WE end another liturgical year with
the celebration of the
Solemnity of Christ the King. With this ending of the liturgical year,
we are reminded that we are presented year after year with the whole
life and mystery of Christ who is actually everything to us. We are
given a chance not only to know him, but also to love and serve him,
which is what is most important to us, the ultimate purpose of our
life.
Many things come to mind when we try to consider the
significance of the solemnity of Christ the King. Christ is our King
because in the first place we come from him and we belong to him in
the strictest sense of the words “come” and “belong.”
As God the Son, the second person of the Blessed Trinity,
Christ is the very pattern of our humanity, which happens to be the
masterpiece of his creation. As God who became man, he is our Savior
who redeemed us after we spoiled our original creation.
There could therefore be no greater king than him. His
kingship is not merely political or social. His kingship penetrates
the very core of our being and covers the whole range of our humanity
in all its aspects, conditions and circumstances. He is king to each
one of us individually as well as to all of us collectively.
That's why St. Paul said: “Then comes the end, when he
delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and
every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his
enemies under his feet...When all things are subjected to Him, then
the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all
things to Him, so that God may be all in all.” (1 Cor 15,24-28)
His kingdom is already with us. That’s why at one time,
Christ said: “The kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” (Lk 17,21)
At the same time, it is still to be perfected in some other time,
place or, better said, state of life. Thus, he also said: “My kingship
is not of this world.” (Jn 18,36)
We need to do our part to make Christ our King. We can do
this by making little conquests in our spiritual life everyday.
We need to understand that our life will always involve some
struggle. In fact, it is and should be a daily affair. Failing in that
struggle does not only mean getting stuck at a certain point. It
certainly means we have retrogressed. In this business of struggle, if
we don’t advance, we retreat.
We should therefore be reminded of our duty to hone up our
skills in spiritual warfare. Christ already hinted this much when he
said: “from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of
heaven suffers violence, and the violent bear it away.” (Mt 11,12)
We have to understand though that to be violent in this
sense does not mean to be destructive but rather to be constructive,
driven by love and the desire to be united with God and with the
others in a way proper to us as children of God and brothers and
sisters among ourselves.
Our life here on earth cannot but be in some form of
struggle. Aside from our innate urge to grow and develop that requires
some effort, we also have to contend with enemies whose sole intent is
precisely to bring us down, to divert us from our proper path toward
holiness. This is not to mention that our ultimate goal is to reach
heaven, which definitely will require effort and struggle, and of
course God’s grace.
We need to make little conquests everyday in every front
of this spiritual warfare. It can be in the battle for faith, hope and
charity. It can be in the way we pray and in the offering of
sacrifices.
Any progress or victory in any battle or skirmish, no
matter how small, counts. As long as we struggle constantly, our
spiritual life will always advance. If we persevere in our spiritual
warfare, our fidelity to any commitment is assured, for God on his
part will always give us what we need. Things would just depend on us.
Any progress in the virtues will always go a long way in
our spiritual life. We need to remind ourselves strongly that
everything that we do should always be for God’s glory and not for our
own glorification.
This is how we make Christ our King!
Solemnity of Christ the King. With this ending of the liturgical year,
we are reminded that we are presented year after year with the whole
life and mystery of Christ who is actually everything to us. We are
given a chance not only to know him, but also to love and serve him,
which is what is most important to us, the ultimate purpose of our
life.
Many things come to mind when we try to consider the
significance of the solemnity of Christ the King. Christ is our King
because in the first place we come from him and we belong to him in
the strictest sense of the words “come” and “belong.”
As God the Son, the second person of the Blessed Trinity,
Christ is the very pattern of our humanity, which happens to be the
masterpiece of his creation. As God who became man, he is our Savior
who redeemed us after we spoiled our original creation.
There could therefore be no greater king than him. His
kingship is not merely political or social. His kingship penetrates
the very core of our being and covers the whole range of our humanity
in all its aspects, conditions and circumstances. He is king to each
one of us individually as well as to all of us collectively.
That's why St. Paul said: “Then comes the end, when he
delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and
every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his
enemies under his feet...When all things are subjected to Him, then
the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all
things to Him, so that God may be all in all.” (1 Cor 15,24-28)
His kingdom is already with us. That’s why at one time,
Christ said: “The kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” (Lk 17,21)
At the same time, it is still to be perfected in some other time,
place or, better said, state of life. Thus, he also said: “My kingship
is not of this world.” (Jn 18,36)
We need to do our part to make Christ our King. We can do
this by making little conquests in our spiritual life everyday.
We need to understand that our life will always involve some
struggle. In fact, it is and should be a daily affair. Failing in that
struggle does not only mean getting stuck at a certain point. It
certainly means we have retrogressed. In this business of struggle, if
we don’t advance, we retreat.
We should therefore be reminded of our duty to hone up our
skills in spiritual warfare. Christ already hinted this much when he
said: “from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of
heaven suffers violence, and the violent bear it away.” (Mt 11,12)
We have to understand though that to be violent in this
sense does not mean to be destructive but rather to be constructive,
driven by love and the desire to be united with God and with the
others in a way proper to us as children of God and brothers and
sisters among ourselves.
Our life here on earth cannot but be in some form of
struggle. Aside from our innate urge to grow and develop that requires
some effort, we also have to contend with enemies whose sole intent is
precisely to bring us down, to divert us from our proper path toward
holiness. This is not to mention that our ultimate goal is to reach
heaven, which definitely will require effort and struggle, and of
course God’s grace.
We need to make little conquests everyday in every front
of this spiritual warfare. It can be in the battle for faith, hope and
charity. It can be in the way we pray and in the offering of
sacrifices.
Any progress or victory in any battle or skirmish, no
matter how small, counts. As long as we struggle constantly, our
spiritual life will always advance. If we persevere in our spiritual
warfare, our fidelity to any commitment is assured, for God on his
part will always give us what we need. Things would just depend on us.
Any progress in the virtues will always go a long way in
our spiritual life. We need to remind ourselves strongly that
everything that we do should always be for God’s glory and not for our
own glorification.
This is how we make Christ our King!
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