Feast of Sts Margaret of Scotland and Gertrude the Great.
"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.” (Luke 17: 20 - 25)
Thursday 16th November 2023, 32nd Week in Ordinary Time is the feast of St Margaret of Scotland (1046 - 1093). Born Hungarian and married to King Malcolm of Scotland. Mother of 8 children who raised her children in the fear of the Lord. She is noted especially for her love for the poor. Margaret is the Patroness of Scotland.
Today is also the feast of St Gertrude. (1256 - 1301). Virgin. German. Known as Gertrude the Great, she was a respected scholar and mystic. Over 300 years before St Margaret Mary Alacoque, Gertrude, a mystic like Margaret Mary introduced the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Pope Benedict XVI, says that St Gertrude “shows us that the heart of a happy life, of a true life, is friendship with the Lord Jesus.”
"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.”
One fact is absolutely certain: Jesus spent most of His preaching and teaching ministry talking about the Kingdom. Even after His Resurrection, Acts 1 informs us that Jesus continued to speak about the Kingdom. How do we address these questions about the identity and operations of the Kingdom?
"The Kingdom of God is among you."
What does this mean to you?
What is the Kingdom?
Where is the Kingdom?
Why the Kingdom?
How does the Kingdom operate?
Any signs of the Kingdom here and now?
The Kingdom is the King Jesus. Where the King is, there is His Kingdom.
The Kingdom has certain similarities with earthly kingdoms. But the differences are striking.
The Kingdom of God is the reign of God in hearts and minds of people who believe in Jesus and have committed to allow Jesus to reign in their hearts and minds.
For example: The Kingdom of Belgium comprises all the people who live in the geographical area that is recognized as Belgium. They obey the laws of Belgium. The Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Belgium have officers and structures for their operations. That is where the similarities end.
The Kingdom of God is worldwide. It is eternal and indestructible. The mighty Roman Empire and many kingdoms of the world have been destroyed. The Kingdom of God launched by Jesus Christ in the course of His earthly ministry will never be destroyed. God will never allow the powers of hell to wipe out the Church. The Church will be there at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
What does all this mean to us here and now? There are two types of people: those who are aware only of the earthly, material and physical kingdom. Others who belong to the the Kingdom of God whose seed is the Church. The saints like our saints of today, Saints Margaret and Gertrude spent their lives on earth building up the Church, the Kingdom of God on earth which we can see and touch.
November is the Month we pray for the Souls in PURGATORY.
“Temporal punishments are suffered by some in this life only, by some after death, by some both here and hereafter, but all of them before that last and strictest judgment. But not all who suffer temporal punishments after death will come to eternal punishments, which are to follow after that judgment” (Saint Augustine, Father and Doctor of the Church).
For Catholic Church teaching on the Souls in PURGATORY and how to help them, click the link below:
http://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2023/10/10-ways-to-assist-poor-souls-in.html
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