OTWOMD | Bluepanjeet.Net

Most of us Catholics deliberately ignore the important feast of the Church and one of this is the Solemnity of Christ the King. Starting today, OTWOMD will offer a cyber-retreat to those who cannot celebrate some of the Catholic Church’s important liturgical celebrations in their own areas especially our brothers and sisters who are living in non-christian countries. This is intended for all of us who are busy with our own personal lives, to pause for a few minutes and reflect on our personal experiences as mirrored on the liturgical life of the Church. There is no harm in cultivating our souls from time to time. This is also intended for our brothers and sisters who are sick, homebound and bedridden whose only window to the world and the church is the Internet. Read on and quench your thirsty souls with the waters of God’s word.

Solemnity of Christ the King
November 25, 2007
Holy Day Of Obligation

The Solemnity

The way to “enter” into God’s Kingdom “does not permit shortcuts”; rather, “every person must freely welcome the truth of the love of God. He is Love and Truth and both love and truth never impose themselves: they knock at the door of the heart and mind and, wherever they may enter, they bring peace and joy. This is God’s way of reigning; this is his project of salvation, a ‘mystery’ in the biblical sense of the word, which is a plan that is revealed little by little throughout history.” — Pope Benedict XVI

The Feast of Christ the King was established by Pope Pius XI in 1925 as an antidote to secularism, a way of life which leaves God out of man’s thinking and living and organizes his life as if God did not exist. The feast is intended to proclaim in a striking and effective manner Christ’s royalty over individuals, families, society, governments, and nations.

Today’s Mass establishes the titles for Christ’s royalty over men:
1) Christ is God, the Creator of the universe and hence wields a supreme power over all things; “All things were created by Him”;
2) Christ is our Redeemer, He purchased us by His precious Blood, and made us His property and possession;
3) Christ is Head of the Church, “holding in all things the primacy”;
4) God bestowed upon Christ the nations of the world as His special possession and dominion.

Today’s Mass also describes the qualities of Christ’s kingdom. This kingdom is:
1) supreme, extending not only to all people but also to their princes and kings;
2) universal, extending to all nations and to all places;
3) eternal, for “The Lord shall sit a King forever”;
4) spiritual, Christ’s “kingdom is not of this world”.

— Rt. Rev. Msgr. Rudolph G. Gandas

Before the reform of the Roman Calendar in 1969, this feast was celebrated on the last Sunday of October.

Christ the King is one of the names of Jesus derived from various scriptures. It is a moniker used by all Christians and celebrated as the Feast of Christ the King by many demoninations including, but not limited to, Catholics, Anglicans, Episcopalians, Presbyterians and some Lutherans and Methodists. It frequently is used as a name for churches, schools, seminaries and hospitals. The current feast will fall on whichever day from November 20 through November 26, all inclusive, is a Sunday in a given year.

The name is found in various forms in scripture: King Eternal (1 Tim. 1:17), King of Israel (John 1:49), King of the Jews (Mt. 27:11), King of kings (1 Tim 6:15; Rev. 19:16), King of the Ages (Rev. 15:3) and Ruler of the Kings of the Earth (Rev. 1:5).

The ideological movement of Christ’s Kingship was addressed in the encyclical Quas primas of Pope Pius XI, published in 1925, which has been called “possibly one of the most misunderstood and ignored encyclicals of all time”. The Pontiff’s encyclical quotes with approval Cyril of Alexandria, noting that Jesus’ Kingship is not obtained by violence: “‘Christ,’ he says, ‘has dominion over all creatures, a dominion not seized by violence nor usurped, but his by essence and by nature.’”

Pope Benedict XVI has remarked, as did his predecessor John Paul II, that “Christ’s Kingship is not based on “human power” but on loving and serving others.”

Christ the King as Represented in the Liturgy

The liturgy is an album in which every epoch of Church history immortalizes itself. Therein, accordingly, can be found the various pictures of Christ beloved during succeeding centuries. In its pages we see pictures of Jesus suffering and in agony; we see pictures of His Sacred Heart; yet these pictures are not proper to the nature of the liturgy as such; they resemble baroque altars in a gothic church. Classic liturgy knows but one Christ: the King, radiant, majestic, divine.

