Sunday the 28th of October is the Feast of Christ the King, D. N. Jesu Christi Regis. It was instituted as a double of the First Class with the encyclical Quas Primas by Pope Pius XI. If you have not read it, it is worth taking the time to do so (Read it here).
Pope Pius XI instituted the Feast of Christ the King on the Last Sunday in October, the Sunday that immediately precedes the Feast of All Saints. Up until 1969, this remained so until it was moved to the Last Sunday of the Year, the Sunday before a new year begins with the First Sunday of Advent. Although the eschatological importance of the Kingship of Christ is somewhat made clearer by this change, it was in fact obscured in some peoples minds. The Kingship of Christ does not begin at the end of the world, as signified by putting it at the end of the year. The Kingship of Christ began even before he ascended into Heaven, for the Lord said that, "All power is given to me in Heaven and in Earth. (Mt 28:18)"Our obligation to submit to our King and his Laws and Commandments does not begin when he returns, but actually began when Jesus ascended into Heaven.
Changing the date for the Feast of Christ the King breaks the relationship of the King and his subjects; in this case between Christ and his Saints. Changing the Feast to the Last Sunday leads some to believe that Christ is not King now, and that we do not need to recognize him as such, not in the interior forum, nor in the public square. Changing the Feast to the Last Sunday has lead some to declare that Jesus will eventually be our King at the end of time. In other words, changing the date of the Feast defeats the very purpose of the Feast of Christ the King, to pray for the conversion of the world to the One True Church, and that the world conforms to the Laws and Commandments given to us by Jesus Christ the King.
We can relate this Feast of Christ the King to history and to our current situation. Right at the point in history when Pope Pius XI wrote Quas Primas, the Church in México underwent a tremendous persecution that had been brewing for a very long time. Many of the Faithful were martyred, including St. Cristóbal Magallanes and his Companions, and famously, Blessed Miguel Pro Juárez. The state (Cesar) tried to supplant Christ the King, and make it so that Catholics in México would not have the freedom to worship Our True King and his Church.
So it is in our time that society would not have us vote as if Christ the King does not rule now in our hearts. We should always act knowing that Christ is King now, not at the end of time with his second Advent.
¡Viva Cristo Rey!
Pope Pius XI instituted the Feast of Christ the King on the Last Sunday in October, the Sunday that immediately precedes the Feast of All Saints. Up until 1969, this remained so until it was moved to the Last Sunday of the Year, the Sunday before a new year begins with the First Sunday of Advent. Although the eschatological importance of the Kingship of Christ is somewhat made clearer by this change, it was in fact obscured in some peoples minds. The Kingship of Christ does not begin at the end of the world, as signified by putting it at the end of the year. The Kingship of Christ began even before he ascended into Heaven, for the Lord said that, "All power is given to me in Heaven and in Earth. (Mt 28:18)"Our obligation to submit to our King and his Laws and Commandments does not begin when he returns, but actually began when Jesus ascended into Heaven.
Changing the date for the Feast of Christ the King breaks the relationship of the King and his subjects; in this case between Christ and his Saints. Changing the Feast to the Last Sunday leads some to believe that Christ is not King now, and that we do not need to recognize him as such, not in the interior forum, nor in the public square. Changing the Feast to the Last Sunday has lead some to declare that Jesus will eventually be our King at the end of time. In other words, changing the date of the Feast defeats the very purpose of the Feast of Christ the King, to pray for the conversion of the world to the One True Church, and that the world conforms to the Laws and Commandments given to us by Jesus Christ the King.
We can relate this Feast of Christ the King to history and to our current situation. Right at the point in history when Pope Pius XI wrote Quas Primas, the Church in México underwent a tremendous persecution that had been brewing for a very long time. Many of the Faithful were martyred, including St. Cristóbal Magallanes and his Companions, and famously, Blessed Miguel Pro Juárez. The state (Cesar) tried to supplant Christ the King, and make it so that Catholics in México would not have the freedom to worship Our True King and his Church.
So it is in our time that society would not have us vote as if Christ the King does not rule now in our hearts. We should always act knowing that Christ is King now, not at the end of time with his second Advent.
¡Viva Cristo Rey!
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