``Where the
Bishop is, there let the multitude of believers be;
even as where Jesus is, there is the Catholic Church'' Ignatius of
Antioch, 1st c. A.D
Feast of
Christ the King
God made
promises to Father Abraham and King David. These
promises are revealed in Genesis 22:16-18 and II Kings 7:10-19
respectively:
Genesis 22:16-18
By my own self have I sworn, saith the Lord: because thou hast done
this thing, and hast not spared thy only begotten son for my sake: I
will bless thee, and I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven,
and as the sand that is by the sea shore: thy seed shall possess the
gates of their enemies. And in thy seed shall all the nations of the
earth be blessed, because thou hast obeyed my voice.
II Kings 7:10-19
And I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and I will plant them,
and they shall dwell therein, and shall be disturbed no more: neither
shall the children of iniquity afflict them any more as they did
before, from the day that I appointed judges over my people Israel: and
I will give thee rest from all thy enemies. And the Lord foretelleth to
thee, that the Lord will make thee a house. And when thy days shall be
fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will raise up thy
seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will
establish his kingdom. He shall build a house to my name, and I will
establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be to him a
father, and he shall be to me a son: and if he commit any iniquity, I
will correct him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the
children of men. But my mercy I will not take away from him, as I took
it from Saul, whom I removed from before my face. And thy house shall
be faithful, and thy kingdom for ever before thy face, and thy throne
shall be firm for ever. According to all these words and according to
all this vision, so did Nathan speak to David.
And David went in, and sat before the Lord, and said: Who am I, O Lord
God, and what is my house, that thou hast brought me thus far? But yet
this hath seemed little in thy sight, O Lord God, unless thou didst
also speak of the house of thy servant for a long time to come: for
this is the law of Adam, O Lord God.
These prophecies
are fulfilled in Christ, Who is King of Israel ("Christ" means
"Anointed One," and the anointing referred to is the anointing King
David received). Our Lord, though, is not only the ruler of the
restored Davidic Kingdom (the Church), but is the King of Kings -- the
King of All. The only way for peace to have a chance in this world is
for all to see Him for Who He is: the King before Whom we must bow and
Whom we must obey.
Though this Feast is a new one, promulgated by Pope Pius XI in 1925 in
his Encyclical Quas Primas, it is
a most awesome and important one! Vive Christus Rex!
On this day, we pray for the conversion of all to Christ, and for all
governments to recognize Him as King and conform their laws to His
teachings. This is the only way to peace!
Apocalypse
19:15-16:
And out of his mouth proceedeth a sharp two-edged sword, that with it
he may strike the nations. And he shall rule them with a rod of iron:
and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God the
Almighty. And he hath on his garment and on his thigh written: KING OF
KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
Today you may
receive a plenary indulgence by praying the Consecration of the Human
Race to the Sacred Heart, going to Confession, and receiving the
Eucharist. We beg God to bring all people to Him and to be our King.
Read more about this on the page about Devotion to
the Sacred Heart of Jesus. There will be a Benediction of the
Blessed Sacrament after Mass, too.
A beautiful prayer for the day, one originally meant for the Feast of Corpus Christi, but which
is also perfect for the Feast of Christ the King:
O sweet Saviour
and Redeemer of mankind, Jesus Christ, Who in the impenetrable designs
of Thine infinite wisdom bearest with the audacity of the impious and
sufferest the violence of the wicked, reserving to
Thyself the sovereign right of judging the impious man and his perverse
works, turn Thy merciful regard upon Thy children, who in the blindness
of their hearts have turned from Thee in rebellion. With
the eyes of a Father, and with the power of the sovereign King of the
Universe, stretch forth Thy hand to bless and regenerate modern
society, which is rebelliously turning its back upon Thee, the King of
Kings, Lord of Lords. Be moved to compassion for Thy people, whom Thou
hast purchased with Thy Blood, regenerated with Thy grace, and exalted
with Thy love. Thou hast given them true liberty, Thou hast called them
to the inheritance of thy Father, Thou hast numbered them among Thy
brethren; but in the delirium of their rebellion they have preferred
the slavery of Satan, and live in abject misery, without joy, without
hope.
O my Lord Jesus Christ, King of eternal glory, restorer of
all things in heaven and on earth, supreme and omnipotent, who with
infinite wisdom reunitest at Thy feet things scattered and dispersed;
enlighten the Kings of the earth, the rulers of nations; instil Thy
spirit into all civil institutions, into every form of government, into
laws and armies; grant that all the powers of earth may recognize in
Thee the majesty of the eternal God, the source from which all
authority is derived; illuminate the nations that they may understand
that Thou art the origin of rights and duties, that it is through Thee
that the Kings of the earth rule, and that it is to Thee that Kings and
people alike owe obedience. O most sweet Jesus, Tho hast deigned to
descend into this valley of tears, and to dwell with us, suffering and
dying for the salvation of us sinners, and who in an excess of charity
hast set up Thy abode in the midst of men, hidden under the sacramental
species, and who in the fullness of the Godhead, corporally present in
our tabernacles, makest Thyself the food and life of our souls; oh,
receive the humble but sincere and profound homage of our hearts,
offered in reparation for the falling away of the rebellious. We firmly
believe in Thee and all that the faith infused into our hearts by the
Holy Spirit has revealed to us about Thee. We see in Thee the beginning
and the end of all existing things, we adore Thee as the one true God,
we wish to live only for Thee and in Thy service. Do Thou, O Lord, save
our brethren, reunite the scattered members of modern society gone
astray, that we as brethren may together be one with Thee, as Thou art
one with Thy Father in Heaven. May Thy will be done by all and in
everything-. May Thy Majesty shine forth on the throne of thy earthly
dominion, and the world confess Thee to be the true Son of God, through
Whom all things were created.
O Jesus, God of love, set free from his chains Thy Vicar, the
successor of Peter; re-establish him in the exercise of that liberty
which Thou Thyself didst give him, together with the supreme keys, that
he might effectually carry on Thy work of regenerating mankind; and so
hasten on that longed-for day, in which Thou wilt be glorified by the
return of Society to its paternal home. Gather together, O King of the
nations, the sheep and the lambs under the care of the one shepherd. O
Lord, do not abandon us; we are Thy children, we love Thee; recognize
us still as thy children, unworthy, yet ever Thine; save us, and
together with us, save Kings, Rulers, and Nations. Amen.
And for a litany
-- a most complete and intense litany -- The
Golden Litany is a good one for this feast.
And now, a hymn
for the day -- Christus Vincit -- sung by the Cappella Victoria
Jakarta, and conducted by Sabrina Pugliano:
Note: In the
Novus Ordo, this Feast was moved from the last Sunday in October to the
last Sunday of the Season after Pentecost, which is the Sunday before
Advent Sunday. The effect of this is to interrupt the relationship
between the reign of Christ with His Saints, who are commemorated en
masse on 1 November, and the necessity of our recognizing His Kingship now,
during this "thousand years" of the Church Age. With the Feast moved to
the very last Sunday in the Time After Pentecost, it leads one to
believe that Christ isn't King now, and that all persons and
nations don't need to recognize Him as King now -- but that He
will be recognized as King only at the end of time when He reveals
Himself at His Second Advent. In other words, the moving of the Feast
symbolically defeats the very purpose of the Feast, which is to
not only honor the very fact of His Kingship, but to pray for the
conversion of all people and nations to His Church so that souls will
be saved and the social order will conform to the moral law.
This page is dedicated to my Dad, who died
on the Feast of Christ the King, 2012. If you are reading
this, please say an Ave for his soul.