With an ever-growing desire, all Advent awaits the “coming King”; in the chants of the breviary we find repeated again and again the two expressions “King” and “is coming.” On Christmas the Church would greet, not the Child of Bethlehem, but rather the Rex pacificus — “the King of peace gloriously reigning.” Within a fortnight there follows a feast which belongs to the greatest of the feasts of the Church year, Epiphany. As in ancient times oriental monarchs visited their principalities (theophany), so the divine King appears in His city, the Church; from its sacred precincts He casts His glance over all the world….On the final feast of the Christmas cycle, the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, holy Church meets her royal Bridegroom with virginal love: “Adorn your bridal chamber, O Sion, and receive Christ your King!” The burden of the Christmas cycle may be summed up in these words: Christ the King establishes His Kingdom of light upon earth!

If we now consider the Easter cycle, the luster of Christ’s royal dignity is indeed somewhat veiled by His sufferings; nevertheless, it is not the suffering Jesus who is present to the eyes of the Church as much as Christ the royal Hero and Warrior who upon the battlefield of Golgotha struggles with the mighty and dies in triumph. Even during Lent and Passiontide the Church acclaims her King. The act of homage on Palm Sunday is intensely stirring; singing psalms in festal procession we accompany our Savior singing: Gloria, laus et honor tibi sit, Rex Christe, “Glory, praise and honor be to Thee, Christ, O King!” It is true that on Good Friday the Church meditates upon the Man of Sorrows in agony upon the Cross, but at the same time, and perhaps more so, she beholds Him as King upon a royal throne. The hymn Vexilla Regis, “The royal banners forward go,” is the more perfect expression of the spirit from which the Good Friday liturgy has arisen. Also characteristic is the verse from Psalm 95, Dicite in gentibus quia Dominus regnavit, to which the early Christians always added, a ligno, “Proclaim among the Gentiles: the Lord reigns from upon the tree of the Cross!” During Paschal time the Church is so occupied with her glorified Savior and Conqueror that kingship references become rarer; nevertheless, toward the end of the season we celebrate our King’s triumph after completing the work of redemption, His royal enthronement on Ascension Thursday.

Neither in the time after Pentecost is the picture of Christ as King wholly absent from the liturgy. Corpus Christi is a royal festival: “Christ the King who rules the nations, come, let us adore” (Invit.). In the Greek Church the feast of the Transfiguration is the principal solemnity in honor of Christ’s kingship, Summum Regem gloriae Christum adoremus (Invit.). Finally at the sunset of the ecclesiastical year, the Church awaits with burning desire the return of the King of majesty.

We will overlook further considerations in favor of a glance at the daily Offices. How often do we not begin Matins with an act of royal homage: “The King of apostles, of martyrs, of confessors, of virgins — come, let us adore” (Invit.). Lauds is often introduced with Dominus regnavit, “The Lord is King”. Christ as King is also a first consideration at the threshold of each day; for morning after morning we renew our oath of fidelity at Prime: “To the King of ages be honor and glory.” Every oration is concluded through our Mediator Christ Jesus “who lives and reigns forever.” Yes, age-old liturgy beholds Christ reigning as King in His basilica (etym.: “the king’s house”), upon the altar as His throne.

Mass Readings:

Reading 1
2 Sm 5:1-3

In those days, all the tribes of Israel came to David in Hebron and said:
“Here we are, your bone and your flesh.
In days past, when Saul was our king,
it was you who led the Israelites out and brought them back.
And the LORD said to you,
‘You shall shepherd my people Israel
and shall be commander of Israel.’”
When all the elders of Israel came to David in Hebron,
King David made an agreement with them there before the LORD,
and they anointed him king of Israel.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 122:1-2, 3-4, 4-5

R. (cf. 1) Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
I rejoiced because they said to me,
“We will go up to the house of the LORD.”
And now we have set foot
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Jerusalem, built as a city
with compact unity.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
According to the decree for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
In it are set up judgment seats,
seats for the house of David.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

Reading II
Col 1:12-20

Brothers and sisters:
Let us give thanks to the Father,
who has made you fit to share
in the inheritance of the holy ones in light.
He delivered us from the power of darkness
and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

He is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation.
For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers;
all things were created through him and for him.
He is before all things,
and in him all things hold together.
He is the head of the body, the church.
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things he himself might be preeminent.
For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell,
and through him to reconcile all things for him,
making peace by the blood of his cross
through him, whether those on earth or those in heaven.

