From our Pastor’s Desk

Dear Family:

In the second half of the nineteenth century, Catholics took a deep look at their faith and at the meaning of being Catholic Christians. At that time, the Church was suffering from those who emphasized the Divinity of Christ to such a degree that His Presence was seen as too great for the ordinary person to tolerate. This was really a heresy. It removed the possibility for a person to have a personal relationship with the Lord. That is not in keeping with Scripture, where Jesus calls his disciples and us his friends.

When the Church looked at this during the second half of the last century, it realized the importance of people recognizing their personal relationship with the Lord. We were told, rightly so, that Jesus is a loving, caring friend. This is great news. We should have an active and open communication with the Lord. We should have an active and open prayer life.

However, this way of thinking can also be taken to an extreme. Jesus is not just our friend. He is also our King. When we hear the word "king" we often think of the splendor of Versailles of Louis XIV of France, or the Russian court of Catherine the Great, or even the modern British court of Charles III. The thought of these monarchs invokes scenes of lavish banquets, with plates of gold and silver flasks. We think of absolute despotism. This is certainly not the type of king presented in today's readings.

In the first reading Jesus is compared with King David. David was a son of the people of Israel. He was a shepherd who was given the kingdom due to his ability to fight the enemies of his people. As King, Jesus is the chosen one, picked out like David to shepherd and lead the people. Like David, Jesus was anointed to serve the People of God.

In the second reading, from the Letter of St. Paul to the Colossians, Jesus' kingship is presented in a mystic terminology. He is the image of the invisible God through whom all things, visible and invisible were created. All are subject to him. He is the head of the Church. All spiritual and temporal powers were created through him and for him. Most important, he is the one who reconciled everything in heaven and on earth to the Father. He is the Redeemer, the One who sets the world back on course to give glory to God. He is the one who forgives sins. This reading ends by saying that Jesus has used his power to bring God's peace to the earth, through His Blood on the Cross.

In today’s Gospel, the scene is Calvary. Those who saw the Passion of Christ movie will forever be changed by the mere thought of Calvary. The movie portrayed Jesus’ sense of abandonment by his people. Only the Virgin Mary, John and Mary Magdalene are there. Yet, it is on the cross that Jesus is proclaimed to be a King. This was really not by the Romans, who placed a sarcastic sign over his head, “This is the King of the Jews.” On the cross, Jesus was proclaimed to be a King by one of the criminals who was dying with him. “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus demonstrated his real power when he turned to the repentant criminal and said, "This day you will be with me in Paradise."

He is our King. His Kingdom is, as today’s Preface says, a Kingdom of truth and life, a Kingdom of holiness and grace, a Kingdom of justice, love and peace. We have now been called to imitate him at his most regal moment: reigning on the Cross, sacrificing himself for others, reconciling, and forgiving. We are called to realize with our lives the Kingdom of truth and life, holiness, grace, justice, love and peace.

We must ask Christ today to help us to sacrifice ourselves as he sacrificed himself. Sacrifice is noble. All of us literally run out of gas, giving to those who are continually demanding from us. We all want to say, "Enough is enough, let the children take care of themselves, let the older folks find their own solutions to problems arising from their limited abilities.” The married among us often want to say, “My spouse is demanding too much.” However, there was no limit to Christ's sacrifice and there is no limit to the extent he wants us to follow him.

Perhaps the greatest sacrifice we are called to make is the sacrifice of forgiving those who have hurt us. Look at Jesus on the cross. He forgave those who conspired against him. He forgave those who were brutalizing him. He forgave his disciples who deserted him. He saw our sins, your sins and mine, and embraced the cross to restore grace, not just to the world in general, but to you and me. It is harder to say, "You are forgiven," than it is to say, "I am sorry." But that is the way of the King on the cross forgiving the criminal, the ones mocking Him, and even His executioners. It is also the way of the Kingdom.

We are called to be members of a Kingdom of Truth. Jesus told Pilate that he came to give testimony to the truth. Pilate sarcastically asked, "What is truth?" For many, truth is relative. However, it is not for us. Jesus Christ is the truth. He is the King of truth. The truth of Jesus Christ is that there is infinitely more to our existence than the physical one. The Truth of Jesus Christ is that His Kingdom is worth infinitely more than all the riches of the world. The truth of Jesus Christ is more than that; living for personal gratification is taking a dive into an empty pool.

There is truth indeed, and we stand for the truth and with Jesus. If and when we stand for the truth of Christ, we are set apart from others, and that is what holiness is: to be set apart for God. Therefore, His Kingdom is a Kingdom of Holiness.

It is also the Kingdom of justice and love. For truth demands that we protect the rights of all. We, the Church, cannot and will not ignore the plight of the poor, the sick, the mentally and physically challenged, those who are abused by the system, the battered wife, the helpless baby--inside or outside the mother’s womb, the scorned migrant, and all the lepers of the modern world. As followers of Jesus Christ we are committed to his Kingdom of justice and love.

The Church’s Liturgical Year is over. Like the conclusion of a good book, the final chapter sums up the essence of the book. The Solemnity of Christ the King sums up the Church Liturgical Year by proclaiming: Jesus is the central mystery of our faith. He lived, he died, he rose, and he will come again. He went about preaching the Kingdom of God and encouraging us to change our lives so we can become members of this Kingdom. He told us to avoid the materialism of the world. He called us friends, and brothers and sisters. He called us His own. He told us to keep His presence alive in the world by bringing His compassion to others. He allowed us to be called Christians.

I hope to see you at the Mass on Thanksgiving Day, 10:00 a.m., this coming Thursday. May we have the courage to be faithful members of His Kingdom as One Body, One Spirit, One Family! Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Katharine Drexel, Saint Michael the Archangel, St. José Gregorio Hernández, Pope Saint Pius X, St. Teresa of Avila, and St. Charbel, pray for us.

Yours in Christ Jesus!
Fr. Omar