Pastor's Column 11-26-2023
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November 26, 2023Dear Parishioners,
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I hope that everyone had a blessed day. Here at the parish we had the Mass at 9:00am. At every Mass we join the Son in His offering of perfect thanks and love to the Father through the Holy Spirit. Hence we call the Mass: Eucharist, which means “Thanksgiving” in Greek. We also had our traditional blessing and distribution of bread for the Thanksgiving table.
This weekend we also celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King. At every Mass we pray the “Our Father.” In that prayer we pray for God’s kingdom to come. Every king has a kingdom over which he rules. As a king, Jesus Christ is no exception; albeit unlike earthly rulers, his kingdom has no limits. As the liturgical year ends the Church draws our attention to the reality of Christ’s kingship. In 1925 Pope Pius XI instituted this special feast. At that time Europe and the world were reeling from the catastrophic destruction of World War I. Secularism, nationalism and consumerism were on the rise. The old institutions, kingdoms and powers of the world faded away. In the wake of the demise of these earthly kingdoms, Pope Pius reminded Christians then and now that the kingdom to which we belong is “spiritual and concerned with spiritual things.”
Such a kingdom does not pass away. No earthly power can control it. It envelopes every aspect of our lives. Nowhere and no one can claim to be independent from His rule. Our minds, bodies, families, workplaces, politics, and everything else belong to Him. Nothing can compare to the privilege and honor of such citizenship, which we obtain through Baptism. While a passport can enable us to cross borders, the Sacraments enable us to cross over into eternal life. His rule is one of peace, not as the world gives it, but peace that persists even in the midst of suffering. Our king wants the free participation of his subjects to be co-builders of his rule. He does not want us to remain cogs in the machine or passive, servile subjects. He calls us “friends”. Such participation means imitating our Lord’s complete self-giving love to his subjects; to serve, rather than to be served. As Pope Pius XI continues: “it demands of its subjects a spirit of detachment from riches and earthly things, and a spirit of gentleness. They must hunger and thirst after justice and more than this, they must deny themselves and carry the cross.”
While the old monarchies have largely faded away in history; others have risen to take their place. Consumerism, hedonism and the like try to draw us into their realms. They make promises of happiness and fulfillment that, while hollow, can bewitch us. The Solemnity of Christ the King serves as a reminder that our allegiance belongs to Christ and only his kingdom is worth serving.
During this weekend Mass we also celebrated adult Confirmations. Many times adult parishioners approach me who have not received this essential sacrament. Often, they need this Sacrament in order to function as a Godparent or Sponsor, but we celebrate Confirmation in the spring. This fall ceremony is an attempt to give adult Catholics the opportunity to receive the Sacrament more than once a year. Congratulations to our candidates and may the graces of this Sacrament help them live the faith.
In Christ,
Fr. Barrow
