LINK TO ENCYCLICAL OF POPE PIUS XI re: FEAST OF CRISTO REI (1925); St. Paul Le-Bao-Tinh: "I am not alone — Christ is with me".
1 Corinthians 15:25-28
25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is plain that this does not include the one who put all things in subjection under him. 28 When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to the one who put all things in subjection under him, so that God may be all in all.” (New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition)
INVITE ONE PERSON YOU KNOW TO JOIN OUR CHRISTMAS NOVENA TO GIVE ADORATION AND PRAISE TO CHRIST THE KING: ROSARY365.SUBSTACK.COM
QUESTION: So… Why are focusing on Christ the King when it is Advent? Here is the Rosary Hour Podcast’s preliminary answer recorded below by Amelia.
PREFACE
The need to fight secularism is actually the underlying point of today’s feast, and the first part of the Consecration Journey to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which St. Louis Marie de Montfort’s TRUE DEVOTION explores, is essential to the consecration — and thus, today’s Solemnity is a critical day in this reconfiguring of our hearts which are plugged into the Spirit of the World, and to detox — do a cleanse of sorts — taking 12 days for Spiritual Battle. We are called “to fight” as today’s Gospel commands, as the “attendants” of Christ who are a "Resurrection People" as Fr. David Michael notes. Peter Herbeck reminded us back in 2023 that Our Lady is the great General in this battle, leading all of Heaven to fight the terrible minefield where there are many spiritual casualties which the Popes have written about and through which we are experiencing and witnessing in our times.
In many ways, as the most perfect disciple, she brings us to the throne of God because of her capacity to do God’s Will perfectly, without complaint, and with total abandonment to His wishes. He in turn grants her everything she wishes, and every day she puts before God’s Holy Throne our prayers with the Heart. Today as we ponder the power of the King of Kings, not a worldly power, but a supernatural power that overcomes death and transforms us into eternal beings who are worthy children of God, we are transfigured by the Rosary with each Hail Mary recited well, and each effort we make to share that prayer with others, especially in a public format. We invite you to review some of the materials below and if you don’t have time, just jump straight to the prayer of the Rosary and the De Profundis. Thank you for being part of this Advent Journey as we begin with the end in mind today, praying the Glorious Mysteries with the knowledge that Christ’s Resurrection makes Him the greatest King, not by his political estate, or his ambition, or his popularly, but by his humble perseverance in walking the Via Sacra (Way of the Cross) for each of us -- so we might also enjoy the eternal reward which awaits all those who “fight” to attend to Him. "Christ yesterday and today… All time belongs to him and all the ages." (Easter Vigil)
Let us begin today by learning the "HISTORY" OF CHRIST THE KING (CRISTO REI) as SUMMARIZED by the SANTUÁRIO DE CRISTO REI in Alto do Pragal located on the Av. Cristo Rei (2800-058 Almada) - see https://cristorei.pt/pt"The devotion to Christ the King was specially promoted by Pope Pius XI, who instituted the respective liturgical feast, during the Holy Year of 1925, through the Encyclical “Quas Primas” (December 11, 1925), to be celebrated every year on the last Sunday of October. This Pope, the Pope of Missions and of Catholic Action, was Pope during the time between the two great wars which blooded Europe and the World. He placed the blame for them on the disregard or contempt of people, families and societies, specially in old Christian countries, for the demands of Christian life, that is to say, on the disregard for the holy will of Jesus Christ, Lord and King of all Mankind.
This devotion is deeply rooted in the Bible, in both the Old and the New Testament. It suffices to recall that, during his questioning by Pilate, Jesus stated to be King, although not of this world. Besides that, the very tile of Christ, Greek translation of the Hebrew Messiah, which in Portuguese means “Ungido”, evokes the ancient tradition of anointing with olive oil – in order to signify the penetration of the Holy Spirit – prophets, priests and kings. The Holy Spirit descended on Jesus like a dove, when He was baptized in the River Jordan, at the beginning of His public life.
