The end is near! Next Sunday we end the liturgical year with the celebration of the Feast of Christ, Our King. Do our lives testify to the sovereignty of Jesus Christ over us?
The Feast of Christ the King is about the sovereignty – the authority – that Jesus should exercise over our lives. Our incorporation into the Body of Christ through baptism only has significance if our lives testify to our desire to submit to his authority; to allow our minds to be shaped by his mind, our speech to be shaped by his speech, our actions to be shaped by his actions.
The mind of Christ – Christ sought the Father’s guidance, consolation and instruction through prayer. Through his intimacy with the Father in prayer, Jesus thought with the mind of his Father so that in his words and deeds Jesus revealed the Father’s compassion, mercy and desire that all be saved. If we claim Christ to be our King, we must have the mind of Christ. This, in turn, requires that we seek his guidance, consolation and instruction through a habit of prayer.
The speech of Christ – Jesus spoke with authority. This authority flowed from the integrity with which he lived his life. There was a clear correspondence between what Jesus thought, what Jesus said and what Jesus did. If Jesus is truly our King then we should be growing in the integrity with which we live our lives. Persons should see that what we think and what we say corresponds, in fact, to what we do and how we live.
The actions of Christ - All that Jesus did was rooted in a profound compassion and a deep desire to offer mercy and reconciliation to those who sought it. If Christ is our king, then others will experience in us a similar compassion, a similar desire for mercy and reconciliation.
Our feast next week celebrates the sovereignty of Jesus Christ over us. Do our lives give consistent testimony that he is truly our sovereign – the one who shapes what we think, we what we say and what we do?

Fr. Mark Hallinan, S.J.