Day 5 - Feast of Christ the King - Receiving to give

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MariaChristi

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Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today’s First Reading for the Feast of Christ the King, reminded me of the picture of the Nativity in which the Christ Child is embracing a Lamb. See Here. God’s Word assures us:
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.
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Let us listen attentively to God’s Word at Mass today, to receive Him in His Word and in His Gift of Himself in Eucharist - Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity under the appearances of Bread and Wine. The Good Shepherd feeds the Sheep of His Flock! We receive His Love as Gift and return love for Love. What have we that we have not received?

Mary, Mother of the Word, Mother of the Eucharist, pray for us.
May the Heart of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament be praised adored and loved with grateful affection!
May we ponder His Word. Christ the King reign in our hearts; reign everywhere!
 
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I am going to Mass in a few minutes. Thank you for reminding us of how special today is, in fact every time we go to Mass… God Bless:🦋🦋
 
Seek ye first the Kingdom of God…(Matthew 6:33)

The Kingdom of God is the theme that concludes the church year.

The fullness of the Kingdom of God in every day reality will be expanded as human history moves forward.
 
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Today was really special. Christ IS our king. Beautiful readings. And today Our Associate Pastor noted that today, many years ago, he celebrated his first Mass.

Beautiful.

Blessings,
Stephie
 
From today’s office of readings

Second reading

From a notebook On Prayer by Origen, priest

Your kingdom come

The kingdom of God, in the words of our Lord and Savior, does not come for all to see; nor shall they say: Behold, here it is, or behold, there it is, but the kingdom of God is within us, for the word of God is very near, in our mouth and in our heart. Thus it is clear that he who prays for the coming of God’s kingdom prays rightly to have it within himself, that there it may grow and bear fruit and become perfect. For God reigns in each of his holy ones. Anyone who is holy obeys the spiritual laws of God, who dwells in him as in a well-ordered city. The Father is present in the perfect soul, and with him Christ reigns, according to the words: We shall come to him and make our home with him.
Thus the kingdom of God within us, as we continue to make progress, will reach its highest point when the Apostle’s words are fulfilled, and Christ, having subjected all his enemies to himself, will hand over his kingdom to God the Father, that God may be all in all. Therefore, let us pray unceasingly with that disposition of soul which the Word may make divine, saying to our Father who is in heaven: Hallowed by thy name; thy kingdom come.
Note this too about the kingdom of God. It is not a sharing of justice with iniquity, nor a society of light with darkness, nor a meeting of Christ with Belial. The kingdom of God cannot exist alongside the reign of sin.
Therefore, if we wish God to reign in us, in no way should sin reign in our mortal body; rather we should mortify our members which are upon the earth and bear fruit in the Spirit. There should be in us a kind of spiritual paradise where God may walk and be our sole ruler with his Christ. In us the Lord will sit at the right hand of that spiritual power which we wish to receive. And he will sit there until all his enemies who are within us become his footstool, and every principality, power and virtue in us is cast out.
All this can happen in each one of us, and the last enemy, death, can be destroyed; then Christ will say in us: O death, where is your sting? O hell, where is your victory? And so, what is corruptible in us must be clothed in holiness and incorruptibility; and what is mortal must be clothed, now that death has been conquered, in the Father’s immortality. Then God will reign in us, and we shall enjoy even now the blessings of rebirth and resurrection.


Peace
 
Thanks anna, for your reply. Yes, every day is special and especially when we can participate in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and in Holy Communion.

The Liturgy of the Church Year is also special in that the Feast of Christ the King is celbrated in the closing days of the Church year. It is a good time to reflect on how we have served our King in the past, by His Grace and how we desire to be as faithfl to His grace as we can be in the coming new Church Year which begins on Dec. 3 - The First Sunday in Advent.

The Church Year is intended to help us live the year more mindful of our life in Christ. This thread and the threads before and after it are numbering 33 days of Preparation for giving ourselves in a special way: Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary as explained by St. Louis de Montfort in his short treatise: “True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary”.