In the time of Pius XI one still believed in the idea that the traditionally Christian States should officially recognize the kingship of Jesus Christ and consequently take into account, in their legislation and public government, the principles of the Law of God and the guidance of Holy Mother Church, true Mystical Body of Christ. Thence the call for the instauration in the different societies of the Social Reign of Christ, the great ideal of Catholic Action in particular, very much promoted by Pius XI, and also an objective of the missionary activity to which this Pope gave much impetus. It is in this ecclesial context that the idea of building a Monument to Christ the King is born, as a response to the appeals of the Pope.
With the institution of this Feast, the expected fruits of Catholic militancy would be liberty, order, tranquility, harmony and peace amongst men.The motive for instituting this Feast in the year 1925 was the celebration of the XVI Centennial of the Council of Nicaea, whose doctrine of Substantial Equality between Christ and the Father is based in His Kingship.The Pope set the last Sunday of October for this celebration, mainly because he had in mind the previous Feast of All-Saints. The purpose was to openly proclaim the glory of Him Who triumphs in all His chosen ones. It would be good to make, on this Feast, the Consecration to the Redeemer’s Heart.
After Vatican Council II, in very different times, marked by the Church’s acceptance of the laical character of public power in a world that is multicultural and full of several religious beliefs, the Feast of Christ the King stayed in the general calendar of the Church, but with a more spiritual and liturgical meaning, being celebrated on the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year (34th Sunday in Ordinary Time), thus concluding the yearly celebrations of the Christian mysteries.
The Feast was thus placed within the scatological context that characterizes the last Sundays in Ordinary Time.Now we can see more clearly that the glorified Lord is the convergence point not only of the whole Liturgical Year, but also of our entire earthly pilgrimage: “Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and tomorrow” (Heb 13, 8), “The Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End” (Rev 22, 13). Thus, on the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year emerges the figure of Christ, King of Glory, the end of human history, convergence point of the desires of History and of Civilization, center of humankind, joy of every heart and total plenitude of all their longings. Vivified and gathered in His Spirit, we walk as pilgrims towards the consummation of human history, which coincides perfectly with His design of Love: “to bring all things in the Heavens and on Earth into one under Christ’s headship” (Eph 1, 10). In this celebration the words of Jesus to Pilate are specially taken into account: “Yes, I am King, but not of this world”. The Monument to Christ the King is, therefore, a call for all men to think about their ultimate end, as well as to know that they all have a place in the Heart of God". MUSINGS AND ROSARY MEDITATION BY THE ROSARY HOUR PODCAST
In today’s video, Fr. David Michael Moses (Pastor in Texas, USA and founder of PilgrimRosary.com) helps Amelia and Asher to pray the Glorious Mysteries after asking how to live Easter Joy 365 days of the year.
Listen to his reply in the above video which travels to various “kingdoms” on Earth. Maybe you will recognize some of these palaces.
In his Sunday sermon, Bishop Barron asks those of us who are homebound, alone, or unable to go to Mass today, “Which Kingdom Are You In?”
Do you have time today to call someone who is suffering from illness or depression? Is there a way you can try cheering that person up with a “hello” or “how are you?” or a plate of home baked cookies?
Maybe you can decorate someone’s hospital room with Christmas decor, or make some pictures or bring some cards or a board game and play a game together for an hour or so.
So often, we can get caught up with our busy lives and schedules, even on Sundays, and there are people in our lives who wait patiently to meet God, waiting to meet Christ the King — face to face. Some are dying physically or even emotionally, and some are abandoned by family and have no friends to comfort them or talk to them. They wait in silence and often don’t know how to reach out to others because they feel they would bother them. Often they are told with various voices of indifference that they don’t deserve joy, or they aren’t sure where to find joy or have lost hope that we restore each Christmas if we are granted the gift of the joy of being with others, friends and family, who walk with us in our various journeys through life and who can imagine how to help when they meet us — especially in times when we feel alone, in a prison of pain due to physical illness or emotional turmoil, feeling it difficult or even impossible to escape.
Yet Jesus calls us in today’s reading before the indifference of Pontius Pilate to another kind of challenge:
If my kingdom did belong to this world,
my attendants would be fighting
to keep me from being handed over to the Jews.
But as it is, my kingdom is not here."
What if we hurried to free Jesus from being handed over? Who is Jesus in this case in our lives?
When we take time for those who are suffering, who the world is indifferent to, we are being “attendants” who “fight” for Christ.
