Homily for the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, Nov. 20, 2022. Gospel of Luke 23:35-43. Theme: Viva Cristo Rey! Christ the King Lives!
At 10 a.m. on Nov. 23, 1927, a 36-year old Jesuit priest, who was among the most wanted men in Mexico, was taken from his death-row cell and marched across the prison yard. As he walked he held a crucifix in one hand and a rosary in the other. One of the guards approached him and with tears in his eyes begged forgiveness for what was about to happen.
Upon arrival at the wall of execution, the priest asked permission to pray. Kneeling before the wall that was stained with blood and riddled with bullet holes from previous executions, he asked God for the grace to remain faithful to the end. Then, he stood up, extended his arms in the form of a cross and, facing the firing squad, exclaimed in a loud and steady voice: “¡Viva Cristo Rey!” “Christ the King Lives!” Shots rang out and the priest fell to the ground.
I am sure he was welcomed by Jesus with the very same words we heard said to the thief on the cross in today’s gospel: “Today you will be with me in paradise.” To the surprise and humiliation of the government authorities - and despite the danger to themselves by forming an illegal assembly - 60,000 Catholics attended the heroic priest’s funeral in Mexico City. And throughout the ceremony the defiant but prayerful last words of the martyr were repeatedly shouted by the crowd: “¡Viva Cristo Rey!” “Christ the King Lives!”
That priest was Father Miguel Pro, whom we now honor as a martyr and saint and his feast day is rightfully celebrated this week very close to the Solemnity of Christ the King. Born and raised during the bloody religious persecution of Catholics in Mexico in the 1920’s, he actually lived for a short time not too far from here down in Los Gatos. He had become the most wanted man in Mexico precisely because he believed with all his heart what we are celebrating in today liturgy: that Christ the King is Lord of all peoples and all things including politics and public social life, and that no earthly government has the authority to deny people their religious liberty or eject God and his ways from civic life.
Blessed Miquel bravely and unselfishly ministered in a nation whose anti-freedom laws forbid people to express and display their faith in public. In order to evade the police he became a master of disguises, continually avoiding capture and persistently bringing the Gospel and the Sacraments to the Catholics of Mexico City. He preached by his life and testified by his death that a person’s faith-relationship in Jesus Christ is not simply a private matter. It is not something to be reserved just for Sundays, or confined to the walls of a church, or kept politely within the parameters of personal life. The light of Christ the King is meant to shine on everything, to shine on everyone! It is meant to transform people and thus also transform society.
And it is by the grace of our Baptism and Confirmation that we Christians are supposed to be the ones who help to make this happen. We are called to be like “living candles” whose flame of faith enlightens those with whom we live, work and socialize. This means that our decisions and behavior must reflect our relationship with Jesus in all that we are and do, in private and in public, at home and at work, in all aspects of our lives no matter what that might be. This is how we do our part to enable the kingship of Christ to have a real influence in our families, our workplaces, our laws and society in general.
This social reign of Christ the King is truly the only sure solution to the rampant violence, drug deaths, confusion and division that plagues our nation. Many people think that the answer to our social troubles lies in education and politics, but these things are not the final answer because they are utterly powerless to bring about real change by transforming the human person. You see, society is simply the reflection of those who compose it and so the only way to renew and change it is to renew and change us, the people. And this can only happen by the grace and power of God when he is enthroned in the human heart and begins changing us from the inside out.
We celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King to remind us that it’s only through his reign of love and justice that people can have the hope of living in peace and freedom. And this brings me right back to where I started with the story of Blessed Miguel Pro, who could not be stopped from spreading the Faith and who would not be silenced even to his dying words, from proclaiming in public that Christ the King Lives! Viva Cristo Rey!
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