Tag: kingdom of God

Monday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “The LORD’s are the earth and its fullness; the world and those who dwell in it. For he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 21:1-4)

When Jesus looked up he saw some wealthy people putting their offerings into the treasury and he noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins. He said, “I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest; for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood.”

The eyes of Jesus fall on the wealthy and the poor widow, but as the Son of God he knows their hearts and judges them perfectly. The value of the offerings from their surplus wealth and from her whole livelihood differ. Jesus begins by saying, “I tell you truly.” In speaking truly, the author of reality describes the offerings as they really are and not as society views them. In what actually matters, the poor widow is spiritually wealthy and the wealthy people live a life of poverty. What gives value to the two small coins is the act of faith and trust in God that Jesus reads in her heart. In giving everything she has to God, she desires not what is vain but longs to see the face of God.

God, just as Jesus observes what the wealthy people and the widow put into the treasury, let me open my heart to him to see what I put in. Please guide me in recognizing the value of money and material things in relation to faith. If I have enough material wealth, help me see this as a gift that is returned to you as I give it away to others. Even more, what does it take for me to be confident enough to trust you with my whole livelihood? How willing am I to give you all of what I believe sustains and supports me? Strengthen me, Lord, to give glory to you as I offer to others the gifts you gave me first. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” Saint Paul reminds us, “who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens.” Saint Catherine of Alexandria, pray for us!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Maximilian Kolbe Shrine—Blessed Sacrament

The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

From the responsorial psalm: “The LORD is king, in splendor robed; robed is the LORD and girt about with strength. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 18:33b-37)

Jesus answered, “My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here.” So Pilate said to him, “Then you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”

Pilate is trying to ascertain what Jesus has done; that is, why Jesus has become his problem. Pilate knows Jesus is not King of the Jews, but he asks him to check whether Jesus is in his right mind. Jesus answers his question with a question: “Do you say this on your own or have others told you about me?” Again, Pilate retreats from having to take responsibility for the fate of Jesus by saying that the chief priests handed Jesus over to him. Yet, as he tries to find a way in his power to deal with Jesus, he fails to see in Jesus, Truth made manifest, and gives Jesus over to the people to have him crucified. “What is truth?” he would ask Jesus, the way and the truth and the life in the flesh.

God, keep my mind clear today in knowing Truth as it is in the person of Jesus, King of the universe. Help me turn away from lies and the father of all lies, the evil one. Help me avoid the ways of the world that want nothing to do with you and to know the love you bestow on us in your kingdom as your children. Through Jesus who reigns in splendor at your right hand, Truth took on human form and brought us to truth and life in his passion, death, and resurrection as firstborn of the dead. Give me the grace to trust in the victory of Truth that we will all be witnesses to the glorious coming of Christ our King, that “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him.” Your dominion, Lord, is an everlasting dominion; your kingship will not be destroyed.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Maximilian Kolbe Shrine—Blessed Sacrament

“To him all are alive.” | Saturday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for battle, my fingers for war. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 20:27-40)

“That the dead will rise even Moses made known in the passage about the bush, when he called ‘Lord’ the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.” Some of the scribes said in reply, “Teacher, you have answered well.” And they no longer dared to ask him anything.

The question the Sadducees pose to Jesus is this: If a woman marries seven brothers in succession after her first husband dies and then each of those husbands die, whose wife will the woman be? It is a hypothetical, even ridiculous question, meant to support the Sadducees’s belief that there was no resurrection of the dead and that belief in it is absurd. But Jesus refocuses the question toward the truth and away from the diversion. Their question is about eternal life, and Jesus describes a life in the resurrection that goes beyond relationships and institutions. Jesus goes on to interpret Scripture, revealing to the Sadducees his role as the person of truth, God’s only Son who would receive the breath of God in his resurrection.

God, what the psalmist makes clear I want to carry with me throughout the day: this life is a spiritual battle, and you train my hands for battle and my fingers for war. In the first reading, you brought to life with your breath the prophets who were tormented and persecuted. After they died, your “breath of life” entered them, and they heard your loud voice from heaven, saying, “Come up here.” And they went up to heaven as their enemies looked on. What does this say to me today? Be my mercy and my fortress, Lord, my stronghold and deliverer, my shield in whom I trust.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Maximilian Kolbe Shrine—Blessed Sacrament

“My house shall be a house of prayer.” | Memorial of Saint Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr

From the responsorial psalm: “How sweet to my palate are your promises, sweeter than honey to my mouth! How sweet to my taste is your promise!”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 19:45-48)

Jesus entered the temple area and proceeded to drive out those who were selling things, saying to them, “It is written, My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.” And every day he was teaching in the temple area. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people, meanwhile, were seeking to put him to death, but they could find no way to accomplish their purpose because all the people were hanging on his words.

The religious leaders who close in on Jesus are frustrated as he teaches every day in the temple area and one day drives out those who are selling things. Just as the scroll in the first reading is sour to swallow, so are the words of Jesus to those who oppose him because of the people who hear his words and hang on them. Taken in, the the words of Jesus are sweet. “How sweet to my taste is your promise!” the psalmist sings. Yet, taking in the words sometimes puts us in bitter opposition to people and the rulers of the world who seek to impose their purpose, which is to put to death the Word made flesh. Hearing and following his voice, we remain in him.

