which are to take place before the final judgment. These predictions were not intended to serve as indications of the exact time of the judgment, for that day and hour are known only to the Father, and will come when least expected. They were meant . . . to keep the end of the world present to the minds of Christians.”​—Volume 8, page 552.

Identifying some of the foretold “events” that would precede the destruction of the ungodly world, the same Catholic reference work states:

“Christ had clearly stated that the Gospel was to be preached to all nations before the end (Matt., xxiv, 14). . . . Various other signs are spoken of as preceding or ushering in the end, as a great apostasy (II Thess., ii, 3sqq.), or falling away from faith or charity (Luke xviii, 8; xvii, 26; Matt., xxiv, 12), the reign of Antichrist, and great social calamities and terrifying physical convulsions.”​—Volume 5, page 533.

When, more than since 1914, has there been such a combination of “great social calamities” (wars, revolutions, famines, pestilences), “terrifying physical convulsions” (destructive earthquakes, tornadoes, freakish weather) and “a great apostasy,” or “falling away from faith”? On the last point, writing in The Catholic Herald Citizen under the headline “Catholic Apostasy Rate Up,” Catholic priest-sociologist Andrew Greeley admitted recently that the rate “is continuing to climb,” and added: “People are leaving in droves.” This is also true of the Protestant churches.

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?

Everything that is happening around us indicates that Christ’s presence, or parousia, has begun, in other words, that he is actively turning his attention to earth’s affairs. Shortly, he will ‘come’ to execute God’s judgments against the wicked, and also to usher his true disciples into a righteous new system of things. (Matt. 24:30; 2 Pet. 3:11-13) What, then, should you do?

May we again draw your attention to a footnote in the Catholic Jerusalem Bible? Commenting on 2 Corinthians 6:2, this Bible states: ‘There is an intermediary period between the time of Christ’s coming and his return [to execute judgment]. This period is the “day of salvation”, a time allowed for conversion; it is granted to the “remnant” [compare Romans 11:5], and to the pagans [the rest of redeemed mankind]. Though the duration is uncertain, this time of pilgrimage must be regarded as being short, and full of trials, and sufferings . . . The end is at hand, the day approaches, and it is necessary to be on the watch, and to use the time well that remains, for one’s own salvation and that of others, leaving the final vindication to God.’​—Italics and bracketed comments ours.

You will have noticed that every scripture and every book quoted in this article comes from a Catholic source. If you are a Catholic, all we are doing, really, is telling you what your own Bible says and how these texts are commented upon in reference works approved by your own Church. We are simply drawing your attention to vital facts that your Church and its clergy have been obligated to teach you. But have they taught you these things?

If, after comparing the present world situation with Bible prophecies, you agree that the sign of Christ’s presence is visible today, should you not be sharing in proclaiming “this Good News of the kingdom . . . to the whole world as a witness”?​—Matt. 24:14, Je.

If you perceive that the Catholic Church is not doing this, then why remain within a church that has failed to keep “on the watch” for Christ’s second coming and that is doing nothing to preach throughout the world God’s kingdom as the only hope for mankind?

The magazine you are reading is proof that Jehovah’s Witnesses have kept awake and that they are actively engaged in announcing publicly the good news of Christ’s presence. Why not let them help you to do likewise?

[Blurb on page 460]

“No Catholic can ignore the Second Coming of Christ.”​—A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture, p. 838.

[Blurb on page 461]

“The faithful . . . must hold themselves ready at all times, so that his coming might not take them by surprise.”​—Catholic Pirot & Clamer Bible.

[Blurb on page 462]

‘It is necessary to be on the watch, and to use the time well that remains, for one’s own salvation and that of others.’​—Catholic Jerusalem Bible.