Thy Kingdom Come

Well, as expected, school and my other 2 jobs have consumed my life this Spring! I'm hoping I can spend more time writing this summer since I won't be taking in classes...although my readings for class always seem to be my source of inspiration...

Anyway, thought you guys might enjoy a little snippet from an essay I'm turning in today. I read a chapter in Pope Benedict XVI's Jesus of Nazareth on The Lord's Prayer for this essay, and the comments are specifically related to the petition "Thy Kingdom Come." I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the book!

Benedict XVI asks us to examine what the petition “Thy kingdom come” means within The Lord’s Prayer. He explains how this particular petition has a meaning within our daily lives here on earth. By including this petition in the prayer, Jesus “wants to show us how to pray and order our action in just this way.”[1] In other words, what we are asking for goes beyond just prayer; we are asking for something to affect the way we act every day. If God were not here amidst our actions, nothing could be good.[2] Because we, as humans, are created by God to be ordered to the good, if God’s kingdom were not here present with us we would not be able to sustain our being ordered in this way. By requesting for God’s kingdom to come, we realize that we constantly need revitalization and reminders in our lives as to what God is all about. In praying this petition, Benedict XVI tells us that we are saying to Jesus “Let us be yours, Lord! Pervade us, live in us; gather scattered humanity into your body, so that in you everything may be subordinated to God and you can then hand over the universe to the Father.”[3]

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[1] Benedict XVI 145.

[2] Benedict XVI 145.

[3] Benedict XVI 147.