“Almighty and merciful God, you break the power of evil and make all things new in your Son, Jesus Christ, the King of the Universe.  May all in heaven and earth acclaim your glory and never cease to praise you.”

    The Opening Prayer for the Mass of Christ the King, celebrated on the last Sunday of the liturgical year, renews the Church’s constant proclamation: Jesus Christ is our King!  He alone is Our Divine Lord and Savior!
   
    The Preface of the liturgy of Christ the King reveals the majesty of this great feast: “Father, You anointed Jesus Christ, your only Son, with the oil of gladness, as the Eternal Priest and the Universal King.  As Priest, He offered His life on the altar of the Cross and redeemed the human race by this one sacrifice of peace.”

    The Redemption! The central mystery and focal point of Catholic faith!  Jesus, the Eternal Priest, Jesus, the Saving Victim, suffered and died for our salvation on Calvary’s Cross.   

    Our Crucified Savior stretched out His arms on Altar of the Cross in mercy and absolution. He embraced every human person of every age. “Father! Forgive them for they know not what they do!”  In this eternal moment of mercy, every sin imaginable under the sun was washed clean by the Blood of the Lamb.  Christ the King is the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world.
   
    Next, the Priest prays in the Preface: “As King He claims dominion over all creation, that He may present to you, His Almighty Father, an eternal and universal Kingdom.”

    Here is the key to the mystery.  From who did Jesus claim dominion?  Satan!  When our First Parents sinned, man lost son ship with God and the gates of heaven were closed.  Immediately, Adam and all his descendants became subject to the bondage of sin, the dominion of Satan, and the punishment of death, eternal death.  Yet, God, in His infinite love and mercy, did not abandon us to the evil one.  He promised to send us a Redeemer who would save us.  God said to the serpent: "I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your seed and her seed.  She shall crush your head and you shall lie in wait for her heel” (Genesis 3:15).
   
    Jesus Christ is the Messiah/Redeemer sent by the Father. His mission was the Redemption, atonement to the Heavenly Father for the sins of the world.  Saint Paul tells us that Our Blessed Lord, in perfect conformity to the will of the Father, became obedient, even unto death on the Cross.  By our Savior’s sacrificial death on Calvary, the dominion of Satan was vanquished and the gates of heaven were once again opened. Man was restored anew to son ship with God: “By this one sacrifice of peace.” 
   
    Yet, we look about us and we see that sin still abounds.  Our world is engulfed in violence, greed and lust. The Seven Capital Sins seem to be quite in vogue.  With cunning, Satan and his agents have disguised them as goods to be gained rather than sins to be shunned. 

    Yet, let us fear not!  In Christ Jesus, we are a people of hope.  Despite the wickedness we witness in the world, Christ Our King will triumph.  On the final day, He will win complete victory over sin, Satan and death. "Christ must reign until He has put all enemies under His feet.  And the last enemy to be destroyed will be death"(1Cor 15: 25-26).   

    My dear friends, as the liturgy reminds us on this feast, we are disciples of Jesus Christ, the Eternal Priest and Universal King.  We have no King but Jesus.  We do not worship at the altars of the false gods of money and vice.  We have one Lord, one faith and one Baptism.  If live our Baptism by fidelity to the faith and moral teachings of the Catholic Church, we have the sure hope of eternal life. 

    Yes!  Because of the promises guaranteed us by Christ Our King, we know that heaven awaits us! When Jesus comes in glory to judge the living and the dead, He will reunite us with our glorified bodies.  Then we will see each other as the Heavenly Father has always seen us, made in His own image and likeness.  Enraptured in the ecstasy of the Beatific Vision, we will be with Christ Our King and Eternal High Priest. We will share eternal life with Our Blessed Mother, Saint Joseph, and all the angels and saints.
   
    The marvelously rich Mass of Christ the King concludes with this prayer: “Lord, you give us Christ, the King of all creation, as food for everlasting life.  Help us to live by His gospel and bring us to the joy of His Kingdom, where he lives and reigns forever and ever.” 

    Lord Jesus!  We want to be eternally yours!  You alone are the Savior of the World!  You alone are our Eternal King!  Come Lord Jesus Christ!  Come in glory!  Amen!