Thy Kingdom Come

"This invocation ought to be the pulsation of the pendulum of your entire life, and everything should gravitate around this invocation of Goodness. For the Kingdom of God in hearts, and passing from hearts into the world, would like to say, 'Goodness, Peace, and every other virtue'. Accentuate your lives, then, with numberless appeals for the advent of this Kingdom. But let them be living appeals-that is, to act in life by applying your sacrifice of every hour, for to act well means to sacrifice nature to this end."

Wording:

• Latin: Adveniat regnum tuum;
• English: Thy kingdom come,

Does the Kingdom of God refer to the "Kingdom of God?" or the "Kingdom of Heaven?" For St. Augustine, in his "Confessions" and other works, this request concerns the coming of the Kingdom of God not only at the end of times, but also in our daily life, through personal conversion and social justice. This Kingdom is therefore external and internal, contemporary and yet to come all at once. And this thought encompasses that of many theologians.

For Maria Valtorta this apparent diversity conceals a unity which she explains at length in her commentaries on the Apocalypse. This commentary, of great theological depth, is astonishing when you consider that Maria Valtorta had no theological training except for the Visions and dictations she received.

The Kingdom of God

(Excerpts from Maria Valtorta's commentaries on the Apocalypse. Subheadings, added, do not bind the editor).

Christ establishes the Kingdom of God in us and on earth

From his first words as a Teacher to his last words in the Cenacle, the Synedrium, and the Praetorium. and on Golgotha and from these to those preceding the Ascension, Jesus always witnessed to the Father and the Heavenly Kingdom.

The Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of Christ. Two kingdoms which are a single kingdom, since Christ is One with God and God has given all things which exist to Christ and through Christ, after the Eternal saw them all in his Only‑Begotten, Infinite Wisdom, the Origin as God, the End as God, and the Cause, as the God-Man, of the creation, deification, and redemption of man. Two kingdoms which are a single kingdom, for the Kingdom of Christ in us grants possession of the Kingdom of God for us.

And Christ, saying to the Father, "Thy Kingdom come," as a Founder, as the King of kings, as the Eternal Son and Heir to all the eternal possessions of the Father, established it on earth, established it in us, and made his kingdom and the Father's one; He joined them, uniting the kingdom on earth‑as with a mystical bridge, which is, moreover, his long Cross as a Man among men who do not understand Him and as a Martyr by means of men and for the good of men‑to the one in heaven; He gave that Kingdom of God the Church as its visible Royal Palace and, as King, Himself, its Eternal Head and Pontiff, and, like every king, He instituted its ministers and clearly described it as a "foretaste" of the Eternal Kingdom and called the Church the "new earthly Jerusalem," which, at the end of time, would be transported and transformed into the "Heavenly Jerusalem," in which the risen would rejoice forever and lead a life known to God alone.

This Kingdom is visible and invisible

A visible Kingdom by means of the Church, but also an invisible kingdom, this kingdom of God in us. It has taken on a likeness to its Founder, who, as Man, was and is a visible King and, as God, an invisible King because He is a most pure Spirit, to whom faith is tributed out of pure faith because human sight or any other human sense never saw God before He became incarnate and cannot physically see the First and Third Persons, but sees Them in the works which were or are carried out by Them. A Kingdom, then, which, like man, was made in the image and likeness of its Founder‑a true and perfect Man and, as such, a visible prototype of men as the Father had created them, contemplating them in his Eternal Word and in his Incarnate Word, and true and perfect God and, as such, a most pure Spirit, invisible in his spiritual Divine Nature, but living with no possibility of a beginning or end, as the "Living One." Such is the Kingdom of God, represented on earth by the Church, a visible, living Society with no possibility of an end since it was constituted by the Living One. Such is the Kingdom of God in us, invisible because it is spiritual, living in the spiritual part and living since it was created, unless man destroys the Kingdom of God in himself by sin and by persisting therein, killing the Life of the spirit as well.

This Kingdom must be conquered

A Kingdom which is served and won. It is served on earth and won beyond the earth, during all the events of daily life. Every year, month, day, hour, and minute, from the use of reason until death, it is service of God by the subject through doing his Will, obeying his Law, and living as a "son" and not an enemy or a beast preferring a life of small, transitory animal enjoyment to living in such a way as to deserve heavenly joy. Every year, month, day, hour, and minute is a means to win the Heavenly Kingdom.

"My Kingdom is not of this world," the Incarnate Truth on different occasions told his chosen ones, friends, and faithful, as well as those who rejected Him and hated Him out of fear of losing their base power.

“My Kingdom is not of this world," Christ testified, when, realizing they wanted to make Him king, He fled to the mountain, alone (John 6:15).

"My Kingdom is not of this world," Christ replied to Pilate, who was questioning Him.

"My Kingdom is not of this world," He said once more‑the last time‑to his Apostles, before ascending; and regarding the time of its reconstruction, still awaited in human terms by his chosen ones, He replied, "Only the Father knows the times and seasons, which He has established by his own authority" (Acts 1:6-7).

In the work of Maria Valtorta

In GRM 203.5-12, during the second Passover, Jesus gives the gift of the Our Father to the eleven Apostles, Judas having been absent. On this second petition, Jesus announces the ultimate triumph and union of the Church, His Kingdom, with that of Heaven, the Kingdom of God.

