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November 20, 2005
The Feast of Christ the King
Here's a post from Brian:
The Feast of Christ the King is a glorious feast day that not only celebrates the end of the liturgical year, but also the Kingship of Christ.
What makes this feast day significant is that it unveils the connection between Christ Our King, who calls us to follow Him, and our response. One saint who really understood this connection was St. Ignatius of Loyola. Before his conversion, Ignatius was a soldier and a brave one at that. Ignatius was blessed with the ability to apply his soldiering experiences to his spiritual life. He understood that when a soldier was called to fight for his king, he put on his armor, picked up his sword and marched into battle.
I believe this is what prompted St. Ignatius to place within his Spiritual Exercises a meditation based upon "Christ the King." For an experienced solider like Ignatius, I am sure this meditation hit home.
Ignatius starts the meditation by reflecting upon the characteristics, virtues and attributes of the best possible earthly King. In the second part of the meditation, he compares this earthly King to the King of Heaven, Jesus Christ.
Ignatius brilliantly asks two questions. Who is calling us? The answer is Christ. Secondly, to what enterprise does He call us? The answer is to fight for Christ the King. In fighting for Christ, we are combating the devil, the world and our own hearts. According to Ignatius, the weapons needed to fight in this battle are faith, prayer, humility, patience, self-denial, charity and zeal.
Each one of us is called to lead souls to Christ, who is the way, the truth and the life. Ignatius wants those who take part in this meditation to recognize that Christ calls all the baptized to join Him in fighting the "good fight." Because Christ is a "perfect gentleman," He will never force Himself upon anyone. Rather, like a good King, He calls His subjects to join Him and fight under His banner.
On this glorious feast day, we should ask ourselves the simple questions, "Over the past year, how have I responded to Our Heavenly King's invitation to join His army? As a soldier for Christ, have I been full of enthusiasm, passion and drive? Am I committed to the spiritual life and living the Gospel faithfully? Is My Heavenly King the center of my life, and if not, then who or what is?"
To help facilitate your meditation, some further questions to ask yourself are the following: Have I faithfully picked up my cross and followed My Lord? Have I used the weapons of humility, prayer, self-denial and charity to fight for My King? Lastly, have I served My King with joy or have I served Him with reluctance and regret?
May Christ Our King, bless you and your family. Amen.
God bless.
Posted by bobbi at November 20, 2005 6:36 AM
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