We are being disciples who “listen” to His “voice”.
We do this when we take care of the most forgotten people in our lives. The people the world crucifies because they are indifferent to their need for joy.
Take a moment to scroll through your contact list. Is there someone in your life you haven’t called for a while? Has it been weeks, months, years?
Pick up the phone and call. Or go to a store and grab a “Thinking of You” card, and write a note to say, “hello” and “I’m thinking of you at Christmas” and tell them how to reach you.
Just do it. We don’t have to be Mother Teresa on the streets of Calcutta. We just need to think of the poor. Especially the spiritually poor. And isn’t true that we don’t always know who those people are?
Pray today to ask God to show you who in your life needs a prayer, who in your life needs your love, who in your life needs you to “fight” as an attendant for Christ — the Christ in them who you can remind is a beloved son or daughter of God?
How can we be a Resurrection people like Fr. David Michael Moses suggests?
How can we bring people the hope of Easter Joy?
Let us meditate on that question as we pray the Glorious Mysteries of the Holy Rosary today.
Let us demonstrate through each Hail Mary, lovingly offered to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Heart of the King of the Universe, our right praise — not just with our Rosary prayers and attendance at the Holy Mass, but also with our generous acts of service and go-out-of-your-way mercy.
Show others how the Church is a Resurrection people that “fights” with the Sacred Hearts which reflects the Love perfectly modelled by Jesus Christ who suffered for each of one us so that we might have His secret of joy in us.
KEEPING IT LIGHT & THANKS TO FR. DAVID MICHAEL MOSES
When crafting this episode with Asher Kaufman from Children’s Rosary, the Rosary Hour Podcast’s lead Spiritual Director for Season 2, Fr. Peter Turrone, gave Amelia some advice: “focus on humor”! Fr. Peter gave her this article to read:
“The Seriousness of Humor” by Fr. Paul D. Scalia (Sunday, August 28, 2022)
Amelia tried hard while scripting her podcast session with Godric and Dan and Fr. David Michael’s amazing team, to share her passion for writing jokes as a way to cheer someone up.
Keep watching to the end of this video to practice the “Secret of Joy” and to hear Amelia’s “Knock Knock” joke with the raw footage in our “Behind the Scenes” extras in today’s 2 minute presentation:
AMELIA: Knock knock…
Fr. David Michael Moses: Who’s there…
We wish finally to thank Fr. Peter Turrone and Fr. David Michael who took time out of their jammed schedules to help Amelia on this podcast, which she began in August of 2023. We also wish to thank Asher Kaufman, who helped produce this session and Dr. Blythe Kaufman who helped to co-produce all the episodes for the Season 2 materials with Godric, Dan, Izzy and Karen. Thanks finally to Therese from Pilgrim Rosary and to Fr. David Michael Moses for co-producing and co-directing this session as guest Spiritual Director and guest cinematographer for their episode on humour here.
Today, on Christ the King — let us all do all we can for souls.1 God bless!
~ THANK YOU FOR LISTENING TO THE ROSARY HOUR PODCAST
p.s.
If you are in the GTA or visiting Toronto, Canada, you can join St. Patrick’s Parish for the Winter Street Patrol on 2024 Dates: December 1, December 15, etc.
Please register here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdOyzkyy6U5VoudqwwZm7TWWbRBFbK-G4XjmKcAkhbcMDmNaQ/viewform
Timeline
3:30 PM:
- Arrive at St. Patrick's Church and help pack meal bags
4 PM:- Introduction, prayer, and leave for our walk in groups
7 PM:- We will return at 7pm or earlier, however participants are welcome to leave during the walk as needed
DEEPEN THE WHY BEHIND TODAY’S FEAST:
LEARN ABOUT POPE PIUS XI’s 1925 ANSWER TO RISING SECULARISM2
READ IN ENGLISH: https://www.vatican.va/content/pius-xi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_11121925_quas-primas.html
READ IN SPANISH: https://www.vatican.va/content/pius-xi/es/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_11121925_quas-primas.html
READ IN FRENCH: https://www.vatican.va/content/pius-xi/fr/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_11121925_quas-primas.html
READ IN LATIN: https://www.vatican.va/content/pius-xi/la/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_11121925_quas-primas.html
NEXT, PRAY THE GLORIOUS MYSTERIES OF THE ROSARY FOR HOLY SOULS
IN NOVEMBER with Prayer Cards designed by Children for all Children of God
| Day 4 of 33 - Advent Consecration to the Sacred Heart of the Baby Jesus Novena PDFs by THE ROSARY HOUR PODCAST for THE QUEEN OF PEACE
NEW PDF on SUBSTACK: 2 pages (Document created by Amelia w/ Karen & Izzy)
He is King of hearts, too, by reason of his "charity which exceedeth all knowledge."
