Feast of Christ the King

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[Salvation]

Feast of Christ the King

FR. DOUGLAS PANKHURST

My dear friends: This Liturgical year began on the First Sunday of Advent, and it ends today with the Feast of Christ the King. During the Liturgical year, we re-live the life of Christ and try to immerse ourselves in the kingdom he came to establish. It is right, therefore, to ask yourselves at this end of the year: "Is Christ more king of my life now than a year ago?"

Kings today are an unfamiliar breed. The few that are left have no political power. But, in ancient times, kings were sacred and absolute. They were crowned at their coronation with a special consecration and anointing. And the ancient king set the tone and spirit of his realm. A good king made for a prosperous and orderly kingdom.

That idea is by no means dead today. The influence of a leader is still a powerful factor in modern life. For example, take education. A school takes its spirit from the principal. Does he or she love and respect children? The staff will reflect that spirit in the classrooms.

Take business: Is the owner or manager an honest man or a crook? His employees will be quick to follow his ways.

Take government: Are the leaders people of integrity, dedicated to the good of their country, or are they unscrupulous and on the make? Their kind of government will filter down through the bureaucracy.

The same is true of Christ the leader of the worldwide Christian community. His spirit must be the spirit of the people of his kingdom.

The phrase "The kingdom of God" must have been often on the lips of Jesus. St. Luke mentions it 24 times in his Gospel; St. Matthew 39 times.

Jesus never defined the Kingdom but he described it in parables. In Chapter 13 of his Gospel, St. Matthew gathered 7 parables each beginning with "the Kingdom of God is like. . ." — " . . . like a pearl of great price," " . . . like yeast hidden in the dough."

In the Lord's Prayer, Jesus taught us to pray: "Thy Kingdom come . . ." immediately followed by "Thy will be done." We know the semitic style of parallelism — one sentence explaining or expanding another. And so, the definition of the Kingdom is "a community of people who do God's will on earth as perfectly as it is done in heaven."

From what Jesus said about His Father's kingdom, some interesting facts emerge:

1. It is an eternal Kingdom. It existed in THE PAST. Jesus warned the Pharisees: "There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God and you yourselves cast out." [LK 13;20]
   
   It exists in THE PRESENT. He said: "The Kingdom of God is among you."
   
   It exists in THE FUTURE. The good thief said: "Remember me when you come into your kingdom." [LK 23;42]
   
   
2. It is a universal kingdom; not territorial or national, but worldwide. Jesus said: "People will come from the east and the west from north and south to sit at table in the kingdom of God." [LK 12;30]
   
   
3. It certainly is not a political kingdom. Jesus said to Pilate: "My kingdom is not of this world." (Jn. 18;36]
   
   
4. It is a hidden kingdom. Jesus said: "The kingdom of God is like yeast which a woman took and kneaded into 3 measures of flour." [pMT. 13;33] The Vatican Council puts it this way:

"The Kingdom of God is already present in mystery. When the Lord appears, it will be brought to full flower. Then Christ will hand over to the Father a kingdom eternal and universal, a kingdom of truth and life, of holiness and grace, of justice, love and peace." [Ch. In Mod. World, #39]

That is the Kingdom of God in its final perfect form. But what do you see when you look around today? Do you not see another king and another kingdom at work?

The kingdom of God is opposed by the kingdom of Satan. The values of Christ's kingdom are aggressively attacked by the value of Satan's kingdom.

Let me try to illustrate this in concrete terms. Take the example of a girl I will call Maria. Maria is an adolescent between 14 and 16. She is changing from a docile child to an independent adult. She is ceasing to take herself and her parents, and her world for granted, and is looking around with an enquiring mind.

And she sees two kinds of life around her; two sets of values offered her; two leaders — Christ and Satan — competing for her loyalty. And what are those leaders offering Maria?

CHRIST offers a kingdom of justice and peace and love. He makes high demands on Maria: faith in God, self-denial and obedience to Himself, unselfish dedication to neighbor. But he promises great rewards: "A hundred fold in this present time and in the world to come, life everlasting." [Mt. 19;29]

SATAN demands little of Maria, panders to her worst instincts, and says nothing about the future. Rather, he says to Maria as he said to Jesus: "I will give you all the kingdoms of the world with their glory and power if, falling down, you will adore me." [Lk. 4;5f]

Christ offers a kingdom of life. Maria hears God speaking in the words of Moses: "I place before you life and prosperity, death and doom. Choose life then." [Deut. 30:19] Satan's kingdom invites to death — murders, abortions, teenage suicides, bombings.

