Sunday, November 25, 2012

A Holy Life

The Solemnity of Christ the King

The Feast of Christ the King was established by Pope Pius XI in 1925 as an antidote to secularism, a way of life which leaves God out of man's thinking and living and organizes his life as if God did not exist. The feast is intended to proclaim in a striking and effective manner Christ's royalty over individuals, families, society, governments, and nations.

Today's Mass establishes the titles for Christ's royalty over men: 1) Christ is God, the Creator of the universe and hence wields a supreme power over all things; "All things were created by Him"; 2) Christ is our Redeemer, He purchased us by His precious Blood, and made us His property and possession; 3) Christ is Head of the Church, "holding in all things the primacy"; 4) God bestowed upon Christ the nations of the world as His special possession and dominion.

Today's Mass also describes the qualities of Christ's kingdom. This kingdom is: 1) supreme, extending not only to all people but also to their princes and kings; 2) universal, extending to all nations and to all places; 3) eternal, for "The Lord shall sit a King forever"; 4) spiritual, Christ's "kingdom is not of this world". — Rt. Rev. Msgr. Rudolph G. Bandas

According to the 1962 Missal of Bl. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, this feast is celebrated on the last Sunday of October.

Christ the King as Represented in the Liturgy

The liturgy is an album in which every epoch of Church history immortalizes itself. Therein, accordingly, can be found the various pictures of Christ beloved during succeeding centuries. In its pages we see pictures of Jesus suffering and in agony; we see pictures of His Sacred Heart; yet these pictures are not proper to the nature of the liturgy as such; they resemble baroque altars in a gothic church. Classic liturgy knows but one Christ: the King, radiant, majestic, and divine.

With an ever-growing desire, all Advent awaits the "coming King"; in the chants of the breviary we find repeated again and again the two expressions "King" and "is coming." On Christmas the Church would greet, not the Child of Bethlehem, but the Rex Pacificus — "the King of peace gloriously reigning." Within a fortnight, there follows a feast which belongs to the greatest of the feasts of the Church year -- the Epiphany. As in ancient times oriental monarchs visited their principalities (theophany), so the divine King appears in His city, the Church; from its sacred precincts He casts His glance over all the world....On the final feast of the Christmas cycle, the Presentation in the Temple, holy Church meets her royal Bridegroom with virginal love: "Adorn your bridal chamber, O Sion, and receive Christ your King!" The burden of the Christmas cycle may be summed up in these words: Christ the King establishes His Kingdom of light upon earth!

If we now consider the Easter cycle, the luster of Christ's royal dignity is indeed somewhat veiled by His sufferings; nevertheless, it is not the suffering Jesus who is present to the eyes of the Church as much as Christ the royal Hero and Warrior who upon the battlefield of Golgotha struggles with the mighty and dies in triumph. Even during Lent and Passiontide the Church acclaims her King. The act of homage on Palm Sunday is intensely stirring; singing psalms in festal procession we accompany our Savior singing: Gloria, laus et honor tibi sit, Rex Christe, "Glory, praise and honor be to Thee, Christ, O King!" It is true that on Good Friday the Church meditates upon the Man of Sorrows in agony upon the Cross, but at the same time, and perhaps more so, she beholds Him as King upon a royal throne. The hymn Vexilla Regis, "The royal banners forward go," is the more perfect expression of the spirit from which the Good Friday liturgy has arisen. Also characteristic is the verse from Psalm 95, Dicite in gentibus quia Dominus regnavit, to which the early Christians always added, a ligno, "Proclaim among the Gentiles: the Lord reigns from upon the tree of the Cross!" During Paschal time the Church is so occupied with her glorified Savior and Conqueror that kingship references become rarer; nevertheless, toward the end of the season we celebrate our King's triumph after completing the work of redemption, His royal enthronement on Ascension Thursday.

Neither in the time after Pentecost is the picture of Christ as King wholly absent from the liturgy. Corpus Christi is a royal festival: "Christ the King who rules the nations, come, let us adore" (Invit.). In the Greek Church the feast of the Transfiguration is the principal solemnity in honor of Christ's kingship, Summum Regem gloriae Christum adoremus (Invit.). Finally at the sunset of the ecclesiastical year, the Church awaits with burning desire the return of the King of Majesty.

