This Sunday we end our current liturgical year with the celebration of Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. This is a relatively new celebration in the Church, as it was instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1925 amidst that tumultuous time that saw the rise of communism and socialism.
The pope wanted the world to realize whom we all should bow to first. Properly understood, serving Christ first leads us to serve our brothers and sisters around us regardless of race, color, or nationality. With all the sovereign powers around the world it is Jesus Christ from whom their authority comes from. The horrors of the 20th Century bear testimony to the world of what it looks like when this is forgotten.
Every time we celebrate the Liturgy of the Mass we enter into the mystery of God and the mystery of the Kingship of Christ. We encounter the power and the majesty of God. The more this is realized and felt in the Liturgy the more effective it is. The more we realize whom we are approaching during the Mass, the more we realize our identity as sons and daughters of that power who gives His life to us. And the hope is that our lives will become changed when we leave Mass, that our lives will become more conformed to Him whom we serve, and Him whom we just received in Holy Communion.
At all weekend masses I will be announcing some changes or new looks of things at Mass. At the heart of the motivation for this is what I have just illuminated, to allow the majesty of God to be felt by all. Just like John the Baptist said, we must decrease so that Jesus can increase. Sometimes we can get in the way of Jesus, meaning that we can interfere with the movement of His spirit. We should never begin with ourselves, especially in the Mass. It is always firstly about Jesus Christ. This can be humbling. Sometimes we are stripped of things we have become attached to. At the end of the day we should be only attached to Jesus Christ, and anything that lends itself to that end should be welcomed with acceptance and joy.
This Sunday reminds us all that we serve a King whose kingdom is not of this world. His kingdom is out of this world. By virtue of our baptism we are heirs to that same kingdom. Every Sunday we should be expecting to come into contact again with this kingdom, and to bring this kingdom to our world that is dying to see it. We are all kingdom bearers. Our hearts and our very bodies have been marked by this kingdom. We have been claimed by Him who has made us worthy by the blood He shed on the Cross. We have nothing to fear, and nothing to be ashamed of. May we be renewed in serving Him with increased vigor by our worship at Mass, and our service to others by our charity.