God, help me understand what it means to “take and swallow” your word. Jesus, the Word incarnate, is present body and blood, soul and divinity, in the Eucharist. How sweet is the promise of Christ, fulfilled through his death and resurrection, and given every time I receive the Eucharist. To take and eat is not to envelop myself in a supernatural shield but to be strengthened to confront suffering and sorrow with divine sustenance and help. Give me the grace, Lord, to listen out for you and follow your voice; if I fail in that effort, stir in me the desire to recognize my state and turn again to you. Saint Cecilia, pray for us!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Maximilian Kolbe Shrine—Blessed Sacrament

Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Although foes press on—I myself a sinner among them—open my eyes today to what I can easily lose sight of through hard-heartedness and lack of faith. Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.

From the responsorial psalm: “Let the faithful exult in glory; let them sing for joy upon their couches; Let the high praises of God be in their throats. This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia. The Lamb has made us a kingdom of priests to serve our God.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 19:41-44)

As Jesus drew near Jerusalem, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If this day you only knew what makes for peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. For the days are coming upon you when your enemies will raise a palisade against you; they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides. They will smash you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another within you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”

Not seeing the time of the visitation of the Lord, the people of Jerusalem rejected the Messiah, the true temple. They would see a few decades after the crucifixion of Jesus the destruction of the temple stone by stone under the Roman emperor Titus. Recognizing the consequences of the people’s rejection of him, Jesus weeps—not because of personal rejection but because of the people’s hardness of heart and inability to see the author of peace standing among them. Blind to the visitation of God and his divine authority in our lives, we are weak to the attack of enemies who seek to hem us in on all sides. Jesus, the worthy Lamb in the Book of Revelation, is alive in the Eucharist, commanding us as he commanded the Apostles: “Take and eat; this is my body.”

God, help me know you by the fruit of the Holy Spirit that Jesus desired for Jerusalem. Help me recognize that the person of Christ is what makes for peace. Even as the enemies within and without block my sight of you, you are there, waiting as I redirect my gaze. Although foes press on—I myself a sinner among them—open my eyes today to what I can easily lose sight of through hard-heartedness and lack of faith. Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, grant us peace. Mary, Tabernacle of the Most High, pray for us!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Maximilian Kolbe Shrine—Blessed Sacrament

“He called ten of his servants and gave them ten gold coins.” | Wednesday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “Praise the LORD in his sanctuary, praise him in the firmament of his strength. Praise him for his mighty deeds, praise him for his sovereign majesty. Holy, holy, holy Lord, mighty God!”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 19:11-28)

“A nobleman went off to a distant country to obtain the kingship for himself and then to return. He called ten of his servants and gave them ten gold coins and told them, ‘Engage in trade with these until I return.’ His fellow citizens, however, despised him and sent a delegation after him to announce, ‘We do not want this man to be our king.’”

In response to the people’s belief that the kingdom of God would appear in Jerusalem on Jesus’ approach to it, Jesus tells a parable about a nobleman who travels to a distant country to become king and then return. He gives ten servants each a gold coin to invest while he is away. Upon his return, the nobleman rewards the servants who made a profit with positions of authority, while the servant who hid his coin is punished. Not a parable about making wise financial decisions and how to achieve power, the parable Jesus tells expresses the gifts God gives us and how we respond to these spiritual realities. Just as the servants make the best of the gold coins they are given, so too Jesus invites us to make the best of our unique gifts in the present moment—returning to God what he gave us first.

God, help me today be faithful and diligent in serving you with the gifts and talents you have given me. Many priorities cry out for attention when only one thing is necessary. As the elders in heaven say, “Worthy are you, Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things; because of your will they came to be and were created.” Give me the grace to call to mind that your kingdom is yet to come but is already here. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done. Amid the practical realities of the day, help me remember that the day itself a gift of your supreme love, and more will be given. As I strive to do your will, I hope to hear at the end of every day, “Well done, good servant!” Teach me, Lord, to serve you well.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Maximilian Kolbe Shrine—Blessed Sacrament

“So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed.” | Friday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “Open my eyes, that I may consider the wonders of your law. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 17:26-37)

“As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man; they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage up to the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Similarly, as it was in the days of Lot: they were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building; on the day when Lot left Sodom, fire and brimstone rained from the sky to destroy them all. So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed.”

Jesus continues to tell the disciples about the coming of God’s kingdom—that it is already among them and is yet to come in the final judgment. He stresses constant vigilance for that day when one who is in the field “must not return to what was left behind.” Similar to what we hear in today’s psalm, Jesus asks the disciples to open their eyes to the awesome majesty of the coming of God’s kingdom in its full glory. The particular way that Jesus guides the disciples rests on salvation history in his retelling of the story of Noah and the wife of Lot, who became a pillar of salt as she looked back at Sodom, a place of sinfulness and corruption. Jesus invites us to turn our eyes on the kingdom of God already present and to be vigilant for the return of Christ and the final judgment.