We will overlook further considerations in favor of a glance at the daily Offices. How often do we not begin Matins with an act of royal homage: "The King of apostles, of martyrs, of confessors, of virgins — come, let us adore" (Invit.). Lauds is often introduced with Dominus regnavit, "The Lord is King". Christ as King is also a first consideration at the threshold of each day; for morning after morning we renew our oath of fidelity at Prime: "To the King of ages be honor and glory." Every oration is concluded through our Mediator Christ Jesus "who lives and reigns forever." Yes, age-old liturgy beholds Christ reigning as King in His basilica (etym.: "the king's house"), upon the altar as His throne.

Sources for this article were taken from: The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

Prayer

Father all-powerful, God of love,

You have raised our Lord Jesus Christ from death to life,

Resplendent in glory as King of creation.

Open our hearts, free all the world to rejoice in his peace,

To glory in his justice, to live in his love.

Bring all mankind together in Jesus Christ your Son,

Whose kingdom is with You and the Holy Spirit, One God,

for ever and ever.

Amen.

Christ, our King – have mercy on us

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About This Blog

Hi, everyone.

My name is Laurence Lim. I am a Filipino Catholic, an architect, and I am currently working in a design firm in Doha, Qatar.

Back in the Manila, I took delight in visiting a Catholic Church almost every day, to hear mass, and to spend time praying at the Blessed Sacrament. Practically in any place in Manila, I can find God’s abode. However, upon arriving in Qatar, I found out that there is only one Catholic Church in Doha, and its location is far away from where I reside. Regrettably, given my schedule at work, I could not visit the church every day and hear mass, and was confined to my daily rosary and prayers at home.

But God truly finds a way to convey His message to us. One day, my Mammu Chinn started to send me SMS and e-mail messages, as she wanted to share the priest’s reflections at the daily masses that she hears in Manila. Knowing that I could not go to church every day and my longing to do such, Mammu Chinn made me a part of her daily masses, and also shared with me God’s daily blessings, through the reflections. Mammu Chinn always made me feel connected through her pure motherly love, her prayers and her strong faith in God.

The reflections are very nice and inspiring, and have been very helpful in my daily meditation and prayer. For me, the Word of God is always fresh, novel and real, and thus worth sharing. It is for this reason that I was inspired to create a blog, with the hope that others will also be blessed by the reflections, quotes and messages that I have collected through time.

I was finally able to create the Blog in August, 2012, during a long vacation at the end of Ramadan. Though not a techy like others, I tried my best to make the Blog as clear, easy to read, and user-friendly as possible. I have also browsed the Net to find suitable images* for my posts. I have also asked the help of Mammu Chinn to check the reflections that she has sent me, to make sure we did not miss anything.

Mammu Chinn and I would like to thank (though indirectly) all the priests who have shared their reflections through the masses. Their homilies are spiritually enriching, and will always serve as a guide and reminder to us. Although the reflections are not as verbatim as they could be, Mammu Chinn told me that she has tried her best to capture the priest’s words as faithfully as possible.

I am not a very religious person or one claiming to follow the footsteps to sainthood, but one thing I am sure of is this – I love God and I believe in Him. With God’s grace and guidance, I will try my best to improve myself and my life. In my own little way, I will strive to be closer to God.

I hope that this Blog will help you be closer to God, too, and enjoy His abundant blessings. Let’s keep our life in tune with God – every day!

* Note: I do not own the images in my posts, and if there is anyone whose image I have inadvertently used, just feel free to inform me. Thank you and God bless.

Lift Songs of Praise to the Lord

Ephesians 5:17

17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

God wants us to walk as wise men and women, and not as fools. (Ephesians 5:15) Now, He will not tell us to walk in wisdom without showing us how. That is why His Word goes on to say, “Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”

So what is the will of God? The next two verses tell us how to identify it: “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord”. (Ephesians 5:18–19)

As you allow yourself to be filled with the Spirit by lifting songs of praise to the Lord, singing or speaking (God knows some of us can’t sing!) psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, and making melody in your heart to the Lord, God promises that you will know what His will is for your situation. You will then have the wisdom to decide wisely what to do next.

8So my friend, lift up songs of praise to the Lord, whether times are good or bad. For when you fill your mouth with praises to God, He will lead you and guide you in all the affairs of your life. Even if you are stuck with a problem, He will show you the way to go or make a way out for you. Either way, you will get the wisdom and help that you need!