Thursday, November 12, 2026 — Memorial of Saint Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr
The Kingdom of God is among you
Luke 17:20-25
Readings of the day: First Reading: Philemon 7-20; Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 146:7, 8-9a, 9bc-10; Gospel Acclamation: John 15:5; Gospel: Luke 17:20-25.
The Gospel
Asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, Jesus answers that it does not come with observation: “The Kingdom of God is among you.” He warns his disciples that they will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, that false alarms will sound, and that the Son of Man will come like lightning flashing across the sky. But first he must suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation.
Reflection
The Pharisees ask for a date and a place; Jesus points to a presence. The Kingdom is not a spectacle to watch but a King to receive. St. Cyril teaches that it rests with us and our own hearts to receive it: every person justified by faith and the grace of God, and adorned with virtues, may obtain the Kingdom of heaven. St. Bede adds that the Kingdom is Christ himself, placed in our midst, reigning in our hearts by faith. And the way to that Kingdom passes through the cross: first he must suffer and be rejected. The lightning will come; until then, the Kingdom grows quietly, within.
From the Fathers
“For behold the kingdom of God is within you; that is, it rests with you and your own hearts to receive it. For every man who is justified by faith and the grace of God, and adorned with virtues, may obtain the kingdom of heaven.”
— St. Cyril of Alexandria, in the Catena Aurea on Luke 17:20–25
“Or the kingdom of God means that He Himself is placed in the midst of them, that is, reigning in their hearts by faith.”
— St. Bede, in the Catena Aurea on Luke 17:20–25
“He informs them that it became Him first to suffer the Life-giving Passion, then to ascend to the Father and shine forth from above, that He might judge the world in righteousness.”
— St. Cyril of Alexandria, in the Catena Aurea on Luke 17:20–25
Saint of the day
Saint Josaphat Kuntsevych (c. 1580–1623), a Basilian monk of the Byzantine rite and Archbishop of Polotsk, who gave his life for the unity of the Church with the See of Peter. He was killed by a mob at Vitebsk on 12 November 1623 and canonized by Pope Pius IX in 1867.
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Sources: the day’s readings follow the daily lectionary (USCCB, Lectionary 494). The Gospel text is not reproduced here; read it at the link above. Patristic quotes: Catena Aurea on Luke 17:20–25, compiled by St. Thomas Aquinas, translated by John Henry Newman (1841, public domain).