What Jesus taught about the kingdom of God sums up his teaching. And he most emphatically enjoined us to pray: "Thy kingdom come." A review of his teaching of the kingdom of God shows that one should not pray for its coming with facile confidence. God's kingdom, let alone its final arrival, means an irrevocable separation of those who proved themselves worthy of that kingdom from those who failed to do so. The history of the Church shows a difference between praying for God's kingdom or praying for such form of it which is a compromise of God's purpose with man. The latter is man's eternal salvation and not necessarily his well-being on earth, which all too often means a departure from the standards of of God's kingdom. What about the future? What are those features of the Church of the future for which one would pray in vain the words "thy kingdom come," and what are those features that will surely be on hand?

By Fr. Stanley L. Jaki

ISBN 978-1-892548-37-5  •  viii + 76 pages  •  softcover