Hello, I’m Franciscan Father Greg Friedman with the Sunday Soundbite for the Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Travelers in Europe can visit the great cathedrals of England, France, Germany and other countries. Stone, metal and glass create soaring structures that embody our prayers, and what we perceive of God's grandeur. Some of these impressive shrines of Christianity were destroyed in World War II and later rebuilt.

The Jews of Jesus' time had the temple in Jerusalem, which was the physical heart of their religion. It symbolized God's presence, and was a powerful sign of their belief. Read some of the psalms to get a sense of how these ancient people of faith felt about the temple. A great tragedy befell them when the temple was destroyed in the year 70 by the Romans. This event had already happened by the time Luke wrote his Gospel account. And in today's passage, Jesus predicts the temple's destruction, and other troubling events that will happen to his followers.

The purpose of his words, and of Luke's recollection of them, was reassurance. Jesus wanted his followers to draw strength from his continuing presence with them, a presence that would be assured in the Church through the gift of his Holy Spirit.

In our troubling times, as we witness destruction and upheaval at least as disturbing as those in today's Gospel, we need that reassuring presence more than ever. Let our faith be strengthened by Jesus' words.

I’m Father Greg Friedman, with the "Sunday Soundbite" for St. Anthony Messenger Press, on the Web at FranciscanRadio.org.