The Feast of Christ the King

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The Feast of Christ the King

predmore.blogspot.com

November 25, 2018

Daniel 7:13-14; Psalm 93; Revelation 1:5-8; John 18:33-37

Nearly a century ago, the feast of Christ the King was instituted as a way of portraying the church as a formidable moral and worldly force that stood in opposition to the secular nations that held military and political power. At this time, the Pope thought the church needed to be seen as triumphant, so the People of God could find hope in an institution that endured over two centuries. Real power rested in Christ, the King of the Universe, who had authority to judge in this world and the next. No other nation or leader could claim such strength. It is an image that worked a century ago.

Times change, and it may mean we need to relate to different images based our communal experiences. In light of the recent failures of priests and bishops, what is an image of the church and of Christ that speaks to you? How is Christ relating to his church? A century ago, the strong invincible Christ looked out at the world and beckoned people to have faith in the mighty fortress called the church. Today, Christ is looking, not outward, but inward to his church that is wounded, and, like a parent, he is trying to ease the pain.

Our Pope chose to be called Francis because the man from Assisi was called to “rebuild the church.” Pope Francis knows that his work is similar to the first Francis and that it will be done by teaching by example how to be merciful and compassionate. The church in its modern form was defined by crisis over 450 years ago at the Council of Trent in response to the Protestant Reformation. Much has changed since that time and the church needs a new model of existing in the world, to be a place where Jesus is more visibly seen, and a place where we get a fuller essence of who the risen Jesus is for us.

In my recent prayer, I find Jesus broken and suspended on the cross, weeping for his church, and knowing he cannot come down yet to heal the wounds of pain and division, but somehow, he reaches down, and with his gentle hands, he wipes away the tears of those who are most hurt and troubled. Being on the cross does not limit his authority but punctuates it because in suffering Christ is most able to show his most radical love. Compassion is born out of suffering.

I do not yet think the church as a whole understands the source and nature of its suffering, though it is not a mystery either. Once we collectively comprehend the roots of our suffering, we begin to act with compassion and love, and we see the suffering in other people, and because we see it, we care for them more deeply. This is the church that I want. This is where Christ is most alive and active. This is the priestly ministry I want to give you – to listen so that I understand, to let my heart be moved by your stories of faith, to be your brother in the faith where we can care for each other authentically as a community that knows with assurance that Christ is among us. From my prayer, that is my vision of the church. What type of church do you need now?

This is the last Sunday of the church year and Christ is gathering up all his faithful ones to himself to present them to God. No doubt, you are among them. If there is something I want you to know during these last days, it is that you are quite a gift to Christ, and you are a gift to others, and to yourselves. As we spend time around the holidays sharing our stories, go a little deeper and share more of your hopes and especially your sufferings. You will find Christ present in these moments because love is born of suffering. The church that is being rebuilt today can only be built on our expressions of love and compassion for each other. In the beginning, at the end, it is only about our love.

Scripture for Daily Mass

First Reading: 

Monday: (Revelation 14) I, John, looked and there was the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads.

Tuesday: (Revelation 14) I, John, looked and there was a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud one who looked like a son of man, with a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.

Wednesday: (Revelation 15) I, John, saw in heaven another sign, great and awe-inspiring: seven angels with the seven last plagues, for through them God's fury is accomplished.

Thursday: (Revelation 18) I, John, saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth became illumined by his splendor.

Friday (Romans 10) If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.

Saturday (Revelation 22) John said: An angel showed me the river of life-giving water, sparkling like crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the street, On either side of the river grew the tree of life that produces fruit twelve times a year, once each month; the leaves of the trees serve as medicine for the nations.

Gospel: 

Monday: (Luke 21) When Jesus looked up he saw some wealthy people putting their offerings into the treasury and he noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins.

Tuesday: (Luke 21) While some people were speaking about how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings, Jesus said, "All that you see here– the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down."

Wednesday (Luke 21) Jesus said to the crowd: "They will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name.

Thursday (Luke 21) "When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, know that its desolation is at hand. Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains.

Friday (Matthew 4) As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men."

Saturday (Luke 21) Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth.

Saints of the Week

November 25: Catherine of Alexandria, martyr, (d. 310) is said to have been born in Egypt to a noble family. She was educated and converted to Christianity because of a vision. She refused to marry a man arranged to be her husband by the emperor, and she denounced him for persecuting Christians. She was arrested, tortured, and killed.

November 26: John Berchmans, S.J., religious (1599-1621), was a Jesuit scholastic who is the patron saint of altar servers. He was known for his pious adherence to the rules and for his obedience. He did well in studies but was seized with a fever during his third year of philosophy and died at the age of 22.

November 29: Bernardo Francisco de Hoyos, S.J., religious (1711-1735) was the first and main apostle to the devotion of the Sacred Heart. He entered the novitiate in Spain at age 14 and took vows at 17. He had mystical visions of the Sacred Heart. He was ordained in January 1735 with a special dispensation because he was not old enough. A few weeks after celebrating his first mass, he contracted typhus and died on November 29^th.

November 30: Andrew, apostle (first century) was a disciple of John the Baptist and the brother of Simon Peter. Both were fishermen from Bethsaida. He became one of the first disciples of Jesus. Little is known of Andrew's preaching after the resurrection. Tradition places him in Greece while Scotland has incredible devotion to the apostle.  

December 1: Edmund Campion, S.J., (1540- 1581), Robert Southwell, S.J., (1561-1595) martyrs, were English natives and Jesuit priests at a time when Catholics were persecuted in the country. Both men acknowledged Queen Elizabeth as monarch, but they refused to renounce their Catholic faith. They are among the 40 martyrs of England and Wales. Campion was killed in 1581 and Southwell’s death was 1595.

This Week in Jesuit History

·      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.

·      Nov 28, 1759: Twenty Fathers and 192 Scholastics set sail from the Tagus for exile. Two were to die on the voyage to Genoa and Civita Vecchia.

·      Nov 29, 1773: The Jesuits of White Russia requested the Empress Catherine to allow the Letter of Suppression to be published, as it had been all over Europe. "She bade them lay aside their scruples, promising to obtain the Papal sanction for their remaining in status quo.

·      Nov 30, 1642: The birth of Br Andrea Pozzo at Trent, who was called to Rome in 1681 to paint the flat ceiling of the church of San Ignacio so that it would look as though there were a dome above. There had been a plan for a dome but there was not money to build it. His work is still on view.

·      Dec. 1, 1581: At Tyburn in London, Edmund Campion and Alexander Briant were martyred.