"'May Your Kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven'. Desire its coming with all your strength. If it came, it would be the joy of the earth. The Kingdom of God in hearts, in families, among citizens and nations. Suffer, work, sacrifice yourselves for this Kingdom. Let the earth be a mirror reflecting the life of Heaven in each individual. It will happen. All this will happen one day. Centuries of tears and blood, of errors, persecutions, of darkness relieved by flashes of light radiating from the mystical Light of My Church will precede the moment in which the earth will possess the Kingdom of God. Oh! My Church: although a boat, it will never be sunk, as it is also a cliff unshakeable by breakers and will hold high the Light, My Light, the Light of God. And it will then be like the intense blazing of a star which, having reached the perfection of its existence, disintegrates, an immeasurable flower of the ethereal gardens, to breathe its existence and love at the feet of its Creator, in a rutilant throb. But it will most certainly come. And then there will be the perfect, blessed eternal Kingdom of Heaven."

In GRM 364.7: During the third Passover, Jesus directs His commentary on the Man of the Gospel He came to announce, the forerunner of the Church.

"Let Your Kingdom come to every place on the earth where You are known and loved, and where You are not yet known. And above all let it come to the three times sinners, who know You but do not love You in Your works and manifestations of Light, and endeavour to reject and suffocate the Light that came to the world, because they are souls of darkness, who prefer the works of darkness and they do not know that to suffocate the Light of the world is to offend You, because You are the Most Holy Light and the Father of all lights, beginning from the One that became Flesh and Word to bring Your Light to all men of goodwill."

In GRM 630.23: The risen Jesus confirms that through His Passion, He has obtained for us access to the Grace which establishes the Kingdom of God in us. In the Maria Valtorta commentary exposed above, she had reported this causal link: "The Kingdom of God in us, [is] invisible since spiritual, alive in its spiritual part and living since its creation, provided that man does not destroy the Kingdom of God in him by sin and persistence in sin, thus killing even Life in his Soul."

"You can now have the Kingdom of God in yourselves more easily, because I have obtained it for you with My death. I have redeemed you with My sorrow. Bear that in your minds. So let no one trample on Grace, because it cost the life and the Blood of a God."

In his dictation of July 7, 1943: Jesus emphasizes the importance of this second petition of the Our Father because it contains within it the unity of the Kingdom of God: internal and external, present and to come. Maria Valtorta, in her commentary, added: "Every year, month, day, hour, and minute is an occasion to conquer the Kingdom of Heaven."

"'Thy kingdom come'. "This invocation ought to be the pulsation of the pendulum of your entire life, and everything should gravitate around this invocation of Goodness. For the Kingdom of God in hearts, and passing from hearts into the world, would like to say, 'Goodness, Peace, and every other virtue'. Accentuate your lives, then, with numberless appeals for the advent of this Kingdom. But let them be living appeals-that is, to act in life by applying your sacrifice of every hour, for to act well means to sacrifice nature to this end."

Azariah, for his part, had recalled this warning:

"The dead do not enter the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is initiated in the spirit of man on Earth with union with God and is completed in Heaven with the full possession of God. Here, on Earth, God in you; in Heaven, you in God. But God does not enter into the putrefaction of death, and the putrescence of death does not enter into Heaven. In the eternal Jerusalem, just as there will be no temples, 'for its temple is the Lord, in whom we shall all exist' [...]"

To go further

• Our Father
• Our Father who art in Heaven
• Hallowed be Thy Name
• Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven
• Give us this day our daily bread
• Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us
• Lead us not into temptation
• But deliver us from evil

In the Catechism

II. Thy Kingdom Come

§ 2817 This request is the "Marana Tha", the cry of the Spirit and of the Bride: "Come, Lord Jesus":

If God himself had not made it our duty to ask for the coming of this Kingdom, we would have ourselves uttered this cry, hastening to embrace our hopes. The souls of the martyrs under the altar invoke the Lord with loud cries: ‘How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?’ (Rev 6:10). For they must indeed obtain justice at the end of times. Lord, hasten the coming of your kingdom!" (Tertullian, or. 5).

§ 2818 In the Lord’s prayer, the reference is primarily to the final coming of the Kingdom of God by the return of Christ (cf. Titus 2:13). But this desire does not distract the Church from her mission in this world; rather, it engages her in it. For since Pentecost, the coming of the Kingdom is the work of the Spirit of the Lord "who continues His work in the world and completes all sanctification" (MR, eucharistic prayer IV).

§ 2819 "The Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17). The last times in which we live are those of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Thus begins a decisive struggle between "the flesh" and the Spirit (cf. Galatians 5:16–25):

Only a pure heart can confidently say: ‘Thy Kingdom come’. One must have been schooled by Paul to say: ‘Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body’ (Romans 6:12). He who keeps himself pure in his deeds, thoughts, and words can say to God: ‘Thy Kingdom come!’ (St. Cyril of Jerusalem, catech. myst. 5, 13: PG 33, 1120A).

§ 2820 In a discernment according to the Spirit, Christians must distinguish between the growth of the Kingdom of God and the progress of culture and society in which they engage. This distinction is not a separation. Man’s vocation to eternal life does not suppress but strengthens his duty to apply the energies and means received from the Creator to serve justice and peace in this world (cf. GS 22; 32; 39; 45; EN 31).

§ 2821 This petition is carried and granted in the prayer of Jesus (cf. John 17:17–20), present and effective in the Eucharist; it bears fruit in the new life according to the Beatitudes (cf. Mt 5:13-16; 6:24; 7:12–13).

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Place located in Jerusalem where Jesus celebrated Passover with his Apostles and instituted the Eucharist on the eve of his death (from Latin cenaculum: dining room). This place became the first Church at the request of the Virgin Mary.

The Gospel as Revealed to Me (Maria Valtorta).