"The kingdom of God is among you....within you!" How do we grasp the reality of the "Kingdom of God?" We do not own it, yet we have experienced it. It is in our world in the person of Christ, alive and active in our history. We need to be open to it. It depends upon each one of us whether we decide to be touched by it and be transformed within our collective and personal life. It is a matter of our present and our future. So it is not a passive expectation that is required of us, but an active, hope-filled involvement in our world, in the present.

When the gift of the reign of God is received by a human person, he or she is freed from selfishness. This means that the person does not stand as a solitary individual who experiences the mystery of God in one's consciousness. It is not the question of the individual arriving at the deepest level of awareness of the indwelling presence of God.

To accept the reign of God is to enter into a relationship of radical concern for others, accepted as brothers and sisters. It calls for a spirituality of communion with a particular focus on the poor, who are the privileged recipients of the kingdom of God! "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God!"