Who Is Like Our King?
Posted by Rebecca Teti in Faith on Saturday, November 22, 2008 11:00 AM
The year was 1925.
A world in economic and political crisis stood at a crossroads between re-dedication to the faith that built Christendom or a plunge headlong into the darkness of outright rejection of Christ and embrace of materialism and pagan ideology.
Seeing this tipping point, Pope Pius XI declared a holy year: a year dedicated to honoring Christ as King of the hearts, minds and wills of all Christians.
At the close of the year he issued an encyclical letter, Quas Primas, establishing the feast of Christ the King we celebrate tomorrow.
It’s a short letter and worth reading as a preparation for the feast. He begins with the premise that the various evils confronting mankind spring from the rejection of Christ, arguing that the peace of Christ is to be found only in his kingdom: the kingdom that exists in every heart submitted in love for him.
What he says next is subtle. He holds out as the hope of the world first its missionaries who bring the light of Christ to the darkest places…and then the martyrs (in this comment he is recalling all the celebrations of the holy year).
A still further light of glory was shed upon his kingdom, when after due proof of their heroic virtue, We raised to the honors of the altar six confessors and virgins. It was a great joy, a great consolation, that filled Our heart when in the majestic basilica of St. Peter Our decree was acclaimed by an immense multitude with the hymn of thanksgiving, Tu Rex gloriae Christe. We saw men and nations cut off from God, stirring up strife and discord and hurrying along the road to ruin and death, while the Church of God carries on her work of providing food for the spiritual life of men, nurturing and fostering generation after generation of men and women dedicated to Christ, faithful and subject to him in his earthly kingdom, called by him to eternal bliss in the kingdom of heaven.
What did he see coming and what was he bracing the Church for, one wonders? I can’t help but note that Benedict XVI, too, speaks frequently on the theme of martyrdom.
Then Pius XI announces the establishment of the feast. The heart of the letter is his teaching on the sense in which we call Christ our King. This is just the opener:
It has long been a common custom to give to Christ the metaphorical title of “King,” because of the high degree of perfection whereby he excels all creatures. So he is said to reign “in the hearts of men,” both by reason of the keenness of his intellect and the extent of his knowledge, and also because he is very truth, and it is from him that truth must be obediently received by all mankind. He reigns, too, in the wills of men, for in him the human will was perfectly and entirely obedient to the Holy Will of God, and further by his grace and inspiration he so subjects our free-will as to incite us to the most noble endeavors. He is King of hearts, too, by reason of his “charity which exceedeth all knowledge.” And his mercy and kindness which draw all men to him, for never has it been known, nor will it ever be, that man be loved so much and so universally as Jesus Christ.
He goes on to consult scripture, Tradition, and the worship of the Eastern churches to “unpack” all that Christ’s kingship signifies.
Why do we want Christ to reign in the hearts of all mankind?
He is the author of happiness and true prosperity for every man and for every nation. “For a nation is happy when its citizens are happy. ...Oh, what happiness would be Ours if all men, individuals, families, and nations, would but let themselves be governed by Christ!
And then he comes to the reason for the feast. It’s humorous and realistic: people read encyclicals once…if at all. But parties, they attend!
That these blessings may be abundant and lasting in Christian society, it is necessary that the kingship of our Savior should be as widely as possible recognized and understood, and to the end nothing would serve better than the institution of a special feast in honor of the Kingship of Christ. For people are instructed in the truths of faith, and brought to appreciate the inner joys of religion far more effectually by the annual celebration of our sacred mysteries than by any official pronouncement of the teaching of the Church. Such pronouncements usually reach only a few and the more learned among the faithful; feasts reach them all; the former speak but once, the latter speak every year - in fact, forever. The church’s teaching affects the mind primarily; her feasts affect both mind and heart, and have a salutary effect upon the whole of man’s nature. Man is composed of body and soul, and he needs these external festivities so that the sacred rites, in all their beauty and variety, may stimulate him to drink more deeply of the fountain of God’s teaching, that he may make it a part of himself, and use it with profit for his spiritual life.
So: by order of the Holy Father, tomorrow is a big party—the crowning of the year! And make your fiesta your way of asserting to yourself and your family that no matter what the future holds, no matter what anyone else does, Christ is our king.
Here are some additional resources. You can get in on the tail end of a novena to Christ the King or pray this prayer of dedication of the human race to Christ or the Litany of Christ the King.
Fr. Cantalamessa, preacher to the papal household, offers this meditation for the feast.
This Christ the King party idea is probably too involved for overnight planning, but it might give you some ideas for next year.
If there are Spanish-speaking moms out there, you might be interested in this video. It’s footage from the time of the Cristero war in Mexico. The Cristeros are forever associated with the feast now since their battle cry against their atheist persecutors was Long Live Christ the King! What interested me even more than the images was the accompanying essay about the role of women in the resistance: quite inspiring! (Caution: some images are graphic.)
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