PONTIFICAL ATHENEUM REGINA APOSTOLORUM

Faculty of Theology

Comparison between the concept of

“Kingdom of Christ” in Saint Max-
imilian Maria Kolbe and Saint
Therese of Lisieux

Prof: Joseph Spence,

Student: Andrés Orellana, LC
Matriculation number: 00009884
Paper for STEO 2077
Rome, February 18th, 2022
Introduction

While helping the world and receiving many benefits from it, the Church
has a single intention: that God's kingdom may come, and that the salvation of the
whole human race may come to pass. Gaudium, et Spes 45

The whole apostolic activity of the Church, as stated in the pastoral consti-
tution Gaudium et Spes, is implied in the Our Father’s petition: “Thy Kingdom
come!”. The question is: What does “the Kingdom of God” really mean?

The answer to this question is crucial, for different notions of what “the
Kingdom” is, will then cause different actions, and these can be more or less in
accordance with God’s will. Sure, the Holy Spirit can (and does) work despite our
shortcomings, misconceptions, errors and even sins; but this doesn’t mean that we
shouldn’t strive to learn his ways and to follow Him. Christ came to teach us the
way of salvation, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways
my ways,” declares the LORD.” (Is 55, 8). So, when we say: “Thy Kingdom
Come!” it is important to try to understand what our Lord really meant by that.

Now that the question is clear, a second question arises: Which are the
right places to look for answers? Evidently the first place to look for them is Sa-
cred Scripture itself. The Kingdom of God is a central theme in Christ’s preach-
ing. In the Gospel of Mark, our Lord begins his preaching with the call to conver-
sion, saying: “The time is fulfilled,” He said, “and the kingdom of God is near.
Repent and believe in the gospel!” (Mk 1, 15). The whole sermon of the Mount is
about entering the Kingdom of God. Additionally, Jesus clarifies many times in
the Gospels what the Kingdom of God is not: “not of this world”, “not here or
there”, “it’s coming cannot be observed”. He also explains it with parables: It is
like a mustard seed, a hidden treasure, a precious pearl. He gives us clear instruc-
tions about how to see it, how to enter, and how to become great in it.
 Much has been written about the Kingdom of God. The bottom line, the
Kingdom of God is a mystery, or rather it involves several mysteries (Mt 13, 11)
which have been revealed to us by Christ, our King, that we may enter it. And it is
possible to enter here, in this life. Because although the Kingdom of God is not of
this world, it is already present in this world: “On this earth that Kingdom is al-
ready present in mystery. When the Lord returns it will be brought into full
flower.” Gaudium et Spes 39

So, besides the exegetical and dogmatical interpretations of the Kingdom

of God, it can be very useful to read what those who have entered it in this life
have to say, namely, the saints.

In this work my purpose is to analyze and compare some writings from

saint Therese of Lisieux and saint Maximilian Maria Kolbe where they write
about the Kingdom of God. It is not an exhaustive study of all their writings, nei-
ther does it pretend to express their deepest thoughts. It strives to grasp some
characteristics of their understanding of the Kingdom, and their application to
Christian life.

Two different saints who lived very different lives- from what we can say
from the outside- may have more things in common that we could imagine. I hope
that this paper becomes a help for all of those striving to grow in their understand-
ing of the Kingdom of God, so as to enter it and cooperate with its coming to his
own heart and then to the whole world.

I. The Kingdom of Christ: What it is

A. For Saint Therese

2
 With her symbolic language and way of thinking, saint Therese made a re-
lation in her mind between the Kingdom of God and the Carmel.

On Sunday morning, November 20, we entered the Holy Father's private chapel
in the Vatican and attended his Mass at 8 o'clock. His fervor at the altar, worthy
of the Vicar of Christ, showed him to be really the Holy Father. The Gospel of
the day contained these encouraging words: "Fear not, little flock, for it hath
pleased the Father to give you a kingdom."(Luke 12:32). A lively confidence
took possession of my heart, my fears vanished, and I was sure the Kingdom of
Carmel would soon be mine.1

“The Kingdom of Carmel”: That’s what the Kingdom the Father had
promised meant for her on that day. Since permission to enter the Carmel at an
earlier age than allowed was denied to her by the bishop, she asked for this per-
mission to the Pope himself. Her desire to leave this world behind her and dedi-
cate herself fully to God and to his works was enormous. Before her profession
she declared her motivations for entering Carmel: “I have come to save souls and
above all to pray for priests”. For her, the Kingdom was not a place of vacations,
but of work for the salvation of souls.

