Christ the King
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This Sunday, the last Sunday of the liturgical year, is the
feast of Christ the King. This feast was
established in 1925 by Pope Pius XI, in his encyclical Quas Primas, in response to a rising secularism that denied
Christ’s authority in this world.
The feast of Christ the King reminds us that Jesus is not
just Lord of Heaven, but of earth as well.
The king of this world is not the government, or the United Nations, or
the popular culture; it is Jesus Christ.
With secularism in our time taking the false notion of “the
separation of Church and state” to ridiculous conclusions, it is a good time
for us to meditate on just Whose world this is, and where true authority comes
from.
This Sunday’s feast is also a reminder that Christ must be
the King of our hearts. Does He rule in
our hearts? In our lives? Is He the end toward which we strive? Do we allow Him to guide our thoughts, our words,
and our actions? And do we submit
ourselves to His authority, which He has left us in His Church?
As we approach Advent, when we will be preparing to welcome
Christ anew by celebrating His coming in history, these are essential questions
to ponder. And hopefully our meditations
surrounding the feast of Christ the King can help us to make changes in our own
lives if need be. Once we, His people,
unashamedly allow Christ to be the King of our hearts and submit ourselves to
His loving authority, we can lead our culture down the same path.
