Saturday, November 19, 2011

¡Viva Cristo Rey!

Jesus said: “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over…but as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” Then Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.” (John 18: 28-38) And the truth that Jesus came to testify to was God’s love, God’s mercy, God’s forgiveness, and God’s call to repentance.

Jesus’ Kingdom is not about ruthless power, or royal attendants, or all those things we think of when thinking of kings. LumenGentium describes Christ’s Kingship in these few words, “to reign is to serve.” Matthew Gospel sums it up best, I think, when it says: “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, to give his life as a ransom for the many” (Mt. 20:28).

We, the people of God rejoice this Sunday in God’s Love. We hear Ezekiel’s prophecy hundreds of years ago, and we know it is the truth: “the lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal…” (Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17) In humble repentance we accept the embrace of the Good Shepherd, and know that goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our life, and that we shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (Psalm 23:1-2, 2-3, 5-6) Not that we deserve it, but because Jesus gave His life for us – the ultimate act of service. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (Jn.10:11) Jesus loves us!!

The Kingdom of God is amongst us – in our midst. This is what we believe. God is with us. God is always there for us, and God is always ready to help us live by God’s ways. We must always remember that God is always ready to forgive and comfort us when we repent. At times we might tend to doubt or feel unworthy. Maybe it is when we have acted in some deplorable manner. Maybe it is when someone else has acted in an unloving – unchristian manner. But then we hear the call of the Good Shepherd, “Come, come to me all that are weary.” (Matthew 11:28) We remember God’s love -God’s mercy. We find hope again, and surrender in repentance to the God who cherishes us. We keep on going, telling God we’re sorry, accepting God’s forgiveness, trying even harder, and remembering to pray for the wayward and our enemies.

"O King of Kings, I praise You! Be merciful to me, a sinner."

Immaculate Heart of Mary
Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death

Today, I pray for the strength to forgive those who have offended me, and I ask for forgiveness if I have offended others.

No comments:

"I demand from you deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of love for Me. You are to show mercy to your neighbors always and everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to excuse or absolve yourself from it.

I am giving you three ways of exercising mercy toward your neighbor:
the first — by deed, the second — by word, the third — by prayer. In these three degrees is contained the fullness of mercy, and it is an unquestionable proof of love for Me. By this means a soul glorifies and pays reverence to My mercy.

Many souls ... are often worried because they do not have the material means with which to carry out an act of mercy. Yet spiritual mercy, which requires neither permissions nor storehouses, is much more meritorious and is within the grasp of every soul.

If a soul does not exercise mercy somehow or other, it will not obtain My mercy on the day of judgment. Oh, if only souls knew how to gather eternal treasure for themselves, they would not be judged, for they would forestall My judgment with their mercy".