As Jesus had made me realize that the Cross was the means by which He would
give me souls, the more often it came my way, the more suffering attracted me. 2

Later in religious life, she understood better what this Kingdom is all
about:

He whose "Kingdom is not of this world" (John 18:36) taught me that the only
royalty that counts consists in "being willing to be ignored and despised" (Cf.
Imit., I,ii,3) and "to find one's joy in self-contempt." (Cf. Imit.,III, xlix,7). 3

These words might suggest a life of sadness and frustration, but Therese is
writing of the joy that she found in identifying herself with the sufferings of Jesus
and accompanying Him, contemplating his holy face.

1
All extracts from St. Therese’ autobiography: “Story of a Soul” are taken from the
digital version published at the website of the Religious Congregation of Mary Immacu-
late Queen, at https://www.cmri.org/0-olmc-mission/catholic-books/storyofasoul.pdf
[18.02.2022] Only the chapter will be cited. For this note, Chapter 6
2
Chapter 7
3
Ibid.
3
 But, when speaking about symbolic language, it must be said that
Theresa’s main image is that of the little flower. At the beginning of her autobiog-
raphy, Theresa writes about her entrance in the Carmel as a “transplantation”:

In His love, He wished to preserve her from the world's foul breath, and her
petals were scarcely open when He transplanted her to the mountain of Carmel,
to Mary's garden of delight.4

This image is interesting, because when a plant is transplanted, it means

that it had already spent the first period of its life somewhere else. It wasn’t born
at its new “home”, it was good taken care of until, what once was a little seed is
now a small plant that needs more space to develop fully unto what it is supposed
to become. In a similar way, the Kingdom of God begins in this life but will only
reach its plentitude in heaven.

Paraphrasing Therese’ thought, we could say that the Kingdom of God is

the part of heaven that is made present in this world by those who receive Jesus’
love and love Him in return. It is made present not by our perfection, but by the
supernatural love that reigns in our souls.

By imperfections, I do not mean merely spiritual imperfections; none of us will

be perfect this side of Heaven in any case!5

B. For San Maximilian

Among his many works and apostolates, saint Maximilian founded the
“Militia of the Immaculata”, an evangelization movement that encourages the
Consecration to our Lady under the title of the Immaculate Conception. On the
Consecration prayer, saint Maximilian left us a rich and beautiful definition of the
Kingdom of Christ, which is the Kingdom of his Sacred Heart:

“The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus is the love of God for mankind. His Kingdom is
the domain of this love in the hearts of men, the love that Jesus manifested in the
manger, throughout His life, on the Cross, in the Eucharist, and in giving us His
Own Mother as our Mother; and He wants to enkindle this love in the hearts of
men.”6

4
Chapter 1
5
Chapter 10
4
 Let us comment on this definition. I have identified three elements:

1) Authority: “His Kingdom is the domain of this love in the hearts of men”.
Domain means that the ruler has authority over certain subjects or territory. Love,
by nature, requires freedom. Therefore, this authority can only be conquered when
men freely accept it, it cannot be imposed or forced.

2) The universality of Christ’s love: It is the love of the Sacred Heart, “the
love of God for mankind” manifested to us in Christ. This love is to reign “in the
hearts of men”, all men, without distinction. The universal charity in the Heart of
Jesus is to reign in the hearts of men.
Saint Maximilian had this attribute very present. This the reason why he
strived to reach as many people as possible. After founding the community in
Japan, he went ahead to India. He strived to reach all souls without distinction.

"Its purpose, [of the Militia] therefore, is commitment to the conversion of sin-
ners and of non-catholics, and for the sanctification of all. In other words, love to-
wards all people, regardless of differences of faith and nationality, with a view to
drawing them closer to the happiness that only closeness to God, the source of all
happiness, and concrete love for God, that is, sanctification, can afford." 7

3) Love generates love. “He wants to enkindle this love in the Hearts of
men”. Not only does this love not discriminate, but it spreads by its own nature, it
enkindles this flame of love in the hearts it touches. Those who receive it become
its apostles and want to give it to everyone. It is a love that calls to action. It calls
to freely give what you freely have received (Cf. Mt 10, 8)

C. Comparison

While Therese focuses on the profoundness of this Kingdom, present in

this world but longing for heaven, Saint Maximilian focuses on its spreading to all
men. Both aspects are of essential importance, because the Kingdom is -as the
King himself- both divine and human, both in this world but not of it.

MILITIA IMMACULATAE. St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe. His Life, Apostolate, and Spir-
6

ituality. Kolbe Publications, Singapore 2018, 95

7
Ibid, 99.
5
 For Therese, the inner sufferings present in her soul bring forth the King-
dom, because she lives them united to the King who reigns from the cross. For
Maximilian, it is the self-giving to the mission what brings it forth, because it is
the way of loving Christ in return.
The bottom line is love. Both love in a supernatural, universal way. It is
charity that brings forth the Kingdom of Christ, whatever the external circum-
stances of one’s particular mission may be.

