To watch Fr. Joe’s homily for The Feast of Christ the King: CLICK HERE!
For us as Americans, today’s Feast of Christ the King may seem a bit odd or difficult for we who live in a Democracy and not a Monarchy. Yet the Kingdom that our Scriptures refer to is the Kingdom of God.
A kingdom of peace and justice, a kingdom of mercy, generosity and truth, a kingdom of life and love for all with our God, the King of Kings.
And our entry to the Kingdom of God; our citizenship papers and our passports are our Baptismal Certificates.
And as citizens of the Kingdom of God, we are called, we are sent out to share the divine life – to witness to Christ the King and his gifts of life and eternal life here on Earth as it is in Heaven.
Let me share a true story of how we are able as a person or a family or parish to make the Kingdom of God real to others, at any time.
This Thursday, I had dinner with friends at a local restaurant. They mentioned that they were going to help a woman with three children move into her apartment later in the afternoon. They mentioned that she had few things to move.
I shared that I had some furniture from my mother’s apartment that she could have. So later that day, this woman and my friends arrived and we loaded some household items I had and a couch and a desk and some lamps into the truck. Then standing next to a new kitchen trash can, I asked the woman if she could use the trash can. She said that she could, she did not have one.
Here is a woman with three children trying to get back on her feet. With all that I and we have, often more than we need or use, how can we help and in doing so, “make the Kingdom of God here on Earth a reality for another.”
Just today, I called my friends to share that I had some end tables that were my mother’s in the Rectory and asked if she could use them. (And she can)
And when these items are picked up, the generosity of a Parishioner will help this family with some extra food and a few gift cards for Christmas for the children and mother.”
As I was putting my final thoughts together, I turned on the TV and saw the sign off of a TV host who shared, “May your lives be filled with beauty, truth and goodness.”
And maybe thru us, may the lives of others be filled with beauty, truth and goodness in ways that make real the Kingdom of God here on Earth as it is in heaven, 365 days a year.