Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Lk 10, 10-12 The kingdom of God is at hand for you

(Lk 10, 10-12) The kingdom of God is at hand for you
[10] Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you, go out into the streets and say, [11] 'The dust of your town that clings to our feet, even that we shake off against you.' Yet know this: the kingdom of God is at hand. [12] I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom on that day than for that town.
(CCC 2612) In Jesus "the Kingdom of God is at hand" (Mk 1:15). He calls his hearers to conversion and faith, but also to watchfulness. In prayer the disciple keeps watch, attentive to Him Who Is and Him Who Comes, in memory of his first coming in the lowliness of the flesh, and in the hope of his second coming in glory (Cf. Mk 13; Lk 21:34-36). In communion with their Master, the disciples' prayer is a battle; only by keeping watch in prayer can one avoid falling into temptation (Cf. Lk 22:40, 46). (CCC 2068) The Council of Trent teaches that the Ten Commandments are obligatory for Christians and that the justified man is still bound to keep them (Cf. DS 1569-1570); The Second Vatican Council confirms: "The bishops, successors of the apostles, receive from the Lord… The mission of teaching all peoples, and of preaching the Gospel to every creature, so that all men may attain salvation through faith, Baptism and the observance of the Commandments" (LG 24). (CCC 244) The eternal origin of the Holy Spirit is revealed in his mission in time. The Spirit is sent to the apostles and to the Church both by the Father in the name of the Son, and by the Son in person, once he had returned to the Father (Cf. Jn 14:26; 15:26; 16:14). The sending of the person of the Spirit after Jesus' glorification (Cf. Jn 7:39) reveals in its fullness the mystery of the Holy Trinity.

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