“Christ the King” by Melanie Blaszczak, Fiat Ventures Solemnity of Christ the King
“Worthy of the Lamb” Art4TheGlryOfGod by Sharon
I was a 19 years old going to college and feeling lonely and lost. Going to a big school does that to a person. It wasn’t until I went to Mass with a friend and someone told me about a retreat that would be happening that weekend. It was last-minute, but I decided that Sunday to go. When I got to retreat everyone seemed so happy and excited to be there and I couldn’t understand why. The people running the retreat told everyone to be open that weekend and I thought, “why not, I have nothing else to lose!”
The weekend was a lot of fun, and it was Saturday night of the retreat that was really the spiritual turning point for me. It was the first time I had ever experienced Eucharistic Adoration, where the priest takes the consecrated host from Mass and puts it in a fancy stand on the altar, and then there’s a time of prayer and worship. I looked around and saw everyone singing and praying and it was almost like I was in shock and couldn’t move. All I did was get down on my knees and pray. And maybe let out a tear or two… or three.
I questioned everything that night from, “God, are you real?” to “God, how could you let me walk through life feeling so empty?” I felt this powerful movement in my heart that I never felt before and all I could do to express that was to cry. I didn’t even have the courage to look up and see Jesus in the monstrance. It was like something in me knew that Jesus was this mighty and all-powerful being and all a 19-year-old girl could do was kneel and honor Him, as you would a king. That night changed my life because I came to know Jesus in a very powerful and intimate way. He showed me that life should be lived to the fullest and that there should be joy in it.
Today we honor Jesus for being our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. In the Gospel we see Jesus being hung between two thieves and everyone around him is laughing and mocking him. They are saying, “Are you not Christ? Save yourself.” And Jesus does not do anything but hang there until one of the thieves stands up for him. We see the thief realize that Jesus is not just another man but that he is the Christ the King when he says, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And then, moments from death, Jesus shows mercy and love and tells the thief that he will be with him in paradise.
I realized on that retreat weekend that if Jesus is Lord; if he really is “King of the Universe” as we celebrate this weekend, then that means he’s king of my whole life. Everything I am and everything I want to be. He’s king of everything I’m proud of, and he’s also king of those parts of my heart that I’m reluctant to let people into.
The thief on the cross simply wanted to be remembered, but Jesus gave him infinitely more than that; eternal life in the kingdom. We have to remember as Christians that we’re citizens of heaven, even in this life. Whatever country we’re from, whatever our political opinions are, whatever our favorite football team, we have to remember that our deepest allegiance is to Christ, and his kingdom is not of this world. We’re just a pilgrim people here on earth, and our eyes fixed on the heavenly kingdom. So ask yourself the question; “If Christ is King, what does that mean for my life?” And don’t be surprised if the answer is way better than you expected!
Artwork:
CC:https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/