II. How to enter it

A. For Saint Therese

I know from experience that "the Kingdom of God is within us" (Luke 17:21),
that Jesus has no need of books or doctors to instruct our soul; He, the Doctor of
Doctors, teaches us without the sound of words.8

From very early on, Therese received a very special grace: that of having a
clear sensibility for God’s will in her life. She said that Jesus himself was his spir-
itual director. It was the King who taught her how to enter his Kingdom.

I was forgetting His other words: "I dispose to you as my Father hath disposed to
Me a kingdom." (Luke 22:29). In other words, "I have reserved for you the cross
of trial, to make you worthy of My Kingdom." "Ought not Christ to have suffered
these things and so enter into His glory?, (Luke 24:26). "If you desire to sit on
His right hand you must drink the chalice which He has drunk Himself." (Cf.
Matt. 20:22).9

Therese understood that to enter the Kingdom she would have to suffer.
However, these sufferings were not without a purpose. Suffering, when lived well,
brings about detachment from creatures, a necessary step to attach perfectly to the
Creators’ will. It is what is also called the “purgative stage” of spiritual life. This
is a process in which the soul becomes always freer to love God with all its force,
and so, being detached from the kingdom of this world, it can enter into God’s
Kingdom:

8
Chapter 8
9
Chapter 6
6
 I am only glad, now, that I denied myself from the beginning of my spiritual life,
for I enjoy already the reward promised to those who fight with courage. I no
longer feel that I must deny my heart all consolation, for it is fixed on God....It
has loved Him alone, and this has gradually so developed it that it is able to love
those whom He loves with a tenderness incomparably deeper than any selfish,
barren affection.10

Therese strived to love God with all her heart since very early in her life.
However, after some years in Carmel, she came to realize that entering the King-
dom of Heaven also implied a very concrete love for neighbors. In the last part of
her autobiography, she describes the discovery of this new dimension of Charity:

I had concentrated on loving God, but in loving Him, I came to realize the mean -
ing of those other words of His: "Not everyone that saith to Me, Lord, Lord, shall
enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but be that doth the will of My Father." (Cf.
Matt. 7:21). Now Jesus made known to me His Will at the Last Supper, when He
gave His Apostles His New Commandment: "Love one another as I have loved
you." (John 13:34). I set to work to discover how Jesus had loved them. I found
that He had not loved them for their natural qualities, for they were ignorant and
taken up with earthly things, yet he called them His friends (John 15:15) and His
brothers (John 20:17) and wanted to have them with Him in His Father's King-
dom; He was ready to die on the Cross to make this possible, saying: "Greater
love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John
15:13).11

Saint Therese set herself to work on the mission she was receiving from
the Lord. She had already discovered that her vocation was to be the “heart of the
Church”, to love. Now, she had to put it into practice. And by doing so, she would
both enter the Kingdom and help others enter as well.

B. For Saint Maximilian

For Saint Maximilian there is a special help for entering the Kingdom of
Jesus: Mary. In the consecration prayer he wrote, we read:

“To infuse and to enhance the glory of the Immaculata, to conquer souls for her,
means to win souls over to the Mother of Jesus, who introduces the Kingdom of
Jesus to them."12

10
Chapter 10
11
Chapter 9
12
MILITIA IMMACULATAE. St. Maximilian… 95
7
 For Maximilian, the reign of Jesus in human hearts is the reign of his per-
fect love. Since the heart that loved Jesus the most and in the most perfect way is
the heart of Mary, it is through her that we come to know this love.

“I would just like to mention that we cannot possibly settle for any ordinary type
of love for the Heart of Jesus, but — in keeping with what is written on the M.I.
enrolment card — we must aspire to the most perfect love, that is, to loving with
the Heart of the Immaculata, and only with a love of that kind.” 13

To love Jesus with the heart of Mary Saint Maximilian encouraged prayer,
often simple prayers. He had great devotion for the miraculous medal and the
Carmelite scapulary. But above all, he promoted the consecration to Mary, which
is the total offering of ourselves to her so that she might work in us and through
us. In that way, the Knight of the Immaculata becomes united to Mary, to the
point that it is her who acts through him. Since Mary is the spouse of the Holy
Spirit, His action is always united to hers.

"The Holy Ghost manifests His share in the word of Redemption through the Im-
maculate Virgin who, although she is a person entirely distinct from Him, is so
intimately associated with Him that our minds cannot understand it. So, while
their union is not of the same order as the hypostatic union linking the human and
divine natures in Christ, it remains true to say that Mary's action is the very action
of the Holy Ghost."14

So, it is always Mary, weather we know it or not, who makes us enter into
her Son’s Kingdom.

