31 Meditations for Advent and Christmas
"The King Who is to come; O come let us adore Him."
5th Day: THE NATURE OF HIS KINGDOM
"The King Who is to come; O come let us adore Him."
5th Day: THE NATURE OF HIS KINGDOM
The Kingdom of our King is no earthly Kingdom.
This was. the mistake made by Herod; he
thought the new-born King was come to wrest from
him his scepter as King of Judaea. Our Lord Himself
expressly declared: "My Kingdom is not of
this world." All worldly ambition is therefore not
only out of place in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ,
but is directly at variance with its spirit. Do not
I too often set my heart on earthly things, and
make them the objects of my ambition, instead of
those things that belong to the Kingdom of my
King and will find favor with Him?
The Kingdom of our King is a Heavenly Kingdom. He Himself speaks of it as the Kingdom of Heaven. He brought it down with Him from Heaven to earth, in order to found it among men. It was founded on earth, in order to provide fresh members for it, as it exists and will exist to all eternity, in Heaven. All those who belong to it must have their hearts set on Heaven. They must seek those things that are above. They must do their best to conform themselves to the Kingdom of Christ as it exists in Heaven. My God! grant that I may be one of the loyal members of Thy Kingdom on earth, that so I may deserve to be joined to its happy company in Heaven.
The Kingdom of Jesus Christ is the Kingdom of truth. He tells us that the object of His coming into the world was to give testimony to the truth. The Kingdom of our King must be the home of perfect truth. No lie can enter into it; no error can be incorporated with its teaching. He who loves the truth is attracted towards the true Catholic Church; he who hates it hates also the Church of Christ.
The Kingdom of our King is a Heavenly Kingdom. He Himself speaks of it as the Kingdom of Heaven. He brought it down with Him from Heaven to earth, in order to found it among men. It was founded on earth, in order to provide fresh members for it, as it exists and will exist to all eternity, in Heaven. All those who belong to it must have their hearts set on Heaven. They must seek those things that are above. They must do their best to conform themselves to the Kingdom of Christ as it exists in Heaven. My God! grant that I may be one of the loyal members of Thy Kingdom on earth, that so I may deserve to be joined to its happy company in Heaven.
The Kingdom of Jesus Christ is the Kingdom of truth. He tells us that the object of His coming into the world was to give testimony to the truth. The Kingdom of our King must be the home of perfect truth. No lie can enter into it; no error can be incorporated with its teaching. He who loves the truth is attracted towards the true Catholic Church; he who hates it hates also the Church of Christ.