There is a kingdom of life and a kingdom of death, and Maria must choose into which she will enroll.

Christ offers a kingdom of truth. Satan solicits Maria by a kingdom of lies and half-truths. In governments she senses a credibility gap; in business she sees truth distorted by advertising — the credit card claiming to bring with it the "good life."

She soon learns the expression "Let the buyer beware" — so old that the Romans had a word for it, Caveat Emptor, and probably the Persians and the Neanderthals.

Will Maria enroll herself in the kingdom of Christ and truth, or the kingdom of Satan whom Jesus called "a liar and the father or lies"?

Christ says: "Take up your cross daily and follow me." Satan says, "If it feels good, do it."

My dear friends let me conclude:

We seldom face great challenges to our loyalty to Christ the King. Most moral decisions seem insignificant and without consequences at the time.

• to be angry in traffic;
• or patient under provocation;
• to steal small stuff;
• to cheat on an exam;
• to take a paper off the Internet.

But as time goes on, a pattern emerges. The little decisions set the stage for the big ones. I remind you of the old saying:

Sow a thought and reap an act;
Sow an act and reap a habit;
Sow a habit and reap a destiny.

Hence the call of Christ the King is for each of us for constant conversion. "Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand."

To do this is astonishingly easy — WATCH THE LITTLE THINGS.

And so, after another year of following Christ, I conclude with the question I began with: "Is Christ more king of my life today than a year ago?"

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Fr. Douglas Pankhurst. "Feast of Christ the King." Catholic Educator's Resource Center.

This article reprinted with permission from Fr. Douglas Pankhurst.

THE AUTHOR

Fr. Douglas Pankhurst was born in Vancouver in 1915 and has been a Redemptorist priest since 1942. After more than 40 years of teaching and pastoring across Canada, in 1988 he studied Canon Law and embarked upon his retirement apostolate, working with the Vancouver Marriage Tribunal."

[Salvation]

And so, after another year of following Christ, I conclude with the question I began with: "Is Christ more king of my life today than a year ago?"

I pray we all passed this exam question this year. We will definitely have to answer it at the moment of our death.

[Salvation]

Christ the King

QUAS PRIMAS (On the Feast of Christ the King)

The Reign of Christ the King

Christ the King, with images of the Interrogation of Christ by Pilate

Ruling for Christ the King

Christ Our King! Now And Forever!

King of Kings and Lord of Lords [Solemnity of Christ the King]

Christ, The King of the Universe

Feast of Christ the King

[Salvation]

Solemnity Ping!

[Tax-chick]

Excellent article.

[Servant of the Cross]

"Jesus of Nazareth ... is so intrinsically king that the title 'King' has actually become His name. By calling ourselves Christians, we label ourselves as followers of the king ... The King is Jesus; in Him God entered humanity and espoused it to Himself. This is the usual form of the divine activity in relation to mankind. God does not have a fixed plan that he must carry out; on the contrary, he has many different ways of finding man and even of turning his wrong ways into right ways ... The feast of Christ the King is therefore not a feast of those who are subjugated, but a feast of those who know that they are in the hands of the One who writes straight on crooked lines." - Pope Benedict XVI

Great annual question! Great article for reflection! God bless you and all!

[Cincinnatus]

FROM THE PASTOR
By Fr. George W. Rutler
November 23, 2008

The Statuary Hall in the Capitol in Washington has fifty statues representing a representative hero of each state. Three of them are of Catholic priests: Father Eusebio Kino of Arizona, Blessed Junipero Serra of California, and Blessed Damien de Veuster of Hawaii.

These priestly presences may irritate the secularists who are trying to renovate our public buildings into temples of self-exaltation. The Ten Commandments are engraved on the Supreme Court building where guides now refer to them as “Ten Amendments.” There are efforts to remove references to God from the burial rites in Arlington National Cemetery.

