After reading from the prophets for several weeks, the Church returns to the epistles of St. Paul. His second letter to the Thessalonians has as its theme a perennial concern of Christians: when will Christ come again. The Apostle’s advice: with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ [do] not to be shaken out of your minds suddenly … to the effect that the day of the Lord is at hand. With all of the problems happening in the world — the pandemic, polarization, environmental disaster, etc. — people can naturally wonder if this is the end. We should heed St. Paul’s advice to the Thessalonians: our role is to dedicate ourselves to “every good deed and word” and leave the rest up to God.
