Thy Kingdom Come...My Kingdom Go - Be Careful What
You Pray For
During this Advent season we join the ancient of the Church and say: "Come, Lord Jesus." We pray for the Messiah to come once again into our lives here and now, to deliver us from our sins and from the darkness of this world. But what kind of Messiah are we praying for? What kind of Messiah do we want? Again and again in the gospels, Jesus had to show his own disciples, the crowds, the Jewish leaders and even John the Baptist that he was not the Messiah they were expecting; he was not a military or political leader who would repulse the Roman Empire and restore the ancient kingdom of Judah. He was the Son of God who would reconcile human beings to God by love and forgiveness, not by might, fear or coercion.
Every time we pray the Our Father, we say the words, "thy kingdom come," because we want God's kingdom of love, justice, kindness and peace to be ever more present and visible in our world. However, we must remember that when we pray for God's kingdom to come it also means that all other kingdoms must go, and that includes our personal "kingdoms" - our agendas, prejudices, false ideals and sources of security - and the other "kingdoms" present in our world: financial kingdoms, political kingdoms, social kingdoms and even religious kingdoms. There is ultimately only room for one kingdom and for one king, and that is God, as it says in the Letter to the Ephesians: "...one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all" (Ephesians 4:5-6).
Unfortunately, the history of our Catholic Church is filled with political and religious leaders who were more concerned about establishing their own earthly kingdoms rather than the kingdom of God. When Jesus is not the Lord of our lives, we tend to enter into competition with each other and domination of others who are weaker.
We really have to be careful what we pray for. If we pray for Jesus to come, we must let him be the Messiah he truly is: a Messiah who will challenge our prejudices and disordered desires, not a "made-to-order" Messiah who fulfills all our needs and wants. And, when we pray "thy kingdom come" in the Our Father, we must also add in our hearts: "My kingdom go."
Letter from Our Province
Our Provincial, Fr. Mark Padrez, has asked me to publish this letter to our parish to let you know of a recent decision by our Provincial Council:
Dear Friends in Christ,
Last week we met as the Provincial Council to begin the implementation of our Province's strategic plan. We made the painful decision that we must withdraw from three of our current ministries: Saint Andrew's Newman Center in Riverside, California; the Newman Center at UCSD in San Diego, California, and Saint Mary Magdalen's Church in Berkeley, California.
The process for this difficult decision began nearly three years ago at our Provincial Assembly in
2014 when we began discerning the need to build up our communities, which would allow us to be faithful to our common life, and to ensure that our ministries are suitably staffed, and so guarantee the quality of ministry that is expected. We also saw the reality that we are an aging Province and simply do not have enough friars to properly staff our ministries. We have only forty-one available priests for forty-five ministry assignments. It is encouraging that we have a large number of students and novices (24), yet it takes six to eight years to properly prepare a student for ordination and pastoral ministry.
As those we serve in the pastoral ministry, you deserve the best spiritual care and to hear honestly about our limitations. Therefore, we humbly admit we are no longer in the position to offer the consistent pastoral ministry to these communities that is expected from the Dominicans.
The care you are receiving now is excellent and these decisions,difficultasthey are for
us, will ensure that we can continue to provide the preaching and pastoral care you are nowreceiving. We will work diligently with the Bishops and Dioceses for a smooth transition for these communities.
We ask that you please pray for these ministries and communities that, during this Advent Season, the sadness and anxiety this decision may bring will not be without hope and consolation the Lord gives as we celebrate his birth and his faithful care for us.
Be assured of our prayers and support during this holy season.
Sincerely,
Fr. Mark Padrez, OP, and the Provincial Council of the Province of the Holy Name of Jesus