PNG FILE: 2 pages [DOWNLOAD THESE CARDS w/ ABOVE PDF]
PAGE 2 of 2: FORMAT translated from the original Portuguese w/ the SPIRITUAL DIRECTION of FR. NUNO ROCHA — “ADDITIONS” are local to Portugal in the Liturgical Rosary prayed in November.3
Full Compline w/ Prayers for Day 4 of 33 of the Consecration Journey
… RHP … evening BREVIARY CONTINUES… Let us pray with the zeal of the Martyrs for Jesus Christ, the King.
FOR COMPLINE: Night Prayer (with full ending starting this week)
We pray the Glorious Mysteries on Sundays: here are the short “Scriptural Readings” for busy people:
Again: Here is the PDF SCRIPT for NOVEMBER
Pray the “De Profundis”
CONCLUDING PRAYERS (NEW FOR SUNDAYS)
READING
Revelation 22:4-5
They shall see the Lord face to face and bear his name on their foreheads. The night shall be no more. They will need no light from lamps or the sun, for the Lord God shall give them light, and they shall reign forever.
RESPONSORY
Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.
— Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.
You have redeemed us, Lord God of truth.
— I commend my spirit.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
— Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.
GOSPEL CANTICLE
Antiphon:
Protect us, Lord, as we stay awake; watch over us as we sleep, that awake, we may keep watch with Christ, and asleep, rest in his peace.
Canticle of Simeon (Luke 2:29-32)
Christ is the light of the nations and the glory of Israel
Lord, + now you let your servant go in peace; *
your word has been fulfilled:
my own eyes have seen the salvation *
which you have prepared in the sight of every people:
a light to reveal you to the nations *
and the glory of your people Israel.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. Protect us, Lord, as we stay awake; watch over us as we sleep, that awake, we may keep watch with Christ, and asleep, rest in his peace.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
Let us pray.
Lord,
we have celebrated today
the mystery of the rising of Christ to new life.
May we now rest in your peace,
safe from all that could harm us,
and rise again refreshed and joyful,
to praise you throughout another day.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
— Amen.
BLESSING
May the all-powerful Lord
grant us a restful night
and a peaceful death.
— Amen.
Antiphon or song in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Hail, holy Queen, mother of mercy,
our life, our sweetness, and our hope.
To you do we cry,
poor banished children of Eve.
To you do we send up our sighs
mourning and weeping in this vale of tears.
Turn then, most gracious advocate,
your eyes of mercy toward us,
and after this exile
show us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving,
O sweet Virgin Mary.
A MESSAGE FROM DR. BLYTHE KAUFMAN FROM CHILDREN’S ROSARY
SING “HAIL HOLY QUEEN”
SACRIFICING OUR TIME TO PRAISE THE LORD LIKE THE MARTYRS DID
November 24: Saint Andrew Dung-Lac, Priest and his Companions, Martyrs (Patron Saints of Vietnam were Canonized by Pope John Paul)T
We invite you to read the “SPEECH BY THE HOLY FATHER JOHN PAUL II TO THE FRENCH AND SPANISH PILGRIMS COMING TO ROME ON THE OCCASION OF THE CANONIZATION OF 117 VIETNAM MARTYRS” from Monday, June 20, 1988
Dear Brothers in the Episcopate, Dear Brothers and Sisters,
1. The day after the canonization of the Martyrs of Vietnam, I am happy to meet you, the members of the Society of Foreign Missions of Paris and the Dominican Order, you the pilgrims of France and Spain. You have kept alive the memory of the missionaries who left your countries over the past centuries to bring the Gospel to the distant East. Today we give thanks: we have the privilege of recognizing in many bishops and priests, intimately associated with countless Vietnamese Christians, holy martyrs. We give thanks for their heroic sacrifice; we give thanks for these witnesses irradiated by the glory of Christ for having followed him on the path of the Cross.
