Video Transcript

Edmund: I was cleaning up a bunch of loose change recently after a birthday party, and suddenly I had this huge flashback and realization that I made lots of wishes as a kid. I had these memories of blowing out candles and making a wish, and the feeling I would have; hoping my wish would come true. 

And I still remember when I walked past this fountain in the mall with my grandmother. And I looked down on the bottom, and there were all of these shiny coins. And I remember asking my grandmother what that was about. She said it was a wishing fountain.

And she handed me a penny and said I could flick it into this fountain and make a wish, and maybe it would come true. And I could still feel that feeling I had right after I flicked this penny and we walked away. And I had so much hope that maybe my wish would come true.

But you know what this also makes me think of? It actually makes me think of the Lord’s Prayer. Let me explain what I mean. 

As we get older, it becomes harder and harder to hang on to that sense of innocent hope and expectation and wonder. Maybe we think we need to be more realistic; we’ve had more experiences of hoping for something to happen, and it not coming true.

So today, I want to tell you more about how Jesus—in teaching us the Lord’s Prayer—is teaching us to have a much more profound sense of hope. And to pray from that sense of hope, and to live it. And not just a cute, little hope that a wish might come true, but a real hope in Him.

So I want to talk specifically about  the part in the Lord’s Prayer where Jesus teaches us to pray “Thy kingdom come.”  The Catechism says in paragraph 2817, “This petition is ‘Marana tha,’ the cry of the Spirit and the Bride: ‘Come, Lord Jesus.’”

This phrase comes from Scripture, and it’s also mentioned in the Catechism at least five times. The Catechism is using this rich imagery and reminding us that “Marana tha” means “The Spirit and the Bride crying ‘Come, Lord Jesus.’”

It’s not just something cute and nice that we throw in there, it’s actually rooted in the theological virtues we’re given as a gift to enable us to act as God’s children.

In the Catechism paragraph 1817—when it speaks of hope and defines it for us—it says: “Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit.”

And Jesus—in teaching us the Lord’s Prayer—is giving us a really practical way to express that hope. But He’s also calling us to something even deeper. And I think of this all the time now when I’m at birthday parties and I see the cake, because I remember as a kid hoping that I would have a birthday party; hoping that it would be really great, and I’d get these presents that I was hoping for. 

But it’s interesting because my hope was also placed in this relationship I had with my parents. Because fortunately, I had experiences of my parents really loving me and throwing me birthday parties in the past. And so a way—even though it’s a little embarrassing to admit—I was looking forward to my birthday and my birthday party, and I was placing hope in my parents. 

And see, hope is a gift we’re given as one of the three theological virtues. It’s actually a response of turning our desires towards God and trusting that He will fulfill them. 

And what’s even crazier to think about is that hope has a name: Jesus Christ. 

So remember, the Catechism uses this phrase “Marana tha” and this imagery of the Spirit and the Bride saying “Come, Lord Jesus.” So imagine the feeling of hope in a bride waiting for a bridegroom to come and take her to their wedding, or their wedding feast. 

Jesus is the bridegroom, and all of us are the Body of Christ; the Bride of Christ. And the bridegroom Jesus is faithful and trustworthy and loving. So when we’re praying “Thy kingdom come,” we’re also repeating a promise that God made us; that He will come again in glory. His promise that He is with us and for us, and that He is coming back. 

We’re not just kind of hoping; we’re confidently hoping and praying and repeating the promise.

Okay. All of this is great, but it gets even better. Because Jesus has taught us how to live out this gift of hope. But God’s kingdom is already here on earth, although not fully and not perfectly yet. And this is why in the Lord’s Prayer “Thy kingdom come” and the next petition “Thy will be done” is followed by “on earth as it is in heaven.”

So how can we take this petition and this challenge, and live it out more fully in our everyday lives?

It starts with us praying; using this theological gift of hope, but it should also lead us to recognize that we’re called to bring that hope and the kingdom out into the world.

Jesus brought light in the midst of darkness, and so we too are called to bring Jesus’ light into the dark areas of the world. So try to cultivate a spirituality and a prayerfulness that reflects this hope and perseverance. 

In moments of difficulty or injustice, pray with the same eagerness that the martyrs had crying out for justice. Not in despair, but in confident hope that Jesus would prevail. Pray for those who suffer; pray for injustice in the world, pray for an end to conflict and for peace. 

And keep the Kingdom of God as your ultimate hope. And don’t be afraid to share that with other people. And especially, offering hope to those who feel hopeless. 

And also, hope and long for the Eucharist as a foretaste of God’s kingdom. See, because every Mass makes present the Kingdom of God, and we receive Him who is hope itself: Jesus Christ. 

You can try this this month. Every time you go to Mass; right before you receive the Eucharist, you can just pray silently to yourself “Thy kingdom come.” You’re invited to bring God’s kingdom out into the world; His kingdom of mercy, and love, and justice, and hope. 

And finally, cultivate this childlike hope and confidence in God that is way more profound than hoping in a birthday party, or hoping our wishes get fulfilled. You can do this through little acts of surrender throughout your day; letting go of that need for control and placing your hope ultimately in God.

Jesus taught us the Lord’s Prayer and it is rich. And if we take time just reflecting on this phrase “Thy kingdom come,” we realize that we are being challenged not just to pray differently, but to live differently. 

Praying “Thy kingdom come” is expressing our desire to bring that hope out into the world, but also that God would bring that hope and that “Marana tha”—that cry of the Spirit and the Bride—into our hearts.

Because Jesus is showing us that every time we pray, we are called to pray as a way of inviting God’s Kingdom to come here on earth.