The Feast of Christ the King

On the Feast of Christ the King, the NSC invites us all to prepare for the Season of Advent by interceding that we, and the whole Church, come to a greater understanding of Jesus as the Christ, the anointed of the Spirit, who wants to baptize us with the Holy Spirit. NSC Intercession Times Brochure is a flyer about how to join in this national day of intercession. Below is a reflection on the Feast of Christ the King.

The Feast of Christ the King

By Carol Sikorski

The Feast of Christ the King was established by Pope Pius XI in 1925 as an antidote to secularism, which ultimately leaves God out of a person’s life and tempts the faithful to divert their attention away from God.

On this last Sunday of the liturgical year, in preparation for Advent, we are called to turn away from the false gods of this world who seek not only to lead us astray from our eternal destiny but also keep us from living our life on earth as a Kingdom people.  The feast of Christ the King calls us to evaluate and, when necessary, re-adjust our mindset, our priorities, and goals.  We are called to see the seductions of the world for what they are, to turn to Christ more faithfully and live our lives as children of the King.

Understanding the traditional relationship between a king and his people is helpful so that we can apply those same concepts to our relationship with Christ our King. I recently read “The Levitical Principal” by Dennis Holt in which he described the protocol between a king and his people by outlining three principal components. The author has granted his permission to share his thoughts with you.

• The greatness of a king is determined by two things:  The extent of his domain and the ability of the king to give away part of his domain and still remain great.
• Those who are granted an audience with the king would never approach the throne without bringing a gift for the king, to demonstrate his/her respect for the king.  The visitor always presents the greatest gift he/she can bring, because the gift they give indicates the greatness of his/her life.
• The king, in turn, presents the visitor with a gift.  But this gift must overpower and overshadow the gift presented by the visitor.  (see 2 Chronicles 9:1-12  as a biblical example when the Queen of Sheba met with King Solomon.)

Correlating the above example with the feast of Christ the King, the Lord of the universe invites each one of us daily to come into that face-to-face audience/relationship with Him.  In Malachi 1:14 God declares Himself a great King.  When we enter into His presence, we come bearing the gift that demonstrates our understanding of the great honor it is to be invited to fellowship with Him.

But what gift do we bring to this great King, the Lord?  We are told that we should bring the gift that is our greatest possession; that represents the greatness of our life.   Of course the gift we bring is the gift that we received from our Creator.  We lay down the gift of our free will, accepting the Lordship of Christ our King over our life.  We acknowledge with a humble and contrite heart that, of ourselves, we cannot do anything to merit heaven.  We depend totally on the grace and mercy of our Triune God.  When we offer our gift and enter into that relationship with the King, it is then that we have the capacity to receive the King’s gift to us.

His gift to us is so much more than what we have given, and it fills that God-shaped hole in us and fulfills all the longing of our hearts.  And what supreme gift does the King give to those that come and stand before His throne?  He gives us Himself, fully and completely, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  We receive all the merits of Christ our Savior and Redeemer; we receive the love of the Father who desires that we be one with Him now and forever; and we receive His own Holy Spirit so that we can know our true identity as sons and daughters of the King, and be confident that “if the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit that dwells in you.”  Rom 8:11

The universal call to come and kneel before the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, and to receive from the King’s treasury, is extended to all people everywhere: the rich and poor, the powerful and powerless.  All are invited to abide in Christ the King and His Kingdom of light!

The feast of Christ the King calls us to become consciously aware of all the distractions of our secular society and to set our eyes on Christ the King and the day He will come again in glory.

NSC Intercession Times Brochure

The Holy Spirit is important in three major Liturgical Seasons of the year: This brochure lists those times and the special prayers for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

For a more complete article on this Intercession see Pentecost Today April/May/June 2009 p 10. This article and brochure was written by Fr. Bob Hogan.