The Kingship of Christ

The Kingship of Christ

It has long been a common custom to give to Christ the metaphorical title of King because of the high degree of perfection whereby he excels all creatures. So he is said to reign in the hearts of men, both by reason of the keenness of his intellect and the extent of his knowledge, and also because he is very truth, and it is from him that truth must be obediently received by all mankind. He reigns, too, in the wills of men, for in him the human will was perfectly and entirely obedient to the holy will of God, and further by his grace and inspiration he so subjects our free will as to incite us to the most noble endeavors. He is King of hearts, too, by reason of his charity which exceeds all knowledge (Eph 3:19), and by his mercy and kindness which draw all men to him, for never has it been known, nor will it ever be, that man be loved so much and so universally as Jesus Christ.…

On many occasions, when…the populace thronged around him in admiration and would have acclaimed him King, he shrank from the honor and sought safety in flight. Before the Roman magistrate he declared that his Kingdom was not of this world. The Gospels present this Kingdom as one which men prepare to enter by penance, and cannot actually enter except by faith and by baptism, which…signifies and produces an interior regeneration. This Kingdom is opposed to none other than to that of Satan and to the power of darkness. It demands of its subjects a spirit of detachment from riches and earthly things, and a spirit of gentleness. They must hunger and thirst after justice, and more than this, they must deny themselves and carry the cross.

Christ as our Redeemer purchased the Church at the price of his own blood; as priest he offered himself, and continues to offer himself as a victim for our sins. Is it not evident, then, that his kingly dignity partakes in a manner of both these offices?

Pope Pius XI

Pope Pius XI, whose motto was “the peace of Christ in the Kingdom of Christ,” canonized many saints, including Saint John Vianney and Saint Thérèse of Lisieux. He reigned from 1922 to 1939. [Quas Primas # 7, 15, 16. Used with permission of the Libreria Editrice Vaticana. www.vatican.va.]