A visitors’ center in the Capitol finally is being completed at a mind-boggling cost of $600 million of your tax money. Typical of government projects, its completion is several years late and hundreds of millions of dollars over budget. While its marble corridors will feature displays of Earth Day celebrations and AIDS rallies along with information about industry, it will ignore the Christian roots and heritage of our country. The original plans left out the national motto “In God We Trust” and the arrival of Christian missionaries was mentioned in passing as an “invasion.” To date, 108 members of Congress have signed a petition against this disservice to history.

It would be easy to exploit this out of demagoguery, and some politicians do indeed like to pose righteously protesting against “the removal of God” from our culture. That kind of rhetoric itself betrays some insecurity about God’s ability to be God. God cannot be removed from anything because he is eternal and omnipresent. Attempts to marginalize God only marginalize those who try. The Catholic should understand this better than anyone, for the Holy Church outlives all nations and cultures. In the practical order, however, many nominal Catholics do not realize how they have been invaded by banal agnosticism and degraded by cultural mediocrity. Once in preparing a wedding, a bride from another part of the country wanted excerpts from Ernest Hemingway and Kahlil Gibran read as scripture in the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony. Her reaction to my refusal was the indignation of an indulged youth who had never been denied access to a parallel universe of sentimental delights. It has been observed that even many self-styled Christians seek no Saviour for they do not know that there is anything to be saved from.

A presidential proclamation of Thanksgiving Day enshrines a civic obligation to the Divine Creator, but for some it is a vestigial tribute to custom, encroached by football and parades. No president is a pontiff, and civic prayers are only commentary on the Eucharistic duty of the stewards of God’s creation. So the Feast of Christ the King, which we celebrate today, puts all civic intuitions of God into perspective, and reminds us that Jesus was crowned with thorns by self-satisfied people who hymned their way to destruction by shouting, “We have no king but Caesar.”

[NYer]

We celebrated the Feast of Christ the King today ... for the 2nd time in a month :-) Our pastor made a long overdue trip home to visit the family in Lebanon and baptize his nephew who was born in January!!! Though not necessary, he NEVER leaves us alone and found a retired RC priest who hesitantly agreed to say Mass at our Church, during his absence. Hence, the 2nd celebration of this feast which we celebrated at the end of October.

Fr. Ryan used his homily to show us a thick book on 'The Catholic Church' that Fr. Kairouz loaned to him. In it he bookmarked the Eastern Catholic Churches and noted to all present that "they are in communion with Rome" ... lol ... which, of course, we all know. He also read to us a paragraph in the book on The Maronites, which drew nodding heads as we already know that history as well. He then pulled out a book with all the documents from Vatican Council II and flipped to another bookmarked page that spoke of the "need to retain the rich heritage of the Eastern Catholic Churches". It was very heartening for all of us to see Fr. Ryan had 'discovered' the Churches of the East.

Just when we thought for sure he would move on to his homily, he whipped out a Catholic newspaper and opened to a picture of the Maronite Patriarch - Mar Nasrallah Cardinal Sfeir - saying Mass at a church in Qatar. The article was an interview with the Cardinal and he began to quote certain extracts. The article spoke of 500 years of persecution of christians in the Middle East and how many young christian men and women, who can't obtain jobs in their homeland, leave for other countries - 'including the US' (another revelation to Fr. Ryan :-). He then quoted the Patriarch who has invited those in the diaspora to "come home" - not permanently, but to visit. He thought it was more than a coincidence that Fr. Kairouz had done just that and entrusted his parish community to the care of himself (Fr. Ryan) in his absence. He eventually moved into a fine homily that concluded with a quote from Pope Pius XI who instituted this feast day. The pope asked that each year a particular prayer, dedicating and entrusting the world to the Sacred Heart, be prayed on this feast and so, Fr. Ryan concluded his homily by saying that prayer, to which we all responded Amen!

Afterwards, Fr. Ryan joined us in the back of the Church for refreshments. Today's Mass was offered up for Baby Michael David Hannoush (deceased) by his parents, little brother and infant sister. There were wonderful delicacies - from Lebanese pizza to bakery cookies. We all made Fr. Ryan feel at home and he relished the companionship of this small Catholic community. I introduced him to some of the other RCs as well as the Maronite parishioners who have come here their entire lives. He was beaming from ear to ear when I left.

