"THY KINGDOM COME" ^_[1]

INCARNATION OF LOVE

1.  The present age suffers a hunger that does not discriminate. A multitude of people are experiencing a pervasive sense of unease which wealth, power and privilege cannot overcome. They cling tightly to our jobs as savings decline. They grow more anxious at the decline of order in our nation. Not unexpectedly they lock their hearts and doors in dread of being apprehended or overwhelmed. In Gethsemane Jesus cried out, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me."  [Mt 26:39]  The phenomena of gated communities, high walls, concealed handguns and elaborate security measures suggest that the day is not far off when  the words safety, hiding and armed will be synonyms. A deteriorating social environment affects the local Church. In this age of dissatisfaction the believing community is bombarded on all sides by media-savvy noisy gongs and clanging cymbals.  [cf. 1Cor 13:1]  "Glad and generous hearts"  [Acts 2:46]  are targeted for political and commercial exploitation. We proclaim to you the Easter message that Jesus Christ has established his Father's Kingdom, "an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."  [1Pet 1:4-5]  For our Divine Lesson today, we contemplate God's Kingdom as an incarnation of his divine love. Circumscribing spirit and flesh, God's Kingdom is a concrete reality. It is the divine domain in which he will perfect his Church, the whole of humanity and all creation. Those who honor God's sovereign authority and value their citizenship in his merciful realm gather to pray, Thy kingdom come.  [Mt 6:10; Lk 11:2]  Christ is building the Father's Kingdom in this very hour. As on the day of Gethsemane, he prays "Abba, Father, all things are possible to thee...yet not as I will, but as thou wilt."  [Lk 14:36]  Thus the resurrected Lord is working unceasingly to renew the whole of humanity. He will transform the lives of those who follow him. He will liberate his followers from self-degradation and addiction. He will confer  his mantle of divine truth upon them and pour his grace into their keen spirits. Like Christ we will have to endure hardships. Consequently our task is to recognize that the authentic human quest begins with the arduous renewal of the interior life. Our desire for union with Christ must prove itself by a willingness to suffer personal martyrdom for the sake of his Name. If you seek a heavenly homeland, follow Christ!  [cf. Heb 11:14]  If you wish to save your life, take up the cross of Christ!  [cf. Mt 16:24-25]  God intends to restore creation and regenerate it with the perfect liberty that distinguishes man's redemption.  [cf. Rom 8:21]  He has prepared a heavenly city in which his chosen people will dwell.^[2] The glory of God will be the light of his people, his love their enduring temple:  "I am God, and there is no other. I am God, and there is no one like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, My purpose shall stand, and I will fulfill my intention."  [Isa 46:9-10; cf. Rev 1:8]  To pray thy kingdom come is to profess membership in God's Kingdom. A necessary condition for this avowal is the renunciation of all earthly principalities, powers and world rulers. [cf. Eph 6:12]  A Christian forsakes all alliances apart from God so as to gain the freedom to serve God in his Kingdom: "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."  [Mt 9:37-38] 

SANCTUARY OF SAFETY

2.  The Father and the Son entrust the Paraclete to plant good seed in every willing soul who hears his word and desires to "hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bring forth fruit with patience".^[3]  [Lk 8:15]  God wills that the transformation of the multitude of humanity be accomplished person by person, family by family. He sanctifies the individual believer and the gathered Church with the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son.^[4] Certainly one's passion for Christ must surpass all human love, even his love for mother and father, son and daughter.  [cf. Mt 10: 37]  Following the execution of John the Baptist, Our Lord incorporated his desert message:  "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."  [Mt 4:17]  Jesus declares that God's Kingdom has overtaken those whom the world blots from its consciousness: the poor, unassuming, hungry, suffering, kind-hearted and persecuted. Such aliens and exiles  [cf. 1Pet 2:11]  are welcomed by Christ to receive their portion in the Father's sovereign Kingdom. He calls them out of the empires of human vanity, teaches St. Peter,  "...to become a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light."  [1Pet 2:9]  Moreover the holy apostle forcefully declares that God's Kingdom is synonymous with divine mercy: "Once you were no people but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy but now you have received mercy."  [1Pet 2:10]  In the season of Easter the Church reaffirms its indispensable mission of proclaiming God's great Kingdom as a nation of blessing  [cf. Gen 12:2]  for the meek, merciful, pure, peaceful, and compassionate in heart. Our love of God compels us to declare in faith, God's Kingdom is the wellspring of mercy! Our eyes are fixed on the heavenly city Jerusalem! The heavenly Jerusalem shines in splendor. Its twelve gates and foundation courses  [cf. Rev 21:12-14]  honor the House of Israel and the Church of the twelve apostles. The city gates and courses confirm God's  intention for Christians and Jews to unite under his providential care. According to St. Paul, the marriage of the old and new covenants will endure forever. As a wild olive branch, each member of the Church is grafted to the cultivated root and stock of Israel to share in its richness.  [cf. Rom 11:17-18]  "It is the root of Jesse that supports us and gives us hope."  [cf. Rom 11:18b; 15:12; Rev 22:16]  The new Jerusalem is the indefectible and immaculate Church adorned in glory by the lamp of the Lamb  [cf. Rev 21:23]:  "Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them."^[5]  [Rev 21:3] 

