St Augustine comes to England

So he sent a holy monk, called St Augustine, and with him 40 companions.  They landed in Kent on the Isle of Thanet, and there St Augustine met and preached to Ethelbert, King of Kent.  The king sat waiting under a great tree, and there came into sight the procession, singing a litany to a plainsong chant.  At the head a large silver Cross was carried, and next to it a picture of Christ Crucified painted on wood.  At the end of the procession came the immensely tall and impressive figure of St Augustine himself.  When they reached the king, the procession parted to the right and left, and St Augustine, standing in the middle between the Cross and the picture, told how “the compassionate Jesus had redeemed a world of sin by His own agony and opened the Kingdom of Heaven to all who would believe". (2) (3)

To the uttermost parts of the world

And now, from England, missionaries in their turn have gone out and established the Kingdom of Heaven in the uttermost parts of the world.  And so the work goes on and will go on until Our Lord comes again in glory and makes his Kingdom perfect.

SUMMARY

1. God’s Kingdom means God’s rule.  His Kingdom on earth is his Church over which he reigns.

2. This is a prayer that the Church may grow, that people may be drawn to become members of it.  It is also a prayer that all its members, including ourselves, may be loyal to God our King.

3. God’s Kingdom will be perfect when Jesus comes again in glory.

References

1. Muirhead, L.B.C.L. (1899) The Church of God a kingdom is.  Available from: http://www.oremus.org/hymnal/t/t090.html  (Accessed 19 August 2010) (Internet).

2. New Advent (2009) St Augustine of Canterbury.  Available from: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02081a.htm  (Accessed 19 August 2010) (Internet).

3. Butler, A. (1936) ‘St Augustine, Bishop, Confessor, Apostle of the English’ in Butler, A. (edited by Kelly, B.) The lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and other principal Saints, Volume II, London: Virtue and Company Limited, p.548-556.