The Prince of Hearts on the King

Dear brothers and sisters, this is what interests God. The kingship of history is of no importance to him -- he wants to reign in people's hearts, and from these, in the world: He is the king of the entire universe, but the crucial point, the place where his reign is at risk, is our heart, for there God finds himself encountering our freedom. We, and only we, can block his reign over ourselves, and so we put obstacles to his kingship in the world: in our families, in society, in history. We men and women have the ability to choose which we wish to side ourselves with: either with Christ and his angels or with the devil and his followers, to use the Gospel's exact language. It remains with us to decide whether to practice justice or iniquity, to embrace love and pardon or vendetta and the hatred that kills oneself. From this our personal salvation depends, but so, too, does the salvation of the world. Because here Jesus wants us to associate ourselves with his kingship; because here he invites us to work together for the coming of his Kingdom of love, of justice and of peace. It remains with us to respond to him, not with words, but with deeds: choosing the way of active love and generosity toward our neighbor, we ourselves allow Him to extend his dominion in time and space.

Thank you, Rocco, for the picture and the quote. I want to keepsake both.