The spiritual theme for the XVIIIth Christus Rex Pilgrimage is:
Thy Kingdom Come.
"Thy kingdom come": by this petition we welcome the rule of our heavenly Father, and thus we become welcome in His realm. Our Lord, like the Baptist, began to preach, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Mt 4.17), and bade His disciples do likewise (Lk 10.9). If the kingdom of God does not come in us, then it will come against us, for Christ "must reign until He put all His enemies under His feet" (1 Cor 15.25). When one is ready to obey God and keep all His commandments, then God reigns in the heart: "When we ask therefore that His kingdom come, we pray that sin may not reign in us, but God" (St Thomas Aquinas). "We pray, in effect, for the sanctification of the whole world, that the knowledge of the true and living God and of His Son Jesus Christ may be spread over all the earth, that all nations may serve Him, all tongues praise Him and all hearts may love Him" and "that His kingdom, His grace and His truth may be victorious over all the world" (Bp Challoner). Aided by the prayers of Our Lady, heaven's Queen, may our progress towards and arrival at the cathedral of Bendigo foster the coming and flourishing of heaven's sway in ourselves and our neighbour.
