Thursday, July 30, 2020 - 17th week of Ordinary Time - Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 13, 47-53 - Lord, open our hearts to make us attentive to the words of your Son.

Dear Christians, the Gospel that the Church is proposing to us for this week reveals and describes in detail the nature of the kingdom of Heaven. Jesus uses parables to speak about it, so that we may have real hope for the future.

Thus Jesus compares it to a net thrown into the sea. That is, since God created the world, He has made His word a net to gather all mankind together to present all men, both righteous and wicked, before His judgment at the end of time. At that time, God will separate the righteous from the wicked, and He will bring the righteous into the kingdom that He has long prepared, and He will cast the wicked into a fiery furnace forever. And it is at this time that God will distinguish those who have persevered in His word and have done what is right and good in their lives. But those who knew and deliberately chose evil and unrighteousness in their lives kept a bad record for their eternal life.

Consider then, for us Christians and for those who profess to be followers of Christ, that the time when God will distinguish between good and evil, between the righteous and the wicked, is inescapable. Those who are worthy of the Lamb will enter His kingdom, but wolves disguised as sheep will go to eternal destruction. Thus, God will be unable to do anything for us at that time, He can only fully respect our choice. So let's prepare and live on earth right now the paradise, where we will be welcomed, by a life conduct finding grace in the eyes of God.