26-NOV-23, The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

Lectionary: 160

Reading 1

Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17

Thus says the Lord GOD:

I myself will look after and tend my sheep.

As a shepherd tends his flock

when he finds himself among his scattered sheep,

so will I tend my sheep.

I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered

when it was cloudy and dark.

I myself will pasture my sheep;

I myself will give them rest, says the Lord GOD.

The lost I will seek out,

the strayed I will bring back,

the injured I will bind up,

the sick I will heal,

but the sleek and the strong I will destroy,

shepherding them rightly.

As for you, my sheep, says the Lord GOD,

I will judge between one sheep and another,

between rams and goats.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 23:1-2, 2-3, 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.

Reading 2

1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 28

Brothers and sisters:

Christ has been raised from the dead,

the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

For since death came through man,

the resurrection of the dead came also through man.

For just as in Adam all die,

so too in Christ shall all be brought to life,

but each one in proper order:

Christ the firstfruits;

then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ;

then comes the end,

when he hands over the kingdom to his God and Father,

when he has destroyed every sovereignty

and every authority and power.

For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.

The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

When everything is subjected to him,

then the Son himself will also be subjected

to the one who subjected everything to him,

so that God may be all in all.

Alleluia

Mark 11:9, 10

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come!

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Matthew 25:31-46

Jesus said to his disciples:

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory,

and all the angels with him,

he will sit upon his glorious throne,

and all the nations will be assembled before him.

And he will separate them one from another,

as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

Then the king will say to those on his right,

'Come, you who are blessed by my Father.

Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

For I was hungry and you gave me food,

I was thirsty and you gave me drink,

a stranger and you welcomed me,

naked and you clothed me,

ill and you cared for me,

in prison and you visited me.'

Then the righteous will answer him and say,

'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,

or thirsty and give you drink?

When did we see you a stranger and welcome you,

or naked and clothe you?

When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?'

And the king will say to them in reply,

'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did

for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Then he will say to those on his left,

'Depart from me, you accursed,

into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

For I was hungry and you gave me no food,

I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,

a stranger and you gave me no welcome,

naked and you gave me no clothing,

ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.'

Then they will answer and say,

'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty

or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison,

and not minister to your needs?'

He will answer them, 'Amen, I say to you,

what you did not do for one of these least ones,

you did not do for me.'

And these will go off to eternal punishment,

but the righteous to eternal life."

Reflection 1

Catholic Daily Reflections

The End of Time

Jesus said to his disciples: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.” Matthew 25:31–33

Happy Solemnity of Jesus Christ, King of the Universe! The Church liturgical year is set up in such a way that we ponder the entire life of Christ in different seasons and at different times. Advent is a preparation for the celebration of the first coming of Christ that also focuses upon the final coming. Christmas is a time to celebrate the Incarnation when the Son of God was made manifest to the world through His birth. Lent and Easter focus upon the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus, and Ordinary Time presents us with the many lessons and miracles of Jesus’ public ministry. Additionally there are many special memorials, feasts and solemnities by which we intensely focus upon some particular person or aspect of our faith. Each feast and season is meant to help us delve more deeply into the mystery of faith that we celebrate.

This is the final Sunday of our Church year. Our focus today is the end of time when Jesus will return again to judge the living and the dead and establish His permanent and glorious Kingdom, visible to all. The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes this moment in time this way:

The Last Judgment will come when Christ returns in glory. Only the Father knows the day and the hour; only he determines the moment of its coming. Then through his Son Jesus Christ he will pronounce the final word on all history. We shall know the ultimate meaning of the whole work of creation and of the entire economy of salvation and understand the marvellous ways by which his Providence led everything towards its final end. The Last Judgment will reveal that God’s justice triumphs over all the injustices committed by his creatures and that God’s love is stronger than death (#1040).

God is truly a mystery. He is the greatest of mysteries. As a mystery, God is forever the unknown in the sense that He is endless and eternal. He has revealed Himself to us but we will forever enter deeper into our knowledge of Him because of His infinite and endless nature. This is important to understand because when we contemplate the many mysteries God has revealed, we must approach them as both known and unknown. Our solemnity today is one of those mysteries. 

Of this great moment in time, we know that the Son of God will return to earth to issue forth His final judgment upon all the living and the dead. It will be the final moment of time as we know it now. The dead will rise and our bodies and souls will be reunited. The just will enter the glorious New Heavens and Earth. Those in mortal sin will be condemned for eternity. The world will no longer be a fallen world. All illness and disorder in nature will be eliminated. Peace will ensue and perfect order will be established. God will be the universal King and will govern this new world forever.

As we celebrate this glorious mystery of our faith, we must accept and believe all that we know about it. But as we do, we must also approach it with deep humility, admitting to ourselves that we will never fully comprehend the awesomeness of that day until it comes. No earthly concept will ever come close to fully describing that moment in time, but we must adhere to our belief in it with a profound and unwavering faith.

