Deacon Steve's Homily: Christ is our King Now and Forever, Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe – B

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King.

This is the last Sunday of our liturgical year.

The official title is ‘The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe’

It was established less than a hundred years ago by Pope Pius XI in 1925.

Pope Pius saw the need for this Solemnity because of current events.

World War I had recently ended and the world, especially Europe, was trying to recover from the ravages of war.

The Russian Bolshevik Revolution had given birth to the world's first openly atheistic regime and Soviet communism was born.

Everywhere the pope looked, he saw humanity abandoning Christian values and trying to build paradise on earth through other means.

These other means didn’t work; their results were tragic.

Pope Pius XI wanted to remind the world that Christ is the only king that truly matters for all humanity.

Following Christ in all areas of our lives will bring about the paradise that all of us long for and were created for.  

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Our readings today remind us of the kingship of Jesus.

In our first reading, we hear Daniel prophesy:

‘the one like a Son of man received dominion, glory, and kingship;
all peoples, nations, and languages serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that shall not be taken away,
his kingship shall not be destroyed.’

We then hear in our second reading from the book of Revelation:

‘Jesus Christ is the faithful witness,
the firstborn of the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth.’

That would make Jesus the King of all kings.

And this theme of kingship continues in John’s gospel:

‘So Pilate said to him, "Then you are a king?"
Jesus answered, "You say I am a king.
For this I was born and for this I came into the world,
to testify to the truth.
Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.’

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My friends, our readings remind us that Christ is King and He has a kingdom.

And the prayers from today’s liturgy invite us to fix our eyes and our ears on Christ, the King of the Universe. 

Have you ever noticed that each Sunday and feast day we have different prayers that we pray during our liturgies?

-       the Collect or the opening prayer

-       the Prayer over the Offerings

-       the Preface

-       the Closing prayer.

They are unique to the feast, they’re beautiful, and they remind us of our Catholic beliefs.

There is a principal in Catholicism known as ‘Lex Orandi Lex Credendi’.

 This is Latin and it means: ‘The order of prayer is the order of belief.’

In other words, ‘we pray what we believe and we believe what we pray’.

Fr. Steve will pray these words in today’s Preface that remind us that Christ is King and what that kingdom truly is:

“ For you anointed your Only Begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, with the oil of gladness as eternal Priest and King of all creation … a universal kingdom, a kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love and peace”. 

So this prayer reminds us that we believe that Christ is our King.

And His kingdom sounds pretty good to me, wouldn’t you agree?

-       A kingdom of truth and life rather than lies and death.

-       A kingdom of holiness and grace rather than sinfulness and despair.

-       A kingdom of justice, love and peace, rather than injustice, hatred and war.

By placing Christ in his proper place as king of the Universe and by following him in all areas of our life, we join his kingdom now and forever. 

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Today I completed a novena to Christ the King.

 A novena is 9 days of prayer leading up to a feast or an event.

The first novena was 9 days of prayer by Mary and the apostles before Pentecost. 

I’d like to share a beautiful prayer from this novena:

Christ, our Savior and our King, renew in me allegiance to Your Kingship.
- I pray for the grace to place You above the powers of this world in all things.
- I pray for the grace to obey You before any civic authority.
- I pray for the grace to fervently bring about Your Kingdom in my family and community.
- I pray that You will reign in my mind.
- I pray that You will reign in my heart.
- I pray that You will reign in my will.
- I pray that You will reign in my body.
- I pray that You will reign throughout all the world.
- I pray that You will reign in every area of my life.

O Prince of Peace, may Your reign be complete in my life and in the life of the world.  Amen.

My friends, Christ is our King!

May we follow Christ our King now and forever!

