Seminarian Matt at Bat!

This Sunday, we celebrate the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, more commonly known as Christ the King. In 1925, Pope Pius XI promulgated an encyclical, Quas Primas (In the First), announcing the establishment of this feast as a response to the secularism and atheism of his time. I have included an excerpt from the document:

It should be remarked also that much has been done for the recognition of Christ's authority over society by the frequent Eucharistic Congresses which are held in our age. These give an opportunity to the people of each diocese, district or nation, and to the whole world of coming together to venerate and adore Christ the King hidden under the Sacramental species. Thus by sermons preached at meetings and in churches, by public adoration of the Blessed Sacrament exposed and by solemn processions, men unite in paying homage to Christ, whom God has given them for their King. It is by a divine inspiration that the people of Christ bring forth Jesus from his silent hiding-place in the church, and carry him in triumph through the streets of the city, so that he whom men refused to receive when he came unto his own, may now receive in full his kingly rights. (Quas Primas, 26)

The text in bold reminds us of our ongoing Eucharistic Revival, in which we as a parish, a diocese, and a country renew our worship of Jesus in the Eucharist. The pope’s words teach us that eucharistic revival is both an ongoing exhortation throughout history and a particular invitation for our present age. Nevertheless, the Church’s means for renewing worship of the Eucharist are stable and time-honored. Eucharistic adoration and preaching in the church, processions outside church walls, and congresses in large public venues always direct our attention to our true King, Jesus Christ. A good king is present to his people, and the Incarnation is the greatest, most kingly gesture in history. Jesus Christ “took the form of a slave, being born in the likeness of men,” making himself really, physically, substantially present at a moment in history and then for all time in the Eucharist (Philippians 2:7)