---

In the Maronite Liturgical Calendar, we are now in the Season of Announcements. Last Sunday was the Announcement to Zechariah. Today we would normally have celebrated ...

The Announcement to Mary

Readings:

Epistle: Gal 3:15-22
Gospel: Luke 1:26-38

We are all most grateful to Fr. Ryan who gave of his time to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass with us today (and next Sunday) and our pastor, Fr. Kairouz, who postponed his visit home, refusing to leave until he could provide us with a priest so we could celebrate Mass at our own parish. May our Lord richly bless and reward them both!

[Salvation]

**The Statuary Hall in the Capitol in Washington has fifty statues representing a representative hero of each state. Three of them are of Catholic priests: Father Eusebio Kino of Arizona, Blessed Junipero Serra of California, and Blessed Damien de Veuster of Hawaii.**

I have a video from the Serra Club about Blessed Junipero Serra and it starts out with the fact about the statue at the federal capitol. Also there is a statue of Blessed Junipero Serra on the State of California grounds in Sacramento.

The bureaucrats really can’t remove them, because they are a part of the state and national history.

[Salvation]

Our priest’s sermon was much along these lines, great annual question — What are the little things that I did for others this past year.

He had several examples of Christ coming into our lives:
I was the mean kid on the playground and yet you were my friend.
I was the person in the grocery line who you let go ahead of you.
I was the person who was irritable at work and yet you listened with kindness.
I was the person on the phone and you were nice to me even though you didn’t want to be on the phone.
I was the person who held the door open for you as you came into church today.
I was the person who was driving 35 in a 45 mile zone and you did get angry at me.

Just little things — each and every day.

[Salvation]

Oops that last one should have been

I was the person who was driving 35 in a 45 mile zone and you didn’t get angry at me.

[trisham]

I thought that one sounded a bit off. :)

[Salvation]

LOL! Yes, my typo.

[trisham]

Funny. The only thing I could imagine was that perhaps the thought was that as a result of expressing anger to the speeder, the offender might have lowered his speed and he would have been saved from having an accident. It was the best I could come up with. :)

[narses]

"That in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those
that are in Heaven,
on earth and under the earth:
And that every tongue should confess that
the Lord Jesus Christ
is in the glory of God the Father."

Philippians 2:10-11

Christ Himself speaks of His Own kingly authority [see link for Bible Citations]: in His last discourse, speaking of the rewards and punishments that will be the eternal lot of the just and the damned; in His reply to the Roman magistrate, who asked Him publicly whether He were a king or not; after His resurrection, when giving to His Apostles the mission of teaching and Baptizing all nations, He took the opportunity to call Himself king, confirming the title publicly, and solemnly proclaimed that all power was given Him in Heaven and on earth. These words can only be taken to indicate the greatness of his power, the infinite extent of His kingdom. What wonder, then, that He Whom St. John calls the "prince of the kings of the earth" appears in the Apostle's vision of the future as He Who "hath on His garment and on His thigh written 'King of kings and Lord of lords!'." It is Christ Whom the Father "hath appointed heir of all things"; "for He must reign until at the end of the world He hath put all his enemies under the feet of God and the Father."

It was surely right, then, in view of the common teaching of the sacred books, that the Catholic Church, which is the kingdom of Christ on earth, destined to be spread among all men and all nations, should with every token of veneration salute her Author and Founder in her annual liturgy as King and Lord, and as King of Kings. And, in fact, she used these titles, giving expression with wonderful variety of language to one and the same concept, both in ancient psalmody and in the Sacramentaries.

Pope Pius XI, Encyclical Letter, QUAS PRIMAS, #11-12

[narses]

But I am appointed King by Him over Sion His holy mountain preachng His commandment. ------Ps 2:6
The Lord hath said to Me: Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee. Ask of Me and I will give Thee the Gentiles for Thy inheritance, and the utmost parts of the earth for Thy possession.------Ps 2:7-8
Thou shalt rule them with a rod of iron and shalt break them in pieces like a potter's vessel. ------Ps 2:9 

He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the most High; and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of David His father; and He shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever. And of His kingdom there shall be no end.
------Lk 1:32-33
The time is accomplished, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent and believe the Gospel. -----Mk 1:15

Jesus answered: My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would certainly strive that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now My kingdom is not from hence.

