"Kingdom of God is hidden in the sanctity of daily life"

In his homily at morning Mass on November 13, Pope Francis said that the Kingdom of God is growing silently, in the hidden holiness of families who work and pray and suffer, offering to God their small daily crosses.

(Source: Vatican Radio)

The Kingdom of God is growing every day thanks to those who give witness to Christ without making any "noise," praying and living their faith in the family, at work, in communities, Pope Francis said at morning Mass, on Thursday November 13, in Casa Santa Marta.

The Pope said the day will come when Christ's Kingdom will be manifest in all its power, but it will only be at the end of time: "The day when he will make noise, he will flash like lightening, lighting up the sky from one side to the other. So shall the Son of man be on his day, the day that he will make noise. And when one thinks of the perseverance of many Christians, who struggle to raise their family, men and women, who care for children, care for grandparents and arrive at the end of the month with only half a euro, but who pray. There is the Kingdom of God, hidden, in the holiness of daily life, everyday holiness. Because the Kingdom of God is not far from us, it is near! This is one of its features: it is close to us every day."

Pope Francis continued that even when he describes his return in a display of glory and power, Jesus immediately adds that "first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation." The Pope noted this means that "also suffering, the Cross, the cross of everyday life--the cross of work, family, to carry on doing good--this small daily cross is part of the Kingdom of God."

Pope Francis concluded by inviting everyone to ask the Lord for the grace "to nurture the kingdom of God that is within us" with "prayer, worship, service of charity, silently."

"The Kingdom of God is humble, like the seed: humble but it becomes great by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is up to us to to let it grow in us, without boasting about it. Let the Spirit come, change our soul and carry us forward in silence, in peace, in tranquility, in closeness to God, to others, in worship of God, without spectacle."