The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, The Catholic Prayers to Christ the King should be used , King of the Universe, also known as the Feast of Christ the King, Christ the King Sunday, or Reign of Christ Sunday, is a liturgical feast that emphasizes Christ’s genuine monarchy. The feast was introduced in 1925 by Pope Pius XI for the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church and is a relatively new addition to the liturgical calendar.
Its Roman Rite celebration was changed from October to the last Sunday of Ordinary Time in 1970, bringing the liturgical year to a close. The Feast of Christ the King might occur as early as 20 November and as late as 26 November.
The Revised Common Lectionary includes the Feast of Christ the King, which is also observed by the Lutheran, Anglican, Moravian, Methodist, Nazarene, Reformed, and United Protestant churches; the Methodist, Anglican, and Presbyterian Churches often observe this as part of the liturgical season of Kingdomtide, which runs between the Fourth Sunday before Advent and the Feast of Christ the King.
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Western Rite parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia observe it on the same calculated date as the penultimate Sunday of the ecclesiastical year, the Sunday before the First Sunday of Advent. Roman Catholics who follow the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite utilize the General Roman Calendar of 1960 and continue to observe the Solemnity on the final Sunday of October, as established in 1925.
Short Catholic Prayer to Christ the King:
You alone, O Lord our God, are the Most Holy King and Ruler of all countries.
We pray to You, Lord, with great expectation of obtaining mercy, peace, justice, and all good things from You, O Divine King.
Protect our families and the place of our origin, O Lord our King.
We beseech you, Most Faithful One, to keep us safe.
Protect us from our foes and from Your Righteous Judgment.
Forgive us, O Sovereign King, for our transgressions against you.
You are a King of Mercy, Jesus.
We have earned Your Fair Judgment.
Lord, have compassion on us and pardon us.
We put our faith in Your Great Mercy.
We bow and pray to You, O most awe-inspiring King.
May Your Reign, Your Kingdom, be known across the world.
Amen.
The History Of Feast Of Christ the King:
On December 11th, 1925, Pope Pius XI instituted this feast day in the apostolic letter Quas Primas. The Holy Father was reacting to a world that was becoming more nationalistic and secular. Governments were claiming an increasing amount of allegiance from their subjects and striving to replace God.
“While nations disrespect our Redeemer’s cherished name by concealing every mention of it in their conferences and parliaments, we must shout his kingly dignity and power even louder, and worldwide uphold his rights.” – 25th of May, Quas Primas
As a result, Pope Pius XI instituted this feast to remind the faithful that allegiance to Christ takes precedence above fidelity to a nation’s government.
“The faithful, in addition, will acquire considerable strength and courage by meditating on these facts, allowing them to shape their lives after the genuine Christian ideal.
” If all power in heaven and on earth is surrendered to Christ our Lord; if all persons, purchased by his precious blood, are subjected to his rule by a new right; if this power covers all men, it must be apparent that not one of our faculties is immune from his reign. He must reign in our brains, which must assent to revealed truths and Christ’s doctrines with absolute submission and solid belief. He must reign over our wills, which must obey God’s laws and prohibitions. He must reign in our hearts, which should reject natural impulses in favor of loving God above all else and clinging to him alone. He must reign in our bodies and in our members, which should act as instruments for the inner sanctification of our souls, or as instruments of justice unto God, to use the Apostle Paul’s words.” – 33 Quas Primas
In today’s context of government intrusion on the Church, it is especially crucial to acknowledge the words of the encyclical.
“When we honor Christ’s princely dignity, men will doubtless be reminded that the Church, founded by Christ as a perfect society, has a natural and inalienable right to perfect freedom and immunity from the power of the state; and that she cannot be subject to any external power in fulfilling the task committed to her by God of teaching, ruling, and guiding to eternal bliss those who belong to Christ’s kingdom.” – 31st of March, Quas Primas
Let us pray to Jesus, the King of all nations, who is also known as Christ the King!
Catholic Prayers to Christ the King (2022 Version)
The prayer to Christ the King listed below provides an excellent response to the frequently asked question, “Who’s in charge here?” When we say, “I am the captain of my ship, the master of my soul,” and don’t seek God’s guidance, our boat frequently capsizes in the choppy waters of life’s vicissitudes.
Instead, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, can give us with a secure haven! This prayer can be prayed at any time of year, not just on Christ the King’s feast day on the last Sunday in November.
I recognize you as the worldwide King, Jesus Christ. Everything that has been created has been designed for You. Exert all of Your authority over me. I renew my Baptismal Covenant. I repudiate Satan, his pomps, and his deeds, and I swear to live a decent Christian life. And, in particular, I swear to work to the best of my abilities for the triumph of God’s and Your Church’s rights. I offer my meager efforts to You, Divine Heart of Jesus, in the hope that all hearts would recognize Your sacred kingship and, as a result, the reign of Your peace will be established across the entire planet. Amen.
In 1925, Pope Pius XI established the feast of Christ the King to confront the alarming rise of secular and atheistic ideas throughout the world. Many governments and elites in numerous countries had become dangerously enamored with the thought that humanity might get by just fine without God.
They wanted to limit our Creator to a minor or non-existent place in public life, as in Soviet Russia. Lincoln Steffens, a journalist, recently hailed that atheistic society, a cruel dictatorship, as “the future, and it works.”
Needless to say, he was catastrophically wrong. When we remove God from our life, our world becomes more chaotic and dangerous, not less, as we worship the false Gods of money, power, and fame. “Where there is envy and contentiousness, there is instability and every vile deed,” St. James said in his New Testament letter (James 3:16).
