Christ the King

 

This weekend is the Solemnity of Christ the King of the Universe. Jesus is king of heaven and earth. When we pray the Lord’s prayer, we pray that His kingdom come as it is in heaven. Jesus wants to rule over our hearts, our families, our lives, our parish, our nation and the whole world.

In this time of history, mankind is turning away for Jesus. Instead of allowing God to rule over us, mankind wants to rule over himself. We are created in the image and likeness of God. But today, man thinks we are created in the image and likeness of man. Man has chosen to be the center of the universe. Mankind turns to man or to the government or to science to solve all his problems and so what is happening man is glorifying himself.

We create babies in a test tube. We think we are the master of life and so we choose to kill unwanted unborn babies. If we don’t want to live anymore, we choose euthanasia. If we don’t like if we are a man, we become a woman, or a woman thinks she can become a man through transgender surgery. Parents want to choose the gender of their unborn child using ethical means. We think we can define what marriage is-- but God is the author of marriage between a man and woman. Not between 2 men or between 2 women. All of this is mankind’s rejection of God and making man as though he was a god. That he can choose his own morality and choose his own sex or define marriage and choose his own children or reject his children for the sake of economics for career purposes. By doing all this we reject God as our Lord and ruler over our life. But we have to remember God is God and we are not.

A few years ago Halstead won the state basketball championship. I was the pastor of Sacred Heart in Halstead. As the season started, due to the persuasion of a Catholic mother, whose son was a player, and altar server, the whole team mostly non-Catholics, came to the church with their non-Catholic coach and we consecrated the team to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. A year later, that same boy, whose mother persuaded the team to consecrate the team to the Heart of Jesus made the winning championship shot. But after the game he was missing. The family could not find where he went. Finally, he came home and his parents asked him where he had been. He said after the game he immediately went to church to thank Jesus in the tabernacle for their winning season and allowing him to make the winning basket at the game. He said Jesus deserves the credit. This is a remarkable illustration of how the team placed God first and the Lord rewarded them with winning the championship. What most people did not know is that at the beginning of the first year half of the players, mostly the star players quit, because they didn’t like their new coach. Everyone thought the team would never win any games. But the remaining boys trusted the Lord by handing the team over to Jesus and they were rewarded.

Here is another example. Let me ask you some questions. When you get covid, who do you go to first, your doctor. When you have a tooth ache, who do you go to first? A dentist. If you have martial problems, who do you go to first? A marriage counselor. When you need money who do you go to first? The banker.

But these are not the correct answers to all these questions. This is proof, mankind has rejected the need for God and does not allow the Lord to rule over us. Rather in all these cases we should go to God first, then we go to the doctor, the dentist, the banker, or the marriage counselor. All of these people are gifts from God: the doctor, the dentist, the banker, the marriage counselor, but God wants us to come to Him first. So who should we first go to--when we need anything? God!

If we are sick we should first ask God to heal us and then ask God to help the doctor to heal us.

When I did hospital ministry over the last four years, I would always ask patients to pray to God for healing. Some said they didn’t think they should pray to God to be healed because they thought it was selfish to pray for one self. But they didn’t have a problem going to a doctor and asking the doctor for help.

Since 1995 I have had lactose intolerance. My colon was damaged due to a reaction to an antibiotic eventually taken off the market. I went to many doctors, but to no avail. That is until 2 years ago, I decided to do what I told patients to do, to pray to God for healing. Not once in 25 yrs. did I ever ask God to heal my colon. But in Feb. of 2020, I prayed and God healed my colon. Now I can eat cheese or drink milk with no problem. Praise God! Thank you Jesus for healing me! Just think it took me 25 years to ask God to heal me. I had not allowed Him to be the Lord of my life and my health.

God wants to lavish His gifts on us and to use those gifts for His glory and honor and for the good of our neighbor. I encourage you to turn to God for everything and realize everything you have is a gift from God. And how will you use those gifts. Will you share them?

How can you and your family allow Jesus to be king of your family, home, life and health? Ask a priest to come to your house and bless it. Consecrate your family to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Pray together as a family everyday. It takes less than 5 min. Do it every day before going to bed. Put a Bible in a prominent place, perhaps near a statue of Mary with a Rosary on the table and that is where you will gather as a family to pray. Start by reading a short passage from the life of Jesus, then each person will say what they want to pray for, or what they are thankful for, then pray one Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory be. That’s all there is to it. But its powerful. As time goes on add a decade of the Rosary and then eventually do a daily Rosary together.

At the end of Mass everyone will receive a free New Testament bible. This is my gift to you. Our Lady wants us to daily read the bible, but we each need a bible to read. Everyone who can read should read a short bible story about Jesus every day. You will come to know Him better and you will love Him more.

Today allow Jesus to be the King and Lord of your life, your family, your heart, your health. Place God first and everything will be given to you. God will lavish His gifts upon you, so you can share your gifts with others.

Let us pray,

Lord Jesus, king of heaven and earth, I have failed to allow you to be king of my heart, my family and my life. But today, I hand everything over to you-- the championship game, money, health, my job, my marriage, my life. I want you to be the King and center of everything, help me to always first come to you no matter my needs and I ask Mary, the Queen of heaven and earth to grant me the grace to be faithful to you forever. Amen.