DAILY GOSPEL: 11/11/2010
«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68
Thursday of the Thirty-second week in Ordinary Time
Letter to Philemon 1:7-20.
For I have experienced much joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the holy ones have been refreshed by you, brother.
Therefore, although I have the full right in Christ to order you to do what is proper,
I rather urge you out of love, being as I am, Paul, an old man, and now also a prisoner for Christ Jesus.
I urge you on behalf of my child Onesimus, whose father I have become in my imprisonment,
who was once useless to you but is now useful to (both) you and me.
I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you.
I should have liked to retain him for myself, so that he might serve me on your behalf in my imprisonment for the gospel,
but I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that the good you do might not be forced but voluntary.
Perhaps this is why he was away from you for a while, that you might have him back forever,
no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a brother, beloved especially to me, but even more so to you, as a man and in the Lord.
So if you regard me as a partner, welcome him as you would me.
And if he has done you any injustice or owes you anything, charge it to me.
I, Paul, write this in my own hand: I will pay. May I not tell you that you owe me your very self.
Yes, brother, may I profit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.
Psalms 146(145):7-10.
Secures justice for the oppressed, gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free;
the LORD gives sight to the blind. The LORD raises up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous.
The LORD protects the stranger, sustains the orphan and the widow, but thwarts the way of the wicked.
The LORD shall reign forever, your God, Zion, through all generations! Hallelujah!
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 17:20-25.
Asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he 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.
For I have experienced much joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the holy ones have been refreshed by you, brother.
Therefore, although I have the full right in Christ to order you to do what is proper,
I rather urge you out of love, being as I am, Paul, an old man, and now also a prisoner for Christ Jesus.
I urge you on behalf of my child Onesimus, whose father I have become in my imprisonment,
who was once useless to you but is now useful to (both) you and me.
I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you.
I should have liked to retain him for myself, so that he might serve me on your behalf in my imprisonment for the gospel,
but I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that the good you do might not be forced but voluntary.
Perhaps this is why he was away from you for a while, that you might have him back forever,
no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a brother, beloved especially to me, but even more so to you, as a man and in the Lord.
So if you regard me as a partner, welcome him as you would me.
And if he has done you any injustice or owes you anything, charge it to me.
I, Paul, write this in my own hand: I will pay. May I not tell you that you owe me your very self.
Yes, brother, may I profit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.
Psalms 146(145):7-10.
Secures justice for the oppressed, gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free;
the LORD gives sight to the blind. The LORD raises up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous.
The LORD protects the stranger, sustains the orphan and the widow, but thwarts the way of the wicked.
The LORD shall reign forever, your God, Zion, through all generations! Hallelujah!
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 17:20-25.
Asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he 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.
Lc 17,20-25
Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890), priest, founder of a religious community, theologian
PPS «The Invisible world» vol.4, no.13
The kingdom of God is among you"
Is it difficult to faith to admit the word of Scripture concerning our connexion with a world superior to us?... The world of spirits then, though unseen, is present; present, not future, not distant. It is not above the sky, it is not beyond the grave; it is now and here; «the kingdom of God is among us.» Of this the text speaks;—"We look," says St. Paul, "not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal" (2Cor 4,18)...
Such is the hidden kingdom of God; and, as it is now hidden, so in due season it shall be revealed. Men think that they are lords of the world, and may do as they will. They think this earth their property, and its movements in their power; whereas... it contains Christ's little ones whom they despise, and His Angels whom they disbelieve; and these at length shall take possession of it and be manifested. At present, "all things," to appearance, "continue as they were from the beginning of the creation;" and scoffers ask, "Where is the promise of His coming?"(2Pt 3,4) but at the appointed time there will be a "manifestation of the sons of God," and the hidden saints "shall shine out as the sun in the kingdom of their Father." (Mt 13,43)
When the Angels appeared to the shepherds, it was a sudden appearance,—"Suddenly there was with the Angel a multitude of the heavenly host" (Lk 2,13). How wonderful a sight! The night had before that seemed just like any other night - they were keeping watch over their sheep; they were watching the night as it passed. The stars moved on,—it was midnight. They had no idea of such a thing when the Angel appeared. Such are the power and virtue hidden in things which are seen, and at God's will they are manifested.
Such is the hidden kingdom of God; and, as it is now hidden, so in due season it shall be revealed. Men think that they are lords of the world, and may do as they will. They think this earth their property, and its movements in their power; whereas... it contains Christ's little ones whom they despise, and His Angels whom they disbelieve; and these at length shall take possession of it and be manifested. At present, "all things," to appearance, "continue as they were from the beginning of the creation;" and scoffers ask, "Where is the promise of His coming?"(2Pt 3,4) but at the appointed time there will be a "manifestation of the sons of God," and the hidden saints "shall shine out as the sun in the kingdom of their Father." (Mt 13,43)
When the Angels appeared to the shepherds, it was a sudden appearance,—"Suddenly there was with the Angel a multitude of the heavenly host" (Lk 2,13). How wonderful a sight! The night had before that seemed just like any other night - they were keeping watch over their sheep; they were watching the night as it passed. The stars moved on,—it was midnight. They had no idea of such a thing when the Angel appeared. Such are the power and virtue hidden in things which are seen, and at God's will they are manifested.
St. Martin of Tours, Bishop († 397) - Memorial
SAINT MARTIN OF TOURS
Bishop
(† 397)
Bishop
(† 397)
When a mere boy, Martin became a Christian catechumen against his parents' wish; and at fifteen was therefore seized by his father, a pagan soldier, and enrolled in the army.
One winter's day, when stationed at Amiens, he met a beggar almost naked and frozen with cold. Having no money, he cut his cloak in two and gave him the half. That night he saw Our Lord clothed in the half cloak, and heard Him say to the angels: "Martin, yet a catechumen, hath wrapped Me in this garment." This decided him to be baptized, and shortly after he left the army.
He succeeded in converting his mother; but, being driven from his home by the Arians, he took shelter with St. Hilary, and founded near Poitiers the first monastery in France.
In 372 he was made Bishop of Tours. His flock, though Christian in name, was still pagan in heart. Unarmed and attended only by his monks, Martin destroyed the heathen temples and groves, and completed by his preaching and miracles the conversion of the people, whence he is known as the Apostle of Gaul.
His last eleven years were spent in humble toil to atone for his faults, while God made manifest by miracles the purity of his soul.
Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]
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