← Christos · Rex GloriaeThe reign of Christ
Christ the King
Christus Rex
The pierced Heart is a King's Heart. Christ reigns not by force but by truth and love — over every mind, will, and heart, and over the life of nations.
The Solemnity of Christ the King · the last Sunday of the liturgical year, before Advent
In 1925, as ideologies rose that would soon deny God, Pope Pius XI instituted the feast of Christ the King in the encyclical Quas Primas — proclaiming that Christ's kingship is not merely spiritual but extends over all things, and that true peace comes only in his reign.
The General Roman Calendar now crowns the liturgical year with this solemnity on the last Sunday before Advent. Hebrews 13:8 confesses the enduring identity of Jesus Christ across yesterday, today and eternity.
Where Christ must reign
- 1Over the mind — by faith in the whole truth he revealed.
- 2Over the will — by obedience to his law of love.
- 3Over the heart — by charity above all earthly goods.
- 4Over the home and society — by ordering all to God.
- 5Over history — as its beginning, meaning, and end.
An act of homage
O Christ Jesus, I acknowledge thee King of the universe. All that has been made is created for thee. Reign in me, and in all the world; thy kingdom come. Amen.
With the saints · East & West
“For He was made man that we might be made God.”
The Eastern language of divinization means sharing in God’s life by grace, not becoming another god by nature. Only the truly divine Son can give this participation in divine life.
“Jesus, our Saviour, true God and true man must be the ultimate end of all our other devotions; otherwise they would be false and misleading.”
Consecration through Mary is ordered entirely to Jesus Christ. Mary is not another destination or a rival mediator: her maternal help deepens our baptismal belonging to her Son.