WEBVTT 00:00:02.240 --> 00:00:11.359 Today the church dares to proclaim something bold, something every age has tried and failed to ignore. 00:00:11.839 --> 00:00:13.839 Jesus Christ is king. 00:00:14.560 --> 00:00:28.000 Not symbolically or poetically, not as some sweet relic of memory, but truly, eternally, unshakably, Jesus Christ is King. 00:00:29.120 --> 00:00:32.960 Everything in heaven and on earth belongs to him. 00:00:34.240 --> 00:00:46.320 Every human life, every human heart, every culture, every government, every nation, every breath, whether we acknowledge it or not, is under his dominion. 00:00:47.520 --> 00:00:52.479 This feast is not ancient, was born from chaos. 00:00:53.520 --> 00:00:57.039 In nineteen twenty five the world was trembling. 00:00:57.920 --> 00:01:03.679 Atheistic communism had seized Russia and declared war on God. 00:01:04.560 --> 00:01:08.159 Mussolini had risen in power in Italy. 00:01:08.640 --> 00:01:12.879 National socialism was beginning to take root in Germany. 00:01:13.439 --> 00:01:23.280 Across Europe, political kingdoms were emerging that hated Christ, denied Christ, and persecuted Christ's followers. 00:01:43.680 --> 00:01:48.159 He instituted this feast because the world was forgetting Christ. 00:01:48.799 --> 00:01:53.200 And when the world forgets Christ, it never remains empty. 00:01:53.519 --> 00:01:57.439 Something else climbs onto the throne. 00:01:57.760 --> 00:02:03.760 Power, ideology, politics, pleasure, wealth, violence, pride. 00:02:05.120 --> 00:02:07.040 We saw it unfold. 00:02:07.920 --> 00:02:11.599 The Soviet Union rose, but it fell. 00:02:12.080 --> 00:02:15.360 Nazism rose, but it was crushed. 00:02:15.759 --> 00:02:18.639 Fascism rose, but it was defeated. 00:02:19.280 --> 00:02:22.240 And Christ, Christ remains. 00:02:22.879 --> 00:02:26.159 His kingdom remains, his church remains. 00:02:27.199 --> 00:02:29.599 This is not triumphalism. 00:02:30.879 --> 00:02:32.960 It's simply a truth. 00:02:33.520 --> 00:02:41.360 Every empire has collapsed except for the one that was founded by a crucified carpenter from Nazareth. 00:02:42.159 --> 00:02:46.800 And yet Christ's kingdom never looked like what the world expects. 00:02:47.759 --> 00:02:51.199 On the surface, it almost seems unattractive. 00:02:51.840 --> 00:02:55.039 He tells us to take up our cross daily. 00:02:55.599 --> 00:02:56.960 Who wants that? 00:02:57.840 --> 00:03:06.960 He tells us to forgive our enemies, to love the unlovable, to deny ourselves, to put God above every other priority. 00:03:07.599 --> 00:03:15.759 He tells us that the first will be last and the last will be first, and that the greatest are those who serve. 00:03:16.479 --> 00:03:26.080 He also tells us that those who cling on to their lives will lose it, but those who lose their lives for his sake will find it. 00:03:27.599 --> 00:03:34.400 The world hears all of this and wonders, why would anyone choose this kingdom? 00:03:36.240 --> 00:03:46.000 If we look at today's gospel, the world expects a king on a throne, guarded, robed in gold, surrounded by admirers. 00:03:46.639 --> 00:03:54.319 But instead we find Christ, our king, nailed to the cross, surrounded by those who mock him. 00:03:54.960 --> 00:04:05.039 The rulers sneer at him, the soldiers taunt him, even one of the criminals crucified beside him, joins the chorus. 00:04:05.360 --> 00:04:09.280 If you are the Christ, save yourself. 00:04:10.400 --> 00:04:15.120 And then above his head the proclamation of truth is twisted into an insult. 00:04:15.520 --> 00:04:18.160 This is the king of the Jews. 00:04:19.839 --> 00:04:27.600 Yet there, in this place of humiliation, our king reveals the true nature of his kingdom. 00:04:28.240 --> 00:04:33.199 While the world demands display of power, Christ reigns by mercy. 00:04:33.920 --> 00:04:40.560 While the world shouts for him to save himself, he chooses instead to save all of us. 00:04:41.920 --> 00:04:58.800 And in that moment, when one criminal mocks him and the other reaches out towards him in trembling faith, Jesus opens his royal treasury and speaks the most beautiful, kingly words ever uttered today. 00:04:59.600 --> 00:05:03.360 Today you will be with me in paradise. 00:05:05.040 --> 00:05:13.360 In that exchange, we learn everything that we need to know, and we know in a special way the heart of our king. 00:05:13.680 --> 00:05:27.279 A king who does not rule from a distance but from a cross, a king whose throne is made of wood, a king who draws near to sinners and opens up heavens with a single sentence of mercy. 00:05:28.560 --> 00:05:30.480 And then there's the crown. 00:05:31.199 --> 00:05:33.839 Earthly kings wear crowns. 00:05:34.399 --> 00:05:36.639 Christ wears thorns. 00:05:37.439 --> 00:05:40.319 Earthly kings sit on marble thrones. 00:05:40.720 --> 00:05:43.600 Christ ascends upon a cross. 00:05:43.920 --> 00:05:45.839 Earthly kings demand service. 00:05:46.079 --> 00:05:51.839 Christ kneels down, bends low, and washes feet and gives his life away. 00:05:52.480 --> 00:05:57.759 And yet in this upside down kingdom something extraordinary happens. 