Gospel
Lk 23:35-43

The rulers sneered at Jesus and said,
“He saved others, let him save himself
if he is the chosen one, the Christ of God.”
Even the soldiers jeered at him.
As they approached to offer him wine they called out,
“If you are King of the Jews, save yourself.”
Above him there was an inscription that read,
“This is the King of the Jews.”

Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying,
“Are you not the Christ?
Save yourself and us.”
The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply,
“Have you no fear of God,
for you are subject to the same condemnation?
And indeed, we have been condemned justly,
for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes,
but this man has done nothing criminal.”
Then he said,
“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
He replied to him,
“Amen, I say to you,
today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Reflection:

THE CORONATION
“This is the King.” –Luke 23:38

The long-awaited day for the King’s coronation had come. The stage was set for a victorious arrival as the King arrived to begin His rule. Would the celebration be worthy of the King?

The King’s throne is a criminal’s cross. His royal crown is filled with sharp thorns, painfully lodged into His skull. He wears no robe; all His clothes have been stripped. His brutally beaten back rests against the hard wood of His cross. The scepter in His hand is not a graceful staff but rather a nail. His courtiers are condemned murderers, one on each side. His coronation toast consists of “sour wine” (Lk 23:36).

The King is about to deliver His coronation address. He stands erect, making blood gush from the nail wounds in His feet. He speaks: “Father, forgive them; they do not know what they are doing” (Lk 23:34). His subjects greet His remarks with “jeering” (Lk 23:35), blasphemy (Lk 23:39), insults, and taunting (Mk 15:29-32). Finally, King Jesus begins His rule by dying.

The coronation continues today. Will we submit to King Jesus or reject Him as our King? To be subjects of King Jesus, each of us must follow in His steps, deny our very selves, and take up our cross each day (Lk 9:23). Offer King Jesus your homage by offering Him your life. Submit to King Jesus; die with King Jesus; rule with King Jesus (2 Tm 2:12).

PRAYER: King Jesus, I pledge my allegiance and my life to You.
PROMISE: God “rescued us from the power of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of His beloved Son.” –Col 1:13
PRAISE: Praise King Jesus, Who humbled Himself and took the form of a slave to give us life (Phil 2:7).

Things to Do:

* Traditionally there would be a procession for Christ the King on this feast day. The Blessed Sacrament would be carried and the procession would end with a prayer of consecration to Christ the King and Benediction. Try to participate if your parish has a Christ the King procession. If not, try having one at home (minus the Blessed Sacrament).

* Read Pope Pius XI’s encyclical Quas primas (On the Feast of Christ the King) which shows that secularism is the direct denial of Christ’s Kingship.

* Learn more about secularism - read the Annual Statement of the Bishops of the United States released on November 14, 1947.

* Being a relatively newer feast on the Liturgical calendar, there are no traditional foods for this day. Suggested ideas: a wonderful family Sunday dinner, and bake an Easter Cake or King Cake in honor of Christ the King..

* A partial indulgence is granted to the faithful, who piously recite the Act of Dedication of the Human Race to Jesus Christ King. A plenary indulgence is granted, if it is recite publicly on the feast of our Lord Jesus Christ King.

_______________________________________________________________________
(1) Taken from: Catholic Culture Liturgical Year
(2) Taken from Wikipedia
(3) Excerpted from The Church’s Year of Grace, Pius Parsch
(4) Audio from Verbum Domini
(5) Mass Readings from United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
(6) Reflection from My Catholic.Com