The Solemnity of Christ the King – Sunday, November 20, 2022
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November 19, 2022Right is right even if no one is doing it. Wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it.
The Solemnity of Christ the King – Sunday, November 20, 2022
Oportet Illum Regnare! For He must reign!
John 18:37: Jesus answered: Thou sayest that I am King. For this was I born, and for this I came into the world, that I should give testimony to the truth. Every one that is of the truth, heareth my voice.
Dear Parishioners and Friends,
In the reform of the Church calendar in 1970 the Feast of Christ the King was moved from the last Sunday of October to the last Sunday of the Church year, right before the first Sunday of Advent. Therefore, this feast is celebrated on November 20 this year, whereas at the Traditional Latin Mass it was celebrated on October 30. This feast has a rather recent history.
During the 1920’s Pope Pius XI could already see the wrong direction the world was going. The horror of World War I was still within living memory. Nevertheless, extreme nationalism continued to dominate. In Italy, Benito Mussolini and his black shirts, the fascists, had marched on Rome in 1922 and proclaimed a new era, the rebirth of a new Roman Empire based on the pre-Christian one. Nazism, led by Adolph Hitler, was beginning to appeal to the German speaking countries with a Folkish revolution. He would come to full power in 1933. Communism and radical socialism were beginning to dominate the world after 1917. Whereas in the free world there was also a creeping secularism that would eventually threaten the foundational principles of democracy and which continues into our day to day lives. Pope Pius XI, as the Vicar of Christ and successor of St. Peter, boldly proclaimed the Gospel of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in his encyclical Quas Primas of December 11, 1925, establishing the Feast of Christ the King as a rallying point for all those on the side of Christ and His Church.
A beautiful reflection on the Feast of Christ the King is found in volume five of the little books In Conversation with God by Father Francis Fernandez Carvajal. I highly recommend this series of books by Scepter Press, which has meditations for every day of the liturgical year. Father Carvajal writes, quoting from 1 Corinthians 15:25: Oportet autem illum regnare . . . For He must reign. Then follows a powerful quotation from the above encyclical: “He must reign in our minds, which should assent with perfect submission and firm belief to revealed truths and to the doctrines of Christ. He must reign in our wills, which should obey the laws and precepts of God. He must reign in our hearts, which should spurn natural desires and love God above all things, and cleave to Him alone. He must reign in our bodies and in our members, which should serve as instruments for the interior sanctification of our souls.” The teaching of Pius XI remains true and is more relevant than ever.
Yes, Jesus Christ, Our King, must reign! Illum Oportet Regnare! As faithful believers we refuse to kneel before the world, the flesh, and the devil. We have only one King to whom we submit ourselves mind, body, and soul. We refuse to be deceived by the Kingdom of Darkness. We proclaim the Kingdom of Light in Jesus Christ. He remains the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is our first, last, best, and only hope. On this feast we resolve to serve Him all our days. Even if 99.99% should embrace the kingdom of Satan, we promise to stand up even stronger as authentic and faithful Catholics, witnessing even until death. We can’t abandon the Truth. We affirm the Triumph of Christ crucified. We know that our salvation depends on our response to the Lord’s solemn proclamation for all times: “Every one that is of the truth, heareth My voice (John 18:37).”
In Jesus Christ King of the Universe,
Fr. Mark G. Mazza, Pastor
