At a time when Christians were beginning to opt for a lifestyle dominated by secularism, materialism and various political ideologies, Pope Pius XI decreed, in the encyclical Quas Primas on Dec. 11, 1925, the Feast of the Kingship of Our Lord Jesus Christ to be observed on the last Sunday of the month of October. It was intended that during this day of the public veneration of the Kingship of Christ, sermons are to be preached to the people in every parish on the meaning and the importance of this Feast, so that they may order their lives to be faithful and obedient subjects of Jesus Christ, the Divine King. Subsequently, in Feb. 14, 1969, Pope Paul VI changed the title of the Feast to “Our Lord Jesus Christ King of the Universe” and moved it to the last Sunday of the liturgical year.
Why is Christ our King? First of all, Jesus Christ, the Word of God, is consubstantial with the Father and therefore has supreme and absolute dominion over all creation. (QP #7)
Christ is our King also because He is our Redeemer. (QP #13) St. Paul tells us: “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at a price.” (1Corinthians 6:19-20) All who have been redeemed by Christ belong to Christ. The Book of Revelation tells us that “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches, wisdom and strength, honor and glory and blessing… to the one who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor, glory and might, forever and ever.” (Revelations 5:12-13) By His death of the Cross, Jesus is the Lamb that was slain, and by His Resurrection and Ascension, sits at the right hand of God the Almighty Father in heaven.
Christ reigns in our hearts because He is the Truth, and from Him truth must be received obediently by all mankind. Moreover, He is the King of our hearts because of His charity and men are drawn to Him because of His mercy and kindness. (QP #7)
Christ reigns in our wills, for in Him the human will was perfectly and entirely obedient to the Holy Will of God, and by His grace and inspiration He inspires us to the most noble endeavors. (QP #33)
After Jesus was arrested and brought to trial, Pontius Pilate asked Him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” (John 18:23) Jesus replied, “My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants [would] be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here.” (John 18:36) The kingdom of Jesus Christ is spiritual and is concerned with spiritual things. The Gospels present this kingdom as one in which men prepare to enter by penance, and cannot actually enter except by faith and by baptism. This kingdom is opposed to none other than to that of Satan and to the power of darkness. It demands of its subjects a spirit of detachment from riches and earthly things, and a spirit of gentleness. They must hunger and thirst after justice, and more than this, they must deny themselves and carry the cross. (QP #15)
However, it would be a grave error to say that Christ has no authority whatever in civil affairs, since, by virtue of the absolute empire over all creatures committed to Him by the Father, all things are in His power. (QP #17) Pope Leo XIII stated in his papal encyclical: “His empire includes not only Catholic nations, not only baptized persons who, though of right belonging to the Church, have been led astray by error, or have been cut off from her by schism, but also all those who are outside the Christian faith; so that truly the whole of mankind is subject to the power of Jesus Christ.” (Annum Sacrum, 1899) Nor is there any difference in this matter between the individual and the family or the State; for all men, whether collectively or individually, are under the dominion of Christ. In him is the salvation of the individual, in him is the salvation of society. (QP #18)
If the rulers of nations wish to preserve their authority, to promote and increase the prosperity of their countries, they will not neglect the public duty of reverence and obedience to the rule of Christ. When God and Jesus Christ are excluded from political life, then authority is derived not from God but from man. As a result, the very basis of that authority has been taken away and human society is tottering to its fall, because it has no longer a secure and solid foundation. (QP #18)
The right which the Church has from Christ Himself, to teach mankind, to make laws, to govern peoples in all that pertains to their eternal salvation was denied. Then gradually the religion of Christ came to be likened to false religions and to be placed ignominiously on the same level with them. There were even some nations who thought they could dispense with God, and that their religion should consist in impiety and the neglect of God. The rebellion of individuals and states against the authority of Christ has produced deplorable consequences. The seeds of discord sown far and wide; those bitter enmities and rivalries between nations, which still hinder so much the cause of peace; that insatiable greed which is so often hidden under a pretense of public spirit and patriotism, and gives rise to so many conflicts; a blind and immoderate selfishness, making men seek nothing but their own comfort and advantage; no peace in the home, because men have forgotten or neglect their duty; the unity and stability of the family undermined; society in a word, shaken to its foundations and on the way to ruin. (QP #24)
Many considered the basics of morality and the teachings of the Church to be out of date, no longer relevant in 20th-century society. Modern thinking allowed that, at most, Christ might be king in the private life of the individual, but certainly not in the public world. Some political regimes advocated the banishment of Jesus altogether, not only from society, but from the family as well. As nations were reborn and governments restructured, their foundations, policies and laws were often being fashioned without regard to Christian principles. (QP #24)
It is our hope that the Feast of the Kingship of Christ may hasten the return of society to our loving Savior. It would be the duty of Catholics to do all they can to bring about this happy result. The state of things may perhaps be attributed to a certain slowness and timidity in good people, who are reluctant to engage in conflict or oppose but a weak resistance; thus, the enemies of the Church become bolder in their attacks. But if the faithful were generally to understand that it behooves them ever to fight courageously under the banner of Christ their King, then, fired with apostolic zeal, they would strive to win over to their Lord those hearts that are bitter and estranged from him. (QP #24)
The Feast of the Kingship of Christ is a time in which the faithful can consecrate themselves, or renew their consecration, to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and to make reparation for the widespread atheism, as well as blasphemies and irreverence towards our Lord Jesus Christ.