Your Kingdom Come

The second petition of the pure heart longs for the kingdom of its Father to come at once. This may be the kingdom by which Christ reigns day by day in the saints. That comes about when the devil’s rule is driven out of our hearts by the destruction of foul sins, and God begins to rule over us by the sweet fragrance of the virtues; when sexual immorality is overcome and love reigns in our hearts, together with calm when rage is conquered, and humility when pride is trampled underfoot. Or it may be the kingdom that is promised in due time to all who are perfect and to all the sons of God, when Christ will say to them: “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” The heart longs and yearns for it with a fixed and steady gaze, so to speak, and says to him, “Your kingdom come.” For it knows by the witness of its own conscience that when he appears, it will soon share his lot. No guilty person would dare either to say this or to wish for it. For no one would want to face the judgment seat of the Judge if he knew that at his coming he would at once receive not the prize or reward of his merits, but only punishment. [a]