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How often we go on "automatic pilot" when saying the Paternoster! Yet, these words contain nothing other than an implicit request for the conversion of the whole world! "For God wishes all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (I Tim. 2, 4). These words, then, are not to be taken lightly. Even at Mass, the priest begins the Our Father only after "excusing himself on the grounds that Christ Himself has taught, indeed commanded us to say them: "Praeceptis salutaribus moniti!"
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As has been said, the Holy Ghost makes us love, desire and ask as we ought, producing in us firstly fear, by which we seek that the name of God be sanctified. Another gift is the gift of piety, which properly speaking is a sweet and devout affection for a father, and for every man that we find in unhappy straits. Since God is truly Our Father, we must not only fear and reverence Him, but also have for Him this kind of sweet and devout affection, and this affection makes us ask for the coming of the Kingdom of God, as St. Paul says: "Let us live piously and justly in this world, expecting the blessed hope, and coming of our great God and Savior . . ." (Tit. 2, 12-13).
One might ask: the Kingdom of God has always been; how then can we ask that it come? Therefore the words, Thy Kingdom come, can be understood in three ways.
It sometimes happens that a king has the right to rule and command, but not actual dominion because his subjects have not in fact submitted to his rule. He will not appear as a real king and lord, until his subjects obey him.
God is, of Himself and by His very nature, the Lord of all things: and Christ in His divine nature, and even in His human nature, holds supreme dominion over all things, for "He gave him power, and honor and a kingdom" (Dan. 7, 14). It must needs be, then, that all things are subject to Him. This is not now actually the case, but will be at the end of time: "He must reign, until he has put his enemies beneath his feet" (I Cor. 15, 25).
Therefore we say in this prayer: "Thy Kingdom come," and this for three ends: that the just be converted, that sinners be punished, and that death itself be destroyed.
For men are subject to Christ in two ways: either voluntarily, or involuntarily. Since the will of God has an efficacity of its own that causes it to be fulfilled, and God wills that all men be subject to Christ, then one of two things is necessary: either a man will do the will of God by submitting to His commandments, as do the just—or God will accomplish His will on them by punishing them, as He will do to unrepentant sinners and His enemies; and this will be in the end of the world, as the Psalm says (109, 1): "Until I make thy enemies the footstool of thy feet." And therefore it is given to the saints to ask for the coming of the Kingdom of God, or in other words, that they be completely subject to His royalty; but obstinate sinners find this horrible, because for them to ask for the coming of God's kingdom is tantamount to asking for their own punishment as required by the divine will. "Woe to those, (that is, sinners), that desire the day of the Lord" (Am. 5, 18).
The advent of the kingdom of God at the end of time will mean the destruction of death. Since Christ is life itself, there can be no such thing in His kingdom as death, which is contrary to life: therefore I Cor. 15, 26 says: "Lastly death itself shall be destroyed." This shall take place at the Resurrection, when "he will refashion the body of our lowliness, conforming it to the body of his glory" (Phil. 3, 21).
The kingdom of heaven also refers to the glory of paradise. Nor is this surprising, for a kingdom is a form of government. The best form of government is where nothing becomes an obstacle to the will of the ruler. Now the will of God is the salvation of men, for He wishes men to be saved (I Tim. 2, 4); and this will be accomplished in paradise, where nothing will go against the salvation of men, for "they will gather out of his kingdom all scandals" (Mt. 13, 41). Yet in this world there are many obstacles to the salvation of men. When therefore we pray, Thy Kingdom come, we pray that we may be partakers of the heavenly kingdom and the glory of paradise.
We ought to greatly desire this kingdom for three reasons.
First on account of the sovereign justice that reigns there: "Thy people shall all be just" (Is. 60, 21). Here the evil are mixed with the just, but there no unjust man or sinner will be found.
We should also desire this kingdom because of the most perfect liberty that will be found there. Here there is no perfect liberty, although all men naturally desire it, but there every kind of servitude will be replaced by liberty: "Creation itself shall be delivered from its slavery to corruption" (Rm. 8, 21). In that kingdom not only will everyone enjoy freedom, but they will all be kings: "Thou has made us a kingdom to our God" (Apoc. 5, 10). The reason is that they shall will the same things as God: God shall will whatever the saints will, and the saints shall will whatever God wills: hence their own will shall be done together with the will of God. Therefore all shall reign, for the will of all shall be done, and the Lord shall be the crown of them all: "On that day the Lord of hosts will be a glorious crown and a brilliant diadem to the remnant of his people" (Is. 28, 5).
