Sunday, 22 November 2009

Our Lord Jesus Christ the King – Solemnity

Today the Church celebrates : St. Cecilia

See commentary below or click here
Origen : «Your kingdom come» (Mt 6,10)

Book of Daniel 7:13-14.

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, 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.

Psalms 93(92):1-2.5.

The LORD is king, robed with majesty; the LORD is robed, girded with might. The world will surely stand in place, never to be moved.
Your throne stands firm from of old; you are from everlasting, LORD.
Your decrees are firmly established; holiness belongs to your house, LORD, for all the length of days.

Book of Revelation 1:5-8.

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, who has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and Father, to him be glory and power forever (and ever). Amen. 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. “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.”

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 18:33-37.

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

Copyright © Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, USCCB

Commentary of the day :

Origen (c.185-253), priest and theologian
On Prayer, 25 ; GCS 3, 356

«Your kingdom come» (Mt 6,10)

The kingdom of sin cannot coexist with the kingdom of God. If, therefore, we wish to be ruled by God, let not sin rule in any way in our bodies; and let us not obey its commands, when it summons our soul to the works of the flesh and to what is alien to God. Rather, let us put to death the members that are on earth; and let us bring forth the fruits of the Spirit, so that the Lord may, as it were, walk about in us as in a spiritual garden, ruling alone over us with His Christ sitting in us at the right hand of the spiritual power we pray to obtain and seated until all His enemies in us become the stool of His feet and every rule and authority and power is destroyed from us.
For it is possible that this will come to pass for each one of us and that the last enemy, death, will be destroyed, so that also in our case Christ will say, “O death, where is your sting? O hell, where is your victory?”. Now, then, let our “corruptible” put on holiness in purity and all spotlessness, and let it put on “incorruption.” And let “this mortal,” when death has been destroyed, clothe itself with the Father’s immortality, so that we who are ruled by God may now be partakers of the good things of regeneration and resurrection.
(Biblical references: Rom 6,12; Col 3,5; Gn 3,8; Mt 26,64; Ps 110,1; 1Cor 15,24.55.26.53-54)