Is Christ our King? - Homily, 34th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Christ the King of the Universe – Cycle B– 11/22/15

         As we come to the end of the Church year the readings look to the future when Christ will return again in triumphant glory as our king.   We are told that all in the world will see him, both his subjects and those who aren’t. There are some who will be joyful and some who will be fearful.  Christ’s kingdom will come and will last forever.  This is what we all long for and hope for.   The prophecies we heard from Daniel and Revelation were written in times of great persecution.    In Daniel the Seleucid’s were persecuting the Jews and in Revelation the Christian’s were undergoing the wrath of Nero.  The people were in need of hope, a savior to come and rescue them.   These prophecies both pointed toward the final coming of Christ to reign in his Kingdom.

         We may feel like we’re in need of our savior to come again with all the troubles going on in the world.   Last week the tragic bombing by ISIS terrorist in Paris rocked the world.  Previously there was the crash of the Russian Jet that killed hundreds.  We hear about the hundreds of thousands of people displaced from their homes in the Middle East due to persecution for their faith, many of which are Christians.   Now, in our own state we hear about refusal to allow these persecuted refugees from moving here for fear of the safety of its citizens. If Christ is truly the King of the Universe why are all these troubles going on in the world?   I guess we really need to ask: is Christ really King?

         In the Gospel today we hear Pilate ask Jesus a similar question: Are you King of the Jews?  Jesus responds to Pilate, but it may not have been what he expected:

“My kingdom does not belong to this world.  If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews.  But as it is, my kingdom is not here.” So Jesus indirectly answers that he is king, but not of this world.

Pilate asks Jesus again: “Then you are a king?” Jesus responds: “For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.” Jesus came into the world to bring us the truth.  Jesus is Truth.  His kingdom is truth.  Jesus told us “I am the way, the truth, and the Life”.   His kingdom is a kingdom of truth and life, of holiness and grace, justice love and peace. 

        

         So while Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world, his kingdom is in this world through his loyal subjects.  Who are his subjects?  We are, those baptized into his Church.  Jesus taught us how to live in this world through our faith in him.  How do we follow Jesus in being his loyal subjects?  Jesus’ response to Pilate tells us:  “Everyone who belongs to the truth, listens to my voice”.

Do we listen to Jesus’ voice and believe that he is our king? Or do we only hear him and choose what we want to listen to? The concept of a king can be very foreign to us living in the USA. We’re used to freely choosing what we feel is best for our own personal situation. We select our government leaders that we feel best to do the job, and can choose another if they don’t.  But when we make a choice do we do so based on truth, or how we think or feel?  Following the Truth is what truly gives us freedom.

If Jesus is our King we need to listen to him because he speaks the truth.  The truth that he speaks of is the love of God and neighbor as yourself. It is the living out of the Beatitudes.   If we want to be part of his kingdom and conquer the world we need to follow the way Jesus.   Jesus does not rule by domination, but humble service and sacrifice. Jesus way of life is the perfect example of how to live in the world, but not to be of the world. 

We live in a world that is full of injustices, persecutions, and tragedies. We can expect these things to happen because it’s an imperfect world. Jesus’ Kingdom is not fully here yet, but we can make it a better place by living as loyal subjects of Christ, King of the Universe.   What are some ways we can do this?  By being patient and kind when others annoy us at home, school, work, and even on the road.   We can offer a smile or kind word when some appears to be lonely or having a bad day.  Prayers can be offered for one another, especially those who are persecuted.  We can ask for Holy Spirit’s wisdom to seek the truth in choosing our leaders. 

As we enter into Advent let’s make a commitment to make Christ the King of our lives by choosing to listen to him and live the Truth that he gives us.  As we come forward to receive the Eucharist let’s ask God for the grace to make Christ the King of our lives.  God bless you.     

           

God's grace and eternal life - Homily, 28th Sunday of Ordinary Time – Cycle B– 10/11/15

         What must I do to inherit eternal life? This is the question that Jesus was asked by the man in the Gospel today.   Jesus’ response was very direct: Sell all you have and give to the poor and then follow me.  Did Jesus’ answer make any of you a little uncomfortable? I’ll have to admit it did make me feel a bit uncomfortable.  I’ve got a nice house, cars, and money saved up for retirement for my wife and I and college savings for my son.   Is Jesus asking me to give up all that I have in order to follow him?

