Editorials

Enter your text here...

Feast of Christ the King of the Universe

From the Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 25,31-46)

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations. He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will place the sheep on his right hand and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, whatever you did for one of the least of these my brothers, you did for me.' Then he will also say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not serve you?' Then he will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life".

CHRIST KING OF THE UNIVERSE
Last Sunday of the Liturgical Year in the Ambrosian liturgy

The Solemnity of Christ, King of the Universe marks the end of the liturgical year, almost as the culmination of a journey that has educated the eyes and hearts of believers to recognize the Lord's presence in all seasons of life. It is not merely a "final" feast, but the fulfillment of a journey: the Incarnation celebrated at Christmas, the Paschal Mystery experienced during Holy Week, the breath of the Spirit at Pentecost, the Sundays "of Time after Pentecost" that have accompanied us in the ordinary life of faith. Everything converges toward this proclamation: Christ is the Lord of history and time, the King who reigns not by dominating but by serving, loving, and giving.

The Liturgical Year as an educational journey

We know well how our Archbishop Mario Delpini has repeatedly reminded us that the liturgical year is not a calendar of anniversaries to be "remembered," but a living journey to be followed with obedience and responsibility:
"The liturgy does not repeat, it shapes. It does not simply celebrate what has happened, but teaches us to recognize what the Lord is doing now, in history and in each person's life."
This time, then, does not end: it matures and transforms. It is like a seed that has passed through the seasons to now reach the harvest of its fruits.

My liturgy professor, Father Claudio Magnoli, reflecting on the dynamics of the liturgical year, observed:
"The succession of Sundays, seasons, and feasts is not a repeating circle, but a spiral: we return to the same mysteries, but on a deeper level, because the grace of the Lord has transformed us a little further."
Christ the King, then, is not only the conclusion of the journey, but also the beginning of a new way of being in life: in the awareness that everything converges in Him and receives meaning from Him.

The Ambrosian Gospel of this Sunday: Mt 25,31-46

On this solemnity, the Ambrosian liturgy presents the great fresco of the Last Judgement, where the Son of Man—the Shepherd-King—separates the sheep from the goats. This is not a story meant to intimidate, but a text that reveals the ultimate criterion of existence: the way we have loved.

"I was hungry… I was thirsty… I was a stranger… naked… sick… in prison…"

The King who judges is the same one who appears hidden in the faces of the least. Christ's kingship is not to reign over the people, but to inhabit the fragility of humanity, to the point of identifying with it.

This page was chosen by the Ambrosian liturgy precisely because it summarizes the entire liturgical year:

We contemplated Christ in glory (feasts and solemnities)
We saw him humble and a servant (Christmas, Easter, washing of the feet)
Now we recognize it hidden in our brothers, especially in the little ones.

Here the synthesis occurs: Jesus is King because he loves to the point of hiding.

This Sunday's Gospel doesn't ask us for heroic or moralistic effort. It's not a list of duties to be fulfilled. It's an invitation to understand where Christ is today, where he reveals himself most intensely; the Gospel doesn't judge us: it reveals us. It shows us where our heart truly lies, what image of God we have cultivated. The King of the Gospel passage doesn't separate to punish, but to bring out the truth: Where have you put your life? Where has your love been lost?

The focus of this Gospel passage that the liturgy offers us this Sunday is not the presentation of charitable works, even though this passage has indeed inspired incarnate works of goodness and mercy in the life of Christianity.
The fundamental issue is not "doing works of charity," but learning to recognize Christ. If you don't recognize Him in the sacraments, in prayer, in His Word, how will you recognize Him in the poor, in the least, in the faces of men and women discriminated against by the "throwaway culture"? Thus, the liturgical year is precisely this school: seeing Christ in His Word, in the living bread of the Eucharist, in the ecclesial community. To recognize Him now in the fragile flesh of the men and women of our time.

Why does the Ambrosian liturgy choose this Gospel for the last Sunday of the liturgical year? Because Christ the King reveals himself in the judgment of love. Dear parishioners, the liturgy accompanies us to this point, at the close of the liturgical year, to tell us: The meaning of faith is not the blind learning of a doctrinal framework: it is, first and foremost, an encounter with Christ. The culmination of the liturgical year is not another feast, a moment of celebration, but rather a way of living according to the heart of Christ. Christ's glory is not flashy and glittering: it is humble compassion, which becomes close tenderness. Celebrating Christ the King means saying that our time is not abandoned to chaos, but protected by God, the Lord of history who does not dominate, but accompanies. The liturgical year does not end: it begins again in the heart of our daily lives.
And we begin again knowing where to look: in the faces of the least fortunate, because there Christ makes himself present.

Don Giovanni Pauciullo