Today at our traditional Mass we celebrated the Feast of Christ the King instituted in 1925 by Pope Pius XI to fight the rising tide of secularism and Communism after World War I.
We had a terrific homily today for the Feast of Christ the King that really set me thinking. Father emphasized the Latin phrase, Christus Vincit, Christus Regnat, Christus Imperat, Christ conquers, Christ reigns, Christ commands. Here's the translation of the hymn which is based on Psalm 117:
Today we dedicated the SSPX Immaculate Heart of Mary chapel in Linden, VA to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. And now I ask myself how I can unite myself more closely to His heart. Mother Teresa said she wanted to become so little she could fit into Christ's heart, that heart which is big enough to contain the entire universe. There is room for all who love Him.
I couldn't do better today than to share a wonderful post from The Musings of an Old Curmudgeon blog, a sharing so beautiful it moved my heart closer to the heart of Jesus. I send you now there with the prayers of my guardian angel in company with yours that you might bask in the glory and warmth of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. A big thank you to Jovan-Marya Weismiller for his beautiful reflection.
Bishop Robert C. Morlino on August 1st, 2018, after celebrating Mass on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of his installation as bishop of the Diocese of Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo: Joseph Hanneman)
Most Rev. Robert C. Morlino, the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Madison, Wisconsin, died Saturday night November 24 after suffering a “cardiac event” the day before Thanksgiving. A priest for more than 44 years and a bishop for nearly 20, Morlino died at 9:15 p.m. Saturday at St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison. He was 71. [Continued here....]
On this last Sunday of the liturgical year we celebrate the feast of Christ the King. It should remind us that we are not a people who put our trust in men, but in the God of the Universe, the Word made flesh. As long as we live in Him we can never be defeated by the slings and arrows of the evil one.
Tomorrow is the last Sunday of the liturgical year, the feast of Christ the King. How will you spend the final week of the year? Will you focus on the Holy Trinity reflecting on how Advent can bring you closer to God? Or will you focus on the unholy trinity of "me, myself, and I."
What gifts will you prepare this Advent to put under your Christmas tree for the Christ child? Can you give him daily Mass? the daily rosary? a daily or weekly holy hour? Confession at least once during the penitential season? Visits to a nursing home or prison or rosaries in front of an abortion mill?
For families with children here's a suggestion. Make a beautifully decorated box with a slit in the top. Every day when you light your advent candle, let each member of the family write down the gift for Jesus for the day and put it in the box. After you decorate your Christmas tree put the gift in a prominent place underneath. On Christmas Day open this box first (Whose birthday is it after all?) and read all the gifts your family has prepared for Jesus. Won't that focus on the real reason for the season?
"The people in darkness have seen a great light." How will you bring light to your little corner of the world during the next month beginning with your family? It's worth thinking about, eh?
I love that the liturgical year ends with the Feast of Christ the King! The feast has only been in the Church calendar since 1925 when Pope Pius XI created it as a response to the rising tide of secularism. What a gift to the Church! Just think, we begin the liturgical year with preparation for the baby King's arrival in poverty and weakness and end with the celebration of Christ in all His glory and majesty. This year is especially poignant as the feast comes the day after the feast of Blessed Miguel Pro, martyr of Mexico, who died with arms outstretched like Jesus on the cross, proclaiming "Viva Cristo Rey!" Long live Christ the King! As this liturgical year ends, so does the year of faith. What fruits have come from this amazing year? Many firsts: the first pope named Francis, the first pope from the "new world," the first Jesuit pope. Did you have any firsts in your life this year?
How wise Holy Mother Church is. On the last Sunday of the liturgical year she holds up before us the culmination of our year of worship, Christ the King. In Him we live, and move, and have our being.
Think of the pomp and circumstance of royal coronations and other celebrations. Remember the royal weddings? Prince Charles and Princess Diana: seven hundred fifty million viewers, a paltry showing compared to William and Kate's estimated three billion (give or take 500 mil.)! How many would watch if Jesus were being crowned on international TV today? Would he garner all those worshiping watchers? Or would picketers march outside with blasphemous signs, a mob screaming, "Bring in the lions!" When He comes will He find any faith on the earth?
"Who do people say that I Am," Jesus asked his apostles, and through them, men and women of all ages. Today, the Church answers. He is Christ the King, the alpha, the omega, the beginning and the end. Today shows us the glorious end of the story, the triumph of Christ the King coming on a cloud of heaven.
Next Sunday we begin the cycle again remembering the long centuries of waiting in anticipation for our Savior promised to Adam and Eve before they were driven from paradise. We will hear again the promise of a Messiah, the prediction of His birth in Bethlehem, His glorious names - wonderful, counselor, everlasting Father, Prince of peace. We will watch and wait and see the star rising in the east to lead us to the crib -- not in a glorious palace -- but in a manger, a food trough, a graphic image to remind us that He will, indeed, feed us. All the words tell us so: manger - to eat in French, an animal's feed box in English; Bethlehem - house of bread; lamb of God - sacrificed and eaten at the Passover Feast; and, finally, the promise of the gospel, "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you." Do we take Him seriously? We had better!
What a journey we begin next Sunday, the first week of Advent. We look back remembering His birth 2000 years ago, we look forward to His future coming on the day of Judgment, and we live today with Him dwelling among us in His Eucharistic presence in the tabernacle and in the tabernacle of our bodies when we receive Him in Holy Communion.
Let use these coming weeks of Advent to grow in faith, hope, and love.
The last Sunday of the liturgical year is the Feast of Christ King. It comes after several weeks of reflecting on the last things and the end of the world. None of us knows the day or the time, so we are called to be prepared at all times. Don't let the King come and find us unprepared. If it's been a long time since you went to Confession consider going this week as a way to end the old year in thanksgiving for God's goodness and to prepare for the first Sunday of Advent next week, a new beginning.
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How wise Holy Mother Church is. On the last Sunday of the liturgical year she holds up before us the culmination of our year of worship, Christ the King. In Him we live, and move, and have our being.
The last Sunday of the liturgical year is the Feast of Christ King. It comes after several weeks of reflecting on the last things and the end of the world. None of us knows the day or the time, so we are called to be prepared at all times. Don't let the King come and find us unprepared. If it's been a long time since you went to Confession consider going this week as a way to end the old year in thanksgiving for God's goodness and to prepare for the first Sunday of Advent next week, a new beginning.