We should also long for the kingdom of God because of the marvelous abundance of good things. there. "The eye hath not seen, O God, besides thee, what things thou has prepared for them that wait for thee" (Is. 64, 4), "who satisfieth thy desire with good things" (Ps. 102, 5).
In God alone shall man find all that he seeks in the world, and in a more excellent and perfect way. If it is delight you seek, you shall find it in God, in the highest degree. If you seek riches, in God you will find an abundance of everything you are looking for in riches; and so on with everything else. St. Augustine says in the Confessions: "When the soul commits fornication by turning away from thee, it seeks its good things outside of thee, which it does not find in their purity and brightness, save when it returns to thee."
The third reason we ask God for the coming of His kingdom is that sin sometimes reigns and triumphs in this world, when man is so disposed to follow his inclination to sin, without resisting it. Against this calamity St. Paul raises his voice: "Let not sin reign in thy mortal body" (Rom. 6, 12). God must reign in our hearts and He does reign when man is prepared to obey God, and keep all His commandments. When therefore we pray that His kingdom come, we are praying that God, not sin, reign in us.
By this petition in which we ask that God's kingdom come, we arrive at the beatitude proclaimed in Mt. 5, 4: "Blessed are the meek": for according to the first explanation we gave of the phrase, "Thy kingdom come," by the very fact that a man desires God to be the Lord of all, he does not look for vengeance of his own personal injuries, but leaves it to God. For he who looks for vengeance is not seeking His kingdom.
According to the second explanation of the petition, "Thy kingdom come," if you are seeking His kingdom, the glory of paradise, you ought not to care if you suffer the loss of this world's goods.
Finally, according to the third explanation of this phrase, if you ask that God and Christ reign in you, since He was the meekest of all men, you also must be meek: "Learn from me, for I am meek" (Mt. 11, 29). "You have joyfully accepted the plundering of your own goods" (Hebr. 10, 34).
The third gift which the Holy Ghost produces in us is the gift of knowledge. The Holy Ghost Himself produces in the just not only the gifts of fear and piety, which is a sweet attraction unto God, as has been said, but makes a man wise. And this is what David asked for: "Teach me goodness, and discipline and knowledge" (Ps. 118, 66). This is the science by which man leads a good life, which the Holy Ghost teaches us. Among the dispositions which lead a man to wisdom and knowledge, the most important is that wisdom which teaches a man not to rely on his own judgment. "Lean not upon thy own prudence" (Pr. 3, 5). For those who presume on their own judgment to the point where they do not listen to others are considered foolish and rightly so: "You see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him" (Prov. 26, 12). But when a man does not trust his own judgment this comes from humility: therefore where there is humility there is wisdom. The proud, on the other hand, trust too much in themselves.
Therefore the Holy Ghost teaches us by the gift of knowledge not to do our own will but the will of God. Therefore because of this gift we ask God that His will be done on earth as it is in heaven, and by this is manifested the gift of knowledge. When we say to God, "Thy will be done," we are like a sick person who accepts some bitter remedy prescribed by his doctor. He does not absolutely want it, but only to the extent the doctor wants it—if he wanted it for its own sake he would be foolish. So we also should ask of God nothing other than that His will be done regarding us, that His will be accomplished in us.
The heart of man is rightly ordered when it is in agreement with the divine will. This is what Christ did: "For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me" (Jn. 6, 38). For inasmuch as Christ is God, His will is but one with the Father's; but as man He has a will distinct from that of the Father, and in this sense He declares that He does not His own will but that of the Father. And therefore He teaches us to pray and ask that "Thy will be done."
But what does this really mean? Does not Psalm 113 say, "He hath done all things whatsoever that he willed?" If then He has done whatever He has willed in heaven and on earth, what is the meaning of, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven?" To understand this petition we must realize that God wills three things of us, for whose fulfillment we pray.
The first thing that God wills of us is that we have eternal life. Whoever makes something for a certain end, wants that thing to accomplish the end for which he made it. Now God made man, but not without a purpose, as Psalm 88 says: "Hast thou made all the children of men in vain?" He made men for a certain purpose, but not simply for them to enjoy pleasures, for even brute animals can do this—but rather, He made them so that they could have eternal life. Therefore God wills that man have eternal life.
