This Sunday, we celebrate the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe – or, as most of us probably say it, the Feast of Christ the King. Pope Pius XI instituted the Feast of Christ the King in 1925. It was a response to the fallout from the Great War and rising communism, secularism, relativism, consumerism, nationalism – in short, a lot of movements leading to injustice. The Feast of Christ the King is a reminder for Christians that earthly governments and kingdoms shouldn’t and don’t define us, because we are part of a kingdom that is “spiritual and concerned with spiritual things… it demands of its subjects a spirit of detachment from riches and earthly things, and a spirit of gentleness.” (from the Encyclical Quas primas, 15).
I don’t know about you, but as a mom of two children who are often overlooked, underestimated, and disregarded and who sometimes face bias and prejudice, the Feast of Christ the King gives me comfort.
