God sent Jesus, his beloved Son, into the world for the purpose of establishing the Kingdom of God on earth. Jesus did this through his teaching, his healing and the example of his life. After his resurrection Jesus left it to us his followers, in every generation, to establish God’s influence in every walk of life.

The Kingdom was very much on the mind of Jesus throughout his life. Altogether, in the New Testament, there are about one hundred and fifty references to the Kingdom. In today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches his followers the Our Father. The second phrase of this great prayer addressed to God the Father is ‘thy Kingdom come’. We know that the Kingdom of God is a place where all is well and all manner of things is well.

In other places, the Kingdom is referred to as a hidden treasure, a precious pearl, a Sower going to sow seed, a father welcoming home a lost son, a healing miracle and even as the calming of a storm at sea.

How do we establish God’s Kingdom today? It might be to struggle for greater human justice, or to try to provide daily bread for the poor, or to defend human rights. It could be to have a more loving family life or to care for the plight of refugees.

In the gospel stories Jesus tells us that the presence of God is all around us. God is especially present at Mass where he offers his people the body of Christ as spiritual food. God’s presence is with us in our work, in our decisions, in our education, and in all our activities that contribute to human well‐being.

We do our best to co-operate with God in bringing about the best world that can be achieved. God the Father inspires us. Jesus accompanies us and the Spirit of God guides us. In this work of God, we all travel together.

(From the Ennis Newsletter – Adapted)