The Feast of Christ the King

Today is the Feast of Christ the King, which is the last Sunday of the Liturgical year in the Roman Rite (Originally set in October).   This feast was instituted in the encyclical letter Quas Primas written in 1925 by Pope Pius XI. 1925 was also the sixteenth centenary of the Council of Nicaea (where we got the Nicene Creed from).  The feast of Christ the King explains the kingship of Christ, and highlights on the evils of nationalism, anticlericalism, and secularism which are still seen in many of our societies today.  As Catholics we recongize the kingship of Christ, the leader and founder of the Church, who has authority over us.  Pope Pius the XI in his letter gives us some insight into the authority of Christ by his words:

“Let Us explain briefly the nature and meaning of this lordship of Christ. It consists, We need scarcely say, in a threefold power which is essential to lordship. This is sufficiently clear from the scriptural testimony already adduced concerning the universal dominion of our Redeemer, and moreover it is a dogma of faith that Jesus Christ was given to man, not only as our Redeemer, but also as a law-giver, to whom obedience is due.[24] Not only do the gospels tell us that he made laws, but they present him to us in the act of making them. Those who keep them show their love for their Divine Master, and he promises that they shall remain in his love.[25] He claimed judicial power as received from his Father, when the Jews accused him of breaking the Sabbath by the miraculous cure of a sick man. “For neither doth the Father judge any man; but hath given all judgment to the Son.”[26] In this power is included the right of rewarding and punishing all men living, for this right is inseparable from that of judging. Executive power, too, belongs to Christ, for all must obey his commands; none may escape them, nor the sanctions he has imposed.”

As we continue our prayerful Journey into Advent I leave you with this entrance Chant in Latin suited for todays feast.