On the last Sunday of the liturgical year, we celebrate the feast of Jesus, King of all Creation. It was Pope Pius XI who, in 1925 through the encyclical Quas Primas, written after the First World War, desired that this feast be established. Pius XI wished to remind the faithful that true peace and human dignity flow from recognising the spiritual kingship of Christ, whose authority surpasses every earthly power or ideology.
The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, confirms not only Christ’s spiritual reign within the Church, but also our hope in his kingdom, which will be brought to fulfilment over all creation.
Our King, unlike any human ruler, is a king who serves, a king of justice and truth, of mercy, love, and peace. He is the greatest of all beings, for all things were created through him and for him. He is the beginning and the end, in whom dwells the fullness of all creation. He is the only way, the truth, and the life.
Let us continue to pray to our Lord Jesus that his kingdom may come upon the earth! Let us ask him to grant us the grace to recognise him as the sovereign of our hearts, and to accept us as members of his kingdom.
Jesus Christ of Nazareth, King of all creation,
the only-begotten Son of the living God
and of the Virgin Mary,
pour out upon us and upon all humanity
the grace you have won for us
through your death and resurrection.
Amen.