EVANGELIST AND STEWARD

3. Peace flourishes in the hearts of all Christians who dwell in the Kingdom of spirit and truth.  [cf. Jn 4:24]  The authentic peace of Christ surpasses immeasurably the tenuous cease fires of our fractious world, the ersatz stalemates tolerated by bitter and exhausted antagonists. "Because we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."  [Rom 5:1]  Only Christ can give this ineffable peace. He entrusts his peace to the Church as a sanctuary of safety safeguarded by the Seven Great Graces. God is justly spoken of as a sovereign whose authority and power are absolute in all the cosmos. We retain this rich comparison to emphasize that:  for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.^[6]  [1Cor 8:6]  The formal English pronoun thy is our reminder that God's authority preserves the tranquility of his people, "(heirs) by adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will."  [Eph 1:5]  In turn, our Sovereign Lord "has crowned us with glory and honor. He has given us dominion over the works of his hands; he has put all things under our feet".  [Ps 8:5-6]  Hence the duty of the gathered Church is to pray for the fulfillment of the Father's Kingdom for which we now labor peacefully. Through the mediation of the Church the Holy Spirit is offered to every believer, not as a publicist of signs and wonders, but as God's instrument of reconciliation. First are the apostles and their successors:  "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."  [Jn 20:23]  Then the people of God are to follow their example:  "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you."  [Mt 6:14]  God calls every Christian to be both evangelist and steward. The evangelist extends the reach of God's Kingdom by building a foundation. The steward wisely builds on that foundation. The fruits of praise and petition for God's Kingdom, like gold, silver and precious gems, will survive the test of fire. Every member of the Kingdom will be tested for his eagerness in bringing it about. Christ will judge mankind in the Father's name.  [cf.  2Tim 4:1]  And the Father will ask, How have you invested my mercy and love? How have you cared for my people?^[7] And mindful of the moment each of us stands before God in our particular judgment, we pray that we bear the imprint of Christ's wounds in our souls, that in bearing the signs of compassionate mercy for the sake of the name of Jesus Christ, we may be found worthy of the Kingdom that Our Lord established in the covenant of his Body and Blood. Let the diligent practice of prayer, then, be the proof of our eagerness. May God immeasurably add to our number those whose faith is steadfast and fruitful! 

"IT TAKES MUCH EFFORT"

4.  To pray on the Lord's Day is to consummate one's vigorous contribution to God's Kingdom. Ever in our hearts echoes the voice of Jesus:  "Do you love me more than these?"  [Jn 21:15]  And what in our local Church could the Lord be referring to? Consider then the substantial impact of simple but consistent habits which degrade the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and causes the faithful to forfeit the reward of their confidence  [cf. Heb 10:35]: using the sacred time before Mass for socializing and casual conversation, showing up late to Our Lord's Mass and bolting away at the first opportunity, meandering in and out of the celebration of Mass as if the community's worship of the Most High God was a mere spectator event--especially during the prayers of consecration, the Our Father and Holy Communion. We cannot overlook the now common experience of lay members who the Body and Blood of Our Lord with snack food in their mouths, nor those who forsake the universal gestures of reverence in the Church, leaving Mass without a private prayer of thanksgiving for the Sacrament of Eternal Life, and feeding children pantry food in the Eucharistic celebration and failing to teach them reverence.  Doubtless, many priests and lay faithful avoid the mention of these things to avoid any possibility of being misunderstood and not liked. But St. Paul, on behalf of the Church's shepherds in every generation, writes that the purpose of reproof, correction, and training in righteousness is so that the "man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work"!  [2Tim 3:17]  St. Paul teaches that "all scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness".  [2Tim 3:16]  This was not intended by the apostle to boost his own ego; indeed, your own priests have no other intention but that of prayer and perfecting their own personal example. Hearing the Lord ask, Do you love me more than these?, how should the true disciple answer? With resounding yes! Then humbly feed one another in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass by your most excellent and devoted conduct! Examine yourselves. Humbly perfect your habits of reverence and prayerful celebration. Let not the discretionary behavior of any person impoverish the Mass! If a person's actions impoverish the dignity and solemnity of the Mass, that person diminishes God's Kingdom as well. Therefore let us encourage one another in Christ with this message of St. Augustine:  We ourselves are the house of God. In this life we are built up to be the house of God in order to be consecrated as the house of God at the end of life. It takes much effort to build the house, but its consecration brings joy and jubilation."^[8] Jesus Christ achieved victory "against the spiritual hosts of wickedness"  [Eph 6:12]  by destroying the power of death and taking up the glory marked out for him from the beginning. Though evil exists yet for a little while, the spiritual revolution of the children of light  is unstoppable, its completion a sure outcome.  [cf. Eph 5:8; 1Th 5:5]  There are times when believers oppose one another on issues of doctrine, dogma, reverence and interpretation. "Indeed, there must be factions among you," writes St. Paul, in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized."  [1Cor 11:19]  Supported by the one holy, catholic and apostolic Church,^[9] we emulate the early Christian community's reliance on its magisterium: the Holy Spirits ministry to "the apostles and the elders with the whole Church".  [Acts 15:22]  Thy kingdom come is the Church's prayer for unity and peace that only Christ can give, a plea to the Lord of Glory to vanquish all indifference and opposition to the Father's Kingdom. And so the Church lives in the intermediate time of God's Kingdom--yet not behind locked doors--mindful of its birth on the cross and its betrothal to Christ as the heavenly Jerusalem.  We have not seen the Lord we love, yet we love him through a faith "more precious than gold which though perishable is tested by fire".   [1Pet 1:7]   We echo the words of the apostle Thomas, "My Lord and my God!"  [Jn 20:28]  Therefore the great reward of our confidence is assured. And the blessing is this: We who believe share all spiritual things in common, especially the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass--the summit and fount of the Kingdom of God.^[10] Jesus says, "Surely I am coming soon. Amen. Come Lord Jesus!"  [Rev 22:20]