“The Church does not cease to be amazed at the paradox of a King who made himself a servant, becoming like us in every way except sin . . . The King we contemplate today is in fact the Good Shepherd, who gives His life for His sheep. His kingship does not imply domination, but service” (Pope John Paul II). Pope Pius XI instituted the Feast of Christ the King to help us to recognize His Divine Kingship. On this Feast, we should recognize His Kingship as Jesus King of All Nations requested in revelations that received the Nihil Obstat that declares they contain nothing contrary to faith or morals.
Jesus told His “Secretary,” the mystic of the Devotion, “Mankind must recognize my Divine Kingship, my Divine Rights over them! It is only in Me, my child, that mankind will find peace” (See The Journal of the Devotion No. 160).
In the midst of war, terrorism, disasters and economic collapse, many in our country still live as if God does not exist and there is no King but Caesar (the rulers of this world). We need to pray that they will come to recognize Christ as King of Love and live His commandments.
Recognize Christ the King
Pope Pius XI said, “When once men recognize, both in private and in public life, that Christ is King, society will at last receive the great blessings of real liberty, well-ordered discipline, peace and harmony” (Encyclical Letter Quas Primas). That’s why Jesus King revealed to us the ejaculation, “O Jesus King of All Nations, may your reign be recognized on earth.”
The late John Denver recognized His reign in his song, Raven’s Child. John derided the kings of this world — drugs, arms and oil — who sit on their arrogant thrones. He then gave tribute to Jesus, the King of Kings, in these words:
The true King sits
On a heavenly throne
Never away nor above nor apart
With wisdom and mercy
And constant compassion
He lives in the love
That lives in our hearts.
Jesus Is Our True King
A true king protects and saves his people. Jesus King of All Nations dictated a Novena prayer in His honor as True King. He asked us to pray to Him: “Protect, O Lord our King, our families and the land of our birth. Guard us, we pray, Most Faithful One! Protect us from our enemies and from Your Just Judgment.”
Jesus promised us, “… every time you say these Novena prayers I will convert ten sinners, bring ten souls into the One True Faith, release ten souls from Purgatory, many of whom are the souls of priests, and be less severe in My judgment of your nation.” We should pray this prayer for the salvation of the poor souls in Purgatory and for the protection of the Pope.
Pray to Protect the Pope
Militant Muslims continue to terrorize the world. Pope Benedict XVI said that our God is a God of reason, that violence is unreasonable and therefore ungodly, especially when done in the name of religion by Militant Muslims. In this way, he tried to start a dialogue with Militant Muslims. Their answer was more violence throughout the world and threats to kill him.
Al-Qaida in Iraq and its allies warned the Pope that he and the West were “doomed” and proclaimed that the holy war would continue until Islam dominates the world. Al-Qaida said:
You infidels and despots, we will continue our jihad and never stop until God [permits] us to chop your necks and raise the… banner of monotheism, when God’s rule is established governing all people and nations…. We will break up the cross, spill the liquor and impose head tax, [and] then the only thing acceptable [will be] a conversion or the sword. Jihad continues and should never stop until doomsday, when [Islam] ends victorious.
This is a very serious world problem and needs much prayer to Jesus our True King and His Kingdom.
The Kingdom of God
The Kingdom of God actually means: God reigns. Jesus King of All Nations asked us to pray that His reign be recognized on earth. He Himself is present and crucial to human beings on earth. That is why Jesus tells us that the Kingdom of God does not come in the future like a triumphant parade. He said, “The Kingdom of God is in your midst!” (Lk. 17: 20).
The Kingdom of God develops wherever God’s will is done. It is present wherever there are people who open their hearts and accept Him and so let God enter the world. Pope Benedict XVI said, “Jesus is the Kingdom of God in person: the man in whom God is among us and through whom we can touch God, draw close to God. Wherever this happens, the world is saved.”
Pope Benedict XVI challenged the Church in the United States to pray and work to hasten the spread of the Kingdom of God in our nation. When he visited Yankee Stadium last April, the Pope urged us to pray “… in the Lord’s own words: ‘Thy Kingdom come.'”
“This prayer needs to shape the mind and heart of every Christian in this nation,” he said. “It needs to create new ‘settings of hope’ where God’s Kingdom becomes present in all its saving power.”
The Holy Father said that praying for the coming of the Kingdom of God “means facing the challenges of present and future with confidence in Christ’s victory and a commitment to extending His reign. It means not losing heart in the face of resistance, adversity and scandal. It means overcoming every separation between faith and life, and countering false gospels of freedom and happiness.”
The Pope challenged us to “follow faithfully in the footsteps of those who have gone before you. Hasten the coming of God’s Kingdom in this land! Only God in His providence knows what works His grace has yet to bring forth in your lives and in the life of the Church in the United States, yet Christ’s promise fills us with sure hope. Let us lift our eyes to Him, for even now He is preparing for us a place in His Father’s house. And empowered by His Holy Spirit, let us work with renewed zeal for the spread of His Kingdom.”
