32nd WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 3 / (Green/White)
St. Margaret of Scotland, queen / St. Gertrude the Great, virgin
Ps 119:89, 90, 91, 130, 135, 175
Your word is for ever, O Lord.
1st Reading: Wis 7:22b–8:1
Because Wisdom, who designed them all, taught me.
In her is a spirit that is intelligent, saintly, unique, manifold, subtle, active, concise, pure and lucid. It cannot corrupt, loves what is good and nothing can restrain it; it is beneficent, loving humankind, steadfast, dependable, calm though almighty. It sees everything and penetrates all spirits, however intelligent, subtle and pure they may be.
Wisdom, in fact, surpasses in mobility all that moves, and being so pure pervades and permeates all things.
She is a breath of the power of God, a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty; nothing impure can enter her. She is a reflection of eternal light, a spotless mirror of God‘s action and an image of his goodness.
She is but one, yet Wisdom can do all things and, herself unchanging, she renews all things. She enters holy souls, making them prophets and friends of God, for God loves only those who live with Wisdom.
She is indeed more beautiful than the sun and surpasses all the constellations; she outrivals light, for light gives way to night, but evil cannot prevail against Wisdom.
Wisdom displays her strength from one end of the earth to the other, ordering all things rightly.
Gospel: Lk 17:20-25
The Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God was to come. He answered, “The kingdom of God is not like something you can observe, and say of it, ‘Look, here it is!‘ or ‘See, there it is!‘ for the kingdom of God is within you.“
And Jesus said to his disciples, “The time is at hand, when you will long to see one of the glorious days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. Then people will tell you, ‘Look there! Look here!‘ Do not go with them, do not follow them. As lightning flashes from one end of the sky to the other, so will it be with the Son of Man; but first he must suffer many things, and be rejected by this generation.
REFLECTION:
“The Kingdom of God is within you“ says Jesus in our gospel reading. Immediately it tells us that God‘s kingdom is not a territorial jurisdiction. It is within us. It is in our heart, when we allow God to reign and to rule our hearts. It is within us when we allow Jesus to walk with us and we decide to walk with Him wherever, whenever and whatever he wants to. In the Lord‘s Prayer, we pray “hollowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as in heaven.“ God‘s kingdom is where God‘s will is perfectly done on earth as in heaven.
Sometimes, we are graced to experience God‘s kingdom. In intense prayer, where there is nothing but quiet, wherein we are so possessed by God and we so possessed God, we experience real peace and joy that can never be compared with anything. It is an exclusive presence of the ME and my God. For me this is a foretaste of God‘s kingdom. It is so sweet an experience with a God who loves us most.
Daily Reflection
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Biblical Texts are taken from Christian Community Bible, Catholic Pastoral Edition (57th Edition) The New English Translation for the ROMAN MISSAL
With permission from the EPISCOPAL COMMISION ON LITURGY of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines
Readings and Reflections
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