CHRIST THE KING CLAIMS DOMINION OVER ALL CREATION
With the glorious feast of Christ the King, the Church brings to a close its liturgical year. As we try to make our way in a world that is filled with paganism, let us remember always that Jesus Christ is our King. He is the one Lord and Savior of all. Despite the apparent victory of evil in the world, in the end, Jesus Christ will triumph. On the final day, our Divine Savior will have won complete victory over sin, Satan and death. Saint Paul says: "Christ must reign until He has put all enemies under His feet. And the last enemy to be destroyed will be death" (1Cor 15: 25-26).
The key to understanding todayÂ’s liturgy can be found in the preface of the Mass: "YOU (FATHER) ANOINTED JESUS CHRIST, YOUR ONLY SON, WITH THE OIL OF GLADNESS, AS THE ETERNAL PRIEST AND UNIVERSAL KING. AS PRIEST HE OFFERED HIS LIFE ON THE ALTAR OF THE CROSS AND REDEEMED THE HUMAN RACE BY THIS ONE PERFECT SACRIFICE OF PEACE. AS KING HE CLAIMS DOMINION OVER ALL CREATION THAT HE MAY PRESENT TO YOU, HIS ALMIGHTY FATHER, AN ETERNAL AND UNIVERSAL KINGDOM."
As King, the liturgy tells us, Our Lord claims dominion. From whom did He claim this dominion? Satan! When our First Parents sinned, man lost son ship with God and the gates of heaven were closed. Mankind thus became subject to the bondage of sin, the dominion of Satan, and the punishment of death. Adam and his descendants came under the dominion of Satan. In His infinite mercy, however, God promises to send a Redeemer. "I will put enmity between thee (Satan) and the woman, between your seed and her seed (Christ). She shall crush your head and you shall lie in wait for her heel” (Gen 3:15). God did not abandon us.
Jesus Christ's mission was the Redemption, atonement to the Father for the sins of the world. Jesus said: "I have come down from heaven not to do my own will but to do the will of Him Who sent me" (John 6: 38). In perfect conformity to the Will of the Father, the Savior "humbled Himself and became obedient even unto death on the Cross" (Philippians 2: 8). By the power of Christ's redemptive act on the Cross of Calvary, the dominion of the evil one is vanquished. When Our Blessed Lord died on the Cross of Calvary, the gates of heaven were opened. Man was again restored to son ship with God. WE ARE SAVED!
If we are faithful to Our Blessed Lord by fidelity to the teachings of His Holy Church, we have the sure hope that heaven awaits us. At the Second Coming of Christ, we will be reunited with our glorified bodies. Then we will see each other as God has always seen us, in His own image and likeness. For all eternity, we will be with Christ, our King. Enraptured in the ecstasy of the Beatific Vision, we will share eternal life with Our Blessed Mother, Saint Joseph, all of the angels and saints, and our beloved families and friends.
Lord Jesus, we want to be eternally yours! You are the Savior of the World! You are our Lord and our King! We worship you and adore you, Our Eternal King! Amen!
Father Richard J. Rego, S.T.L.
The key to understanding todayÂ’s liturgy can be found in the preface of the Mass: "YOU (FATHER) ANOINTED JESUS CHRIST, YOUR ONLY SON, WITH THE OIL OF GLADNESS, AS THE ETERNAL PRIEST AND UNIVERSAL KING. AS PRIEST HE OFFERED HIS LIFE ON THE ALTAR OF THE CROSS AND REDEEMED THE HUMAN RACE BY THIS ONE PERFECT SACRIFICE OF PEACE. AS KING HE CLAIMS DOMINION OVER ALL CREATION THAT HE MAY PRESENT TO YOU, HIS ALMIGHTY FATHER, AN ETERNAL AND UNIVERSAL KINGDOM."
As King, the liturgy tells us, Our Lord claims dominion. From whom did He claim this dominion? Satan! When our First Parents sinned, man lost son ship with God and the gates of heaven were closed. Mankind thus became subject to the bondage of sin, the dominion of Satan, and the punishment of death. Adam and his descendants came under the dominion of Satan. In His infinite mercy, however, God promises to send a Redeemer. "I will put enmity between thee (Satan) and the woman, between your seed and her seed (Christ). She shall crush your head and you shall lie in wait for her heel” (Gen 3:15). God did not abandon us.
Jesus Christ's mission was the Redemption, atonement to the Father for the sins of the world. Jesus said: "I have come down from heaven not to do my own will but to do the will of Him Who sent me" (John 6: 38). In perfect conformity to the Will of the Father, the Savior "humbled Himself and became obedient even unto death on the Cross" (Philippians 2: 8). By the power of Christ's redemptive act on the Cross of Calvary, the dominion of the evil one is vanquished. When Our Blessed Lord died on the Cross of Calvary, the gates of heaven were opened. Man was again restored to son ship with God. WE ARE SAVED!
If we are faithful to Our Blessed Lord by fidelity to the teachings of His Holy Church, we have the sure hope that heaven awaits us. At the Second Coming of Christ, we will be reunited with our glorified bodies. Then we will see each other as God has always seen us, in His own image and likeness. For all eternity, we will be with Christ, our King. Enraptured in the ecstasy of the Beatific Vision, we will share eternal life with Our Blessed Mother, Saint Joseph, all of the angels and saints, and our beloved families and friends.
Lord Jesus, we want to be eternally yours! You are the Savior of the World! You are our Lord and our King! We worship you and adore you, Our Eternal King! Amen!
Father Richard J. Rego, S.T.L.
posted by Fr. Richard J. Rego at 9:42 AM
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