SOLEMNITY of CHRIST the KING

Pilate therefore said to Him: Art thou a king then? Jesus answered:

Thou sayest that I am a king. For this was I born, and for this

came I into the world, that I should give testimony to the truth.

Every one that is of the truth, heareth my voice. ~ John 13:37 

 

Christ the King Sunday celebrates the all-embracing authority of Christ as King and Lord of the cosmos. Officially called the Feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King, it is celebrated on the final Sunday of Ordinary Time, the Sunday before Advent.

"Man is composed of body and soul, and he needs these external festivities so that the sacred rites, in all their beauty and variety, may stimulate him to drink more deeply of the fountain of God's teaching, that he may make it a part of himself, and use it with profit for his spiritual life." ~ excerpt: Quas Primas, Pope Pius XI

 “O king of Glory, though You hide Your beauty,

yet the eye of my soul rends the veil.” St. Faustina

“There He is:

King of Kings and Lord of Lords,

hidden in the bread.

To this extreme

has He humbled Himself

for love of you.”

St. Josemaria Escriva

"There was an inscription over His head: 'THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.' " Luke 23:38

On this last Sunday of the Church Year, we totally commit our lives to Jesus and acknowledge Him as our King and the King of kings. Like the good thief, we may have ignored Jesus' Kingship for years or even for our entire lives, but we can repent today. When we say "Jesus, remember me when You enter upon Your reign" (Luke 23:42), Jesus will also reply to us: "I assure you: this day you will be with Me in paradise" (Luke 23:43).

Today we can make or renew a commitment to Jesus, which will have eternal significance. Some people think they don't need to commit their lives to Jesus. They are "good people" who go to church, pray, and have decent morals. Yet all this is only part of being a subject of King Jesus. He rightly demands not just good, prayerful, decent people but people begotten from above (Jn 3:3), new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17), children of God (John 1:12).

To be born again, be made new, and become children of our heavenly Father, we must be baptized into King Jesus (Romans 6:3) and live that new life by faith. This faith will be expressed in total commitment of our lives to King Jesus.   ~  Reflection:  John Hughes, Tucson, Arizona