2816 In the New Testament, the word basileia can be translated by “kingship” (abstract noun), “kingdom” (concrete noun) or “reign” (action noun). 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.86
Catechism of the Catholic Church
Through pious eyes, we can glimpse at the kingdom that is already at hand, and see the holiness that already exists right here and now, even if sometimes those same eyes are filled with tears due to all of the decay that has been brought about by man’s sinfulness, and yet we still proceed with a heart filled with hope. We are an Easter People and Alleluia is our song!
“But piety is not naiveté, and impiety sees wrongly. As the pious walk along the valley floor, they see evil but know the dawn will appear and be triumphant. Their penetrating glance of faith captures luminous rays hidden from the human retina. The impious see evil and now that goodness does not always win. They contemplate how by late afternoon the sky will darken, and soon the night’s firmament will be void of star.” –Mary’s Mantle Consecration.
I’m reading a book that I’ve only recently learned about, it’s called The Values Factor, written by Dr. John Demartini. This isn’t a Catholic book, I must tell you upfront that I like to read from a variety of world views…I absorb what is for me and let go of the rest. If I discover while I’m reading it, that it’s completely contrary to my own world view, then I discard the entire book. It’s just how I do things. 😀 Anyway, I’m enjoying this one very much, its similar in some ways to the popular Love Languages book, It goes through a series of questions that leads you to reflect on what you really are all about at your core and the values that you hold the most dear so that you can live your life the most authentically. For instance you may say that your truly value something, but if for some reason you are always finding that you lack time, money, or whatever to get to it, then it’s probably not one of your higher values and could even be a societal ‘should’. I have several of those as a Portuguese woman, this may be true for all women but in my opinion it’s especially true for the Portuguese, my list of shoulds is pretty darn long. I should keep a spotless house, I should be a great cook…I should, I should, I should…and not surprising, that little voice in my head uttering these words sounds very much like my mother. The problem is that those aren’t MY highest values at all…not even close. Are you unsure of your highest values? What you need to do is look at what you already do, day in and day out. How do you spend your time, your money, you’re energy. Chances are good that barring addictions or any such thing, you are already pursuing your highest values…you just may not have put it all together yet. It’s what brings us joy and what can also potentially irritate us the most about others who don’t hold the same values as us. So this is a great way not only to learn about ourselves and our particular gifts, but to learn about others as well and come to respect and value them for what they can offer instead of what we’d like them to do. I’ve discovered that my 3 highest values are, revealing the Kingdom of God, Teaching, and Healing. In other words, the things that drive me and fill me with passion have these thing at their core. Whether it’s reflected in my parenting, my marriage, my career choices…these three things will always find its way in.