Be prepared always, Jesus tells his disciples in today's Gospel, for the Son of Man will come like a thief in the night. This is our challenge now. Are we prepared for the day when our time here on earth comes to end? Will we be prepared if it comes this year, this week, or even this day? Today, let us pray that with God's grace we may always be ready for that day when we see the Lord face to face. May the Eucharist nourish and strengthen us as we grow as disciples. The readings from Wisdom and Hebrews look back in time to pivotal events when believers had to put great faith in God. In captivity in Egypt, the Chosen People trusted that the Lord would pass over their homes on the night that the firstborn were slain. Generations before that Abraham, and Sarah left everyone they knew to follow God to the promised land. It is that kind of faith that Jesus tries to instill in his disciples so that they will be ready when he comes again in glory. Let us pray that our own faith may be strengthened as we listen to God's word.