It's an interesting word. One usually associated with people who have a deep appreciation for fine wines or foods, or the arts. If we look closely at this word, we find that it is derived from the Latin word cognoscere, meaning: to know. The most common definition for connoisseur is: a person who has expert knowledge and keen discrimination in some field.

So, what does this have to do with you?

Thy Kingdom Come hopes to convey to one and all a greater knowledge, better understanding, and deeper love of our FAITH. In a phrase, Thy Kingdom Come hopes everyone will become CONNOISSEURS of all that is Sacred and Holy.

ANOTHER PAPER! DON'T WE HAVE ENOUGH ALREADY? WHO HAS TIME TO READ THEM ANYWAY?

There are some questions that I just can't answer

I can only tell you that this publication is an answer to prayer, and a response to an appeal made to the lay members of Christ faithful people by their Shepherd, John Paul II. Let me share this appeal of His Holiness from the Apostolic Exhortation, Christifideles Laici:

I have recourse at the end of the post-Synodal document to the Virgin Mary. At this moment this appeal becomes a prayer:

O Most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Christ and Mother of the Church, With joy and wonder we seek to make our own your Magnificat, joining you in hymn of thankfulness and love.

With you we give thanks to God, "whose mercy is from generation to generation," for the exalted vocation and the many forms of mission entrusted to the lay faithful. God has called each of them by name to live his own communion of love and holiness and to be one in the great family of God's children.

He has sent them forth to shine with the light of Christ and to communicate the fire of the Spirit in every part of society through their life inspired by the Gospel.

O Virgin of the Magnificat, fill their hearts with a gratitude and enthusiasm for this vocation and mission.

With humility and magnanimity you were the "handmaid of the Lord" give us your unreserved willingness for service to God and the salvation of the world.

Open our hearts to the great anticipation of the Kingdom of God and of the proclamation of the Gospel to the whole of creation.

Your mother's heart is ever mindful of the many dangers and evils which threaten to overpower men and women in our time. At the same time your heart also takes notice of the many initiatives undertaken for good, the great yearning for values, and the progress achieved in bringing forth the abundant fruits of salvation.

O Virgin full of courage, may your spiritual strength and trust in God inspire us, so that we might know how to overcome all the obstacles that we encounter in accomplishing our mission.

Teach us to treat the affairs of the world with a real sense of Christian responsibility and a joyful hope of the coming of God's Kingdom, and of a "new heavens and a new earth."

You who were gathered in prayer with the Apostles in the Cenacle, awaiting the coming of the Spirit, of Pentecost, implore his renewed outpouring on all the faithful, men and women alike, so that they might more fully respond to their vocation and mission, as branches engrafted to the true vine, called to bear much fruit for the life of the world.

O Virgin Mother, guide and sustain us so that we might always live as true sons and daughters of the Church of you Son.

Enable us to do our part in helping to establish on earth the civilization of truth and love, as God wills it, for his glory. AMEN

"The part that resounds so loudly in my heart, and that I have come to treasure is: "Teach us to treat the affairs of the world with a real sense of Christian responsibility and a joyful hope of the coming of God's Kingdom, and of a "new heavens and a new earth."

It is from these words that we have named this publication and define its purpose. This publication is meant to convey in Spirit and in Truth the Faith entrusted to us. It's ironic, there is such a wealth of information for people to access. With the modem means of communication, this information is available almost instantaneously, yet, it seems the most difficult thing to acquire is knowledge of the Truth. The words Pilate spoke to Jesus have great meaning for the people today. "Truth?", said Pilate. "What is That?"' (Jn 18:38) If you question the necessity for truth, just ask any one of God's children for the Church's teaching on any particular subject. You will probably get as many different answers as the inquiries you present.

Most Of all, this publication humbly submits to the authentic teaching authority of the Church, Our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II and the Magesterium. In particular we look to our local ordinary, Bishop Michael Jarrell. Under his watchful eye Thy Kingdom Come will proclaim the Truth of Christ as defined by our Holy Mother, the Church.

Far from compromising the Truth or capitulating to the world, this work is undertaken with a renewed spirit and missionary zeal. The spirit and nature by which Thy Kingdom Come proposes to do this is best described in the Encyclical Letter, Redemptoris Missio, (Mission of the Redeemer) and is summarized in the document's conclusion:

92. Today, as never before, the Church has the opportunity of bringing the Gospel, by witness and word, to all people and nations. I see the dawning of a new missionary age, which will become a radiant day bearing an abundant harvest, if all Christians, and missionaries and young churches in particular, respond with generosity and holiness to the calls and challenges of our time.

Like the apostles after Christ's Ascension, the Church must gather in the Upper Room "together with Mary, the Mother of Jesus" (Acts 1: 14), in order to pray for the Spirit and to gain strength and courage to carry out the missionary mandate. we too, like the apostles, need to be transformed and guided by the Spirit.

On the eve of the third millennium the whole Church is invited to live more intensely the mystery of Christ by gratefully cooperating in the work of salvation. The Church does this together with Mary and following the example of Mary, the Church's Mother and model: Mary is the model of that maternal love which should inspire all who cooperate in the Church's apostolic mission for the rebirth of humanity. Therefore, "strengthened by the presence of Christ, the Church journeys through time toward the consummation of the ages and goes to meet the Lord who comes. But on this journey ... she proceeds along the path already trodden by the Virgin Mary."

To "Mary's mediation, wholly oriented toward Christ and tending to the revelation of his salvific power," I entrust the Church and, in particular, those who commit themselves to carrying out the missionary mandate in today's world. As Christ sent forth his apostles in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, so too, renewing that same mandate, I extend to all of you my apostolic blessing in the name of the same Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

United in Faith and Love and Prayer with our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, we follow his example and entrust this work to the Mother of God: the Immaculate Conception - Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament - Our Lady of the Rosary. We also must acknowledge Saint Joseph, whose paternal care, we enlist unceasingly and count upon. Thus we adopt the motto: All for Jesus, All for Mary, All to imitate Thee, Oh Patriarch Saint Joseph.