When we ignore God’s commandments, we make ourselves more open to enslavement by despots like Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, and their ilk, tyrants who demand our worship with an iron grip and leave kilometers of killing fields in their wake.
For example, the propaganda poster below, labeled “Stalin is the happiness of the people,” emerged when millions of Russians were dying in his detention camps for “enemies of the state!” The tyrant, like all such individuals, tried to become God, much like the Archangel Lucifer, who rebelled against our Creator, declaring, “I will not serve.”
In his encyclical Quas Primas, in which he established the feast of Christ the King, Pope Pius XI stated that our Lord is the author of gladness. “Oh, what happiness would be Ours if all men, individuals, families, and nations would simply let Christ govern them!” he wrote.
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Indeed, imagine how much less strife there would be in the world if we all made a greater effort to follow His law of Love as enshrined in the Ten Commandments!
Regrettably, we don’t appear to have learnt much over the last century! Is it any surprise that there is so much sickness when we turn away from the Divine Physician? In many churches today, Christ is shoved away in tabernacles that are off to the side, or even in a different room, rather than in the front and center.
Wizards of Smart are hard at work carrying out their designs for a New World Order in which the Social Kingship of Christ is to be supplanted by some type of secular “Brotherhood of Man” constructed on sand (Matt 7:26) by global corporate organisations like the European Union and the United Nations.
There is a lot of talk these days about a “Amazing Reset” to “Build Back Better,” with some great utopia on the way! All we have to do is give our increasingly compelled consent to technocrats governing everything for us, ostensibly for our own good, but in reality for their own glory, not God’s!
Furthermore, supernatural faith is conspicuously lacking in the church today, both among the clergy and the public. Many of our religious leaders appear to be preoccupied with vital but still earthly issues, such as poverty and immigration, as if they were attempting to establish heaven on earth.
The ostensible needs of Mother Earth (as in “Climate Change”) trump those of Holy Mother Church. Saving the world takes precedence above saving souls!
Perhaps as a result, a recent Pew Research survey put the number of Catholics at 20% of the US population, while the number of persons with no religious affiliation (the “nones”) is at 26%!
Silent conspiracies occur among our elites, concealing many sorts of corruption in society at large and, regrettably, among prelates in Christ’s Mystical Body, His church.
In the meantime, both legal and criminal drug abuse has reached pandemic proportions. And many people are attempting to fill the gap in their lives, which our Lord would love to fill, with addictive behavior including drugs, alcohol, sex, or even “likes” on social media.
Meanwhile, in this country, the aura of the pagan deity Moloch abounds as politicians support not just abortion (aka “choice”) but also the death of unborn kids in the name of “reproductive rights”!
Many in our educational institutions, oblivious to Christ’s warnings, appear all too willing to dive into the waters with millstones around their necks (Mark 9:41), as they assault young children’s innocence by teaching them about various sexual activities and “gender benders.”
Drag Queens are invited to libraries to read to children and even to play with them! And, youngsters, you, too, may be a drag star like the Amazing Desmond (who is just 12)! And perhaps you’ll find fame, money, and even a spot on Good Morning America!
Our society has gotten so divided that a few months ago, people were fighting over Chicken sandwiches at a popular fast food chain, and there was even one fatality as a result of a violent disagreement. A life was wiped out because of a chicken sandwich! So, how’s that “Brotherhood of Man” (in the absence of Christianity) working out for you, folks? And, of course, the Covid pandemic has caused havoc on society, with considerable misunderstanding and debate about how to appropriately deal with this illness.
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In the beginning of his Confessions, St. Augustine famously remarked, “Thou hast made us for Thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless till they rest in Thee.” Unfortunately, our hearts are not only restless, but they are also clueless as to what could bring us actual bliss!
“When citizens recognize, both in private and in public life, that Christ is King,” Pope Pius XI said, “society will finally obtain the immense blessings of true liberty, well-ordered discipline, peace, and harmony.” Our Lord’s regal role confers divine significance on the human authority of princes and rulers; it elevates the citizen’s duty of loyalty.”
Right before His Passion, Christ gave us the ultimate example of obedience when he said to His Heavenly Father in prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Father, if thou art willing, remove this cup from me; yet not my will, but thy will be done” (Luke 22:42).
Remember that each of us has a distinct mission here on Earth, as well as a distinct place in the Mystical Body of Christ. What exactly is your mission? It doesn’t have to be something spectacular.
In explaining her tiny method, St. Therese of Lisieux stated, “The little things we do for the love of God can be extremely significant in His eyes!” Whatever “poor services” you offer our Lord (described in this prayer to Christ the King) might help you identify your mission.
In John’s Gospel, Christ stated that His Kingdom was not of this world (John 18:36). Nonetheless, He suffered and died for us in order for us to be able to join Him in His Kingdom in Heaven for all eternity! That enduring peace, what we name in Mass “the Peace of Christ,” is one of the features of that Kingdom for which we are all laboring as pilgrim souls here on Earth.
When Pope Benedict XVI visited the United States, he gave us a mandate to work and pray as fully as possible for the arrival of Christ’s Kingdom. He defined this as “facing existing and future obstacles with faith in Christ’s victory and a determination to spreading his rule.”
He also advised us to be “constantly on the lookout for indicators of its presence and striving for its expansion in every sphere of society.” After all, “Thy Kingdom come,” as we say in the Lord’s Prayer.
May this prayer to Christ the King assist us all to resist Satan’s snares as we seek the true peace that only our Lord can deliver!