The Divine Presence Acting In Us


Thursday, July 27


€ The disciples approached him and said,
"Why do you speak to them in parables?"
He said to them in reply, "Because knowledge
of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven
has been granted to you . . ."
Matthew 13: 10-11

God is present in our lives and deaths just as they are. Whatever happens, the divine presence and action-not as we would like it to function, but as it actually functions-is secretly changing, not the painful circumstances of our lives, but our attitude toward them. In this kingdom we experience our brokenness and our trust in God rather than our virtue and our trust in ourselves.

This does not mean we should not work to resolve our problems and those of others, but rather that we should not try to change other people and the world as if we were divinely appointed to do so ... The chief work of the transforming attitude of openness to God's will enables us to change. The secret power of the Holy Spirit, totally in the service of divine love, is working beyond appearances to bring about the final triumph, not of our particular interests, but of the kingdom of God.

Fr. Thomas Keating, O.C.S.O.
The Kingdom Of God Is Like...


Jeremiah 2:1-3, 7-8, 12-13 * Psalm 36:6-11
Matthew 13:10-17