CHRIST THE KING  SUNDAY – CYCLE A – 2020 

• This Sunday   we honor Jesus King of the universe.   
• The liturgical year began with the baptism of Jesus and it ends with the celebration of Jesus Christ King of the Universe.         
• The young carpenter from Nazareth went to the Jordan River together with other men to  listen to John and to be baptized by him.
• When he exits from the waters of the river he hears the voice of the Father that says  “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.”
• After this experience he will go to the desert to reflect and contemplate these words he has heard that he is the beloved, this is who he is and what  his mission is.
• This young man after his death and resurrection is made Lord of the living and the dead.   
•  We believe that He is the eternal Son of the Father, the Second Person of the Trinity, the creating Word of God, by whom everything has been made.
• After his ascension he will send the Spirit, the Spirit of the Father and of the Son upon the newborn church, the tiny community of the origins, so that the seed he planted may give fruit and the community of the believers may grow for the good of all.  

The solemnity of Christ the King is a liturgical celebration quite recent. It was established by Pope Pius XI in 1925 in response to the totalitarian and atheistic governments that denied the rights of God and of the Church.    Many martyrs of this epoch and also afterwards went to death shouting the profession of faith “Long live Jesus Christ the King.”  

Even if it is true that the celebration is quite recent, not so de meaning which was born with Christianity itself, because “Christ is King” is the same as “Jesus is Lord” which was the central phrase of the apostolic preaching. 

For more information on the meaning of this Sunday go to the Catechism of the Catholic Church 671. 

FIRST READING  - Ez 34: 11-12. 15-17

Ø  The mission of the king in Israel was to be the shepherd. 

Ø  David was a shepherd and became a king.   

Ø  The king had to take care of his people with the same dedication as the shepherd for each one of his sheep.    

Ø  Jesus, the incarnate Son of God has come into the world to gather the sheep that were scattered. 

Ø  To bring all the scattered due to different causes to a place of peace and calm.  

Ø  He seeks the one that is lost, each sheep has an infinite value and he seeks it even if it is only one.   

Ø  He takes care of the sick and strengthens the weak. Each one of us knows a lot about this, and how the Lord strengthens us in our weakness. 

Ø  He will tend them with justice.  

Ø  And he asks us to do the same; we are all called in some way to be like our Shepherd, to be shepherds of one another.   

RESPONSORIAL PSALM  - Ps  23: 1-2a. 2b-3. 5-6

R. (1) The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me in right paths
for his name's sake.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. 

v This is one of the most beautiful psalms in the Bible.   

v It touches the deepest recesses of our being, its repetitions calms our heart, like the heart of the baby is calmed by the arms and the voice of the mother or the father

v We recite this psalm very often at the funeral masses, moment when the person is more in need of the kindness and the security of God’s love.   

GOSPEL  Mt 25: 31-46

·       In the liturgical year A the Church takes the Gospel of this  Mass from ch.25 of St. Matthew. 

·       In the Gospel of Matthew Jesus is the Emmanuel, God-is-with-us.   

·       In Matthew’s Gospel there are three moments that remind us that Jesus is the Emmanuel: at the beginning in the first chapter when Joseph is told that the baby that Mary carries in her womb is the Emmanuel, at the end Jesus says “I will be with you until the end of time.”

·       But, maybe some of us will ask “where is this Emmanuel, because I do not see or hear him… I do not feel his presence… 

·       And Jesus will tell us in  the parable we will read this Sunday 

·       I am in   

o   Those who suffer hunger, thirst, who need clothing, housing, who are in jail, in the hospitals, who are lonely… and each one of us may add to this list.  

o   We may reflect and say   

·       Who are the hungry? Do they need bread? Water? Justice, Truth, Love?  

·       Who are in need of something? Do they only need clothing or house or maybe they need books, teachers, schools? Are they forbidden to enjoy the knowledge that all of us can? 

·       Who are the prisoners? Only those in jail? Or maybe also those with some kind of addiction: drugs, food, drinking, tobacco, sex, power, money, vanity… are they maybe the women, men and children abused in the family who look at us begging for help?  are they the men and women filled with anger and violence?

·       Who are the sick? Are they sick with physical illnesses or maybe also they suffer in their souls, or they suffer from loneliness, abandonment, ridicule… who thirst for love but they do not receive it…? Here also we may enlarge this list with so many different sufferings.  

·       The Lord identifies himself with all of these, those we do not want to encounter because they demand from us and we do not want to be disturbed in our plans, we do not want to go out of our comfort zone. 

·       Because it continues to be true that the Lord comes into our life as a thief in the night, without warning and he inconveniences us, changes our plans, and this happens not only in the final hour, but many times along our earthly life. 

·       It is our task to prepare ourselves to recognize him when he comes, and to welcome him.  

  CLARETIAN CORNER

                Let the missionary:

pray with Christ, praying;

travel with Christ travelling;

eat with Christ eating;

drink, with Christ drinking;

sleep with Christ sleeping;

suffer with Christ suffering;

preach with Christ preaching;

rest with Christ tired

and live with Christ dying,

if he wants to enter into life with Christ reigning

To the greatest glory of God and well-being of my soul.

Amen

 Venerable María Antonia París, foundress of the Religious of Mary Immaculate CLaretian Missionary Sisters, The Apostolic Missionary, 2.31.

I tell myself: A Son of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is a man on fire with love, who spreads its flames wherever he goes. He desires mightily and strives by all means possible to set the whole world on fire with God's love. Nothing daunts him; he delights in privations, welcomes work, embraces sacrifices, smiles at slander, and rejoices in suffering. His only concern is how he can best follow Jesus Christ and imitate Him in working, suffering, and striving constantly and single-mindedly for the greater glory of God and the salvation of souls. Saint Anthony Mary Claret, Founder of the Religious of Mary Immaculate Claretian Missionary Sisters, Autobiography 494.   

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

CLARET, Saint Anthony Mary, Autobiography.

PARIS, Venerable María Antonia, Autobiography.