HOMILY FOR THE SOLEMNITY OF
JESUS CHRIST THE KING YEAR A:
Jesus is King, Shepherd and Judge.
OUTLINE
“How worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and divinity, and wisdom and strength and honor. To him belong glory and authority for ever and ever.”
Words of the Entrance Antiphon which the entire Church prays today as we celebrate the last Sunday of the Ordinary Time, the Solemnity of Christ the King.
We have tried to prepare during the entire week for today’s Solemnity, repeating many times the short prayer, Regnare Christum volumus! (We want Christ to reign!), during these past few days and resolving to put the necessary remedy so as for Christ to really reign in our soul, and have the same desire as well to make Christ reign in the souls of others.
1. Jesus Christ, King
Jesus Christ is King. And his is an “eternal and universal kingdom: kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love and peace. ” (Preface).
- God’s kingdom will reach its growth and fulfillment until his enemies− sin and death −are annihilated, (2nd reading: 1Cor 15:20–26, 28).
“For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. When everything is subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to the one who subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in all.”
2. Jesus Christ, Shepherd.
At the same time, Christ the King is also the Good Shepherd who wants all his sheep to be saved (1st reading: Ezechiel 34:11–12, 15–17 and Resp. Psalm)
Thus says the Lord God: I myself will look after and tend my sheep. As a shepherd tends his flock when he finds himself among his scattered sheep, so will I tend my sheep. I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered when it was cloudy and dark. I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest, says the Lord God. The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy, shepherding them rightly.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose (Psalm 22)
3. Jesus Christ, Judge.
Our Lord Jesus Christ the King and Shepherd will come again at the end of time and will separate one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and judge each one according to his works of love and mercy, ratifying the final consequence of man’s personal choices during his life on earth which is either eternal happiness or eternal punishment.
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world … ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.’
Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, …
He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Dear friends, as we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King, let us recall again that Our Lord who is not only King, but also Shepherd and Judge, will come at the end of time during the Final Judgment and will restore all things unto Himself.
During this life, He is giving us the opportunity as his sheep to follow His voice, tending as well to other sheep, our neighbor, especially those who are in most need, for the authenticity of our love for God will be measured by the effective love we have for the people around us.
Christ reigns in a heart who loves, not only in words but through deeds. As such, at the end of our life, we will be examined in our love (St. John of the Cross) for God, manifested through our love for our neighbor, esp. the unfortunate ones.
“Almighty ever-living God, whose will is to restore all things in your beloved Son, the King of the universe; grant, we pray, that the whole creation, set free from slavery, may render your majesty service and ceaselessly proclaim your praise (Opening Prayer, Mass of the Solemnity of Christ the King).”
AUDIO: Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Christus imperat (Christ conquers, Christ reigns, Christ commands).
SEE AS WELL:
SOLEMNITY OF CHRIST THE KING YEAR A 2023 MASS PRAYERS AND READINGS HERE.
REFLECTION HOMILY ON THE 33RD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A, CLICK HERE , HERE, AND HERE.
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