. . . the Kingdom of God.
Hope & Memory:
Christ is Born!! Glorify Him!!
I believe it was St. Maximos the Greek in the Philokalia where he explains the Our Father, who said that the prayer for the kingdom to come is a prayer for the Holy Spirit to come into the hearts of those chosen by God in Baptism to be members of his Church. When Our Lord tells Pilate that His Kingdom is not of this world, He is referring to this reality as well as to the eternal Kingdom from which He came and to which He returned. At the same time He is on the Throne with the Father in the Kingdom, He remains with us to the end of this age by dwelling in those who believe and who eagerly await His Coming. It is in this way that we also have communion with the saints in glory, because the Holy Spirit dwells and sustains them in that blessed place.
So Metropolitan Philaret has it right when he describes the Kingdom in this way. The Holy Spirit sustains and works in the world, in all believers, and in the blessed in Heaven.
On another note, I've been taught that if one does not experience the Kingdom in his heart here, he will never experience it in eternity.
In Christ,
BOB
