READINGS for 2006-11-26

Solemnity of Christ the King

RUBBING ELBOWS WITH PRINCESS CAROLINE

?I am the first and the last,? says the Lord God Almighty, who is, who was, and who is to come. ? Revelation 1:8

I once went to have lunch with Princess Caroline? you know, the daughter of Prince Rainier of Monaco and the legendary Princess Grace, formerly Hollywood star Grace Kelley?
      But don?t be impressed. I was not really invited to have lunch with Princess Caroline. I am a journalist and I was invited to cover Princess Caroline?s lunch with indigent, abandoned children? street children who are beneficiaries of the Princess?s charities in the Philippines.
      After the lunch with the poor children, the Princess had dinner with the rich. It was reportedly a P10,000-per plate dinner to raise funds for Princess Caroline?s charities. Many came to help the poor and, oh well, to have that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rub elbows with royalty.
      Today, we celebrate the feast of Christ the King. Now, this is one royal we could rub elbows with without paying any price. He paid the price for us to have that privilege to be with Him forever! Saintcha

REFLECTION:
What price are we willing to pay live a life with God?

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for dying for me on the cross, that I may be saved and live with You in heaven eternally!

1st READING

Daniel 7:13-14

There will be a time when Jesus will visit the earth again and this time He will come in glory. This time there will be no mistaking His identity and every knee will bow and tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father. This is a day that we should all be praying for ? a day that we look forward to with hope and expectation, as it will be the consummation of our salvation. This is what we are all waiting for!

13 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, 14 He received dominion, glory, and kingship; nations and peoples of every language serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, his kingship shall not be destroyed.

P S A L M

Psalm 93:1, 1-2, 5

R: The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.

1 The LORD is king, in splendor robed; robed is the LORD and girt about with strength. (R) And he has made the world firm, not to be moved. 2 Your throne stands firm from of old; from everlasting you are, O LORD. (R) 5 Your decrees are worthy of trust indeed  holiness befits your house, O LORD, for length of days. (R)

2nd READING

Revelation 1:5-8

Jesus is the King of all Creation and today we celebrate His kingship. As we honor Him today we should not forget that we share in His reign because He has called us into His ministry as priests, prophets and kings through our baptism. This is both a responsibility and privilege for us as well as something we cannot take lightly. Let us seek to be faithful in the way that we fulfill our call to be ministers with Jesus the King of His Gospel of life. Lord, grant us the gifts we need to be your disciples and ministers of the Gospel.

5 and from Jesus Christ, 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, 6 who has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and Father, to him be glory and power forever [and ever]. Amen. 7 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. 8 ?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.?

G O S P E L

John 18:33-37

Jesus knows that He is a king but it is not the same sort of kingship that Herod assumes that it is. The kingship of Jesus is far greater than Herod could ever imagine - both in length and breadth of authority. Let us revere Him as king and remember that as citizens of His Kingdom that we are bound to obey and serve Him. Let us seek to make this the goal of our lives and do all that we can to encourage others to do the same. Lord, help me to remove from my life all the things that hamper me from serving you fully as your disciple.

33 So Pilate went back into the praetorium and summoned Jesus and said to him, ?Are you the King of the Jews?? 34 Jesus answered, ?Do you say this on your own or have others told you about me?? 35 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?? 36 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.? 37 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.?

my reflections
think: Christ is King!

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God?s special verse/thought for me today________________

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T O D A Y ? S BLESSING LIST

Thank You Lord for: ____________________________________

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READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Acts 25-28

SABBATH PAUSE

My weekly time with God

THANK YOU LIST

Things to be grateful for from the past week

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SPECIAL NEEDS

Things to ask God for in the coming week

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HIDDEN TREASURE

Most important word God told me this week

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GETTING TO KNOW THE SAINTS 

St. Jude

Apostle (first century)

  ?To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus
  Christ: May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied in you.?

Of all the original 12 apostles St. Jude is perhaps the most commonly invoked in prayer. This is an ironic compensation for his obscurity in the Gospels. Aside from the citation of his name in listings of the Twelve, St. Jude is quoted only once. This occurs in the Gospel of John (14:22) when he interrupts a disquisition by Jesus at the Last Supper to ask, ?Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?? This question evokes the answer of Jesus: ?If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me does not keep my words; and the word which you hear is not mine but the Father?s who sent me.?
      This Jude is also the supposed author of the shortest book of the New Testament, ?The Letter of Jude,? which in its 25 verses warns against the dangers of false teachers who divide the church and lead many astray. While a number of the epistles are thought to be pseudonymous, it is very possible that this letter was indeed written by Jude. One of the arguments in favor of its authenticity  is the unlikelihood that any pseudonymous author would have attributed the letter to such an obscure figure.
       Apart from this, St. Jude enjoys widespread fame as the ?patron of hopeless causes.? Perhaps this is due to the similarity of his name to that of the traitor Judas Iscariot. For a long time this evidently inhibited supplicants from invoking the name of St. Jude. It might be supposed that this had the effect of storing up a good deal of efficacious power, now available for even the most desperate cases.
       According to legend, St. Jude was martyred in Persia.  

A STRANGE KING

Why do we still celebrate the feast of Christ the King when most of us today know kings only from fairytales and from history? And most kings in history were not good rulers. Even the Bible does not favor kings. For the kings would demand forced labor and taxes. And when the New Testament speaks about Jesus as king, it is when he is mocked and tortured.
        A brief look at the beginning of the feast might answer our question. The feast was instituted in 1926 only, one year after a very successful Holy Year. Never before had so many pilgrims from all parts of the world come to Rome for a Holy Year. It had made visible the universality of the Kingdom of God: all nations united under Christ in the face of political divisions.
        It was a time when emperors and kings were dethroned, when political instability threatened world peace. Pope Pius XI wanted all to realize that genuine peace   and unity can be achieved only under the benign rule of Christ. Kings and may lose their thrones ? but one ruler who remains in spite of all political changes in the world. King of kings and Lord of lords.
       Our times are not better. We feel threatened by escalating terror activity. We feel anxiety because of the economical situation. Where is the rock to which we can cling? The Church puts Christ as King before us. His kingdom is not builton worldly power but on humility and service, on the sacrifice of the King for his subjects. While millions have died throughout history for their kings, our King died for us! How different is this our king from all other kings who were dressed in silk and gold, crowned with jewels. A look at our king, naked and wearing the crown of thorns, should wake us up from our life of pleasure, luxury and selfish endeavors. A look at our king who rules from a cross as his throne should wake us up and make us realize that, as subjects of this king, we are invited to follow his example by dying to ourselves. A look at our dying king who forgave in his agony his tormentors and a penitent criminal should wake us up and make us more compassionate and forgiving toward those who have wronged us. Fr. Rudy H.

REFLECTION QUESTION:
What do I do for my King? How do I serve him? What do I do for the growth of His Kingdom?

Lord, I have some difficulties to honor you as king. For me you are more a brother, a friend. But it is good to be reminded that I should not pull you down to my level and not forget that you, after all, are in charge of history,  in charge of my life and destiny. Guide and protect me in these difficult times and let me not forget that I have also the task to build up your Kingdom here on earth.

Blessed James Alberione, priest founder, pray for us.