And along with prayer, works. Works may be of different kinds, according to the
condition and situation of each: they must be animated by fervour but guided by
prudence. The common goal of these works: drawing souls, the greatest possible
number of souls, to the Immaculata. She will cleanse them of their sins, enlighten
them, strengthen them, inflame them with love for the Heart of Jesus and their
brethren and make them happy.15

C. Comparison

For Therese, it is through suffering and love that we enter God’s Kingdom.
For Maximilian, through Mary, which especially means prayer and works. We can

13
Ibid, 97
14
Ibid, 75
15
Ibid, 101
8
say that these views are not opposed, but complement each other, for a huge love
for Mary was also present in Therese’ life, who also consecrated herself to her.
And certainly, suffering and love where present in Maximilian’s life, who has
won the title “martyr of charity”.

“…unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the
kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 18, 3). This condition for entering the Kingdom set by
the King himself is fulfilled in both our saints, Saint Therese of the Child Jesus
and Maximilian, son of Mary. Both developed a growing love for the Will of God.
Saint Therese found this Will especially in the Gospel. For saint Maximilian, the
incarnation of his placing himself in the hands of Mary was obedience, of which
he wrote:

Thus he himself makes his holy will known to us through his vice-gerents on
Earth and draws us to himself, and through us – for so he has willed – draws
other souls too, and unites them to himself with an ever more perfect love. 16

The bottom line, to enter the Kingdom of God we must be docile to God’s
Will, manifested to us either externally or in the silence of our souls. “Do what-
ever He tells you” (Jn 2, 5) is the advice of Her, whose Son may one day tell us:
“enter into the joy of your Master” (Mt 25, 23).

Conclusion

I had originally thought of this work as a three-part paper, the third part
being: “How to extend it”. However, the two first parts turned out to be longer
than I thought. Nonetheless I am satisfied with the work done, for, as we have
seen, it is impossible to enter the Kingdom of God without helping others to enter
it to, that is, to extend it. The third part would only have been an explanation of
this principle.

Two saints, whose lives appear completely different from the outside,
lived the same spiritual – divine life in their hearts. Therese was a missionary with
16
From the office of Readings, Saint Maximilian Kolbe
9
her prayers, intentions, and sacrifices. Maximilian was a victim of God’s merciful
love. Both entered the Kingdom of Christ while still “on this side of heaven”, as
Therese would say, and now enjoy his Glory in heaven, praying for us.

It is interesting to note that, precisely by comparing their differences we

can come to a better understanding of what is essential to the Kingdom of Christ
by focusing on what they had in common. I have noted three characteristics:

1) Prayer: Which opens a door to God’s love in our souls. Prayer helps
us focus on our goal: the enjoyment of Christ’s love in heaven, or even
more, at the Parousia, where the Kingdom will come to its plenitude in
us, body and soul reunited, our bodies glorified by his grace. Prayer
helps us detach from everything that obstacles our way to the Kingdom
and lets us be drawn to it by the King, with Mary and through her ma-
ternal love.
2) Victimhood: Only those who do the Will of the Father will enter his
Kingdom. This implies searching passionately and sincerely for it, lis-
tening to Him in Sacred Scripture, in the teachings of the Church and
through obedience to our legitimate superiors. It also implies asking
God for the strength to fulfill it, especially in the Eucharist. It is not an
obedience born out of fear, but an offering of oneself to God. For Saint
Therese this can be especially seen in her Offering to the merciful
Love, in Saint Maximilian in his consecration to Mary. Both teach us
this with their writings and with their lives.
3) Universal Charity: Which Maximilian lived by striving to bring the
Gospel to all peoples, regardless their nationality, race, culture, or reli-
gion. Therese lived it by loving all sisters, being especially charitable
to those sisters who were naturally less pleasant for her.

May these traits of Christ’s Kingdom help us to grow in our under-

standing of it, purifying it from every worldly conception, as our Lord did
with his apostles, so that we may joyfully work for the King -and his
Mother the Queen- whose Kingdom will have no end.
10
11
 BIBLIOGRAFY

 II Vatican Council, «Pastoral Constitution GAUDIUM ET SPES on the

Church in the modern world» (1965).

 THERESE OF THE CHILD JESUS. The Story of a soul. The autobiography of

St. Thérèse of Lisieux. https://www.cmri.org/0-olmc-mission/catholic-
books/storyofasoul.pdfOC (cmri.org) [Feb 18 2022]

 MILITIA IMMACULATAE. St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe. His Life, Aposto-

late, and Spirituality. Kolbe Publications, Singapore 2018
 MAXIMILLIAN MARY KOLBE. From the office of readings (Aug. 14).
(Scritti del P. Massimiliano M. Kolbe, Italian translation, vol. I, pt, 1
[Padua, 1971], 75-77,166)

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