From Ignatius House
Dear Friends,
Good morning. Once again we read of the disciples' desire to learn how to pray. Obviously Jesus' personal life was making an impact on his followers. We can presume that these followers found something in the way Jesus lived that brought him a genuine peace. They wanted that same peacefulness in their lives.
And are we not the same? How many times do we ask ourselves how do I achieve the peace and strength that Jesus, saints, and noble men and women achieve the peace we see manifest in their lives? What and when and where is this kingdom that Jesus taught the disciples in his prayer? Surely God, the creator of all that is, will have his kingdom as long as there is this world we live in.
What we are praying for is that God's kingdom will become a reality within each of our lives. Likewise we pray that we will find ourselves in his kingdom. Yes, we are praying for ourselves that we may ultimately live in the kingdom of God, a gift that is given to all of the saints.
When we pray "Thy kingdom come," we are praying for ourselves that the life we live will be worthy of our being a part of the kingdom.
Of course, there are so many who pray the Lord's prayer each day, men and women who are forced to live lives where they have not voice, lives where they are forced to suffer persecution or deprivation. It is these men and women and even children in our times who experience the helplessness of Jesus Christ.
Such a person is Penny Lernoux. Penny's life you can read about on the Internet. She was a journalist in South and Latin America speaking out for the poor and helpless. She became a person who could speak of the kingdom of God to those suffering in Latin and South American in the second half of the 20th century. This noble woman died of cancer on October 8, 1989, just 25 years ago.
Let me close with a quote from her journalistic work:
You can look at a slum or peasant village, but it is only by entering into that world --
by living it
that you begin to understand what it is like
to be powerless,
to be like Christ.
(from Give Us This Day, October, p 85)
Oremus pro invicem!
Fr. Milt