Father in heaven, you see what I have before me today and know my desire to make the best of your gifts of time and opportunity. Amid the day’s activities, let me not forget that all of these things I am attached to can suddenly be taken from me. All that I see and can respond to means nothing unless I respond in love to the love with which you first loved us. As John says in the first reading, if I walk according to your commandment to love one another, I remain in Christ’s teaching, the teaching of the Father and the Son. Lord, take the little faith that I have and bless me as I seek to do all that you command.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Perpetual adoration live stream Kolbe Shrine.

“Do not go off, do not run in pursuit.” | Thursday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “The LORD secures justice for the oppressed, gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets captives free. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 17:20-25)

Then he said to his disciples, “The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. There will be those who will say to you, ‘Look, there he is,’ or ‘Look, here he is.’ Do not go off, do not run in pursuit.”

Jesus is asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God will come. He tells them that the kingdom of God cannot be announced and is not here or there but among them. Perhaps privately, Jesus then tells the disciples that they will long to see the days of the Son of Man as they had been even as they look for the coming of the kingdom in the fullness of time. Speaking to the Pharisees, Jesus responds in kind to their question about the coming of the kingdom. To the disciples and warning them not to pursue what is false, he reveals that as the Son of Man, he brings down from heaven the kingdom to gather us as one to the eternal kingdom in heaven.

God, help me understand today’s readings. You remain outside of space and time. The words of Jesus your Son express the interconnectedness of time—what has been, what is, and what will be—so that no one hesitates to wait for you to appear. Although invisible and not be found in my surroundings, give me the grace to realize and respond to your gift of the kingdom that is already here in the present moment. As I move throughout the day, let me ask you to remind me of every opportunity you give me to remain in your kingdom even as I long to see it come. “I am the vine, you are the branches, says the Lord: whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Perpetual adoration live stream Kolbe Shrine.

“Come, everything is now ready.” | Tuesday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “I will fulfill my vows before those who fear him. The lowly shall eat their fill; they who seek the LORD shall praise him: “May your hearts be ever merry!” I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 14:15-24)

One of those at table with Jesus said to him, “Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God.” He replied to him, “A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many. When the time for the dinner came, he dispatched his servant to say to those invited, ‘Come, everything is now ready.’ But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves.”

As in yesterday’s Gospel, Jesus is at a banquet held by a leading religious figure. Jesus responds to the statement of the guest who sits next to him with a parable. The great banquet Jesus describes represents God’s invitation to Israel and their rejection of it, but it also speaks to the rejection by Gentiles and all other people who receive and reject the invitation because of attachment to their possessions. When the master hears from the servant that his invitation is rejected, he becomes angry and asks that the servant go out to all the surroundings to invite “the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame” so that “people come in that my home may be filled.” Just as those in the parable are invited, Jesus invites each of us from every station in life to dine in his kingdom.

God, it is true what the guest at the banquet said: “Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God.” Jesus knows the hearts of people and the reasons why they excuse themselves from following him, and so he shares the parable. Yet, let me consider how St. Paul describes the necessity to put aside attachments and follow: “Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus, Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.” Jesus also knows the limits of what we can perceive. Lord, give me the grace to follow Jesus in his humility, in his self-emptying, and in his obedience to your will so that “at the name of Jesus every knee should bend.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Perpetual adoration live stream Kolbe Shrine.

“Blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you.” | Memorial of Saint Charles Borromeo, Bishop

From the responsorial psalm: “O LORD, my heart is not proud, nor are my eyes haughty; I busy not myself with great things, nor with things too sublime for me. In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 14:12-14)

“When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or sisters or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment. Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

As a dinner guest of one of the leading Pharisees, Jesus speaks these words to his host. Although Luke doesn’t say how he responds, we know that the criticism Jesus gives him gets at the heart of the reason the Pharisee held banquets for his guests. Does it look good in the eyes of the others? Does it impress the other guests at a banquet to see important guests. Does it inflate the ego of the host who delights in their awe? To participate in self-inflating reciprocity—to pay for honor and receive it in return for the sake of grandiosity—comes from deep dysfunction. Out of love for the people whose hearts he fashioned, Jesus tells them to stop. Instead, exit this game and open your home and your hearts to people who for whatever reason do not have the means of paying you back.

God, deepen my capacity to recognize the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. You put them daily in my field of view—those whose limitations may be physical but are more often mental or spiritual. In yesterday’s Gospel, the words still echo in my mind: that you alone are the Lord and to love you with all my heart, with all my understanding, with all my strength, and to love my neighbor as myself. Help me, Lord, as I seek to love you and love my neighbor more completely. Yet, hearing the phrase “as myself” makes me realize that loving others does not mean you allow oneself to be a doormat. It means to live in the freedom of loving you through the inherent dignity as your child—a love we all carry inside us that seeks the well-being of others without compromising the common good. Saint Charles Borromeo, pray for us!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Perpetual adoration live stream Kolbe Shrine.