A king rules from the height of his throne, but in our Gospel we are instructed that Christ the King rules from the throne of the cross.
Rulers come and go. Even in our own country we have elected new officials who will soon take office. Some are happy, some are mad, some are afraid, and some are hopeful. Nevertheless, when we look towards Christ the King we are given a glimpse into the Eternal Kingdom for which we are destined. This Kingdom will be far different then what we experience here on a daily basis for this Kingdom will be just and perfect. No matter the opinion of a politician, king, government, or nation we must remember that is Christ who is the King of all and thus all of these fall short of Him and His Heavenly Kingdom.
Therefore Pope Pius XI created this solemnity in 1925 in order to combat the increase of secularism. Secularism rejects religion and holds that it plays no part in the affairs of the state or of public office. Nevertheless, we reject this notion and thus proclaim that Christ rules over individuals, families, society, governments, and nations.
Despite this fact we often fall into this secularist notion ourself and thus banish Christ from our midst. In doing so we do not always allow our faith to influence how we act within this world. Our world and our families are greatly in need of Christ the King and thus we must begin to allow Christ to rule within our life.
We are thus given the great gift of the Eucharist which is the gift of Christ Himself. Christ who calls out to us from the midst of the busyness of our life and calls us to surrender ourself unto Him. Today following Mass all will be invited to come and adore our Lord and Savior in our Blessed Sacrament chapel. Our parish is greatly in need of new adorers to come and adore our Lord. Let us thus be willing to come and adore Him and thus entrust ourself, our family, our world, and our nation unto Him. May Christ always be allowed to reign victorious as He reigned victorious upon the wood of the cross.
Upon the cross He offered all that He had as a surrendering of love for us. He held nothing back upon cross, but offered all out of love. He thus continues to invite us to share in this same sacrificial love which has been offered. We may be afraid, alone, tired, but despite all of this we are called to the cross where our life takes on meaning. It takes on meaning through the sacrificial offering that Christ accepts and thus if we come to accept the cross and what it means we can begin to rebuild society to be modeled after it.
The transformation of society begins in the Church. We need the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in order to be transformed. From this reality we are sent forth by Christ to bring Him out into the world and thus to bring others into the knowledge of His Holy Name. May we be willing to always allow Christ to reign victorious in the midst of the world which is in need of such a King.
Long live Christ the King. May we allow Him to reign victorious in our homes and within our world.
