Sunday marks the final Sunday of the liturgical year with the Solemnity of Christ the King. Pope Pius XI established this feast for us in an encyclical Quas Primas, to help us to recognize the reality of the Lord's kingship over the universe. The Lord's kingship is not one of an arbitrary use of power or an arrogant rule of peoples or a subjugation of the dignity of man and woman. The Lord's kingship extends over all peoples based on the Divine Love and Communion of the Blessed Trinity. Here is a paragraph from Quas Primas to help our prayer.
"If to Christ our Lord is given all power in heaven and
on earth; if all men, purchased by his precious blood, are by a new right
subjected to his dominion; if this power embraces all men, it must be clear
that not one of our faculties is exempt from his empire. He must reign in our
minds, which should assent with perfect submission and firm belief to revealed
truths and to the doctrines of Christ. He must reign in our wills, which should
obey the laws and precepts of God. He must reign in our hearts, which should
spurn natural desires and love God above all things, and cleave to him alone.
He must reign in our bodies and in our members, which should serve as
instruments for the interior sanctification of our souls, or to use the words
of the Apostle Paul, as instruments of justice unto God" (Romans 6:13).Pope Pius XI
Quas Primas, 33
December 11, 1925
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