If you have never read this little book or consecrated yourself, you may want to read the online version HERE. Pope St. John Paul II said that reading this book in his youth was a turning point in his life. He took his papal motto “Totus Tuus” (All Yours) from De Montfort’s writing.

God bless you as you open your heart to receive and to give His Love as Mary did, always. 🙂
 
Thanks for your reply, nodelink,

Yes, having celebrated the Feast of Christ the King we continue to ponder both the gifts of the Church year past and present and look forward now to begin the New Church year on this coming First Sunday of Advent. May we open ourselves more and more to receive Christ and to let His Light shine through us.

The series of threads I’ve begun for 33 Days is in preparation for total Consecration to Jesus through Mary, according to the beautiful wisdom God gave to St. Louis de Montfort. It can be for those who desire to give themselves even more fully to Jesus through Mary a way to do that this Christmas. If you’re interested you may learn more HERE
 
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Thanks for your reply Stephie,

Our celebration of Christ the King was special too in that our priest celebrant explained it has been a tradition in the Church to consecrate the people to the Sacred Heart on this Feast. He told us that we would do this in a simple way before Mass. He explained, he would open the Door of the Tabernacle, abd as a sign of reverence before the Presence of Jesus in the Eucarist, he would incense the ciborium containing the Consecrated hosts, then he asked that we make our act of Consecration in our hearts as he read the prayer of Consecration. He would then close the taberancle door and we would begin Mass as usual. It was very simple but very special.

The Threads that I am posting for 33 Days are in Preparation for another which St. Louis De Montfort explains in His treatise on “True Devotion” It is an Act of Consecration to Jesus through Mary and if you are interested you may read more about it, HERE
 
Dear hazcompat,

Thanks so much for this Reading from the Divine Office. My husband and I pray the Divine Office together every morning and it is always a blessing for us. The Reading from Origen is a beautiful one that you have posted, both for the Feast of Christ the King and for our 33 Day Preparation/ Journey to consecrate ourselves totally to Jesus through Mary as a “special gift” to the Christ Child on Christmas.

How truly Origen wrote:
…it is clear that he who prays for the coming of God’s kingdom prays rightly to have it within himself, that there it may grow and bear fruit and become perfect.
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The 33 Days Preparation, which St. Louis de Montfort proposes begins with the 12 preliminary days of “emptying ourselves of the spirit of the world which is opposed to the spirit of Christ” 9 from Chapter 7, paragraph 227 in his treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin.

Each time I’ve made this preparation to renew my Consecration in recent years I’ve become more aware of the stages of spiritual growth which the saints and doctors of the Church have taught – and how similar they are to the plan St. Louis de Montfort explains.

Origen like de Monfort, recognized we can compromise with evil, but we cannot remain “double-minded” seeking to have both the spirit of the world and the spirit of Jesus. Rather we must choose, by God’s Grace that the Kingdom of God be in us, with Christ as King:
…Note this too about the kingdom of God. It is not a sharing of justice with iniquity, nor a society of light with darkness, nor a meeting of Christ with Belial. The kingdom of God cannot exist alongside the reign of sin.
Click to expand...
Therefore, if we wish God to reign in us, in no way should sin reign in our mortal body; rather we should mortify our members which are upon the earth and bear fruit in the Spirit. There should be in us a kind of spiritual paradise where God may walk and be our sole ruler with his Christ…
Click to expand...
 
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🐏😇 Well I was thinking that (too) because it’s was in discussion about a week earlier while volunteering.
 
Dear cmjmevans,

Thanks for your reply. It seems to me God often confirms His Truth, which we can hear while listening to His Word, with the wisdom given to another servant or servants of His who may repeat God’s Truth to us by their words or example in life! 🙂 God is so Good and so Patient!

Christ Jesus is a King Who is also the Good Shepherd in search of His lost sheep.
 
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