R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come!
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Pilate said to Jesus,
“Are you the King of the Jews?”
Jesus answered, “Do you say this on your own
or have others told you about me?”
Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I?
Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me.
What have you done?”
Jesus answered, “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.”
So Pilate said to him, “Then you are a king?”
Jesus answered, “You say I am a king.
For this I was born and for this I came into the world,
to testify to the truth.
Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”

The Prince and Princess of the Year – I thoroughly enjoy when, at the annual Italian Fest, the Princess and the Prince of the Year are named. To see them parade around with their crowns makes me happy to see them showcased in a special way. I also smile when I hear a grandmother or a grandfather say about their grandchild, “That’s my princess!” or “That’s my prince!”

That, you can say, is an endearment, and one that is most worthwhile. It is very different from what happens in society when power goes to someone’s head. Think of Hitler oh Stalin or Mussolini. The fact is that the Pope of the Roman Church, in 1925, named this solemnity the Feast of Christ Our King to clearly state that only Christ is the King of the Universe. Today’s feast is actually a protest against totalitarian regimes who think that they, and only they, are “the king.” Today’s feast is relevant for our times because there are many regimes in the world who desire absolute power.

But this solemnity has a vital message for each of us as individuals who define life as he or she thinks it should be lived. I remember well from time to time when an individual passes away, they request for the funeral the song, “I Did It My Way.” Now really – this feast is not about doing it “my way,” but rather, doing it God’s Way. For Christ is asking us, both by Faith, and by our moral life, to show that we believe in Him as the One God, the One Jesus Christ the King, the One Who will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and Who’s Kingdom alone will have no end, as we say in the Nicene Creed at Sunday Mass.

You know, I really don’t object when a Catholic man or woman says to me about their life, “I did it my way,” as long as that way was in accord with Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. Examine your conscience, and ask yourself: Are you living your life according to the Way of Christ Our King?

At the Mass, we pray together, “For the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory are Yours, now and forever.” That prayer means not just my way.

Monsignor Michael J. Cariglio, Jr., Pastor & Rector, Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel – Saint Anthony Parish

As the visions during the night continued, I saw
one like a Son of man coming,
on the clouds of heaven;
when he reached the Ancient One
and was presented before him,
the one like a Son of man received dominion, glory, and kingship;
all peoples, nations, and languages serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that shall not be taken away,
his kingship shall not be destroyed.

R. (1a) The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
The LORD is king, in splendor robed;
robed is the LORD and girt about with strength.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
And he has made the world firm,
not to be moved.
Your throne stands firm from of old;
from everlasting you are, O LORD.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
Your decrees are worthy of trust indeed;
holiness befits your house,
O LORD, for length of days.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.

Jesus Christ is the faithful witness,
the firstborn of the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,
who has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and Father,
to him be glory and power forever and ever.  Amen.
Behold, he is coming amid the clouds,
and every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him.
All the peoples of the earth will lament him.
Yes.  Amen.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, ” says the Lord God,
“the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty.”

It has long been a Catholic understanding that when circumstances prevent one from receiving Holy Communion, it is possible to make an Act of Spiritual Communion, which is a source of grace. Spiritual Communion is an ardent desire to receive Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament and lovingly embrace him at a time or in circumstances when one cannot receive Him in sacramental Communion. The most common reason for making an Act of Spiritual Communion is when a person cannot attend Mass. Acts of Spiritual Communion increase our desire to receive sacramental Communion and help us avoid the sins that would make us unable to receive Holy Communion worthily.

Spiritual Communion Prayer

My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.

I love you above all things and I desire to receive you in my soul.

Since I cannot at this moment receive you sacramentally,

Come at least spiritually into my heart.

I embrace you as if you were already there

And unite myself wholly to you.

Never permit me to be separated from you.

Amen.