Reflect, today, with a deep faith, upon this glorious and definitive moment in time still to come. On that day, all that will matter is how faithful you have been to the will of God. Your charity will become an open book for all to see, and the rewards for your charity will remain with you forever. As you think about that day with faith, allow it to encourage you to do all you can today to prepare for the Last Judgment. When that day comes, it will be too late to change. Get ready today and tomorrow and every day of your life so that when Jesus does return in all His glory, it will be the most glorious day of your life.

Reflection 1

Catholic Daily Reflections

AT THE KING’S FEET

“Christ must reign until God has put all enemies under His feet.” —1 Corinthians 15:25

The Old Testament describes God’s plan as making His enemies His footstool (Ps 110:1). Reigning kings in Old Testament days placed their feet on the prone bodies of their enemies as a sign of bringing them to submission. God’s vanquished enemies would likewise be subject to His will (1 Cor 15:27-28).

In the New Testament, God’s enemies are described as humbled beneath Jesus’ feet (Mt 22:44). Jesus, God Himself, died on His cross for all His enemies (Rm 5:8). He reigns on His cross as crucified King (Jn 19:19).

We all were enemies of Christ the King as we lived in sin (Rm 5:10). Then we came to know Jesus as Savior, Lord, God, and King, and we repented. We came to the foot of His cross and were shocked speechless when we realized how much Jesus, King of the Universe, suffered out of love for us (Is 52:15). We humbled ourselves at His crucified feet (Mt 22:44), and we fell at His feet to worship, thank, and praise Him (Lk 17:16).

King Jesus washed our feet; now we “must wash each other’s feet” (Jn 13:14). We wash King Jesus’ feet by feeding the hungry, welcoming strangers, visiting prisoners, and comforting the ill, etc. (Mt 25:35ff).

Have you subjected everything to King Jesus? Give Him your all. Place “all things under His feet” (1 Cor 15:27).

Prayer:  Jesus, “King of kings” (Rv 19:16), I rejoice to be Your subject. To You “be honor and everlasting rule!” (1 Tm 6:16)

Promise:  “Thus says the Lord God: I Myself will look after and tend My sheep.” —Ez 34:11

Praise:  Lord Jesus, risen King of the Universe, how beautiful are Your feet, which bring Good News to the world (Is 52:7).

Reflection 3

By Fr. Antoni POU OSB Monk of Montserrat

(Montserrat, Barcelona, Spain)

“Whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me”

Today, Jesus speaks to us about the final judgment. And with that metaphorical image of sheep and goats, He shows us that it will be a judgment of love. Saint John of the Cross tells us: “In the evening of life, we will be judged on love alone.”

Saint Ignatius of Loyola, says in his meditation “Contemplation to Attain the Love of God”: “love is shown more in deeds than in words”. And today's Gospel is very illustrative. Every act of charity we do, we do it to the very Christ: “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me” (Mt 25:34-36). Even more so: “Whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me” (Mt 25:40).

This Gospel passage, which grounds us in reality, sets the feast of the judgment of Christ the King in its place. The kingship of Christ is something quite different from dominance; it is simply the fundamental reality of existence: love will have the last word.

Jesus shows us that the meaning of kingship - or authority - is serving others. He declared Himself as Teacher and Master (cf. Jn 13:13), and also as King (cf. Jn 18:37), but He exercised His mastery by washing the disciples' feet (cf. Jn 13:4 ff.), and reigned by giving His life. Jesus Christ reigns, first, from a humble cradle (a manger!) and then, from a very uncomfortable throne, that is, the Cross.

On the Cross there was an inscription that said “Jesus the Nazorean, the King of the Jews” (Jn 19:19): what appearances denied was confirmed by the deep reality of the mystery of God, for Jesus reigns from his Cross and He judges us in love. “We will be judged on love alone.”

Prayers

Most glorious and universal King of the Universe, I believe and profess with a firm faith that You will return again to judge the living and the dead and will establish Your glorious Kingdom that will never end. Please help me to understand the greatness of that moment and to do all I can, every day of my life, to prepare for it so that it is, indeed, the beginning of the best day of my life. Jesus, I trust in You.

My glorious King of the Universe, You are perfect in all of Your ways. Your divine Law must reign in my heart and become the purpose of my life. As we honor Your kingship this day, I rededicate myself to You and submit more fully to Your sovereign control of my life. Please do with me what You will, and use me to help build Your Kingdom on earth. Jesus, I trust in You.

Lord Jesus, be the Master and Ruler of my life. May your love rule in my heart that I may only think, act, and speak with charity and goodwill for all.

Lord, I offer You, this day, all who are troubled and burdened.  I offer You the sinner, the confused, the ill, the imprisoned, the weak of faith, the strong of faith, the religious, the laity and all Your priests.  Lord, have Mercy on Your people, especially upon those in most need.  Jesus, I trust in You.