In today's Gospel, Jesus' hearers are shocked, if not utterly sceptical, when told their magnificent Temple would be utterly destroyed with "not one stone left on another." Who would ever have dreamt that the World Trade Center, that temple to capitalism, would be reduced to rubble in a matter of minutes? And how much more the Temple of God? "When will this happen?" they asked him. In fact, it would occur about 40 years later, in 70 AD, with the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. To many who were witnesses to the Temple's destruction, it must have seemed like the end of their world. It seems the early Christians were in general expecting Jesus to return for his Second Coming within their lifetime. This must have led to many false alarms. Even the destruction of the Temple (for many of the Christians were converted Jews) must have looked like the beginning of the end. At every pivotal time in the history of our planet, there are people who claim to see the end in sight. The coming of the third millennium was no exception. So far they have all been wrong. On a more personal and much more realistic level, we may be anxious about the signs of our own time of departure from this world. But again it does not help to become fearful and anxious but rather to live each day fully in the Lord's presence. Then we are ready no matter when he comes. The secret is to live always in the NOW.