November 2025
Every year, on the final Sunday of the liturgical calendar, Holy Mother Church celebrates with great solemnity the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. We have a King and Lord not only of the world but also of all history, of the Church, and—most importantly—of our hearts. This feast is a moment to renew and rededicate our hearts and souls in allegiance to the Savior of the world. Unlike earthly rulers, Christ our Lord comes not to dominate but to serve, revealing His kingship through humility rather than through power. Do we not want Christ to reign over us—over our lives, our nation, our universe, our hearts, and our souls? He came for that very reason, and He fulfilled it through the total gift of Himself upon the throne of the Cross.
Pope Pius XI, in 1925, established this feast to reassert the sovereignty of Christ and of the Church over all forms of government, and to remind us Christians of the fidelity and loyalty that we OWE to Christ. It is through His Incarnation and His sacrificial death on the Cross that He has made us adopted children of God and future citizens and heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven.
We honor Christ as our Sovereign when we commit ourselves to lives of service to others, marked by forgiveness and sacrificial love. As Pope Francis continually reminds us, we are also called to live in solidarity with the poor, of whom there are countless numbers. Here is a King whose love is selfless, compassionate, forgiving, and—most importantly—unconditional. He has saved us through His liberating mission of freeing us from every kind of bondage that has enslaved us. Because of this great love and grace bestowed upon us by our King, we are enabled to live peacefully and joyfully on earth, knowing that what awaits us is eternal life in Heaven, where He has gone before us to prepare a place for us.
As Jesus stood before Pilate, Pilate asked Him directly, “Are You the King of the Jews?” We find this exchange in the Gospel of John, Chapter 18. Jesus answered, “Do you say this on your own, or have others told you about Me?” He then continued, “My Kingdom does not belong to this world. If My Kingdom did belong to this world, My attendants would be fighting to keep Me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, My Kingdom is not here.”
As we prepare ourselves for this great feast, let us pray the special novena prayer:
“Jesus, Thou didst declare that Thy Kingdom is upon the earth, but not of the earth; it is a spiritual, supernatural Kingdom—the Kingdom of truth. It fights with the power of conviction and conquers by this means the hearts that by right belong to it. Christ Jesus, Thou art the witness to the truth, and Thou art the Truth. Reign supremely in my heart and in my life. Thy reign is heavenly peace; Thy law is love. Help me to pray and work that Thy Kingdom may come into every soul, every family, and every nation.”
On this feast, let us recognize Christ Jesus as the One at the center of our hearts, the center of our lives, the center of our communities, and the center of our mission.
Father Richard Cipolla, in his profound homily on the Feast of Christ the King, reminds us that we are called to have a personal relationship with Christ and to believe that He is truly our Savior and Lord. As we celebrate this sacred feast, let us ask ourselves a few important questions:
- Do we consider ourselves truly subject to the words, the teachings, and the person of Christ?
- Do we genuinely believe that our King reigns from the Cross—the Cross which is, at once, the deepest reality of the world’s suffering and the only answer to that suffering?
- Have we enthroned Him in our hearts, minds, bodies, and souls—not in a merely pietistic way, but in a concrete and living way that transforms how we live each day?
Abbot Sharbel Ewen, O.S.B.
Prince of Peace Abbey
