Ask a Franciscan

By Pat McCloskey, OFM

Pat McCloskey, OFM

Father Pat welcomes your questions!

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God’s Kingdom: What Is It?

The Lord’s Prayer contains the phrase “Thy kingdom come.” Jesus also says, “For behold, the kingdom of God is among you” (Lk 17:21). John the Baptist urges people, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mt 3:2). Does kingdom here refer to a place, a church, a new culture based on the beatitudes, or any situation in which the presence of Jesus is experienced? I would like to better understand what I am asking God the Father to bring forth when I recite this prayer.

Praying “Thy kingdom come” says, in effect, “God, help me to be willing to live by your values, especially when this is extremely difficult.” This prayer is not a reminder for God to do something but rather a reminder for whoever prays it to open their hearts more widely to divine grace and then to act on it. God’s kingdom will indeed come—with or without the cooperation of any person saying this prayer.

Throughout history, various Christian groups have seen themselves as establishing God’s kingdom on earth. No such group has ever been entirely successful. Why? Sin is very real and can always be found among Christ’s followers, always trying to disguise itself as something good.

Does that mean that we should give up on trying to make more room in our hearts for God’s kingdom? By no means! Every time someone gives up trying to improve on God’s values and instead accepts them wholeheartedly as “normal,” the kingdom of God is being more deeply established. The greatest saints (canonized or not) have always known that every sin is built on a series of lies.

St. Peter was not promoting God’s kingdom when he denied even knowing Jesus (Jn 18:15–18 and 25–27). When Peter made his threefold confession of repentance (Jn 21:15–19), he was finally moving in the right direction regarding God’s kingdom. Peter needed to make daily decisions to keep on the right path. The kingdom of God grows whenever someone accepts, at progressively deeper levels, God’s definition of “normal.”

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Material is grouped thematically under headings such as forgiveness, prayer, saints, sacraments, and Scripture.

Justification by Faith Alone

What is the Catholic Church’s position on justification by faith alone?

This was initially Martin Luther’s strongest complaint regarding the Catholic Church’s teaching about salvation. In effect, he denied that good works guarantee a person’s salvation. No argument there.

In Romans 1:17, St. Paul wrote, “The one who is righteous by faith will live.” He was quoting Habakkuk 2:4a: “See, the rash have no integrity; but the just one who is righteous because of faith shall live.” Notice that neither verse contains the word alone.

In Galatians 3:11, St. Paul reaffirms both of these quotes, but he later writes in the same letter, “For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love” (5:6).

Genuine faith is not simply an idea, a state of mind alone; it must be reflected in action, as Jesus noted when he said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven” (Mt 7:21). The people represented as sheep and goats in Matthew 25:31–46 are not divided according

to their ideas but according to their deeds.

Good deeds do not guarantee salvation, but genuine faith is always reflected in generous, loving actions.

The Catholic Church’s most recent and extensive teaching on this issue is contained in the “Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification,” signed on October 31, 1999, by official representatives of the Catholic Church and Lutheran World Federation (representing most but not all Lutherans worldwide). Since that time, several other Christian groups have officially accepted that teaching.

How Should We Combat Hate?

How do we overcome the small, everyday negativities that can build up and weigh us down? Hate can exhaust us both mentally and physically!

Perhaps St. Paul gives the best answer when he writes: “Do not be conquered by evil but conquer evil with good” (Rom 12:21). We are strongly tempted to respond in kind to the negativities that you describe. Sometimes we even ask ourselves or others, “But what else could I have done?”

We always have options; responding in kind is only one possibility, though it oft en seems the easiest one. Because we assign a meaning to events, we can always assign a new and diff erent meaning to the things that you describe. We can create a more life-giving context for that situation.

Any past event is a fact; we cannot rewind the tape of our individual or collective life, replacing something ugly and extremely destructive with something much more pleasant and life-giving. Th e Holocaust (Shoah) is a fact; child abuse is a fact; so is human traffi cking. Happy thoughts will not erase them.

We must try to remove innocent people from situations in which they are being abused. Even if we may not be completely successful, we can do something positive.

Sin always fosters discouragement, a feeling of “What’s the use? I can’t protect all of them.” Sin easily moves into cynicism and accepting as important only those things that I can completely control.

During the Last Supper, Jesus told the apostles: “I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world” (Jn 16:33). Some translations use the word overcome instead of conquered in that verse.

Some people might say that Jesus’ crucifi xion and death prove that he has not conquered the world. In the short term, that may seem true, but Jesus takes a much longer view and encourages us to do the same.

Overcoming Poverty

with Education

Donors like you make it possible for these children to attend school. Visit StAnthony.org/gkts to help the kids in our Jamaican mission rise above poverty.

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