This weekend, we celebrate the end of our liturgical year with the solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. In December 1925, almost 100 years ago, Pope Pius XI issued the encyclical Quas Primas, establishing the feast of Christ the King on the last Sunday of the liturgical year. The Pope explained in that document that a majority of human beings in his day had thrust Christ and God’s law out of their lives, that Jesus and the values of his life and ministry no longer held supremacy in either in private affairs or in politics. In the aftermath of World War I, the Russian Revolution, and the spread of Marxist and secular ideologies, Pope Pius XI established the feast of Christ the King in order to communicate to the world that it needed to look, in his words, for “the peace of Christ in the Kingdom of Christ.”
Our Diocese is also in the midst of beginning the synodal process that Pope Francis has called all the faithful around the world to follow in the coming months. You have probably seen information about this in the Mississippi Catholic newspaper recently. The parishes of our Diocese will soon hold synodal listening sessions, which will provide “an opportunity for the people of God to pray together and ask of ourselves as individuals and within our Church community where we are being called in our journey together. It provides a moment in time for the universal Church to look at the greatest issues facing God’s holy people and asking how are we to respond as we embody the Gospel.”
In addition, this weekend kicks off the Year of the Eucharist in our Diocese as well, in which we celebrate the gift of the Eucharist in our Catholic faith. With the theme of the synod being a time of communion, participation, and mission, this complements the theme of the Year of the Eucharist in a very real way. With many Catholics not being able to receive the Eucharist and attend Mass in-person for periods of time during the pandemic, perhaps this has given us a better appreciation for what the Eucharist really means for us.
Blessings to all of you this weekend as we celebrate Christ the King and Christ’s presence in the Eucharist in a very intentional way. Father Lincoln.
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