Sunday, November 21
Christ the King – Solemnity
Roman Ordinary calendar
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),1ab.1c-2.5.
The LORD is king, in splendor robed;
robed is the LORD and girt about with strength.
And he has made the world firm,
your throne stands firm from of old;
from everlasting you are, O LORD.
Your decrees are worthy of trust indeed:
holiness befits your house,
O LORD, for length of days.
Book of Revelation 1,5-8.
Jesus Christ is 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 18,33b-37.
Pilate said to Jesus, “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.”
Saint Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)
Carmelite, Doctor of the Church
The Way of Perfection, ch. 22 (trans. E. Allison Peers)
“My kingdom does not belong to this world”
Thou, my God, are a King without end (…); When the Creed says: “Whose Kingdom will have no end” the phrase nearly always makes me feel particularly happy. I praise you, Lord, and bless you for ever, for your Kingdom will endure for ever. Never allow it to be thought right, Lord, for those who come to speak with you to do so with their lips alone (…). For we cannot approach a prince and address him in the same careless way we should adopt in speaking to a peasant or to some poor woman like ourselves, whom we may address however we like.
The reason we sometimes do so is to be found in the humility of this King, who, unskilled though I am in speaking with him, does not refuse to hear me or forbid me to approach him, or command his guards to throw me out. For the angels in his presence know well that their King is such that he prefers the unskilled language of a humble peasant boy, knowing that he would say more if he had more to say, to the speech of the wisest and most learned men, however elegant may be their arguments, if these are not accompanied by humility.
But we must not be unmannerly because he is good. If only to show our gratitude to him for enduring our foul odor and allowing such a one as myself to come near him. It is well that we should try to realize his purity and his nature. It is true that we recognize this at once when we approach him (…). When you approach God, then, my daughters, try to think and realize whom you are about to address and continue to do so while you are addressing him. If we had a thousand lives, we should never fully understand how this Lord merits that we behave toward him, before whom even the angels tremble. He orders all things and he can do all things: with him to will is to perform. It will be right, then, daughters, for us to endeavour to rejoice in these wondrous qualities of our Spouse and to know whom we have wedded and what the holiness of our lives should be.
Catholicism Pure & Simple 
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