In the old profession of faith, we professed: 

Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again

Today we are still in the Christmas season. Remember that Christmas is not a day, it is a season. The season that we celebrate the birth of Christ. Why did Christ have to be born to us? It is so that we may have eternal life through Christ conquering sin and death. Remember when Adam and Eve sinned, the very first promise of God is to send a Messiah. He never forgot that. In God’s appointed time he sent his Son, born of a virgin.  

In today’s Gospel, Simon Peter and John were first to go to the place where Jesus was buried. Upon entering Simon Peter saw the burial cloth rolled up in a separate place. In the Hebrew tradition, this is very significant and meaningful. A rolled-up burial cloth simply meant Christ will come again.

Hence during this Christmas season, it is very important to bear in mind this reality: Christ will come again. Three reflections:

1. First , the question of when will this be? Jesus told his disciples in Matthew: “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
   
2. On the other hand, however, also in Matthew, Jesus told his disciples, “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near.” So you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. Just look at the current times: Good is persecuted and the evil is bold, wrong is made right and the right is made wrong. If Mama Mary was already sending a very urgent message in 1917 about man’s sinfulness with World War II as our chastisement, then 102 years after Fatima we are certainly in an even more sinful generation. 
   
3. Hope. When the end times are talked about, we often brush it aside for fear, but we must realize that we are only passing by in this world. We are all going to leave this world in God’s time. When one is prepared, this should not be frightening but instead, something to look forward to.

Hence every day and every moment, we should always be prepared: Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again.