The Solemnity of Christ the King

Dear Friends,

Look up in our beautiful church. What catches your eye? Is it the ornate details lined with gold...the marble altar that moves our eyes toward heaven...the stained glass that paints the walls with fractals of light...granite pillars supporting the stone ribs...or is it the things unseen to the eyes of man holding everything together? Why does no other building rival our place of worship? That is because we are in the palace of the King!

On December 11, 1925, Pope Pius XI published Quas primas, the encyclical that officially established Christ the King as a principal feast on the liturgical calendar. Five months earlier, on July 18, 1925, Hitler published his autobiographical manifesto, Mein Kampf.

Pius XI lived during a time when many central powers were rejecting Christ and eradicating Him from all areas of life. In the wake of World War I, he cried out, “I won't stand for this! We need a King – One who brings true peace! Oh what happiness would be ours if all men, individuals, families, and nations would but let themselves be governed by Christ!”

100 years later could we answer Pius XI’s call? Could we answer him and say, “I will let my own heart be ‘governed by Christ’”? Could we go one step further and say, “I will seek to make my family and community be ‘governed by Christ’”? I can't help but think that the tiny victories of heart, family, and community are the ones that matter.

Beyond that, what would it mean to formally and finally make Christ King? For Christ to be King of my whole person - my body, intellect, personal and professional life. Does everything belong to Him? To say that Christ is King means that He is the dominus, Lord of our whole life. What area is He not dominus?

Whatever it is, I pray we can all bring what we have decided to give to Him and see Him glorious and triumphant, gazing at us with Kingly eyes, saying, “Well done, my good and faithful servant…Come, share your master’s joy” (Mt 25:21). And on this Solemnity of Christ the King, may we anticipate and proclaim with confidence the prayer which Jesus taught us: "Thy kingdom come!"

-Anthony Quinn, Young Adult Coordinator