Wars, famines, persecution, plagues, earthquakes, and signs falling from the skies are the warnings Jesus gives his listeners. How and when these times will come, only God knows. It is enough for Jesus to exhort his disciples — and all believers — to remember: "By your perseverance you will secure your lives."

In this Sunday's Gospel reading, Jesus proclaims that the Lord is "not God of the dead, but of the living" (Luke 20:38). This may seem obvious to us now, but Jesus's words affirmed what we as Catholics believe about the Communion of the Saints. To be physically dead is not the same as being dead and annihilated. To be in God is to be alive forevermore.

Zacchaeus, the short, wealthy chief tax collector, was one of the most despised men in his community. Often corrupt and greedy, the tax collectors in Israel worked for the oppressive Roman regime, not only collecting taxes, but also adding their own fees to the total. Yet, Zacchaeus encountered Jesus and became a changed man. He was spiritually changed, and immediately righted the wrong he'd done to his fellow citizens. This is the power an encounter with Christ can have on all of us.

Our modern culture frowns upon weakness and vulnerability. The world tells us that to get ahead we must be strong, competent, and self-sufficient. This view is in stark contrast to our readings today, which calls us to embrace our weakness, recognize our inherent poverty, and allow God to transform us.

Persistence in prayer is a theme Jesus returns to again and again. In today's Gospel reading we hear about a widow keeps coming back to the judge to demand justice. Finally, because of her persistence, the judge gives in to her demand. More than a lesson about nagging, this is a lesson the echoes the words of Jesus from other passages: if an indifferent judge can be persuaded to response through persistent appeals, how much more so will our loving Father respond to his children?

"Have an attitude of gratitude" is one of those catchphrases fit for bumper stickers and children's books. Yet, for Christians, this is more than a catchphrase. It is a basic command of Christian life. Notice in today's Gospel reading the ten lepers who were healed by Jesus. All ten turned to Jesus in faith with their request. However, after they are healed, only one of the ten returns to thank him for answering their prayer. What lesson should we take from the story?

The underlying theme to all three readings this week is faith. The prophet Habakkuk cries out to God with a question common to every human heart: Why does God allow evil to persist in the world? As you read these three passages, consider how God doesn't answer the question--and how he does. Ultimately, it's a question of faith.

Here Jesus tells the story of a rich man who feasted every single day while a beggar named Lazarus starved to death outside of the gates of the rich man's house. The poor man ends up in the bosom of Abraham while the rich man ends up in Hades. There is a double lesson here about how we use our time and possessions in this life and how some people cannot hear or understand the Truth, even if spoken by someone who has returned from the dead. The common denominator for both is a pitiable hardness of heart that does not recognize the needs of others or the Truth when it's right in front of them.

It’s human nature for us to want places of honor. Yet Jesus challenges us to do the opposite: to seek the “lowest place.” While many in the world compete for worldly prestige and honor, Jesus is asking Christians to outdo one another in the practice of true humility.

“For where your treasure is, there also your heart will be.” These words of Jesus challenge us to ask ourselves about our real priorities in life. What is most important? One look at how we use our time or spend our money will tells us what is truly important. Then comes the bigger question: do our priorities line up with God’s?

The Old Testament reading reminds us that we can spend our whole lives acquiring things but, in the end, all of our possessions will go to those who haven’t worked for them. This sets us up for the Gospel reading, as Jesus addresses a man who wants him to settle a dispute about an inheritance. As always, Jesus turns the immediate issue into a lesson about a greater truth.

Though we often take the “Our Father” for granted, it is good to remember how remarkable and radical it was for Jesus to begin the prayer not with “Almighty God” or “Mighty King” but with the most personal and intimate name: our Father. Through those words we are invited into a relationship as one of a beloved child coming to ask a loving parent for the things we need.

This Gospel reading challenges us to remember that being busy for the Lord is not the same as being with him, to sit at his feet and hear him in our hearts. Truly that is the “better part.”

Jesus parable of the Good Samaritan is well-known and often quoted. Yet we often miss how Jesus uses the question “Who is my neighbor?” to upend a rigid and impersonal view of the “Law” of the Jewish people. Through an unlikely her--a member of the Samaritans, who were disdained by the Jews--we see an exemplary and sacrificial love.

Evangelization is not a job assigned only to bishops, priests, and religious brothers and sisters. Pope Paul VI insisted that the “task of evangelizing all people constitutes the essential mission of the Church.” And by “the Church,” he meant the Church as a whole—everyone, including the laity. Today’s Gospel reminds us of God’s calling for us to participate in His Work throughout the world, no matter what we do or where we are.

In this Gospel reading, we see Jesus embarking on the most difficult journey of his life. For ten chapters in Luke’s Gospel, beginning with chapter 9, Jesus and his disciples are on the road, making their way to the climactic moment in Salvation History. Knowing what He would suffer, Jesus still kept his “eyes fixed on Jerusalem." Do we have that same courage and dedication to God’s will?

The miracle of multiplying five loaves of bread and two pieces of fish to feed five thousand men (and as many as fifteen to twenty thousand people) is one of the most famous in the Gospels. Apart from providing for the physical needs of those present, Jesus also foreshadows the Holy Eucharist. He “multiplies” Himself miraculously by turning bread and wine into His body and blood so that we will be spiritually fed. That is what today’s Feast of Corpus Christi, which is Latin for “Body of Christ,” calls us to remember.

In today’s Gospel reading, we see that God’s very life is one of communion. In the Trinity, we see a relationship of giving and receiving, a communion of life and love. God exists as a relationship of Persons. He is Three, and yet the “Lord God is One.” How are we to bring this kind of Oneness — of love and communion — to our lives now?

In the last night of his life, Jesus prayed specifically for his followers to have unity. He said that, through unity, the disciples would bear a powerful witness to his name. Why, on the darkest night of his life, was he thinking about that? The answer is seen in his example: in unity, there is love, a sacrificial love between the Father and Son, and between all who believe in him. Christianity has survived, not because of its cleverness or power, but because of its unified love.

Few of us welcome the departure of a loved one from our lives, even more so if we can’t know when we’ll see him or her again. The pain of separation is great, even unbearable. We can imagine how difficult it was for the disciples to Jesus, wondering how the future would play out as they would take on the mission He’d given them. It’s no surprise they had to be nudged into action (as is often true for us).