00:05:58.480 --> 00:06:09.360 The poor are blessed, the meek are lifted up, the merciful are honored, the persecuted are crowned, and the pure of heart see God. 00:06:11.360 --> 00:06:29.040 In 2005, when Benedict XVI was elected, cameras captured Cardinal Francis George of Chicago standing very close on a balcony, gazing out onto the plaza, looking on the Roman obelisk. 00:06:29.439 --> 00:06:34.720 It was the same grounds where emperors once ruled and Christians were slaughtered. 00:06:35.759 --> 00:06:38.079 Later he was asked, What were you thinking? 00:06:38.240 --> 00:06:42.079 Why so pensive there up on that balcony? 00:06:42.399 --> 00:06:43.680 And he said this. 00:06:44.800 --> 00:06:54.639 When I was looking out upon the plaza, looking upon that obelisk, I was saying to myself, Where are the successors of Caesar Augustus? 00:06:54.959 --> 00:06:58.079 Where's the successor of Marcus Aurelius? 00:06:58.720 --> 00:07:00.560 And finally, who cares? 00:07:01.839 --> 00:07:06.399 But if you want to see the successor of Peter, he's standing right next to me. 00:07:07.439 --> 00:07:12.480 The world's kingdom rise and fall, Christ's kingdom endures. 00:07:14.000 --> 00:07:16.959 But here's the crucial truth we cannot miss. 00:07:17.680 --> 00:07:21.120 Christ's kingship must not remain out there. 00:07:23.199 --> 00:07:35.120 If he is not king of your heart, your home, your priorities, your habits, your relationships, your moral choices, your words, and your ambitions, then he's truly not your king. 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:39.519 Something else is king and rules. 00:07:40.480 --> 00:07:44.800 Many Christians want Christ the Savior, but not Christ the King. 00:07:45.680 --> 00:07:49.439 Christ the Comforter, but not Christ the commander. 00:07:49.920 --> 00:07:54.160 Christ the gentle shepherd, but not Christ the judge. 00:07:54.480 --> 00:07:57.839 Christ the healer, but not Christ the ruler. 00:07:58.480 --> 00:08:02.000 But the gospel does not offer a partial Christ. 00:08:02.399 --> 00:08:05.759 He's either king of all or he's king of nothing. 00:08:06.959 --> 00:08:10.000 This feast day is not meant to comfort us. 00:08:10.240 --> 00:08:12.079 It's meant to convert us. 00:08:13.199 --> 00:08:20.879 Because in our age, just like in the 1920s, is filled with ideologies that push Christ aside. 00:08:21.600 --> 00:08:40.559 They may not wear military uniforms, they may come dressed in, but they come dressed in cultural pressure, in relativism, in moral confusion, and political ideolatry, hyper-individualism, and subtle shame towards public expressions of faith. 00:08:41.759 --> 00:08:54.799 If the church becomes silent, if the families stop praying, if disciples stop witnessing, the vacuum then fills empty, and it fills quickly with values that are not of God. 00:08:56.320 --> 00:09:03.279 That's why Pope Pius XI insisted that the world needs Christians who proclaim Christ's kingship. 00:09:03.600 --> 00:09:13.759 Not by arrogance or arguments, but through holiness, conviction, courage, charity, purity, fidelity to the gospel. 00:09:14.320 --> 00:09:22.960 Because in the end, only one kingdom will remain, only one king will stand when every other throne has crumbled. 00:09:23.279 --> 00:09:28.080 Only one name will be proclaimed when every ideology has passed away. 00:09:28.399 --> 00:09:34.559 Only one shepherd will be gathering his people when time gives way to eternity. 00:09:34.799 --> 00:09:38.399 And that is why we must be honest with ourselves. 00:09:39.120 --> 00:09:58.159 You may think your job is important, your success is impressive, your schedule may be overwhelming, your influence is significant, but if God is not first, if Christ is not king of your heart, then all of that is built on sand. 00:09:59.360 --> 00:10:04.159 Every accomplishment, every title, every treasure will one day fade. 00:10:04.559 --> 00:10:10.480 Everything you have, your gifts, your talents, your breath, your life, comes from Him. 00:10:11.200 --> 00:10:16.080 And only what is surrendered to Him endures forever. 00:10:16.399 --> 00:10:18.799 Jesus Christ is our King. 00:10:20.080 --> 00:10:25.840 So, my dear brothers and sisters, let this feast awaken something in us. 00:10:26.240 --> 00:10:40.080 Christ wants to reign in your heart, not as a distant ruler, but as the one who heals your wounds, forgives your sins, restores your dignity, and reignites your purpose and leads you home. 00:10:40.639 --> 00:10:44.799 If you've been silent about your faith, find your voice again. 00:10:45.279 --> 00:10:48.559 The world does not need more Christians who blend in. 00:10:48.720 --> 00:10:52.159 I like to always say, we have enough secret service Catholics. 00:10:52.240 --> 00:10:53.600 We don't need any more. 00:10:54.080 --> 00:11:06.559 The world needs disciples who dare to be different, dare to be bold, to shine, to witness, to proclaim that their lives belong to Christ and that Jesus Christ is King. 00:11:07.440 --> 00:11:11.840 Praise be Jesus Christ the King, now and forever. 00:11:12.159 --> 00:11:14.240 Viva Christo Rey. 00:11:15.440 --> 00:11:16.080 Amen.