October 18, 2026

Twenty ninth Sunday of Ordinary Time

by Fr. Jonah, O.P.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Let’s continue reflecting on the Our Father: 

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name;

thy kingdom come . . .

“I own the world and all it holds” (Psalm 50:12). That’s God speaking. He owns the world. He is the king. There is no place in all the universe where his dominion is not present. Why, then, are we asking for his kingdom to come, to arrive? St. Augustine says about the phrase “thy kingdom come”: “This is not said as though God did not now reign on earth, or had not reigned over it always. ‘Come’ must therefore be taken for ‘be manifested to men.’” We ask, with this petition, that God be recognized by all as the King of kings and Lord of lords. We have to ask, first of all, that this be true for us. Do we think of our individual lives as lived out literally in the territory of God’s kingdom? Do we think of this parish of St. Joseph’s as a tiny part of God’s kingdom? 

There is a human heart in which the Kingdom of God reigns supremely. That is the Sacred Heart of Jesus (we could also add the Immaculate Heart of Mary as next after the heart of Our Lord). St. Cyprian says that “the kingdom of God may stand for Christ Himself.” With Advent (which word itself means ‘coming’) on the not-so-far horizon, it’s good to ponder this. In asking for God’s Kingdom to come, we are also asking for Jesus Christ to return in glory. St. Augustine, elsewhere, says this: “We say we love him, but we fear his coming. Are we sure we really love him?” 

We ask Our Lady and St. Joseph, who love Jesus with pure, undivided hearts, to pray for us, that we may love him and desire and ask for his Second Coming so that we may receive the salvation he comes to give.

Know of my prayers for all of you.

In Christ,

Fr. Jonah, O.P.