Christians should focus on living their lives as God expects them to so that when the end of days comes they won't be surprised, St. Thomas Indian Mission Church in Fort Yuma said recently.

"As we enter the last two Sundays of Ordinary Time, the Scripture readings continue to turn our attention to the end times," the church's Nov. 15 bulletin said.

The Apostle Paul explained that Christians who died would not miss the Parousia, but instead would rise first and then meet the Lord.

"In today’s second reading, Paul explains to the Thessalonians that nobody knows when 'the day of the Lord (Parousia)' will come," the bulletin said. "Only one thing is certain: It will come suddenly, like a thief at night. The conclusion is obvious: Let us not be asleep, but awake and sober so that the Parousia does not take us by surprise. Since we are children of the day since baptism, we must live accordingly and not live as children of the darkness."

The bulletin noted that if Christians do this, they will never be surprised.

"When we listen to the Gospel ... we can more easily visualize how God expects us to use the talents we have been given— not just to enrich ourselves or our employers, but to make the world a better place," the bulletin concluded.