 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 18:36-37

[narses]

For the kingdom is the Lord's; and He shall have dominion over the nations. ------Ps. 31:29
The Lord maketh the flood to dwell: and the Lord shall sit king for ever. ------Ps. 28:10
O clap your hands, all ye nations: shout unto God with the voice of joy,
For the Lord is high, terrible: a great king over all the earth.  . . .
Sing praises to our God, sing ye: sing praises to our king, sing ye.
For God is the king of all the earth: sing ye wisely. ------Ps. 46:2, 3, 7, 8
For the sparrow hath found herself a house, and the turtle a nest for herself, where she may lay her young ones:
Thy altars, O Lord of hosts, my king and my God. ------Ps. 83:4
Sing praise to the Lord on the harp, on the harp, and with the voice of a psalm:
with long trumpets, and sound of cornet.
Make a joyful noise before the Lord our king. ------Ps. 97:5, 6
I will extol thee, O God my king: and I will bless Thy name for ever; yea, for ever and ever. ------Ps. 144:1
Let Israel rejoice in Him that made him: and let the children of Sion be joyful in their king. ------Ps. 149:2

There is one most high Creator Almighty, and a powerful king, and greatly to be feared,
Who sitteth upon His throne, and He is the God of dominion. ------Ecclus. 1:8
He that liveth for ever, created all things together. God only shall be justified,
and He remaineth an invincible king for ever. ------Ecclus. 18:1
I will give glory to thee, O Lord, O King, and I will praise thee, O God my Saviour. ------Ecclus. 51:1

And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day there shall be one Lord, and His name shall be one.
------Zach. 14:9

[narses]

Cursed is the deceitful man that hath in his flock a male, and making a vow, offereth in sacrifice that which is feeble to the Lord: for I am a great King, saith the Lord of hosts, and My name is dreadful among the Gentiles. ------Malach. 1:14

Now to the king of ages, immortal invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
------1 Tim.  1:17
I charge thee: . . . That thou keep the commandment without spot, blameless, unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Which in His times He shall show Who is the Blessed and only Mighty the King of kings, and Lord of lords.
 -----1 Tim. 6:14, 15

O Lord God of our fathers, thou art God in Heaven, and rulest over all thl kingdoms and nations, in thy hand i strength and power, and no one can re sist thee. ------2 Paral. 20:6 [2 Chronicles]

Thou art Thyself my king and my God, Who commandest the saving of Jacob. ------Ps. 43:5
But God is our king before ages: He hath wrought salvation in the midst of the earth. ------Ps. 83:12

For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king: He will save us. ------Is. 33:22
 
But the Lord is the true God: He is the living God, and the everlasting king. -----Jer. 10:10
 
O Lord God, Creator of all things dreadful and strong, just and merciful Who alone art the good king.
 -----2 Mach. 10:24.

When Jesus therefore was born in Bethlehem of Juda,
in the days of king Herod, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
Saying, Where is He that is born king of the Jews? For we have seel His star in the east,
and are come to adore Him.
. . . But they said to him: In Bethlehem of Juda. For so it is written by the prophet:
And thou Bethlehem the land of Juda art not the least among the princes of Juda:
for out of thee shall come forth the Captain that shall rule My people Israel. -----Matt. 2:1, 2, 5, 6

And on the next day a great multitude that was come to the festival day,
 when they had heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,
Took branches of palm-trees, and went forth to meet Him, and cried:
Hosanna, blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord, the king of
Israel. And Jesus found a young ass, and sat upon it, as it is written:
Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy king cometh, sitting on an ass's colt. -----John 12:12-15

Then therefore Pilate took Jesus, and scourged Him.
And the soldiers platting a crown of thorns, put it upon His head;
and they put on Him a purple garment.
And they came to Him, and said: Hail, king of the Jews; and they gave Him blows.
Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith to them:
Behold, I bring Him forth unto you, that you may know that I find no cause in Him.
(Jesus therefore came forth, bearing the crown of thorns and the purple garment.) And he saith to them: Behold
the Man.

[Servant of the Cross]

Thanks for the ping (and reminder).