Asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, Jesus said in reply, “The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed,and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’ For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you.”
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. For just as lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation.”
REFLECTION
For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you.
Jesus responded to the Pharisees, " For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you."
The Pharisees were looking for extraordinary signs of God's Kingdom. Actually the Kingdom was already present in Jesus, who was standing among them.
This Gospel reminds me of Brother Lawrence, a humble Carmelite lay brother who wrote The Practice of the Presence of God. He discovered that we do not need to search for extraordinary events or experiences to encounter God. One can find God in the simplest activities of everyday life. Whether washing dishes, changing diapers, preparing meals, doing housework, cutting down trees, everyone of these moments God is present in our lives as He is in moments of prayer, Mass, confession, and Adoration. Yes, He even is present when trying to figure out what happened to your work on your computer!!
Remain attentive to God's presence. Invite God into everything we do.
St Josaphat
St Josaphat Kuntsevych, bishop and martyr, devoted his life to bringing unity to the Church. He knew that we are called to live daily through love, faith and unity with God. He understood the need for sacrifice, rejection, and even martyrdom.
He was born in what is now known as Ukraine, formerly Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth at the time. He was baptized in the Eastern Orthodox Church and eventually the church came back into communion with Rome. He grew up Eastern Catholic. He became a Basilian monk, priest, bishop of Vitebsk and archbishop of Polotsk. One of the focus of his life was Christian unity bringing the East and the West together. He dedicated his life to reuniting Ruthenian orthodox Christians with Rome following the 1596 Union of Brest.
He worked through synods, catechetical instruction, clergy reform and personal example.
There was a lot of opposition to the unity. One time a mob assembled in front of his house and he approached them, " My children, if you have anything against me , here I am". And someone shot him.
Assassinated on November 12, 1623, in Vitebsk by a hostile mob after facing intense opposition and slander. He was the first saint of the Eastern Church and is a patron saint of Ukraine and the "martyr of unity". Eventually his biggest opponent came into union with Rome.
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