Reading and meditation on the Word of God on Saturday of the fourteenth week in ordinary time, July 11, 2026, Memorial of Saint Benedict, Abbot

Delivered by Ria from the Parish of Good Shepherd in the Diocese of Surabaya, Indonesia. Isaiah 6: 1-8; Rs psalm 93: 1ab.1c-2.5; Matthew 10: 24-33.CHOOSING THE KINGDOM OF GOD The theme for our meditation today is: Choosing theKingdom of God. There was a young man who wanted to get married because his agewas already sufficient, which was 35 years old. He spoke with his mother aboutthis plan. The mother asked about who exactly was the girl whom his son haschosen. That's where the problem came out for clarification. The young man wasconfused to choose one of the two girls whom he thought were equally importantand precious to him. He explained to his mother all the characteristics of thetwo girls. However, the mother with her motherly intuition wasable to release her son's confusion by saying that he must choose one of thetwo who had the spirit of sacrifice. She must be able to offer from herselfwithout reservation for the sake of her partner in life. In consequence, herson must leave the girl who was believed to be the possessive person. The signof someone who is possessive is that he demands to be considered important, orbe given a very special attention. Then the young man could finally make hisright decision in choosing his ideal girl to be his partner for life. The Kingdom of God exists forever with God Himself andit came true in our history with the coming of Jesus Christ into the world. Thecenter of this Kingdom is the Lord Jesus Christ and all of His works for all ofus. The main characteristic of this Kingdom is all the spiritual works that aremanifested in the self-sacrifice of the Lord Jesus with His greatest goal, thatis to save humanity from sin and death. This Kingdom directs its work to uniteall mankind to be its people and citizens. On the contrary, the kingdoms of the world are fullwith this world's characteristics, namely a life that is attached with fleshand materialism. In this type of life people have a possessive mentality, thatis to take and to own. This is natural and none of us is born free from theinclination to be attached to this world's influence. If this attitude becomesvery dominant, this is where the competition and conflict begin becauseeveryone really wants to pursue one's own interest. For us the followers of Christ, the Kingdom of God isthe only choice to achieve salvation for a life that is eternal. Jesus is ourtrue Teacher and today He invites us to choose and follow Him until we becomelike Himself. We are weak servants, but we are given a challenge to become likeour Master, which is Jesus. The prophet Isaiah testified about himself, thatalthough he was a sinner, he chose to follow the Kingdom of God, then he wasready to be sent by God. Saint Benedict Abbot, in his time, provided analternative to live in the Kingdom of God in the European world, namely asimple and monastic life. Let'spray. In the name of the Father ... Almighty God, we pray that today we willbecome people who are helpful to our neighbors by witnessing the presence ofyour Kingdom to them, and we can give special attention for those who are farfrom Your way. Hail Mary, full of grace ... In the name of the Father ...