FIRST READING
A reading from the Book of Wisdom (Wisdom 7:22—8:1)
“Wisdom is a reflection of eternal light, a spotless mirror of the working of God.”
For in wisdom there is a spirit that is intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle, mobile, clear, unpolluted, distinct, invulnerable, loving the good, keen, irresistible, beneficent, humane, steadfast, sure, free from anxiety, all-powerful, overseeing all, and penetrating through all spirits that are intelligent and pure and most subtle. For wisdom is more mobile than any motion; because of her pureness she pervades and penetrates all things. For she is a breath of the power of God, and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty; therefore nothing defiled gains entrance into her. For she is a reflection of eternal light, a spotless mirror of the working of God, and an image of his goodness. Though she is but one, she can do all things, and while remaining in herself, she renews all things; in every generation she passes into holy souls and makes them friends of God, and prophets; for God loves nothing so much as the man who lives with wisdom. For she is more beautiful than the sun, and excels every constellation of the stars. Compared with the light she is found to be superior, for it is succeeded by the night, but against wisdom evil does not prevail. She reaches mightily from one end of the earth to the other, and she orders all things well.
The word of the Lord
RESPONSORIAL PSALM Psalm 119:89, 90, 91, 130, 135, 175 (R. 89a)
R/. Forever is your word, O Lord.
Forever is your word,
O Lord, standing firm in the heavens. R/.
From age to age is your truth;
like the earth, it stands firm. R/.
Your judgements endure to this day,
for all things are your servants. R/.
R/. Forever is your word, O Lord.
.
The unfolding of your word gives light,
and understanding to the simple. R/.
Let your face shine forth on your servant,
and teach me your decrees. R/.
My soul shall live and praise you.
Your judgements give me help. R/.
ALLELUIA John 15:5
Alleluia. I am the vine, you are the branches says the Lord. He who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit. Alleluia.
GOSPEL
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Luke 17:20-25)
“The kingdom of God is in your midst.”
At that time: Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, Jesus answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Behold, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.” And he said to the disciples, “The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and you will not see it. And they will say to you, ‘Behold, there!’ or ‘Behold, here!’ Do not go, do not follow them. For as the 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 many things and be rejected by this generation.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
TODAY’S REFLECTION
At the heart of Jesus’ mission is the preaching of the kingdom of God. This kingdom doesn’t refer to a particular place. Following from the original Greek derivation of the word basileia, it is an action word which signifies the active lordship of the king. In other words, when Jesus speaks of the kingdom of God, he means the active reign of God over his dominion. We can speak of different manifestations of this kingdom, but we are here concerned with the words of Christ: “the Kingdom is within you”. Wherever God reigns supreme is the kingdom of God. We are to ask ourselves this question: what or who reigns supreme in our lives? Only when Christ reigns supreme in our lives do we make an entrance into this kingdom that will be manifested fully at the end of time.