Dear Parishioners:

This weekend is the last Sunday of the liturgical year, as we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King. This feast gives special recognition to the dominion Christ our Lord has over all aspects of our lives.

When Cardinal Ambrogio Achille Ratti was elected pope and took the name Pope Pius XI, much of the world was in shambles. The year was 1922, and while World War I had ended, widespread peace and tranquility were not evident. The war to end all wars had been especially devastating to the countries of Europe.

Governments were in economic chaos, unemployment was rampant, and people were starving to death in many places. The stability of the old social and political orders that had embraced royal houses and crowned heads of state was crumbling. Pessimism, a sense of helplessness compounded by hatred among the nations, was overwhelming. Fascism and communism were on the rise.

In their distress, people clung to anyone who offered them hope, offered some direction out of the chaos, and promised to put food on their tables. And so, they gravitated to the emerging dictators. As they did, they often sought to be self-sufficient and to exclude God from their everyday lives.

Many considered the basics of morality and the teachings of the Church to be out of date, no longer relevant in 20th-century society. Modern thinking allowed that, at most, Christ might be king in the individual's private life, but certainly not in the public world.

Some political regimes advocated the banishment of Jesus and religious faith altogether, not only from society but also from the family. Moreover, as nations were being reborn and governments restructured, their foundations, policies, and laws were often fashioned without regard to Christian principles.

The new Pope Pius XI saw that people were denying Christ in favor of a lifestyle dominated by secularism, materialism, and false hope created by the new ideologies and leaders. He realized that he had to address the political and economic forces attacking the kingship of Jesus. As a start, he dedicated his reign as pope to "The Peace of Christ in the Kingdom of Christ.”.

In 1925, to acknowledge the supremacy of Jesus Christ over all people and nations perpetually, Pope Pius XI issued the encyclical Quas Primas (In the First). It added the feast of "Our Lord Jesus Christ King" to the annual Church liturgical calendar.

In 1969, St. Pope Paul VI, to emphasize Christ's universal reign, changed the name of the celebration to the feast of "Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of Universe.” He also moved the Solemnity to the last Sunday of the liturgical year. This change emphasized the connection between Christ's Kingship and His second advent (coming) to judge the world even more strongly.

Today, peace still eludes us; social, political, and economic orders are in turmoil due to the pandemic, and nations continue to reject the light of the Gospel. The problems of the early 20th Century seem to be alive and well in the early 21st Century.

The Archbishop of Los Angeles, José H. Gomez, recently gave an address in Spain entitled, "Reflections on the Church and America's New Religions." I suggest reading it in its entirety as it offers an insightful reflection about the current state of our nation.

The Archbishop suggests that the new social movements that exist in the U.S., such as "social justice," "wokeness," "identity politics," or "successor ideology," are "pseudo-religions, and even replacements and rivals to traditional Christian beliefs."

He further suggests: "Today's critical theories and ideologies are profoundly atheistic. They deny the soul, the spiritual, transcendent dimension of human nature; or they think that it is irrelevant to human happiness." Archbishop Gomez suggests "the world does not need a new secular religion to replace Christianity. It needs you and me to be better witnesses. Better Christians." We can be grateful, then, for the chance to celebrate each year the Solemnity of Christ the King — for the world needs now, more than ever, our witness to His rule over all things.

Be well. Stay safe. Do good. God Bless. Go Pats!!!! Fr. Mahoney and I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!

Is Christ our King Today??