Yes, the real reason for our joy today is to know that we are in communion with these men who carried the Gospel, founded the Church in the land of Vietnam, responded without reservation to the call of Christ. They had left their provinces without hope of return. They are now present to all their brothers in the world, to those in Vietnam as well as those of their homeland. The Church venerates in them faithful servants who have entered into the joy of the Master, intercessors and examples for generations to come.
2. We admire in these bishops and priests the unshakeable courage of faith. Persecution and suffering did not shake them: only the purity of their baptismal commitment to conform their entire being to the person of Christ the Redeemer mattered to them. In their upright simplicity, in their passionate ardor, the bishops and martyr priests whom we admire in these days remind us of the greatness of the gift of faith that we ourselves have received, the seriousness of the adhesion that the Lord asks of us. , the need to be, we too, witnesses to the world around us.
3. Martyrdom crowned a remarkably fruitful apostolic life of the bishops and priests we honor. Pastors, they were generous, in obedience and humility. Their missionary brothers and the faithful of Vietnam have preserved for us the memory of their zeal and have often passed on to us their own words. We see them selflessly attaching themselves to the admirable people of Vietnam. They learned about its language and culture. They respected the best of its traditions. They loved his families, educated his children. They showed their deference to its leaders. In the image of their Master, they came to help the poor, to serve, to gather brothers in the “House of God”, to preach unity in love.
Priests, they were eager to see sons of Vietnam access the priesthood and lead the flock, to see daughters of Vietnam consecrate themselves to the Lord as “Lovers of the Cross”. Catechists, they trained catechists who will often be their companions until martyrdom.
They knew how to put the Eucharist at the center of the life of the community. They revealed the treasures of mercy in the sacrament of penance. We have many testimonies of this. Is it not striking to see Saint Augustine Schoeffler and Saint Jean-Louis Bonnard receiving viaticum as their execution approached thanks to intrepid Vietnamese priests? Is it not striking to see Saint Andrew Dung-Lac, arrested with Saint Peter Pham Van Thi when he came to confess to him?
4. Dear friends, the outstanding example of the Fathers of Foreign Missions and of the Brother Preachers invites us to give thanks also for the ardent and pure missionary impulse which has animated so many young people in your countries, also for the generosity of their families, of the dioceses, of their Brothers who supported their vocation. Don’t those we celebrate now invite us to question the missionary spirit of our time? Conditions have changed, but do we keep the same conviction that the Gospel is worth sharing with our brothers, around us and to the ends of the earth?
There are many ways to be a missionary, you know that. I can't tell you at length. But how could we not mention in these circumstances the woman who would become the patroness of the missions? Because Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus lived, one could say, in the intimacy of Saint Théophane Vénard whose image did not leave her at the time of her agony. She had found her own spiritual experience in a farewell letter from Theophanes: “I do not rely on my own strength, but on the strength of him who conquered the power of hell and the world on the Cross” [1]. In a poem that the missionary inspires in her, she invokes him:
“For sinners, I would like here below to struggle, to suffer in the shadow of your palm fronds, protect me, come and support my arm”[2].
With Thérèse who would have liked so much to join the Carmel of Hanoi, with Thérèse who offered her life so that the Good News of salvation could be announced, we invoke Saint Theophane and all his companions:
“O blessed Martyr! With your love of virginal flames come and kiss me...!”[3].
Translated from the French w/ Google Translate.
ONE WITH THE VOICES OF THE MARTYRS: I am not alone — Christ is with me.
“I, Paul, in chains for the name of Christ, wish to relate to you the trials besetting me daily, in order that you may be inflamed with love for God and join with me in his praises, for his mercy is forever.
