Memorial of St. John Bosco, priest

Today in Mark, Jesus attempts to help crowds understand the Kingdom of God. Among the two images he uses is the mustard seed, "the smallest of all the seeds on the earth." (Mk 4:31) The Kingdom of God, as Jesus describes it, begins as the smallest of things yet, over time, develops into something far more than anyone would expect considering its humble beginning. Miraculous growth follows the seed that is sown. 

As we all are destined for Heaven, the world, then, is the womb from which we will be born into Heaven. Here is where we come into being. Here is where we grow, develop, and prepare for life outside of this womb, a fuller existence than we can yet fully sense or imagine in our humble development. Yet we sense traces of it. Like a mother's warmth to the baby she carries is God's voice to us; ever present though never totally grasped. 

Far from our development being something that simply happens to us, it is something in which we participate with free will. David, we hear today, used his free will most unwisely and terribly. In his selfishness, he sent a man to his death. We also make mistakes in our lives, prompting the sort of necessary penitence conveyed in today's psalm: Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned. That same free will, though, equips us with the unique ability to participate with God in the building of his Kingdom. The Kingdom of God is not only our destiny - our end - but also an end that we are invited to help bring about. 

The Kingdom of God is inevitable. It is upon us. This is cause for joy amidst our sorrows. This is cause for hope amidst our despair. As you look upon all that has been created around you, all that God's finger has touched, may you and each one of us be inspired to join with God in the building of his Kingdom as long as we remain in the womb of this world.