The Feast of Christ the King

Last Sunday in Ordinary Time
November 21, 2010

Power is attractive. We like to see our local sports teams come out on top. We love a smashing play when our opponent is squashed. We get energy from seeing strength win out - if we are on the side of the victors. Republicans are gloating from their mid-term election wins; Democrats are firm in their resolve to hold onto their power. He who speaks the loudest and most forcefully wins the votes. This is a world where force and strength are lauded. Might makes right.

Power is on display in the feast of Christ the King on this last Sunday of the year. It celebrates his all-embracing authority over heaven and earth. Pope Pius XI instituted this feast in 1925 in direct opposition to the rise of secular humanism and communism, which was spreading quickly throughout the world, including Christian nations. Many believers were wondering if Christ's kingdom had a place in the modern structure of world governments. Many doubted Christ's existence and his reign. For Pius XI, this feast allowed a believer to participate comfortably in his or her nation's system of government because a Christian at the same time participated in the reign of Christ. Christ's rule was supreme and his commands were ultimately the ones to be obeyed. No earthly ruler or type of government could match the strength and authority of the King of the Universe.

Our readings and psalm anticipate the heroic leader we will get in Jesus Christ. In 2 Samuel, we hear about Israel's mightiest king, David, who is to be the great shepherd and commander of the nation's great armies. In Colossians, Paul recites the great hymn to Christ as the image of the invisible God who has dominion over heaven and earth. We are ready for an ultimate triumph, but our readings dupe us.

The Gospel portrays a portrait of Jesus at his weakest moment - his death on the cross - where he can display not even the tiniest spark of power. He is condemned to die as a common criminal - hung between two thieves - and he cannot save himself. He has no power except that he believes in the kingdom his Father has established. This kingdom is not one to be found in Temple (or church buildings) because the reign of God is among the people. It is in the heart of every believer. God cannot be contained. The kingdom has no physical limits.

This broken, crucified man who is bound and stripped of any dignity unleashes the greatest power universally available to us - his forgiveness. He forgives the good thief and permits him to enter Paradise with him. If we recognize the real strength we have when we forgive others, we see that the most tenacious strength of the world's most powerful people pales in comparison to this gift from God to us. Forgiveness is not a weakness; it makes us strong. We can transform the world when we learn how to use this gift better. When we do, it reveals the gentleness of Christ, and nothing is ever so powerful as gentleness.

Quote for the Week

From Paul's Letter to the people of Colossae

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things were created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn of the dead, that in all things he himself might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile all things for him, making peace by the blood of his cross through him, whether those on earth or those in heaven.

Themes for this Week’s Masses

First Reading: In Revelation, John sees the Lamb on Mount Zion with 144,000 faithful ones who had the name of Jesus written on their foreheads. The son of man and his angels cried out, "use your sickle and reap the harvest, for the time to reap has come." Seven angels with the seven last plagues sang the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. They all cry out, "Fallen is Babylon the great." John tells of the last events of this temporal world in which Satan is locked up in the abyss. Faithful witnesses come to life to reign with Christ while the scroll was opened and the dead are judged according to their deeds. Then a new heaven and a new earth comes into being - with a new Jerusalem coming down from heaven from God. The river of life feeds and heals the nations and nothing accursed will be found anymore. Night will be no more. Christ assures his people, "Behold, I am coming soon."

Gospel: As we conclude Luke's Gospel, Jesus looks joyfully upon a poor widow who donates two small coins to the temple treasury. As people were gazing wondrously at the majestic temple, Jesus says that there will come a day soon when all the stones will tumble upon another stone. The time has come for the beginning of the end times to occur. During these tumultuous times, friends and governments will persecute you and imprison you because of your faith in Jesus. Christ will give you a wisdom to speak to all your adversaries. You will be physically harmed and killed, but your place in heaven is assured. Even Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. Pay attention to the signs of the times. Heaven and earth will pass away, but the words of God will not pass away. Be vigilant. Await the arrival of the Son of Man.

Saints of the Week

Monday: Cecilia, martyr, is known as the patron of musicians because of the lovely song she sang to God at her wedding. She is remembered in the First Eucharistic prayer in the list of saints. She and her husband and brother-in-law were Roman citizens who were martyred when they refused to make sacrifice to the Roman gods.

Tuesday: Clement I, pope and martyr, is the third pope in succession to Peter. Like Cecilia, he is listed in the First Eucharistic prayer and was martyred while in exile. He is said to have been a slave in the imperial court. He had a formative influence in the early church and his letter to Corinth helped restore proper order of the faithful.

Columban, abbot, was an Irish monk who left for France in the late 6th century with twelve friends to establish additional monasteries. He took issue with the King's polygamous relationships and was banished from France though his communities were allowed to continue. Columban moved to Switzerland and Italy to set up new communities.

