Your Kingdom Come; My Kingdom Go

(This article originally appeared in the TAU-USA Summer 2026  Issue #120)

By Kathleen Molaro, OFS • Franciscan Youth and Young Adult Commission Chair

“Your Kingdom come” is first a prayer for the fullness of God’s everlasting kingdom, but it is also a call to recognize and serve His kingdom already present among us. The kingdom is wherever the King is known, believed in, and worshipped. For those who pray these words, the petition carries both hope and responsibility: Your kingdom come, my kingdom go.

Our Rule calls us to “go forth as witnesses and instruments of her (the Church’s) mission proclaiming Christ to all people by their life and words.” (Art. 6) In this petition, we are invited to move into the world as Jesus’ disciples did, and challenged to bring the Good News, through His grace, to all the world as co-participants in the Church’s mission. The reward, as St. Francis reminds us, is “eternal enjoyment,” “clear vision,” “perfect love,” and “blessed companionship” with our Lord.

Praying for the kingdom is not passive waiting. According to the Catholic Catechism, “Man’s vocation to eternal life does not suppress, but actually reinforces, his duty to put into action in the world the energies and means received from the Creator to serve justice and peace.” (CC #2820) While we wait for the eternal kingdom, we can experience the kingdom here in our earthly existence through the Word, the Eucharist, and each other. We can show others the kingdom through acts of charity, kindness, and mercy.

To pray “Your kingdom come” is therefore to surrender our own small and meager kingdoms. Your kingdom come, my kingdom go. Centering our lives on the Gospel and on the Lord Jesus Christ is the way to enter more fully into God’s kingdom, yet this surrender is difficult to remember when we are overwhelmed by the ordinary tasks of daily life.

This tension becomes especially visible in daily responsibilities. I once asked a group of young adults how they kept their eyes on the kingdom while balancing studies, marriage and children, bills, and countless other distractions – important or not. One young father replied, “It’s hard because I become so focused on myself and my own little kingdom. I need to remind myself to see the bigger picture and keep my eyes on the true kingdom. I pray every morning for the grace to do that.”

He was correct. St. Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans, “The kingdom of God is not a matter of food and drink, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Rom. 14:17) Prayer is essential for the task of seeking eternal salvation and bringing the kingdom to others. Paul also tells us through his letter to the Corinthians, “Do you not know that the unjust will not inherit the kingdom of God?” (1 Cor. 6:9) A big part of awaiting the kingdom and encouraging others to seek it is being good examples of daily conversion. Our OFS Rule tells us, “The sacrament of reconciliation is the privileged sign of the Father’s mercy and the source of grace.” (Art. 7)

Your kingdom come; my kingdom go. Each time we pray these words, we ask for the grace to let go of self-rule and to live as signs of God’s reign through detachment, prayer, reconciliation, and daily conversion. In this way, we prepare for everlasting life in God’s kingdom and help others glimpse that kingdom on earth while we wait in hope.