This week, we are sharing reflections from east London Christians on the third of the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary, Jesus' proclamation of the Kingdom of God.
Click here for an introduction to the People's Rosary Project, and links to earlier meditations.
The Proclamation of the Kingdom
Jesus said, ‘The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how.
The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.’
He also said, ‘With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.’
Mark 4.26-32
This mystery calls us to be a light to the world, not just through words but through actions
Listen to Nkem Okoli reflecting on what this mystery is teaching her as she prays it during the pandemic
The Kingdom of God has a majesty quite unlike this world's status and prestige.
Listen to Fr Angus Ritchie reflect on the nature of God's Kingdom, and to Marian Chery describe the experience of praying with the online Rosary group in Manor Park.
The Kingdom of God is certainly a great force, the greatest that there is, but not according to the criteria of the world...
In this “destiny” of the Kingdom of God we can intuit the story of Jesus’ life: He too was a meagre sign for His contemporaries, an event almost unknown to the official historians of the time. A “grain of wheat” as He defined Himself, Who dies in the earth but only in this way can “produce many seeds”.
The symbol of the seed is eloquent: one day the peasant sinks it into the earth (a gesture that looks like a burial), and then, “night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how”.
A seed that sprouts is more the work of God than the man who sowed it. God always precedes us, God always surprises us.
Pope Francis, March 2019
You are invited to pray the Rosary now.
Hail Mary, full of grace, blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb Jesus who proclaimed the Kingdom of God.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.
If you have not prayed the Rosary before, you can read our introductory page here.
The People's Rosary is a project of the Centre for Theology and Community and De Mazenod Retreat House in east London.
Icon of Christ the Teacher, (c) The Jesuit Institute, Mount Street, London
We are grateful for the support of the Lady Peel Trust and MB Reckitt Trust in developing this project.
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