When something attains the end for which it was made, we say that it is saved; when it does not, we say that it is lost. Now God made man for eternal life. When therefore he attains eternal life, he is saved, and this is what God wills: "For this is the will of my Father who sent me, that whoever beholds the Son, and believes in him, shall have life everlasting" (Jn. 6, 40). This God's will has already been fulfilled in the angels and saints who are already in the everlasting mansions, for they see God, and know and enjoy Him; but we desire that, just as the will of God has been fulfilled in the blessed in heaven, so it may be fulfilled in us who are on earth. And this is what we ask for when we say: "Thy will be done," in us who are on earth, as with the saints in heaven.
Another thing God wills for us is that we obey His commandments. For when somebody desires something, he not only wants what he desires, but whatever is necessary to attain it, just as a doctor who wants to heal a sick person also wants him to follow a certain diet, have medicine, etc.
God wishes us to have eternal life. Therefore He wishes us to keep the commandments. "If you wish to have eternal life, obey the commandments" (Mt. 19, 17). St. Paul speaks of "your spiritual service . . . that you may discern what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God" (Rom. 12, 1-2). When therefore we pray, "Thy will be done," we pray that we may fulfill the commandments of God.
This will of God is accomplished in the just, but not yet in sinners. "Heaven" stands for the just, but "the earth" stands for sinners. We therefore pray that the will of God be accomplished "on earth," that is in sinners, "as it is in heaven," as in the just.
The very way this is phrased teaches us something. It does not say, "Do Thy will," or even "let us do Thy will," but, "Thy will be done." For two things are necessary for eternal life: the grace of God and the will of man; and although God made man without his cooperation He does not justify man without his cooperation. St. Augustine says, "He who created you without you will not justify you without you," and God said through the Prophet: "Turn ye to me, and I will turn to you" (Zac. 1, 3). St. Paul says, "By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace in me has not been fruitless." Do not therefore presume upon yourselves, but trust in the grace of God. Nor should we slacken our efforts, but diligently cooperate. Therefore Christ does not have us say: "Let us do Thy will," as though the grace of God meant nothing, or "Do Thy will," as though our will and efforts were meaningless, but He has us say "Thy will be done," by the grace of God, and with all due effort and diligence on our part.
The third thing God wills of us is that man be restored to the pristine condition and dignity in which the first man was created; which was such that the mind and soul felt no opposition from the flesh and sensuality. For as long as the soul was subject to God, the flesh was subject to the spirit so that the body was not subject to the corruption of death or sickness and the other passions. But the moment the mind and the soul, which held the middle place between God and the flesh, rebelled against God by sin, then the body rebelled against the soul, and began to be subject to death and infirmity, and the continual rebellion of sensuality against the spirit. "For I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind" (Rom. 7,23). Thus there is an incessant war between the flesh and the spirit, and man is continually being debased by sin. God wills that man be restored to his original state, when the flesh was in no way contrary to the spirit: "For this is the will of God, your sanctification" (I Thess. 4, 3).
This will of God cannot be completely fulfilled in this life, but will be completed in the resurrection of the saints when their glorified bodies shall rise, splendid and incorruptible. Yet this will of God is fulfilled in the just even here below, with respect to their spirit: by their justice and science and good life. And therefore when we say, "Thy will be done," we pray that it may be so even as regards the flesh. In this sense we pray that Thy will be done "on earth," that is in our flesh, "as it is in heaven," that is, in our spirit, when we are just.
This petition corresponds to the third beatitude, "Blessed are they who mourn," for three reasons.
In the first place, we desire eternal life, and this love brings us to tears: "Woe is me, that my sojourning is prolonged!" (Ps. 119, 5). This desire of the saints is so vehement that they sometimes even desired death, which in itself would be avoided at all costs: "We even dare to prefer to be exiled from the body and to be at home with the Lord" (II Cor. 5, 18).
Secondly, those who keep the commandments are afflicted, for what is sweet to the soul the body finds bitter. As Psalm 25 says: "Although they go forth weeping," referring to the body, "They shall come back rejoicing," referring to the soul.
The third reason is that the continual war between the flesh and the spirit causes us sorrow: for it is scarcely possible to totally escape being wounded, at least by venial sin. To expiate these sins we mourn over them. "Every night," that is, as long as the darkness of my sins lasts, "with tears I shall wash my bed," meaning my conscience.
And those who weep in this way will arrive at the heavenly mansions to which may God draw us.