Welcome to Truth of the Spirit. I am Patti Brunner. This is day 19 of “Daily Meditations for Lent” on Sunday week 3. We will share personal revelations given during Lent for you to discern and other contemplations each day.
I heard the Lord say, “Each heart that reaches out to welcome Me honors Me. I know their hearts. True, many “go through the motions” only, yet, by their presence, they express a desire to be in communion with Me. Continue to work to bring the fullness of joy in my presence. As their lives are filled, my presence will “spill over” and you will see on their faces a fullness.
On the 3rd Sunday of Lent a boy’s prayer group at my church saw visions as the Kingdom of God manifested in their hearts. One saw “a huge wedding cake. The Lord said, “I am the Groom, You are the Bride”; then someone was scooping icing, and they heard: “come and taste.”
One saw “vertical streaks of light coming into our midst.” And one saw “a guy climbing a mountain.”
Truth of the Spirit invites you to discern the Kingdom of God through these visions. How are you tasting the goodness of the Lord? How is Jesus your Bridegroom? When can you sense the power and light of Christ come upon you from heaven? Is your journey toward Christ a journey up a mountain? Are you like the disciples who climbed the mountain to sit at the feet of Jesus and learn?
The Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph #2654 says, “The spiritual writers, paraphrasing Matthew 7:7, summarize in this way the dispositions of the heart nourished by the word of God in prayer “Seek in reading and you will find in meditating; knock in mental prayer and it will be opened to you by contemplation.”
Listen to this Paragraph #541 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
541. “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying: ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent, and believe in the gospel.'” “To carry out the will of the Father, Christ inaugurated the kingdom of heaven on earth.” Now the Father’s will is “to raise up men to share in his own divine life.” He does this by gathering men around his Son Jesus Christ. This gathering is the Church, “on earth the seed and beginning of that kingdom.””
Paragraph #2819 says, “The kingdom of God [is] righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” The end-time in which we live is the age of the outpouring of the Spirit. Ever since Pentecost, a decisive battle has been joined between “the flesh” and the Spirit. Only a pure soul can boldly say: “Thy kingdom come.” One who has heard Paul say, “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies,” and has purified himself in action, thought and word, will say to God: “Thy kingdom come!””
Paragraph #2550 reveals, “On this way of perfection, the Spirit and the Bride call whoever hears them to perfect communion with God:
There will true glory be, where no one will be praised by mistake or flattery; true honor will not be refused to the worthy, nor granted to the unworthy; likewise, no one unworthy will pretend to be worthy, where only those who are worthy will be admitted. There true peace will reign, where no one will experience opposition either from self or others. God himself will be virtue’s reward; he gives virtue and has promised to give himself as the best and greatest reward that could exist… “I shall be their God and they will be my people….” This is also the meaning of the Apostle’s words: “So that God may be all in all.” God himself will be the goal of our desires; we shall contemplate him without end, love him without surfeit, praise him without weariness. This gift, this state, this act, like eternal life itself, will assuredly be common to all.”
Perhaps there is confusion among God’s people of this generation concerning the Kingdom of God. We think of a far off heaven and spend our lives as if we have an ‘ace in the hole’ expecting God’s mercy to allow us entrance when we die. We may only hope to “make it to the purgatory bench”. We leave God out of our daily lives except perhaps for a few moments when we make an effort to be obedient to the Church by attending mass on Sunday. But in the Lord’s Prayer Jesus taught us to pray: “Thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven!”
God created us with the choice to love him; He does not force himself upon us. We were designed to live in his fullness but through sin we are blinded to God’s goodness. Grace opens our eyes. Before our eyes are opened we are like a blind man who cannot comprehend the beauty of color. We have no comprehension, no frame of reference. We live in a “black and white” world. When grace fills us abundantly, it is like waking up in “Technicolor” with “Dolby Vision”. Accepting the grace that will transform our lives is our choice.
Catechism paragraph 2816 says, “… The Kingdom of God lies ahead of us. It is brought near in the Word incarnate, it is proclaimed throughout the whole Gospel, and it has come in Christ’s death and Resurrection. The Kingdom of God has been coming since the Last Supper and, in the Eucharist, it is in our midst. The Kingdom will come in glory when Christ hands it over to his Father: It may even be . . . that the Kingdom of God means Christ himself, whom we daily desire to come, and whose coming we wish to be manifested quickly to us. For as he is our resurrection, since in him we rise, so he can also be understood as the Kingdom of God, for in him we shall reign.”
This Lent the Lord has more to tell us about the Kingdom of God. This is Day 19. We invite you to listen each day for words from the Lord and Daily Meditations for Lent. Remember: “The kingdom of God is at hand: repent, and believe in the gospel.”[i] “Prepare for it, ready your heart.” The transcript of this episode is available at PatriarchMinistries.com/289. Come back tomorrow for more. With the Holy Spirit there’s always more. Amen.
[i] Catechism of the Catholic Church Paragraph 541
