Youcat commented through CCC – Question n. 520 – Part IV.

YOUCAT Question n. 520 - Part IV. What does it mean to say, “Thy kingdom come”?

(Youcat answer repeated) When we pray, “Thy kingdom come”, we call for Christ to come again, as he promised, and for God’s reign, which has already begun here on earth, to prevail definitively.   

A deepening through CCC

(CCC 2819) "The kingdom of God [is] righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Rom 14:17). The end-time in which we live is the age of the outpouring of the Spirit. Ever since Pentecost, a decisive battle has been joined between "the flesh" and the Spirit (Cf. Gal 5:16-25). Only a pure soul can boldly say: "Thy kingdom come." One who has heard Paul say, "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies," and has purified himself in action, thought, and word will say to God: "Thy kingdom come!" (St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catech. myst. 5, 13: PG 33, 1120A; cf. Rom 6:12).

Reflecting and meditating 

(Youcat comment) François Fénelon says, “To will everything that God wills, and to will it always, in all circumstances and without reservations: that is the kingdom of God which is entirely within.”

(CCC Comment)

(CCC 2820) By a discernment according to the Spirit, Christians have to distinguish between the growth of the Reign of God and the progress of the culture and society in which they are involved. This distinction is not a separation. Man's vocation to eternal life does not suppress, but actually reinforces, his duty to put into action in this world the energies and means received from the Creator to serve justice and peace (Cf. GS 22; 32; 39; 45; EN 31).

(The next question is: What does it mean to say, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”?)