Today is the last Sunday of the Church Year. To conclude each year the Church emphasizes the authority and kingship of Christ over our lives and the entire world. Today we remind ourselves ‘Jesus is our Lord and King’ the center of our life. As we say in the Eucharistic prayer of every Mass, all is “through Him, with Him and in Him”. In Him we live and move and have our being. As we think about Christ the King, we have to think about our commitments, and to whom we belong to.

The danger of speaking about kings is that we look ‘up’ for them. However, let us look at the origin of this Feast and then understand its implications for us, today. On the eleventh of December, 1925, Pope Pius XI instituted this feast day.  Because he saw the oppressive conditions to which certain government and rulers had reduced their people. Fascism and communism were on the rise. Various other “isms” were claiming ownership and control over people, what we see in the world even today.

In his thinking, Pope Pius XI saw that God was being pushed out of the minds and hearts of people by oppressive political systems, claiming that human beings were simply the property of the state. Its deadly effect reached terrible heights in World War I. Human beings were simply considered as the pawns in a chessboard. Their lives were not only useful, but they were also easily exploited. In such a time, Pope asserted that Christ is King of the universe and Christ and His values must rule our life.

Even today so many ways human life is seen as under our power, not under the reign of God. Abortion, mercy killing, suicide bombing and so on result from such views. So, the celebration of the Feast of Christ the King is important for us to look into our life. There come the questions like; To whom, do we belong? And, who is worthy of our commitments?
As Christians, every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we petition God: “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” We have to pause and reflect on what those prayerful words really mean, because they raise questions related to human rights and human dignity.

Even our nation’s founders recognized that our human dignity and freedom come to us not from our Government or our Supreme Court, but rather they come to us from God our Creator. No ruler or the government confers our human rights upon us. But still there are dictators who rule the people as their possessions belong to them and not to God. So, the celebration of the feast of Christ the King has relevance, even today, in our life and in our world.

Here in the Preface of this Mass, we will affirm: Father, You anointed Jesus Christ, as the Eternal Priest and Universal King…..As King He claims dominion over all creation that he may present to You, His almighty Father, an Eternal and Universal Kingdom: a Kingdom of Truth and Life, a Kingdom of Holiness and Grace, a Kingdom of Justice, Love and Peace.

We should, then, pray that we always speak in favor of life, justice, and strive for holiness. And at the same time seek justice, truth and strive for peace. We are loyal Canadians while at the same time we are citizens in God’s kingdom. As we conclude this Liturgical Cycle, let us look at the Crucified and Exalted Christ, our King and let us commit ourselves to live for peace, truth and life itself. Christ is our King and these are the ways we honor Him.