”The Feast of Christ the King is November 25″

“Pope Pius XI instituted the Feast of Christ the King in 1925 in his encyclical Quas Primas. Pope Pius connected the denial of Christ as king to the rise of secularism. At the time of Quas Primas, secularism was on the rise, and many Christians, even Catholics, were doubting Christ’s authority, as well as the Church’s, and even doubting Christ’s very existence. At the time, Pius XI witnessed the rise of dictatorships in Europe, and saw even Catholics being taken in by these earthly leaders. Just as the Feast of Corpus Christi was instituted when devotion to the Holy Eucharist was at a low point, the Feast of Christ the King was instituted during a time when respect for Christ and the Church was waning, when the feast was most needed. In fact, it is still needed today, as these problems have not vanished, but instead have worsened around the world.

Pius hoped the institution of this feast would have the following various effects:

1. That nations would see that the Church has the right to freedom, and immunity from the state (see Quas Primas, 32).
2. That leaders and nations would see that they are bound to give respect to Christ (see Quas Primas, 31).
3. That the faithful would gain strength and courage from the celebration of the feast, as we are reminded that Christ must reign in our hearts, minds, wills, and bodies (see Quas Primas, 33).”

- excerpted from the Catholic Encyclopedia.

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“By attributing to Jesus the divine title “Lord,” the first confessions of the Church’s faith affirm from the beginning that the power, honor, and glory due to God the Father are due also to Jesus, because “he was in the form of God,” and the Father manifested the sovereignty of Jesus by raising him from the dead and exalting him into his glory.

From the beginning of Christian history, the assertion of Christ’s lordship over the world and over history has implicitly recognized that man should not submit his personal freedom in an absolute manner to any earthly power, but only to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Caesar is not ‘the Lord.’ The Church . . . believes that the key, the center, and the purpose of the whole of man’s history is to be found in its Lord and Master.”

- from the Catechism of the Catholic Church 449, 450

“Pilate said to Jesus, “Are you the King of the Jews?”… Jesus answered, “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.” So Pilate said to him, “Then you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.”

- from the Gospel of St. John, Chapter 18, verses 33, 36, 37.

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