The Feast of Christ the King marks the end and the beginning of seasons of
Grace in the Church. It situates us in time and frames our life as Catholic-Believers. We follow His Nativity; we precede His Glorious Return. We enter Advent and prepare to celebrate the First Coming of the Lord as The Blessed Virgin Mary's child. The Feast also lifts our eyes and our minds above the world so that from a clearer vantage point we might look forward to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ as King: So when they had come together, they asked Him, 'Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?' He said to them, 'It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Sama'ria and to the end of the earth.' And when He had said this, as they were looking on,
He was lifted up, and a cloud took Him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as He went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, 'Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, Who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him go into heaven.' (Acts 1:6-11) The Apostles knew Him as the Lamb of God led to the slaughter (Jn 1:36). The crowds knew Him as another criminal put to death (Lk 23:33). Rome knew Him as an insurrectionist too dangerous to live (Lk 23:2). We will know him as King of kings if we keep faith with His Word: I [St. Paul] charge you to keep the Commandments unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ; and this will be made manifest at the proper time by the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords. (1 Tim 6:14-15). You and I will enter that eternal reign of which the Angel Gabriel spoke at the Annunciation, [A]nd of his kingdom there will be no end. (Lk 1:33) [Rev 5:6] Will He find us watching in prayer, our hearts filled with wonder and praise when
He comes again? Will we know Him as Savior and Friend? Will we go out to greet Him with great joy, our Catholic dignity unstained by sin and uncompromised by the kingdom of this world, the desires of the flesh and the glamor of the Devil? The Great and Terrible Day of the Lord (Jude 1:6) comes with judgment for all: Then I saw another angel flying in midheaven, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; and he said with a loud voice, 'Fear God and give him glory, for the hour of his judgment has come; and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the fountains of water.' (Rev 14:6-7) For the Faithful, He is Heaven's Wonder only for the sake of His love divine: For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? And 'If the righteous man is scarcely saved, where will the impious and sinner appear?'
(1 Pet 4:17-18). For the Faithless, the Tepid of spirit, for the Devil and his minions, He is Hell's Dread:
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive good or evil, according to what he has done in the body. (2 Cor 5:10) And again, But by your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed. For he will render to every man according to his works. (Rom 2:5-6)

There is no King without a kingdom, and no kingdom without a King. Likewise no kingdom, secular or sacred survives without law. In our Kingdom God's Commandments are supreme. As the great Gibbons recorded history's periodic witness: kingdoms rise and they fall, not so much from the pressure of external forces but rather from within, weakened by moral corruption and ethical decay. And no kingdom exists without servants: We can't all be king, Sorry! Look at the Roman Senate, or our contemporary version: Each senator sees himself or herself as Caesar. Do you belong to the kingdom of this World or to the Kingdom of Christ? No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. (Matt 6:24) Both demand service. Whom do you serve? Do you hold your God in your heart? Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. (Matt 13:16) Or do you hold your god rolled-up, clipped, walleted, deposited or cached between the mattresses? For this people's heart has grown dull, and their ears are heavy of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest they should perceive with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn for Me to heal them. (Acts 28:27)

Do you not know that you are heirs with Christ, heirs to the Kingdom? For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of sonship. When we cry, '
Abba! Father!' it is the Spirit Himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him. (Rom 8:15-17) You were marked with the anointing oil of Christ the Prophet, the Priest and the King. You are members of a holy nation, a people set apart by God for God, a people peculiarly His own. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. (1 Pet 2:9) You are a priestly people offering to God your Father along with His Son, our King, your total surrender of the will so that His Will might be done: And Samuel said, 'Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.' (1 Sam 15:22) Obedience to God's Word distinguishes God's people from the world. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own likings, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths. (2 Tim 4:3-4) And that Word was made flesh and dwelt among us (Jn 1:14). Cling to Him, be loyal to Him, follow Him and Him alone.

Our primary responsibility is to bear witness to the Presence of King Jesus and His Kingdom in this world. We are ambassadors of the King: So we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us.
We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. (2 Cor 5:20) Our behavior gives credibility to our embassy and validates our membership in the Kingdom: You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our behavior to you believers; for you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to lead a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. (1 Thess 2:10-12) We are never alone; Christ is with us in this Great Commission: Lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.
(Matt 28:20) Christ gives us the authority and the ability to carry out our Work in His Name: And His gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.
(Eph 4:11-12) Always remember this: Those whom Christ calls and sends, He equips. While the task is great, so is our God and He assures us that all things are possible if we only believe in Him and allow Him to accomplish His work through us: Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I go to the Father.
Whatever you ask in My name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son; if you ask anything in My name, I will do it. If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. (Jn 14:12-15) And we return to obedience to the Commandments of the King. Obedience opens the door to blessing and the favor of God; disobedience brings only judgment and a powerless, graceless, frustrating life as a Christian and as a human being. Greatness in the Kingdom of God is reached through obedience to the King and loving service: Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall
be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (Matt 5:19)

AMEN.