Last us take a moment to go back to our baptism or one that we have assisted with by our presence. Following the baptism there is an anointing upon the forehead during which the priest prays: “Just as Jesus was anointed priest, prophet, and king, so may you live always as a member of his body sharing everlasting life."
Our role as priest and prophet is most important in our Christian life, but today we should focus upon what it means for us to be declared a king. This is important for today we come to celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King which brings about the conclusion of the liturgical year. This celebration assists us in seeing Christ’s role within our modern world.
We can imagine what a king is. We know that they are one who is in command. They thus lead others and are responsible for the wellbeing of their kingdom. Thus we must share with Christ as King because in doing so we have the opportunity to lead others towards God. Depending upon one’s state in life we are given many areas of kingship. For example a parent thus assists their children with their education in the faith and inspires them to live out the virtues. To be anointed as “king” is not a private matter, but it is very much so a public one.
We live in the midst of a secular world which desires to silence the voice of religion. We cannot allow this voice to be silenced. Rather, we must take it so seriously that it becomes embedded into who we are as a human person. Our faith is not a private affair because it is so serious that it must be integrated into everything that we do. Today’s Solemnity of Christ the King was instituted by Pope Pius XI for this very reason. From the aftermath of World War I he observed a world which was in need of peace and thus in need of Christ. At the same time he observed a world which had grown secular in nature and thus desired to silence the voice of Christ from the public sphere.
Pope Pius XI desired that this Feast of Christ the King would impact the life of the laity. He made the following statements in his encyclical letter given on the matter:
-He must reign in our mind.
-He must reign in our will.
-He must reign in our heart.
-He must reign in our body.
Truly I hope that each of you see the importance of this celebration in your daily life. Truly I hope that each of you sees the importance of sharing in the Kingship of Christ and how this cannot be a private matter. Today we come to recognize Christ the King especially through the gift of the Eucharist. The Eucharist is Jesus present with us Body, Soul, and Divinity. We do not come here to receive Christ into our life in order to be sent into the world unchanged. Rather, we receive Christ into our life in order that we may be sent into the world to the share and live what we have received with all those whom we encounter.
Let us thus be transformed through our encounter with the Christ the King. Through our baptism we thus share in this kingship may we thus be willing to live it in the midst of this world.
Long live Christ the King!
