Christ The King

The Origin of the Feast

The last Sunday of each liturgical year, we as Catholics come together to celebrate a significant feast - The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, or as we often shorten it, Christ the King. This feast was formally instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1925 with his encyclical "Quas primas," as a response to growing secularism and atheism. Here the Pope responds to the conscious effort to sideline Jesus Christ and His teachings from public life, which he said was leading to discord among people and nations. In our current times, this discord feels more apparent then ever. This solemnity is a beautiful reminder that governments come and go, but Christ reigns as King forever.

The Church's Teaching

The roots of this divine kingship are in the Church's teaching on the Incarnation. Jesus is both the divine Lord and also the man, born of the Virgin Mary, who suffered and died on the Cross. This is called the hypostatic union; Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. Thus, Jesus reigns over all creation as the Incarnate Son of God. This means not only that Christ should be adored by all but that all should recognize His reign. Pope Pius XI articulates this: "From this it follows... that to him as man angels and men are subject, and must recognize his empire; by reason of the hypostatic union Christ has power over all creatures"(Quas primas, 13).

The King in Our Lives

So, what does Christ the King mean for us, the faithful? We're called to acknowledge His kingship in every aspect of our lives: He must reign in our minds, wills, hearts, bodies and actions, just as Pope Pius XI envisioned (Quas primas, 33). This doesn't just apply in private but in public too; we're encouraged to live out our faith boldly and unashamedly.

Sadly, many see religious freedom as keeping faith private, which can lead us into compartmentalizing our faith. But, on the Solemnity of Christ the King, we remember to proclaim unabashedly that Jesus is not only the Lord of the Church but Lord of the entire universe.

So, this feast is a reminder to embody our faith, privately and publicly, and to navigate life under the loving reign of Christ the King.