Year B
Discover the deeper meaning and connections found in this week's readings, through these great commentaries written by our priests.
Explore this week's readings and hear what God is saying to us through His Word.
Find out more about how we can mark this special day in our liturgy.
See our music recommendations for the liturgy.
1st R. It is from the Book of Daniel that Jesus takes his preferred title: Son of Man.
2nd R. Here we are given an answer to the question, “Who is Jesus?”
Gospel: Pilate asks who Jesus is, but does he really want to know or want to excuse himself?
“Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ” - so said St Jerome. We gather each week to worship God and to be fed by his Word in Scripture and, indeed, by his Flesh and Blood in the Blessed Sacrament and to be affirmed by his presence in other ways too.
The Book of Daniel was written at a time of persecution of the Jews by the Syrians and about 165 B.C. The imagery of the raging beasts describes the evil persecutors. There follows the description of a mysterious figure, ‘a son of man’, a noble human being on whom God confers all power and sovereignty on earth. Originally, this figure personifies the Jews as a nation, but ultimately it is the title Jesus applies to himself, in preference to the misunderstood title of ‘Messiah’.
Jesus is the true Messiah, but not to be understood in the manner the Jews thought of Messiah at the time of Jesus’ public ministry.
Both the 2nd Reading from St James and the Gospel remind us of the sort of King Jesus is.
Through our Baptism we are assured of God’s love for us and our own vocation to love. Our whole life on earth is the living out of that vocation to learn to love and to live in truth. In answer to Pilate’s question, Jesus responds that he has come into this world to bear witness to the truth and that those who are on the side of truth listen to his voice.
Today is Youth Sunday and a good question for young people to ask themselves is: “What kind of person would you really like to be?” A good answer might be: “I want to be on the side of truth and listen to the voice of Jesus.” Any young man or young woman seeking to discern what God is calling them to do in life, whether it be a vocation of marriage, or religious life, or priesthood, or to the permanent deaconate could begin by having a chat with one of their Parish clergy.
We should all do whatever we can to promote vocations and support those seeking by our prayers and encouragement.
Solemnity of Christ the King: Christ the origin and goal of history
CCC 440, 446-451, 668-672, 783, 786, 908, 2105, 2628: Christ as Lord and King
CCC 678-679, 1001, 1038-1041: Christ as Judge
CCC 2816-2821: "Thy Kingdom Come"
The end of the liturgical year is upon us with the celebration of the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. After hearing the unfolding of the mystery of Christ throughout Ordinary Time, our attention is now focused on Christ, the King of the Universe. During the Fourth Eucharistic Prayer, we pray “that we may enter into a heavenly inheritance…there, with the whole of creation, freed from the corruption of sin and death, may we glorify you through Christ our Lord.” In such a way, we “may render God’s majesty and ceaselessly proclaim his praises” (Collect). The Collect reminds us that it is the will of God to restore all things in his beloved Son, the King of the universe. How this will fully manifest itself is a mystery, as our thinking is not the thinking of God. However, this was accomplished through the Paschal Mystery of Jesus Christ, which reconciled the human race to God, resulting in unity and peace (Prayer over the Offerings). We live in an ‘in-between-state’, between the salvific event of Jesus, which has happened, and his coming in glory, which will happen in the future. And during this ‘in-between-state’ the fruits of the Paschal Mystery of Jesus Christ are unfolding until his coming in glory. When we celebrate the sacred mysteries, we are in fact ‘plugging’ into the Paschal Mystery, that through words and gestures, the Paschal Mystery is made manifest to us, and we share in it through our active and conscious participation. In such a way the Kingdom of God reigns on our lives, and also, by extension, to the lives of others. It is not a worldly kingdom of control, hatred, power, force, abuse, or manipulation (cf. Gospel Reading), but a Kingdom of truth, life, holiness, grace, justice, love, and peace (cf. Preface of Christ, the King of the Universe). Ultimately, this will fully manifest itself with the new heaven and earth, ushered in with the Jesus’s coming in glory at the Second Coming. We may see or hear a lot of worrying things unfolding at this time in the world, with the numerous wars, injustice, civil unrest, hatred, and ecological crisis, but we are invited to trust that Jesus Christ is the King of the whole universe, and all will be well, as all will converge in Him in the fullness of time.
Bidding Prayers
For the Church – that she may be faithful in her calling to be a line of kings and priests, speaking with the authority of the gospel and being a source of blessing for all humanity.
For those who struggle with their faith – that they may lift up their eyes again to the Lord of the whole Universe, whose Spirit makes all things new.
For a deeper love of Christ in our lives – that our hearts may be open to Christ’s love so that our lives may be full of joy as we wait for his Second Coming in Glory.
Note: These hymns have been chosen from different sources.
Lo, he comes with clouds descending (CFE373, L109, LHON438, TCH7)
Crown him with many crowns (CFE139, L321, LHON229, TCH141)
Hail Redeemer, King divine (CFE239, L320 LHON310, TCH 142)
Majesty, worship his majesty (CFE477, L767, LHON469)
O worship the King (CFE619, LHON568, TCH255, L683)
The head that once was crowned (CFE696, L290, LHON652, TCH90)
Key
CFE - Celebration Hymnal for Everyone
L – Laudate
LHON – Liturgical Hymns Old and New (Mayhew, 1999)
TCH – The Catholic Hymnbook (Gracewing)
Do you have questions about the liturgy and how we are called to participate in it? Explore how the Church councils, saints, and popes have answered this key question and many more.
Every movement of the Mass is rich in meaning but we can become over-familiar with it. Rediscover the Mass and explore how it relates to the Exodus story, where many of its rituals come from, and how it makes Jesus present to us today.