The prison here is a true image of everlasting hell: to cruel tortures of every kind—shackles, iron chains, manacles—are added hatred, vengeance, calumnies, obscene speech, quarrels, evil acts, swearing, curses, as well as anguish and grief. But the God who once freed the three children from the fiery furnace is with me always; he has delivered me from these tribulations and made them sweet, for his mercy is forever. In the midst of these torments, which usually terrify others, I am, by the grace of God, full of joy and gladness, because I am not alone — Christ is with me.
~ Excerpt from letter by Saint Paul Le-Bao-Tinh (sent to students of the Seminary of Ke-Vinh, 1843)
ANOTHER OPTIONAL READ:
“A history of persecution – remembering the Vietnamese martyrs”
FOOTNOTES:
For private or public prayer. Call someone right now to schedule a time to pray these Glorious Mysteries with. Take a moment to share this prayer online, or read it with your SMS or APP group. Simply drag and drop the files below and share with others to pray!
You never know WHO the Blessed Mother is trying to reach today or how she is calling you to be part of the great mission of Christ the King!
Pick one person. Tell them about the Rosary and share with them some teaching on the Rosary today.
Help the Blessed Mother reach those who are farthest from God with the Rosary so they might discover the infinite love of God through His Son, Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace.
Sermon Spotlight: Bishop Barron asks, “Which Kingdom Are You In?”
READING: EXCERPT FROM QUAS PRIMAS, written to fight secularism
It has long been a common custom to give to Christ the metaphorical title of "King," because of the high degree of perfection whereby he excels all creatures. So he is said to reign "in the hearts of men," both by reason of the keenness of his intellect and the extent of his knowledge, and also because he is very truth, and it is from him that truth must be obediently received by all mankind. He reigns, too, in the wills of men, for in him the human will was perfectly and entirely obedient to the Holy Will of God, and further by his grace and inspiration he so subjects our free-will as to incite us to the most noble endeavors. He is King of hearts, too, by reason of his "charity which exceedeth all knowledge." And his mercy and kindness[1] which draw all men to him, for never has it been known, nor will it ever be, that man be loved so much and so universally as Jesus Christ. But if we ponder this matter more deeply, we cannot but see that the title and the power of King belongs to Christ as man in the strict and proper sense too. For it is only as man that he may be said to have received from the Father "power and glory and a kingdom,"[2] since the Word of God, as consubstantial with the Father, has all things in common with him, and therefore has necessarily supreme and absolute dominion over all things created.
8. Do we not read throughout the Scriptures that Christ is the King? He it is that shall come out of Jacob to rule,[3] who has been set by the Father as king over Sion, his holy mount, and shall have the Gentiles for his inheritance, and the utmost parts of the earth for his possession.[4] In the nuptial hymn, where the future King of Israel is hailed as a most rich and powerful monarch, we read: "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever; the scepter of thy kingdom is a scepter of righteousness."[5] There are many similar passages, but there is one in which Christ is even more clearly indicated. Here it is foretold that his kingdom will have no limits, and will be enriched with justice and peace: "in his days shall justice spring up, and abundance of peace...And he shall rule from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth."[6]
9. The testimony of the Prophets is even more abundant. That of Isaias is well known: "For a child is born to us and a son is given to us, and the government is upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, God the mighty, the Father of the world to come, the Prince of Peace. His empire shall be multiplied, and there shall be no end of peace. He shall sit upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom; to establish it and strengthen it with judgment and with justice, from henceforth and for ever."[7] With Isaias the other Prophets are in agreement. So Jeremias foretells the "just seed" that shall rest from the house of David - the Son of David that shall reign as king, "and shall be wise, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth."[8] So, too, Daniel, who announces the kingdom that the God of heaven shall found, "that shall never be destroyed, and shall stand for ever."[9] And again he says: "I beheld, therefore, in the vision of the night, and, lo! one like the son of man came with the clouds of heaven. And he came even to the Ancient of days: and they presented him before him. And he gave him power and glory and a kingdom: and all peoples, tribes, and tongues shall serve him. His power is an everlasting power that shall not be taken away, and his kingdom shall not be destroyed." [10] The prophecy of Zachary concerning the merciful King "riding upon an ass and upon a colt the foal of an ass" entering Jerusalem as "the just and savior," amid the acclamations of the multitude,[11] was recognized as fulfilled by the holy evangelists themselves.
