Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
James Martin, S.J.November 26, 2018
Photo by Paweł Furman on Unsplash

Subscribe to “The Examen” for free on Apple Podcasts

Subscribe to “The Examen” for free on Google Play

Join our Patreon Community

This week we celebrate the “Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe,” a day more commonly known as the “Feast of Christ the King.”  It’s a relatively new addition to the liturgical calendar, having been instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1925. His intent was to counter growing secularism in the culture in which God is left out of our lives, and, in fact, a world in which we live our lives as if God did not exist. The institution of this feast came soon after World War I, and so it was also, in part, a response to the deep feelings of despair and confusion that followed the war. After such a bloodbath, people were tempted to ask, “Is anyone in charge of this world?” So the feast was an antidote to some of these dark feelings.  Today, however, many of us feel uncomfortable with the language of kingship, since relatively few of us, unlike in centuries past, live under a monarchy. Very few of us think of the world in terms of who our king is. And, also, for many of us the language of kingship is sexist.

So what can we take from this feast?  Well, the most important thing is not whether you live under a monarchical rule, or do or don’t like the “king language,” but whether Jesus really is the one who you consider your leader, and whether you grasp that God truly does rein over the universe.  You know, whenever people read the First Commandment, which talks about not worshiping gods other than the One True God, people sometimes laugh. They say, “Well, I obviously don’t worship some other God. And I don’t have little statues or idols that I worship.”  But then if you ask them if their lives are ordered around something like money or status or power or security or physical health, they’ll pause. Because maybe one of those things has become a kind of God for them. A kind of kings. So one question to ask yourself this week may be, “Who is in charge of my life?”

[Don’t miss any of the latest writings, podcasts and videos from Father Martin. Sign up for his newsletter.]

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
Dr.Cajetan Coelho
6 years 7 months ago

Leader, leading from the Cross is special and immortal.

The latest from america

Pope Leo XIV urged new archbishops to help him foster unity in a church rich in diversity. Eight of those new archbishops are from the United States, and they spoke to Catholic News Service about how they can help promote fraternity in today’s polarized world.
This week on “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley chat with Christopher White about his new book, ‘Pope Leo XVI: Inside the Conclave and the Dawn of a New Papacy.’
JesuiticalJune 30, 2025
Kerry Weber, incoming president of the Catholic Media Association, and executive editor of America Magazine, speaks June 26, 2025, during the Catholic Media Conference in Phoenix. (OSV News photo/Bob Roller)
Kerry Weber is an executive editor for America. On May 20, 2025, the Catholic Media Association announced that she was elected president,
Grace LenahanJune 30, 2025
"The whole church needs fraternity, which must be present in all of our relationships, whether between lay people and priests, priests and bishops, bishops and the pope," he said during his homily at Mass on the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul June 29.