Commentary: Wayback Machine. Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:
Christ the King Sunday is celebrated on the last Sunday of Ordinary Time (last Sunday after Pentecost), before the beginning of Advent that starts the new Church Year. As the last Sunday of the Christian Church Year, Christ the King Sunday is the climax & conclusion of the Church's liturgical journey through the life of Christ & the Gospel message.Scripture of the Week
Mass Readings—Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
The Book of Daniel, chapter seven, verses thirteen & fourteen;
Psalm Ninety-three, verses one, one & two, & five;
The Book of Revelation, chapter one, verses five thru eight;
The Gospel according to John, chapter eighteen, verses thirty-three(b) thru thirty-seven.
Commentary: Reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):
Friends, today we celebrate the feast of Christ the King. And though the very notion of kingship is rather alien to us, the metaphor should remain. For the whole idea is that Christ must become the Lord of our lives, the one to whom an absolute submission is required.Video reflection by Father Greg Friedman, O.F.M.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Things do become a bit easier to take when we see precisely what kind of King Jesus Christ is. Bottom line: we are not dealing with another Napoleon or Caesar Augustus; just the contrary. We are dealing with the one who rightly reigns over those earthly potentates but who bears very little resemblance to them.
Our first clue as to his identity comes from the Gospel for today, an account of Jesus’ conversation with the Roman governor Pontius Pilate, who asks, "Are you the king of the Jews?" And Jesus responds that his kingdom "does not belong to this world."
So what precisely is his kingship? Worldly kingship has to do primarily with power and self-aggrandizement. But the kingship that Jesus represents is a ruling ordered to the truth. Its purpose is to guide people to the Truth, which is another way of saying, toward God.
Video reflection by Father Claude Burns (uCatholic): Weekend Reflection with Father Pontifex.
Audio reflection by Scott Hahn, Ph.D. (St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology): Breaking the Bread.
Mass Journal: Week Forty-eight
Reflection by Matthew Kelly, founder of the Dynamic Catholic Institute:
Three or four years ago, my brother Andrews gave me a copy of a book titled Letters to a Young Poet. It is a small book that contains a collection of letters written by the great German lyric poet Rainer maria Rilke to Franz Kappus, who at the time was a young aspiring poet. In one of the Letters, Rilke penned some words that have remained ingrained on my heart since I read & underlined them in the small volume:†
"Be patient toward all that is unresolved in your heart & try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms & like books that are written in a foreign tongue. Do not seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live among some distant day into the answer."
Otherwise, 25 November would be the festival of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin & Martyr (circa 287-310, A.K.A. of the Wheel), martyred in the reign of the Roman emperors Maxentius & Galerius, a victim of the Great Persecution; one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers: Martyr-link ūna, Martyr-link duæ, & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Persecution, Helpers-link XIV, & Wikipedia-link XIV.
Commentary: Wayback Machine.
'Twould also be the festival of Saint Peter of Alexandria, Bishop & Martyr (died 311, A.K.A. Pope Peter I of Alexandria), martyred in the reign of the Roman emperors Maxentius & Galerius, a victim of the Great Persecution: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Persecution.
'Twould also be the festival of Blessed Beatrice of Ornacieux, Religious, O.Cart. (circa 1240-1309, A.K.A. of Eymeu): Blessed-link & Wikipedia-link.
'Twould also be the festival of Blessed Elizabeth of Reute, Religious, T.O.S.F. (1386-1420, A.K.A. Elizabeth Achler), a stigmatist: Blessed-link & Wikipedia-link; Stigmata-link & Wikipedia-link Stigmata.
Papal Quote o' the Day
"The event of Christ's death & Resurrection [is] the heart of Christianity, principal fulcrum of our faith, powerful lever of our certainty, impetuous wind that sweeps away every fear & indecision, every doubt & human calculation."Little Flower Quote o' the Day
—Pope Benedict XVI (born 1927, 2005-2013)
"I have noticed in all the serious circumstances of my life that nature always reflected the image of my soul. On days filled with tears the heavens cried along with me; on days of joy the sun sent forth its joyful rays in profusion, and the blue skies were not obscured by a single cloud."Saint Quote o' the Day
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)
"Every individual is a living expression of unity, & the human body is not just an instrument or item of property but shares in the individual's value as a human being. It follows, therefore, that the body cannot be treated as something to be disposed of at will."
—Pope St. John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, feast day: 22 October)
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