         The man in the story was too attached to his possessions, and Jesus knew that. His possessions were more important than following God. He was greedy and wasn’t willing to share his possessions with God or others.  His possessions possessed him. That’s why Jesus asked him to sell all to give to the poor. Unfortunately the man was unwilling to give up his possessions, and went away sad.

         Is this passage one that we all need to take literally?   Do we need to sell everything we have and give to the poor?   Maybe a few are called to do so, but most of us have our families to take care of.  We need to earn and save money and own some things for the well being of our families and dedicate some to take care of the poor.   Some of us may own businesses and need resources to maintain and grow so we can provide goods, services, and employment that helps others.  If we’ve been blessed with abundant resources it’s ok, as long as we put some of them to good use in helping others.  But we need to ask: are there things in our lives that possess us that keep us from following Jesus?  

         Our possessions can make it very hard to enter the kingdom of God.   We can become too reliant on our own resources and abilities and feel like we don’t need to depend on God.  We may be totally focused on keeping up with Joneses: getting a bigger house, buying a new car, or wearing the latest fashions and not to concerned about our relationship with God. We may be too involved in our job, leisure activities, or have habits that prevent us from fully following Jesus. We can make these “things” our “god” and be possessed by them.

         Jesus tells us that it’s hard to enter the kingdom of God for those who have wealth.   How hard is it? It would easier for a camel to enter through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom.   Wow.  This sounds impossible to do.  I guess none of us will make it into God’s kingdom if we have to rely on our own capabilities.   But Jesus tells us that, “with God all things are possible”. 

         He’s telling us that if we put God first in our life, IT WILL be possible to enter God’s kingdom.  The only way we will be able to do this is through God’s grace.  There’s not anything we can do on our own to inherit eternal life.  It’s a gift that only God can give.  By having a relationship with Jesus and following him it will open us up to God’s grace.  But we need to make a commitment to put Jesus first in our life and follow him.

         One way to follow Jesus is to simplify our lives.  We have too many distractions in our busy lives. We have a model to follow in living a simpler life and putting God first by a few men named Francis: Our patron St. Francis, and Pope Francis.  St. Francis lived a life of wealth and luxury in his younger days, but was called to give up all to live a life of radical poverty serving the poor in whom he saw Jesus.    He publicly relinquished all of his family wealth and even gave away his clothing relying on the providence of God. Eight centuries later his way of life continues with tens of thousands Franciscan religious and many more laypersons following his simple way of life. 

         Pope Francis has called us to live more simply in his recent encyclical, “Laudato Si.” He warns us not to fall into the consumerism mentality of the culture.  We don’t always need to have the latest smart phone or newest car.  It’s better for us to be consumed with a relationship with God rather than always wanting more. 

         If we give up what possesses us and follow Jesus what will we get?   Jesus tells us that we will receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brother and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.   How is this so? Through our brothers and sisters in Christ, which is all of you here.  Through our numerous church, schools, hospitals, and charitable ministries throughout the world. 

         Jesus added that persecutions are to be expected as well.  It may be a simple as being mocked at work or school for our beliefs, or it could be as serious as being forced from our homes and country like many of the refugees in the Middle East.  Even though we may be persecuted we need to remember that Jesus said we’d also receive eternal life in the age to come.

         Is there something keeping you from following Jesus?  Are your possessions getting in the way? Is there some habit or activity that keeps you from putting Christ first in your life?  If so why not make a commitment to change.   If you’re struggling to do this, don’t rely on yourself.  Pray for God’s grace to help.   Reach out to your brothers and sisters in Christ and ask them for support.  If Christ is first in your life offer thanks to God and pray for the grace to keep the relationship strong.  As we continue Mass lets offer thanks to God for grace we receive through Eucharist and for help it provides to put Christ first in our lives. God bless you.