Pope: in a world marked by evil, the believer prays for the Kingdom to come

The words of the Our Father who hastens the coming of the Kingdom "are not a threat at all, on the contrary, they are a happy announcement, a message of joy. Jesus does not want to push people to convert by sowing the fear of God's looming judgment or the sense of guilt for the evil committed. Jesus does not proselytize, he simply announces. On the contrary, what He brings is the Good News of salvation ".

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - In a world "still marked by sin, populated by so many people who suffer, by people who are not reconciled and do not forgive, by wars and by so many forms of exploitation", "Thy Kingdom come" of the Our Father is like saying "come, Lord Jesus", bring salvation. Continuing the cycle of catechesis on the 'Our Father', the Pope spoke today of "Thy kingdom come".

Speaking to the 10 thousand people present in St. Peter's Square for the general audience, Francis said that the words of the believer who hasten the coming of the Kingdom "are not at all a threat; on the contrary, they are a happy proclamation, a message of joy. Jesus doesn’t want to push people to convert by sowing fear of God’s impending judgment or the sense of guilt for the evil committed. Jesus doesn’t proselytize: He simply proclaims. On the contrary, what He brings is the Good News of salvation, and from it, He calls to conversion. Each one is invited to believe in the “Gospel”: God’s lordship made itself close to His children. This is the Gospel: God’s lordship made itself close to His children. And Jesus proclaims this wonderful thing, this grace: God, the Father, loves us, He is close to us".

"The signs of the coming of this Kingdom are many, and all are positive. Jesus begins His ministry by taking care of the sick, be it in body or in soul, of those that experienced social exclusion — such as lepers –, of sinners regarded with contempt by all".

“Thy Kingdom come!” a Christian repeats insistently when he prays the “Our Father.” Jesus came, but the world is still marked by sin, populated by so many suffering people, by persons who don’t reconcile themselves and don’t forgive, by wars and by so many forms of exploitation. We think of child trafficking, for example. All these facts are proof that Christ’s victory has not yet been completely implemented: so many men and women still live with their heart closed. It’s especially in these situations that the second invocation of the “Our Father” emerges on a Christian’s lips: “Thy Kingdom come!” Which is as if to say: “ Father, we need You! Jesus, we need You to be Lord in our midst everywhere and forever!” “Thy Kingdom come, You be in our midst.”

"The Kingdom of God - he said - is certainly a great force, the greatest there is, but not according to the world’s criteria; that’s why it seems that it never has the absolute majority. It’s as the leaven that is mixed into the flour: it seems to disappear yet it is precisely what makes the dough ferment (Cf. Matthew 13:33)". "In this “destiny” of the Kingdom of God, the connection can be intuited with Jesus’ life: for His contemporaries, He was also a weak sign, an almost unknown event to the official historians of the time. He described Himself as “a grain of wheat,” which dies in the earth, but only thus can it bear “much fruit” (Cf. John 12:24)".

“Thy Kingdom come!” We sow this word in the midst of our sins and our failures. We give it to persons that are defeated and bowed down by life, to those that have tasted more hatred than love, those who have lived useless days without understanding why. We give it to those that have fought for justice, to all the martyrs of history, and to those that have concluded that they fought for nothing and that evil dominates in this world. We will then hear the “Our Father” prayer respond. It will repeat for the umpteenth time those words of hope, the same that the Spirit has placed as seal of all the Sacred Scriptures: “’Surely I am coming soon!’  This is the Lord’s answer. “I am coming soon.” Amen. And the Lord’s Church answers: “Come, Lord Jesus” (Cf. Revelation 2:20)”.

In the greetings in the various languages, Francis recalled that today Lent begins, he himself, in the afternoon, will celebrate the Ashes going, as usual, to the Roman basilica of Santa Sabina.