Thy kingdom come, thy will be done

Sep 01, 2023

Whenever we pray the “ Our Father, ” we address God, asking: “Thy kingdom come,  Thy will be done.” It may not seem at first glance that this is what the readings for this Sunday are about. But that is only the case if we isolate this Sunday’s readings from all the preceding weeks in which Matthew’s Gospel has offered us an understanding of the kingdom of God. Much of this education was carried out as Christ preached in parables, offering us an education about his very self as the living Gospel, as the kingdom itself.

For us, as for Christ, these two petitions within the “Our Father” are related. They are also related to our readings for this Sunday, as I have just suggested. But, first things first!

The Catechism of the Catholic Church shows us how these two petitions, regarding God’s kingdom and God’s will, are related. First, the Catechism confirms that Christ, himself, is the kingdom: “The Kingdom of God … is brought near in the Word incarnate, it is proclaimed throughout the whole Gospel, and it has come in Christ’s death and Resurrection” (Catechism, No. 2816). Put differently, the kingdom came through the cross, through Christ losing his life, in order to gain it (cf. Mt 16:21-27).

Even for Christ, this was not easy. He  rebukes Peter , who shudders at the very idea that Christ will have to suffer. Christ tells Peter, “ You are an obstacle  to me.” And we know that Christ will be in agony in the Garden of Gethsemane as he gives his human will over to the Father, himself praying, “Thy will be done, not mine.” Only by reconciling his human will to that of God’s, will Christ reveal the substance and source of life: God’s love for us, thereby inaugurating the kingdom of God within the world.

In this Sunday’s Gospel reading, Christ calls us to citizenship in the kingdom of God. More precisely, Christ calls us to take up our cross and follow him. He calls us to God’s will rather than our own. It may feel like a “death” at first, but it will lead to our resurrection … to life!

The Catechism tells us: “His commandment is ‘that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.’ This commandment summarizes all the others and expresses his entire will” (Catechism, No. 2822).

At times, though, this commandment can feel like a cross! And, if it was with difficulty that even Christ gave up his human will to such a cross, what are we to do? How are we to “follow him”? To do “his entire will”?

“The Kingdom of God,” the Catechism assures us, “has been coming since the Last Supper and, in the Eucharist, it is in our midst” (Catechism, No. 2816).

Aha! We have, daily if we desire it, the help of the Eucharist. We have, therefore, the help of Christ himself, the person who vivifies the kingdom, who is love active in our world and in ourselves.

This actually brings us beyond the connection I promised between “Thy kingdom come” and “Thy will be done,” to the next petition of the “ Our Father :” “Give us this day our daily bread.” Of this petition, the Catechism comments: “The Father in heaven urges us, as children of heaven, to ask for the bread of heaven. [Christ] himself is the bread who, sown in the Virgin, raised up in the flesh, kneaded in the Passion, baked in the oven of the tomb, reserved in churches, brought to altars, furnishes the faithful each day with food from heaven” (Catechism, No. 2837).

September 3 – 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jer 20:7-9

Ps 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9

Rom 12:1-2

Mt 16:21-27

 

This article comes to you from Our Sunday Visitor courtesy of your parish or diocese.

Big “T” traditions

16 Sep, 2023
Traditions are important to families. Singing the family birthday song, making grandma’s banana bread, praying in a special way at holiday meals — traditions are the foundation on which strong families are built. Likewise, the Church was built upon the rituals and traditions of the apostles and the early Christian communities. This body of ritual and teaching is called Tradition (with a capital T), and it serves as a unifying force in the Church today. This Tradition is so important that the teaching office of the Church, called the magisterium, safeguards it. We believe that that sacred Word of God is found in both Scripture and Tradition. In fact, the Tradition of the Church was in place before the Gospels were even written. It’s true! We practiced our faith long before we wrote about our faith. The first Christians were already meeting together, mostly in homes, celebrating the Eucharist, sharing the teachings of the apostles and encouraging one another at the time the New Testament was written down. This was the beginning of St. Paul addressing his letters to these early Christian communities. Those who argue that Scripture alone should be the source of Christian teaching fail to recognize that in the first several centuries of the Church there was no “Bible” in the form we have today. Early Christian communities read from the Old Testament writings, the prophets and from the letters from leaders like Peter and Paul. The earliest writings in the New Testament reflect the belief and practice of the early Christians as the Holy Spirit guided the Church and her leaders. If we truly wish to understand Scripture, we must understand the context in which it was written — the Tradition of the Church.

The reality of sin and forgiveness

15 Sep, 2023
by Catherine Cavadini

September 15, 2023

15 Sep, 2023
Jn 19:25-27 Luke 2:33-35 Today, we pray the Sequence Sabat Mater, which means the mother was standing. Mary stands at the foot of the cross on which her son hangs. She remains with him until the end. Years before, Simeon had told her of her son’s destiny and her own suffering. Mary stood with Jesus through it all. This content comes to you from Our Sunday Visitor courtesy of your parish or diocese.

We are not orphans

15 Sep, 2023
"We are not orphans, we have Mothers: Mother Mary. But the Church is Mother and the Mother Church is anointed when it takes the same path of Jesus and Mary: the path of obedience, the path of suffering, and when she has that attitude of continually learning the path of the Lord. These two women — Mary and the Church — carry on the hope that is Christ, they give us Christ, they bring forth Christ in us. Without Mary, there would be no Jesus Christ; without the Church, we cannot go forward". – Pope Francis   Reflection: Today is the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. What is your typical response to pain or extended times of difficulties? How do the two women – Mary and the Church – offer you hope in the midst of suffering?   This content comes to you from Our Sunday Visitor courtesy of your parish or diocese.
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