DANIEL 7, 13-14
I kept watching in the night visions: And behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a Son of Man. He came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. To him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
REVELATION 1, 5-8
Grace and peace to you from him who is, who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.
The feast of Christ the King of the Universe was established by Pius XI on March 11, 1925. It emerged in the historical and social context of a Church struggling against the rise of republican and anticlerical movements. At that time, monarchies declared themselves Catholic, ecclesiastics were monarchists, liberal and republican ideas were antimonarchical, anticlerical… anti-ecclesiastical. It was a time when people shouted “Long live the Pope King!” and the Pope’s temporal power and the tiara with the triple crown of King-Priest-Prophet had strong significance…
The feast was therefore oriented towards controversy, to reaffirm the sovereignty of Christ, to urge states to proclaim the sovereignty of Christ and consecrate themselves to Him… The Church, especially the hierarchy, claimed its place, even its privileges… A very political context.
Those circumstances have passed – and God save us from judging other times – and once again, history does us the favor of being able to cleanse the Word of God from human words, perhaps valid in their time, but perishable, human after all. We therefore meditate on the more evangelical meaning of that word: “Are you a king?” – “My kingdom is not of this world”
Both texts can be studied together with the gospel.
José Enrique Galarreta