In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
Almighty and eternal God, Who willed to restore all things in Your beloved Son, the King of the Universe, graciously grant that the peoples of the earth torn asunder by the wound of sin, may submit to His most gentle rule. Who livest and reignest with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.
Apoc 5:12; 1:6
Worthy is the Lamb Who was slain to receive power, and divinity, and wisdom, and strength, and honor. To Him belong glory and dominion forever and ever.
Ps 71:1
O God, with Your judgment endow the King and with Your justice, the King’s son.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. R. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Worthy is the Lamb Who was slain to receive power, and divinity, and wisdom, and strength, and honor. To Him belong glory and dominion forever and ever.
A Reading from the letter of St Paul the Apostle to the Colossians
Col 1:12 - 20.
Brethren: We give thanks to God the Father Who has made us worthy to share the lot of the saints in light. He has rescued us from the power of darkness, and transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved Son, in Whom we have our redemption through His blood, the remission of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. For in Him were created all things in the heavens and on the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether Thrones, or Dominations, or Principalities, or Powers. All things have been created through and unto Him, and He is before all creatures, and in Him all things hold together. Again, He is the head of the body, the Church; He, Who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the first place. For it has pleased [God the Father] that in Him all fullness should dwell and that through Him He should reconcile to Himself all things, whether on the earth or in the heavens, making peace through the blood of His Cross, in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Ps 71:8, 11.
He shall rule from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.
All kings shall pay Him homage, all nations shall serve Him. Alleluia, alleluia.
Dan. 7:14
His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away: and His kingdom shall not be destroyed. Alleluia.
A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to John
John 18:33 - 37.
At that time, Pilate said to Jesus, Are You the King of the Jews? Jesus answered, Do you say this of yourself, or have others told you of Me? Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Your own people and the chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done? Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My followers would certainly have fought that I might not be delivered to the Jews. But, as it is, My kingdom is not from here. Pilate therefore said to Him, You are then a King? Jesus answered, You say it: I am a King. This is why I was born, and why I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.
Praise be to Thee, O Christ.
Homily of St. Augustine
Tract. 51 in Joann. 12-13; Tract 117 in Joann. 19-21
What great matter was it for the King of all worlds to become King of men? For Christ was not King of Israel for exacting of tribute, or arming a host with the sword, and visibly subduing enemies: but King of Israel that he should rule minds, that he should counsel for eternity, that he should bring unto the kingdom of heaven them that believe, hope, and love. Being then, Son of God, the Word by whom all things were made, that it should be his will to be King of Israel is condenscension, not preferment, a betokening of mercy, not an increasing of power. For he who was called on earth King of the Jews is in heaven Lord of the Angels.
But is Christ King of the Jews only, or also King of the Gentiles ? Yea, of the Gentiles also. For when he said in the prophecy: But I am set by him as King upon Sion his holy mountain, preaching the precepts of the Lord, lest on account of the Mount Sion, any shpuld say that he was set as King only of the Jews, he hath straightway subjoined: The Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son: this day I have begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thy inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
Tract. 115 in Johannem 18-36
Jesus answered: My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should be delivered to the Jews; but now is my kingdom not from hence. This it is which was the will of our Good Master that we should know: but first we were to be shown the vanity of the opinion concerning his kingdom, entertained by men, whether Gentiles or Jews,from whom Pilate had heard that: as if the reason why he must be punished by death, were that he had affected a kingdom to which he had no right; or because the reigning are wont to look with an evil eye upon those destined to reign; and there were indeed need to beware lest his kingdom should be adverse either to the Romans or the Jews. Now the Lord might have answered at once: My kingdom is not from hence: to the first question put by the Governor, Art thou the King of the Jews ? But in putting a question in return, namely, whether he spake this of himself, or had been told it by others, it was his will to show by Pilate's reply that this had been laid up to him as a crime by the Jews in their conference with the Governor: thus laying open to us, The thoughts of men, which he knew: that they are vain: and to them after Pilate's answer, making a reply which was more reasonable and suitable both to Jews and to Gentiles: My kingdom is not of this world.
From St. Josemaria Escriva
The kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel (Mk 1:15).
And all the crowd gathered about him, and he taught them (Mk 2:13).
Jesus sees the boats on the shore and gets into one of them. How naturally Jesus steps into the boat of each and every one of us!
When you seek to draw close to our Lord, remember that he is always very close to you, that he is in you: regnum Dei intra vos est (Lk 17:21). The kingdom of God is within you. You will find him in your heart.
Christ should reign first and foremost in our soul. But in order for him to reign in me, I need his abundant grace. Only in that way can my every heartbeat and breath, my least intense look, my most ordinary word, my most basic feeling be transformed into a hosanna to Christ my king.
Duc in altum. Put out into deep water! Throw aside the pessimism that makes a coward of you. Et laxate retia vestra in capturam. And pay out your nets for a catch!
We have to place our trust in our Lord ‘s words: get into the boat, take the oars, hoist the sails and launch out into this sea of the world which Christ gives us as an inheritance.
Et regni eius non erit finis. His kingdom will have no end.
Doesn’t it fill you with joy to work for such a kingdom?
Pray 5 decades of the Rosary meditating on the Luminous Mysteries.
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