The Catholic Calendar for Thursday, November 10, 2005
The Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time
Memorial of Saint Leo the Great, pope and doctor of the Church

Scripture from today's Liturgy of the Word:
Wisdom 7:22--8:1
Psalm 119:89-91, 130, 135, 175
Luke 17:20-25

A reflection on today's Sacred Scripture:

"For behold, the kingdom of God is among you." (Luke 17:21)

We may wonder why today's readings begin with a quotation from the book of Wisdom. Many of us are fond of and take great pleasure in St. John's epistle which declares, "God is love." This is frequently interpreted to mean that the life of believers will be a succession of blessings and no pain. We soon discover that in a sinful world this can never be so.

We need to understand that Wisdom is the means used by God to manifest His love and truth. For example, it was God's "wisdom" that required Christ to become sin for us and in His human flesh to put our sin to death. This act shows the seriousness of human sin and God's desire to destroy it. It illustrates also that we are called with Christ to die to our sin. The latter can be painful because it requires our self-denial, obedience to God's truths and the exercise of self-giving love. God's love, governed by wisdom, designed this plan for human salvation.

This relates to today's Gospel when the Pharisees asked Jesus about the coming of God's kingdom. Had they not been so spiritually impoverished and lacking in the wisdom gained from having a knowledge of God, they would have seen that Christ's teachings, miracles and healings showed that at this very moment the kingdom of God was among them in the Person of Christ.

Still, the blindness of the Pharisees, their fear and hatred of Jesus, was used by God for the world's good by bringing salvation to all humanity through Christ's death. Jesus warns that many would come who will be mistaken as the Messiah, but we must not allow ourselves to be fooled. "On His Day" when He does indeed return, it will be as unexpected and powerful as a lightning bolt. His implication is our need to remain prepared for the coming storm of God's judgment.

Savior of Mankind, draw us close to You and imbue us with Your wisdom to discern and choose to live in the love and truth You revealed to this world. Amen.

- Marie Bocko, OCDS
(mlbocko at earthlink dot net)