10. This same doctrine of the Kingship of Christ which we have found in the Old Testament is even more clearly taught and confirmed in the New. The Archangel, announcing to the Virgin that she should bear a Son, says that "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."[12]
11. Moreover, Christ himself speaks of his own kingly authority: 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,[13] confirming the title publicly,[14] and solemnly proclaimed that all power was given him in heaven and on earth.[15] 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" [16] 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!'."[17] It is Christ whom the Father "hath appointed heir of all things";[18] "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."[19]
12. 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. She uses them daily now in the prayers publicly offered to God, and in offering the Immaculate Victim. The perfect harmony of the Eastern liturgies with our own in this continual praise of Christ the King shows once more the truth of the axiom: Legem credendi lex statuit supplicandi. The rule of faith is indicated by the law of our worship.
13. The foundation of this power and dignity of Our Lord is rightly indicated by Cyril of Alexandria. "Christ," he says, "has dominion over all creatures, a dominion not seized by violence nor usurped, but his by essence and by nature."[20] His kingship is founded upon the ineffable hypostatic union. From this it follows not only that Christ is to be adored by angels and men, but that to him as man angels and men are subject, and must recognize his empire; by reason of the hypostatic union Christ has power over all creatures. But a thought that must give us even greater joy and consolation is this that Christ is our King by acquired, as well as by natural right, for he is our Redeemer. Would that they who forget what they have cost their Savior might recall the words: "You were not redeemed with corruptible things, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb unspotted and undefiled."[21] We are no longer our own property, for Christ has purchased us "with a great price";[22] our very bodies are the "members of Christ."[23]
14. Let Us explain briefly the nature and meaning of this lordship of Christ. It consists, We need scarcely say, in a threefold power which is essential to lordship. This is sufficiently clear from the scriptural testimony already adduced concerning the universal dominion of our Redeemer, and moreover it is a dogma of faith that Jesus Christ was given to man, not only as our Redeemer, but also as a law-giver, to whom obedience is due.[24] Not only do the gospels tell us that he made laws, but they present him to us in the act of making them. Those who keep them show their love for their Divine Master, and he promises that they shall remain in his love.[25] He claimed judicial power as received from his Father, when the Jews accused him of breaking the Sabbath by the miraculous cure of a sick man. "For neither doth the Father judge any man; but hath given all judgment to the Son."[26] In this power is included the right of rewarding and punishing all men living, for this right is inseparable from that of judging. Executive power, too, belongs to Christ, for all must obey his commands; none may escape them, nor the sanctions he has imposed.
15. This kingdom is spiritual and is concerned with spiritual things. That this is so the above quotations from Scripture amply prove, and Christ by his own action confirms it. On many occasions, when the Jews and even the Apostles wrongly supposed that the Messiah would restore the liberties and the kingdom of Israel, he repelled and denied such a suggestion. When the populace thronged around him in admiration and would have acclaimed him King, he shrank from the honor and sought safety in flight. Before the Roman magistrate he declared that his kingdom was not of this world. The gospels present this kingdom as one which men prepare to enter by penance, and cannot actually enter except by faith and by baptism, which, though an external rite, signifies and produces an interior regeneration. This kingdom is opposed to none other than to that of Satan and to the power of darkness. It demands of its subjects a spirit of detachment from riches and earthly things, and a spirit of gentleness. They must hunger and thirst after justice, and more than this, they must deny themselves and carry the cross.
16. Christ as our Redeemer purchased the Church at the price of his own blood; as priest he offered himself, and continues to offer himself as a victim for our sins. Is it not evident, then, that his kingly dignity partakes in a manner of both these offices?
17. It would be a grave error, on the other hand, to say that Christ has no authority whatever in civil affairs, since, by virtue of the absolute empire over all creatures committed to him by the Father, all things are in his power. Nevertheless, during his life on earth he refrained from the exercise of such authority, and although he himself disdained to possess or to care for earthly goods, he did not, nor does he today, interfere with those who possess them. Non eripit mortalia qui regna dat caelestia.[27]
All prayers are formatted with the addition of the De Profundis where the congregation utters collective prayers 6-7 times in one Rosary before the Holy Mass for Holy Souls.
Share this post