"In the current Roman Calendar, the Church year ends every year with the
Solemnity of Christ the King. In the Church's calendar, it is something
of a new celebration. Pope Pius XI instituted it in 1925,
amid growing secularism and totalitarianism on the part of states that
claimed total allegiance over their citizens: the Pope wanted to
underscore that all men owed allegiance first and foremost to God. Pius
XI had every reason to fear the omnicompetent state: as papal nuncio in
Poland, he witnessed the 1920 Battle of Warsaw, where Bolshevik hoards
were turned back in their march west to communize Europe. By the time
Pius issued Quas primas, the encyclical establishing the feast,
Mussolini had been in power three years and was coming up on the
anniversary of his abolition of any pretense to democracy in Italy.
"Pius originally put the feast on the last Sunday of October. The 1969
reform of the Roman Calendar gave it greater prominence by making it the
final Sunday of the Church year, displacing the earlier arrangement
where the last Gospel of the liturgical year focused on the Last
Judgment. We conclude the Church year by recognizing, as the blessing of
the Paschal Candle on Holy Saturday reminds us, that 'all time belongs
to Him//and all the ages//to Him be glory and power through every age
forever, Amen!' (See also today's Second Reading, Revelation 1:8)."
In a recent commentary, writer John M. Grondelski reflected on the Church's celebration of the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe (which this year will be celebrated tomorrow, 25 November).
To access Mr. Grondelski's complete essay, please visit:
National Catholic Register: Blogs: John Grondelski: A Kingdom of Truth and Life (24 NOV 18)
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