Letter from the Pastor
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November 24, 2024Doesn’t it seem like we just left the beach, and somehow we are celebrating Thanksgiving this Thursday?! However, today we must celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King, the last Sunday of the Liturgical year.
Pope Pius XI established the feast in 1925 with his encyclical Quas primas, to respond to a world that was rejecting Christ and was being dominated by secularism. Secularism is a way of life which leaves God out of one’s thinking and living and organizes one’s life as if God does not exist. Another reason was many of the royal houses of Europe had fallen, while socialism and communism was on the rise.
The Pope hoped that the establishment of this feast would have people honor and recognize the Lord as their ‘Sovereign King’ and imitate His life, perfectly expressed on the Cross. In imitation of their King, Catholics can help those who suffer and proclaim the Good News of Jesus in the world today.
Surprisingly, the first parish established in honor of Christ the King was here in the United States in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1926 and not in Europe. In our Archdiocese two parishes were consecrated to Christ the King in 1927 in Yonkers and in the Bronx NY.
Pope Pius XI established the feast to be celebrated on the last Sunday of October, so that it would always take place before the celebration of the solemnity of All Saints. In the new liturgical calendar of 1970, the feast was moved to the last Sunday of the Church’s year.
As we reflect over this past year of Grace, we owe God our thanks and praise. Today at 4:00 PM, we will have Sung Vespers with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. The Adult and Children’s choir will lead us in sung prayers. Vespers is the Latin title for the Evening Prayer of the Church. Vespers consists of the praying of three psalms, the same psalms Our Lord prayed every day, a short reading from Scripture, petitions, and the singing of Mary’s Song, the Magnificat, and the singing of the Te Deum, a beautiful prayer of Thanksgiving to God. God Himself will bless us in Solemn Benediction. After the Vespers, in Toner Hall, the Altar Rosary Society will host a light reception of food and drink.
After we give thanks to God in the Church’s feast, then we get ready to give Thanks to God in our American feast, Thanksgiving, which is this Thursday, Nov. 28th. As we have done in past years, we will offer a Parish Sung Mass of Thanksgiving at 9:00 AM. You are invited to bring something from your table to be blessed and returned to your home for your Thanksgiving Table.
Gratitude is at the heart of being a Christian. It is the humble acknowledgment of the blessings we receive every day. Sacred Scripture repeatedly advises us to express thanksgiving in every circumstance, echoing the innate connection between gratitude, faith, and personal growth.
