Daily Catholic Lectio
Fri, 15 November 2024
XXXII Week in Ordinary Time, Friday
Saint Albert the Great, Memorial
2 John 4-9. Psalm 119:1-2, 10-11, 17-18. Luke 17:26-37
Lot’s wife
‘When we walk ahead without being distracted, we become prepared for the Day of the Lord.’
Jesus’ discourse on the kingdom of God turns towards the end of times. Here, the second coming of Jesus could be understood as an extension of the kingdom. ‘The day will catch you unawares’ is the central message of the gospel reading.
In the gospel reading, Jesus exhorts his disciples on the times of the Son of Man, on his second coming, or on the day of judgement.
Jesus uses five metaphors here: (a) Time of Noah: life was normal. But life came to an abrupt end on a given day. (b) Time of Lot’s departure from Sodom: Lot was saved, Sodom was destroyed. Lot’s wife turns to be a pillar of salt; (c) Two will be in one bed, one will be taken and the other left – of the two resting persons, one is taken; (d) Two will be grinding, one will be taken – of the two working persons, one is taken; (e) The place where this would happen must be discerned well.
These five metaphors tell us three things:
(a) We can’t know when that day will come. Unknowability of the day
(b) We can’t design, define, and control that day.
(c) The day will go like a normal day.
How do we encounter that day?
‘Remember Lot’s wife’ – warns Jesus.
What did Lot’s wife do? Why must we remember her?
“Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulphur and fire out of heaven; and he overthrew those cities, and all the Plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt” (Gen 19:24-26).
Lot’s wife became a pillar of salt because she looked back.
Lot’s wife might have looked back out of curiosity, or out of testing God, or out of nostalgia and homesickness.
We must not look back. A driver on the road must never fix his eyes on the rear mirror. Life has to move forward.
In the first reading, John exhorts the Lady to remain in the love commandment. The Responsorial Psalm invites us to regulate our lives according to the precepts of the Lord.
Saint Albert the Great, patron of scientists and scholars, embodied the harmony of faith and reason, showing how knowledge deepens our love for God. His life reminds us that all truth ultimately leads to the Divine. Through his wisdom and humility, he inspires us to pursue learning not for pride, but for service to others in God’s creation.
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The ‘pilgrims of hope’ walk ahead without being distracted (Jubilee 2025 AD, bite 249).
Yesu Karunanidhi (@ Sower)
Archdiocese of Madurai
Missionary of Mercy
Yesu Karunanidhi 
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