Your Kingdom
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Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the Gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the Gospel.”
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)
In the end, there is only the kingdom of Satan which is Hell; and the Kingdom of God which is Jesus and Heaven. If you want to be in the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven, then you want to be united to Jesus; you want Jesus living in you; you want to share in the divine life of Jesus; and you want to be united to the will of Jesus. There is no other way to reach the Kingdom of God than through Jesus; He is the way, the truth and the life; and no one comes to the Father but by Jesus.
That doesn’t mean that if someone doesn’t know Jesus or if they are not Christian, they cannot be saved. It does means if a person is saved, they were saved by the death and resurrection of Jesus. If it is through no fault of their own that they do not know Jesus but do the best they can to follow the truth written on the heart, then it is possible for Jesus to save them. But if someone rejects Jesus then they have rejected the only way to the Father. And the main way we reject Jesus is by sin, to choose our sin over union with Jesus.
If Jesus is the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven, am I do everything I can to be one with Jesus, one with His thinking, His way of living, one with His will?
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Jesus offers the Kingdom as a gift. A response is demanded: to repent and to believe.
We like the believe part; we do not like the repent part so much. If we want Jesus to reign in us, then sin must not be allowed to reign in us. Jesus invites sinners into the Kingdom. He says: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners. He invites them to that conversion without which one cannot enter the Kingdom.
Luke 11:32 On Judgement day the men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation. and condemn it, because when Jonah preached they repented; and there is something greater than Jonah here…It was just about this time that some people arrived and told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with that of their sacrifices. At this he said to them, 'Do you suppose these Galileans who suffered like that were greater sinners than any other Galileans? They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen on whom the tower at Siloam fell and killed them? Do you suppose that they were more guilty than all the other people living in Jerusalem? They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did.'
To repent is to turn away from and reject the sin in our life, the serious or grave sins and the smaller or venial sins.
But eventually we realize we are powerless to change ourselves, that only Jesus has the power to change and save us by surrendering ourselves to Him, by receiving His healing in the sacrament of Reconciliation and with the help of His grace, making the effort to practice virtue.
The only thing standing between you and Jesus, you and the kingdom is your sin. Which do you want? You must choose?
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To enter the Kingdom, Jesus says we must believe. He asks for the response of Faith.
CCC 150 tells us the response of faith includes:
1. A total gift of myself to Jesus – total surrender to Him. Lord, Thy will be done not my will…
2. Faith is to believe the whole truth of what Jesus teaches through the Church that is summarized in the Catechism. Not only the things I like or agree with or understand, but everything Jesus teaches through the Church.
3. To do what Jesus teaches – to live according to what Jesus told us
a. If we don’t live it
b. Then we must not have believed Him in the first place
Faith is our response to all that God has done and revealed. Faith consists of:
· Believing what God told us
· Living what God told us
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We place our hope for salvation, happiness and peace in Jesus, the Kingdom of God. Our salvation, happiness and peace can never be found in an earthly kingdom.
There are two kingdoms that can distract us from the Kingdom of God: the political kingdom; and your own personal kingdom you are building.
Jesus Christ is the Lord of Heaven and Earth. In His providence He is guiding all things right now. Not the Republicans or the Democrats, not the architects of some One Word Order, not Satan, not anyone else. Jesus is governing and guiding all things. Do your civic duty and vote but don’t place your hope for salvation and happiness in a politics. If you are overly happy or sad after the final results of the election, then you have placed your hope in the wrong kingdom.
Secondly, building our own kingdom can distract us from Jesus, the Kingdom of God. to what do we give more thought to - building our own personal kingdom or to allowing the Kingdom of God – Jesus – to reign in your soul?
What is your kingdom? Is it your profession, your business, your children, your education, your sport, your own pursuits?
Usually, where we find our identity is where we find our kingdom.
What is the one thing you could not bear to be without? That will tell you your identity and your kingdom.
The Kingdom of God comes by way of a listening heart.
Pope Benedict says: The first and essential thing is a listening heart, so that God, not we, may reign. The Kingdom of God comes by way of a listening heart. That is the path. And that is what we must pray for again and again. Benedict, Jesus of Nazareth Part 1, p. 145-146
There is absolutely no other way to allow Jesus to live through you than by beginning with a listening heart.
If you spend time in friendship with Jesus, getting to know Him in Scripture, talking to him from the heart, listening to Him in silence, then you will have Jesus and you will have the Kingdom and you will know what to do.
Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you
Our Lady wants us to pray the Rosary every day. But she encourages to take another step. To spend time reading the Word of God, talking to God from the heart and listening to him silence.
Will you take the next step?
Thy Kingdom Come Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven
A listening heart is the only way to know the will of God
And we can know the will of God by
· 1st, Knowing ourselves. If you know yourself realistically, then you will know what to do with yourself. Few people, however know themselves because we are afraid to look at ourselves in the presence of God – do not be afraid.
· We know the will of God through His commandments and the teachings of Jesus found easily in the Bible and the CCC
· God’s will is expressed to us by the duties of our state in life. Fulfill your responsibilities and you are doing God’s will.
· However, the circumstances that I cannot change are the clearest expression of what God wills or allows. If I can’t change it and God hasn’t changed and He allows it, then it must be His will. So remember, God works all things for God for those who love him.
It is hard to accept the will of God when it appears bad – very bad
God allows evil and suffering in the world
· To preserve human freedom
· Because God can bring good out of evil if we align our will to his
How do we remove a cross?
· Align your will to His
· What you did not choose, do not like, cannot change,
· Accept with trust and Offer with love
· Thank God ahead of time what He sends or allows
· Then the Cross is gone
Teresa of Avila writes in her commentary on the Our Father in her book the Way of Perfection Chapter 32
God knows what each one can suffer. He does not delay in doing His will in anyone He sees has strength. Well, I want to advise you and remind you what His will is.
Don't fear that it means He will give you riches, or delights, or honors, or all these earthly things. His love for you is not that small, and He esteems highly what you give Him. He wants to repay you well, for He gives you His kingdom while you are still alive. Do you want to know how He answers those who say these words to Him sincerely? (Thy Will be done) Ask His glorious Son, who said them while praying in the Garden. My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but Your will be done in me.
Since these words were said with such determination and complete willingness, see if the Father's will wasn't done fully in Him through the trials, sorrows, injuries, and persecutions He suffered until His life came to an end through death on a cross.
Well, see what God gave to the one He loved most, His only Son. By that we understand what His will is. For these are His gifts in this world. He gives according to the love He bears us: to those He loves more, He gives more of these gifts… And He gives according to the courage He sees in each and the love each has for His Majesty. He will see that whoever loves Him much will be able to suffer much for Him; whoever loves Him little will be capable of little.
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In the Divine Comedy, Dante writes a line that has always captured my attention - In His will is our peace
We will only find happiness and peace by wanting, doing and accepting the will of God.
Do not fear the will of God. For His will for you is better than your ideas and desires
In His will is our peace
Make your driving force be the will of God