December 2, 2013 – Catechism 2816 - 2821

In one breath, this line is a plea for God to come to us, be with us, bring about His kingdom so that we may rest in Him forever.  When you think about God encompassing Heaven, Christ being God, then saying “Thy Kingdom Come”, you are saying Christ come, Christ be with us.  This is brought to fulfillment in a special way in the Eucharist, but praying this includes looking with hope to the final end when Christ comes once and for all.  When you think about Christ as the Kingdom and Christ in the Eucharist, wouldn’t it be more apt to say the “Our Father” before the consecration instead of after.

In the other breath, we, united in Christ, are a part of the Kingdom already.  “Thy Kingdom Come” becomes a command for us to take Christ and God out into the world and convert it to God, to bring His kingdom to the world.  Much like Hallowed be thy Name can be seen as a command to live out your life in a Godly way because you are communicating God’s name, so “thy Kingdom come” becomes a command to evangelize the world for God.

Not to look ahead, but “thy will be done” can be seen as a plea and command as well.