When we pray, "thy kingdom come," we mean at least three things.  The first and most obvious meaning we have in mind is Christ's second coming.  As the Catechism puts it (#2818): "In the Lord's Prayer, 'thy kingdom come' refers primarily to the final coming of the reign of God through Christ's return."  Every week when we pray the Creed, we profess our firm conviction that Jesus Christ, the same Jesus who was born of the Virgin,  who suffered, died, was buried, rose again, and ascended into heaven - that same person, who is true man and true God, will come again at the end of history. And when he comes, the period of history in which good and evil are mixed together will finally come to an end.  Jesus will judge the living and the dead, take away the sin of the world, and banish all evil from the new heavens and the new earth.  At that point, all injustice will be corrected, and all those who have lived in friendship with God will be fully healed and given the indescribable happiness that comes from seeing God face-to-face. This is what we look forward to as Christians. And it is not just wishful thinking. Jesus has promised that it will come to pass, and he has backed up his promise in many ways: through his resurrection, through the constant guidance and expansion of his Church, the beginning, on earth, of the everlasting community of his followers, through the lives of so many saints, through the forgiveness and mercy that all of us have experienced in our own lives.  The Kingdom of God, then, is in the first place the goal of our earthly pilgrimage, the object of our deepest desires.

But when we pray "thy kingdom come," we have a second meaning in mind too. We are also praying for Christ to come and rule more and more fully in our hearts right now.  As members of the Church, we are already citizens of Christ's eternal Kingdom.  And so, if we are good citizens, if we strive to follow Christ's example and obey his laws, we will begin to experience true spiritual prosperity.  Every good King brings prosperity and security to his faithful people, and Jesus is certainly no exception. St Paul put this very clearly in his Letter to the Romans: "... the Kingdom of God does not mean eating or drinking this or that, it means righteousness and peace and joy brought by the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17).  Righteousness is a right relationship with God.  And that gives us the kind of interior peace that nothing else can give us.  And when we are in a right relationship with God, we experience Jesus not as a distant ruler, but as an intimate friend, a friend who dwells deep within us, through the Holy Spirit.  And since this friend dwells within us, the joy that comes from this friendship never goes away - we are never separated from him.  This explains how so many Christians through the centuries have been able to find joy and peace even in the face of horrible suffering.  

The third thing we mean when we pray, "thy kingdom come," has to do with ourselves. We want Jesus to come and bring history to its glorious conclusion.  We also want him to come and bring peace and joy to our hearts.  But by expressing our desire for the benefits of Christ's rule of justice and mercy, we are also expressing our willingness to live by the law of Christian justice and mercy.  This is why Jesus followed up his announcement that "The Kingdom of God is at hand" with a command: "repent and believe in the gospel."  Repent: turn away from our selfish habits and inclinations, which are so destructive to ourselves, those around us, and the Church.  Believe in the gospel: trust God enough to follow his commandments, the teachings of his Church, and his voice resounding in our conscience.  "Teach me your paths," today's Psalm says.  And that should be the prayer on all of our lips throughout this season of Lent.  It is no coincidence that in the Our Father Jesus put the phrase, "thy will be done" right after the phrase, "thy kingdom come."  Jesus doesn't want to impose his Kingdom, like some tyrannical dictator. Instead, by inviting us to be citizens of his Kingdom, he gives us an active role in building up that Kingdom.  Reaching out to those around us, serving those in need, forgiving those who hurt us, comforting those who are troubled, instructing those who are ignorant...  These are actions proper to a citizen of the Kingdom of God, and when we pray for that Kingdom to come, we are telling Jesus that we're ready to take them on.  This is how we freely choose to make Christ our King. 

Lent is a season the Church gives us to renew our citizenship in Christ's Kingdom.  It's a six-week process of renewing our Christian passport.  Let's decide today, as Christ renews his commitment to us in this Mass, to do our part to make that renewal go deep.  If we need to go on a retreat, go on a retreat.  If we need to jump-start our personal prayer life, jump-start it.  If we need to cut out some selfish habits in order to give self-forgetful, Christ-like love a chance to grow, get out the chainsaw. If we need to go to confession, then go to confession.  Don’t wait until it’s too late! Christ is the Lord of life and history.  He has been present in this world ever since his incarnation, transforming and redeeming it from within by building up his everlasting Kingdom.  Today, let's each one of us make sure that he is also the Lord of our life and history.