“The Solemnity of Christ the King”
This homily was given at the Pontifical North American College
Vatican City State,
by Rev. Kurt Belsole, OSB
November 23, 2014

Today, on the Solemnity of Christ the King, the Gospel presents to us the very last act of history–the General Judgment.

And in a few minutes, in the Creed, we will profess the immutable faith of the Church in Christ who “Will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead” and whose “kingdom will have no end.”

Today in the sacred liturgy, we anticipate the last act of history–

a history that began at the moment of creation when time itself was created and the light, and the earth, and the sun and the moon and the stars, and the birds and the fish and all the animals that roam the face of the earth–and God saw that it was good–and when Adam and Eve were created–and God saw that it was very good.

But this is also a history of sin and forgiveness–

We celebrate today the King–the Child of Bethlehem who was born as our Redeemer and who at the Epiphany was adored by the Three Kings from the Orient bringing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

And we celebrate Jesus in his public life who in the Passion cycle, is adored as King, even if it is a kingship veiled by his sufferings–
· on Palm Sunday, in the procession we accompany our savior with the antiphon “Gloria, laus et honor tibi sit, Rex Christe, Redemptor”–
“Glory, praise and honor be to you Christ the King and Redeemer.”
· and from Palm Sunday on, the hymn appointed for Evening Prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours is the Vexilla Regis–The Royal Banners forward Go–which takes the famous line of Ps. 95 “Say among the nations that the Lord reigns” and adds the words “from the tree of the cross.”
· He reigns who during his interrogation before Pilate declared: “I am a King.”–And whose title upon the cross proclaimed: “This is Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.”
· And he reigns to whom the Good Thief prayed: “Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

And in the history of the Church, the kingship of Christ is exemplified in the Invitatories of the feasts of her members, the Saints, in the Liturgy of the Hours:
· Come, let us adore Christ, the King of apostles –or
· Come, let us worship Christ, the King of martyrs –or
· The holy virgins praise their Lord and King; Come, let us join in their worship.

Today, we celebrate Christ the King and are confronted with radiant divine light and the Lord himself who Revelation 19:16 calls the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

As he hung upon the cross, Christ was mocked and told that if he was the Son of God, he should come down from that cross. But I propose to your consideration that precisely because he is the Son of God, and a King, he remains on the Cross.

In the new Blessed Sacrament Chapel that we will dedicate here at the Pontifical North American College on January 6th, there will be a crucifix of Christ the King and Priest–a crucifix that is rather Johannine. The section in the Gospel of John which deals with the passion and death of the Lord is called the Book of Glory, so here too, the glory of the Crucified Lord will shine through–the Lord and King whom we proclaim at every Collect of the Mass–who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit.

At the end of the four arms of this crucifix will be the signs of the evangelists–it is they who tell the story of divine mercy and human redemption–and in a very visible way, this crucifix proclaims that if you do not know the Christian story, you cannot enter into the Christian mysteries–including that of Christ, the King and Priest–and if you do not know what it means to reign from the cross–in pouring out your life as an act of ultimate freedom–you not know what either kingship or priesthood means.

And the Christian story goes beyond what one can see–we all know that–but a crucifix of Christ, King and Priest, gives us a glimpse of what true Kingship and true Priesthood means–Christ was never more a priest that when he offered his life on the cross for our salvation.

Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, O.F.M. Cap., the preacher for the papal household, noted a number of years ago, that the fresco of Michelangelo’s Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel was restored–and he remarked that it may well be time that the sense of the Last Judgement be restored in the hearts of Christians.

For as we saw earlier, the solemnity of Christ the King is the crowning point of history–a history that involved the fact that we were created in God’s image–with the nobility of a free will to always choose the good.

And God calls us always to those noble actions of
feeding the hungry
clothing the naked
visiting the ill and imprisoned

and all those other acts of mercy, kindness, and righteousness–so that Christ the King may recognize in us the image of his own nobility.

Today in the feast of Christ the King, we come face to face with the maiestas Domini, the majesty of the Lord.

All glory be to him now and forever. Amen.

Source: Rev. Kurt Belsole, OSB, Saint Vincent Archabbey, Latrobe, PA
www.liftupyourhearts.church