Solemnity of Christ the King (November 26, 2023)
Ezek 34.11-12, 15-17; 1 Cor 15.20-26, 28; Mt 25.31-46
Jesus is our King; this is the one truth we are called to reflect on today. As Christians we are already part of His Kingdom, but as citizens of the Kingdom we must abide by the rule: “love one another as I have loved you.” If we do not treat each person with respect, we break the rule. St. Francis de Sales puts it best: “We must never undervalue any person. The workman loves not that his work should be despised in his presence. Now God is present everywhere, and every person is His work. ”While the pro-life movement rightly spends a lot of energy defending the sanctity of life from conception to natural death, the focus naturally tends to be on those controversial issues surrounding the beginning and end of human life (abortion, embryonic stem cell research, and euthanasia).
Whenever we mistreat another person, we are personally offending God Himself. If we reject the poor, the disabled, the elderly, the unborn, we undermine the dignity that they have. We often think of dignity as something earned by a person, but Jesus shows us that dignity comes not from some ability that a person has, but from each one’s identity as a child of God.
Pro-Life Intercession
That in Christ, the King of Justice and Life, the evils of abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia may be eliminated from our midst, we pray to the Lord ...