Gospel of the Day
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke 17:20–25
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.”
In the Heart of Jesus
In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that the Kingdom of God is in our midst. How beautiful it is to think that the Kingdom of God is also present in our marriage!
When we live in a habitual state of grace, when we give ourselves to one another through small acts of service, when we look at each other with love and become the help God intended us to be for one another. When, faced with the cross and difficulties, rather than running away, we unite ourselves with Jesus.
In short, when we live our marriage as God intended it, His Kingdom is in our midst.
Our Lady said to Saint Bernadette at Lourdes: “I do not promise you happiness in this world, but in the next.”
Yet we can already begin to experience that other world here on earth. We can already enjoy a foretaste of the happiness of Heaven, provided we remain within the Heart of Jesus.
Applied to Married Life
Arthur: The other day, when I came home from work tired and in a bad mood, I noticed that you were tired too. But instead of getting upset, you came over, gave me a kiss and asked me what was wrong. That completely disarmed me.
Louise: Yes, I was exhausted, and I was so close to snapping at you. But then I thought that God was asking me to love you precisely at that moment, when it was hardest for me.
Arthur: And because of that, we ended the day in each other’s arms instead of being angry with one another.
Louise: That’s exactly what Jesus is telling us in today’s Gospel. The Kingdom of God is in our midst when we allow Him to reign in our marriage.
Arthur: It’s true. We don’t need a life without problems to be happy. If we remain united in the Heart of Jesus, we can begin to experience a little piece of Heaven here on earth, together.
Mother,
Lead us with you into the Heart of Jesus.
Praise be to Him!