Miguel Pro, priest and martyr, was a Jesuit from Mexico who was martyred in 1927 because he presided at Mass at a time when public worship was forbidden. He would go undercover to provide sacramental services to the poor. Before he died by the firing squad, he forgave his assassins and shouted "Viva Cristo Rey" - Long live Christ the King.

Wednesday: Andrew Dung Lac, priest, and companions, martyrs, were killed in Vietnam for their faith. French missionaries brought Christianity to Vietnam in the 16th century. Over 130,000 Christians were killed between the 17th and 19th centuries and most of these were native Vietnamese. Dung Lac was one of the native-born priests killed by his own government.

Thursday: Catherine of Alexandria was born to a noble family in Alexandria, Egypt and was educated in the finest schools. She became a convert at age 18 because of an insightful vision. She was killed because she refused to marry a man arranged by the emperor, who she criticized for his persecution of Christians. She was tortured before her death in 310.

This Week in Jesuit History

• Nov 21, 1759. At Livorno, the harbor officials refused to let the ship, S Bonaventura, with 120 exiled Portuguese Jesuits on board, cast anchor. Carvalho sent orders to the Governor of Rio de Janeiro to make a diligent search for the supposed wealth of the Jesuits.
• Nov 22, 1633. The first band of missionaries consisting of five priests and one brother, embarked from England for Maryland. They were sent at the request of Lord Baltimore. The best known among them was Fr. Andrew White.
• Nov 22, 1791: Georgetown Academy opened with one student, aged 12, who was the first student taught by the Jesuits in the United States.
• Nov 23, 1545: Jeronimo de Nadal, whom Ignatius had known as a student at Paris, entered the Society. Later Nadal was instrumental in getting Ignatius to narrate his autobiography.
• In 1927: the execution of Fr. Michael Augustine Pro, SJ, by leaders of the persecution of the Church in Mexico.
• Nov 24, 1963: The death of John LaFarge, pioneer advocate of racial justice in the United States.
• Nov 25, 1584: The Church of the Gesu, built in Rome for the Society by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, was solemnly consecrated.
• Nov 26, 1678: In London the arrest and imprisonment of St Claude la Colombiere. He was released after five weeks and banished.
• Nov 27, 1680: In Rome the death of Fr. Athanasius Kircher, considered a universal genius, but especially knowledgeable in science and archeology.

Thanksgiving Day (U.S.A.)

In 1620, religious separatists from England set sail for the New World in the ship, the Mayflower, filled with one hundred and two people. They wanted to settle in a new land so they could enjoy religious freedom. Their faith held doctrinal beliefs different from the Church of England and they wanted to separate from it.

The first settlers landed at Plymouth Rock near Boston, Massachusetts in mid-November 1620 after a nine-week arduous journey. Many passengers fell ill and died. Their first winter was difficult. They had arrived too late to grow crops, and without fresh food, half the colony died from disease. The following spring, an Abenaki native visited the colonists and soon brought Squanto, from the Pawtuxet tribe, who was able to speak English because he was captured years earlier by another Englishman. The natives taught the malnourished colonists how to grow corn, a new food indigenous to America, and to hunt and fish.

With the help of the Wampanoag natives, bountiful crops of corn, barley, beans and pumpkins were harvested in the fall of 1621. Governor William Bradford planned a harvest feast to give thanks to God for their survival. They invited 90 of the local tribe members, along with Chief Massasoit and Squanto. The natives brought roasted deer, turkey, and other wild game. The colonists ate new fruits and vegetables like cranberries, squash, and different kinds of corn.

It became a custom to celebrate a harvest feast to praise God for his providence. Largely, Thanksgiving has become a day set aside for families to reunite and enjoy a traditional meal of turkey, cranberries, potatoes, squash, stuffing, and other specialties.

As an independent nation, the U.S. Congress recommended one yearly national day of celebration to give thanks. George Washington chose November 26th as a day of remembrance. After the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln chose the last Thursday in November, and in 1939, Franklin Roosevelt moved it up one week to the 4th Thursday in November. He chose this to boost business by lengthening the Christmas shopping season.

Thanksgiving Day Prayer

From the Book of Sirach

And now, bless the God of all, who has done wondrous things on earth; Who fosters people's growth from their mother's womb, and fashions them according to his will! May he grant you joy of heart and may peace abide among you; May his goodness toward us endure in Israel to deliver us in our days.

Prayer for the Last Week of the Year

Almighty and merciful God, you break the power of evil and make all things new in your Son Jesus Christ, the King of the universe. May all in heaven and earth acclaim your glory and never cease to praise you. Open our hearts, free all the world to rejoice in his peace, to glory in his justice, to live in his love. Bring humanity together in Jesus Christ your Son, whose kingdom is with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.