From the Pastor’s Desk: November 25, 2018

 
     On the last Sunday of the liturgical year, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, or Christ the King. Pope Pius XI instituted this feast in 1925 with his encyclical Quas Primas (“In the first”) to respond to growing secularism.  He recognized that attempting to “thrust Jesus Christ and his holy law” out of public life would result in continuing discord among people and nations. Today reminds us that while governments come and go, Christ reigns as King forever.
 
     Throughout the centuries atheistic regimes threatened not just the Catholic Church and its faithful but civilization itself. Pope Pius XI’s encyclical gave Catholics hope and—while governments around them crumbled—the assurance that Christ the King shall reign forever. Pope Pius XI says that Christ “reign[s] ‘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 the very truth, and it is from Him that truth must be obediently received by all mankind.”
 
     In 2018, the Church faces pressures from without and crisis from within.  In addition to the challenges that Christians in a secular society must confront, the body of Christ must also tend to the wounds inflicted on the Church by priests and bishops who either committed acts of sexual abuse themselves or failed to respond to abuse with justice when they had the opportunity.  Pope Pius XI reminds the faithful that Christ reigns as King of the entire world forever.  Let us rededicate ourselves this year to acknowledging the reign of Jesus Christ and His Sacred Heart in every aspect of our lives.
 
     This time of the year invites us to reflect upon the old and powerful tradition of the church - Lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi: “how we pray reflects what we believe and determines how we live.” For the Church to gather and exalt Christ as King is to bring the rhythm of Christian existence to culmination in Christ as Lord and Savior, King and Redeemer of the world. It means subscribing to the conviction that the only effective power in the world – greater than all the money and missiles one might rely on for security – is the power of persistent Christ-like love. May our regular contact with Jesus in the Eucharist unite every fragment of our lives to the honor of Christ our King, so that “Christ may be all in all” (Col 3:11). For the bread He offers us is His very flesh given “for the life of the world” (Jn 6:15).
 
     Ultimately, celebrating the Solemnity of Christ the King is a recognition of the immense trust we are meant to place in Jesus. If He is King and we are living in His kingdom, then we are meant to place our hopes and dreams, our trust and confidence in His power, which is eternal, glorious, and life-giving. Everything we do, both on this feast and throughout the year, should be in honor of Jesus as King. The way we wash the dishes, the way we read books to our children, the way we go to work, pay the bills, study for school—everything we do, from the loftiest to the most mundane of tasks can be a moment to trust and be confident in the power of Jesus Christ as King, and to ask Him to show us His power both in our life and in our world.*
 
     It is with gratitude and thanksgiving to share with you that the first week of our Roof Repair Appeal brought just short of $ 10,000.00. This is truly a tremendous sign of our care to protect our house of God where Jesus Christ the King of the Universe has a special place.
 
     I wish you a blessed week!
 
With prayers,
Fr. Andy
 
*Notes taken from USCCB.org website - Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe/Reflections