Thy Kingdom Come
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The Second thing we ask for when we pray the Our Father is “Thy Kingdom Come!”
What is the Kingdom of God? Pope Benedict answers: Jesus himself is the Kingdom; the Kingdom is not a thing; it is not a geographical dominion like worldly kingdoms. It is a person; it is Jesus. (Jesus of Nazareth vol 1. P. 49)
If you want the Kingdom of God to come, then you want to be intimately united to Jesus.
There is no other way to reach the Kingdom than through Him for He is the way, the truth and the life; and no one comes to the Father but by Jesus.
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Jesus proclaimed “Since John the Baptist came, up to this present time, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence and the violent take it by storm (Mt 11:12)
What does Jesus mean by this?
All temptation and all sinful desires are the longing to evade or escape the Kingdom of God.
When we entertain sinful desires, in a sense we say to God:
“No, I do not want your reign.
I wish your reign would go away so I could do whatever I want.”
That is why only the violent take heaven by storm.
Only those who forcefully cut off everything that is killing them spiritually, only those who renounce the kingdom of Satan in them and declare their allegiance to Christ will find the Kingdom of God.
Cut off your vices and sinful behaviors. Stop living as a double agent. Choose a side, choose which kingdom you will serve!
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Jesus said: ‘Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth: it is not peace I have come to bring, but a sword. (Matthew 10:34)
The Kingdom of God, the Reign of Jesus grows in the hearts of His people through virtue.
At the same time, the kingdom of Satan grows visibly in the world. And it will grow until the supreme deception of the Anti-Christ comes and shakes the faith of many believers, causing them to fall away because it offers them an apparent solution to all their problems at the price of their faith.
Then Christ will come to Judge the Living and the Dead. For Jesus said: The Son of Man will send his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all things that provoke offences and all who do evil, and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. Then the virtuous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
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Until the Coming of Christ in Power and Glory, the world will experience division.
So do not be surprised or dismayed!
For all those who live in allegiance to Christ through virtue will turn and follow Him in the direction of Heaven.
And All those who live in allegiance to Satan through sin will follow him in the direction of Hell.
So do not be surprised that the world will become increasingly divided and you find those who violently oppose you. Expect it. Then you will not be caught off guard.
As Our Lord Said: I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man’s enemies will be those of his own household.
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Those who belong to the Kingdom of God must labor to expand it!
What are you doing personally to expand the reign of God in people?
To expand the kingdom of God, we must commit to our own deeper conversion, to cutting off sin and growing in virtue. The reign of God must expand in us first!
Then pray and offer sacrifice. The greatest weapon against the reign of Satan is the Rosary.
The best way to expand the Kingdom of God is to have children and raise them to know, love and serve Christ the King.
And all of us must expand the Kingdom of God through friendship.
Are we living in such a way that inspires others to desire the reign of God in them?
And are you personally investing in those people to help them?