The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
How was your week?
We pray for Our Lord’s peace.
November is the month of Holy Souls. We remember and pray for those who have departed.
Anchorage has two cemeteries: O’Malley and Downtown. We can visit and pray at the cemeteries. We can pray for the dead before and after each meal. We thank you for praying for the departed before each mass.
Liturgically, today is the last Sunday and we celebrate The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. The Church professes Christ as the king. As stated in the first reading, Jesus is the King of the end times: “The one like a Son of Man received dominion, glory, and kingship; all peoples, nations, and languages serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, his kingship shall not be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:14)
What is Jesus’ kingdom like? In today’s gospel, Jesus speaks about his kingdom: “My kingdom does not belong to this world.” (John 18, 36) He differentiates our world and his kingdom.
You can also find this in the Saint Augustine’s The City of God which differentiates our world and God’s world.
The earthly city humiliates God and only focuses on the self-love. This love is impure and selfish. On the other hand, the God’s city makes us humble and creates God’s love. This love is pure, and supports the community and interests of others.
The earthly city is attached to the greed and pride but ignores the truth while undermining the morality such that it evolves into a catastrophic state for eternity. The God’s city follows the truth and moral maturity, and completes itself into a state of eternal bliss.
The two cities also exist within us. At some point in time, when faced with a moment of reality, we know God’s will. But we toil arduously before choosing the right path. It may be because others are watching, you feel like you are losing out, because you don’t like the person, or etc. We tried to justify our reasoning and fail to follow God’s will.
On this point, Saint Augustine says: “We cannot devote our lives to these frivolous things! Eternal happiness is waiting for us!”
Today, we celebrate Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe and as a resident of the God’s city we must pursue God’s will and the truth.
“Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” (John 18:37)
Amen
2021/11/28 First Sunday of Advent