THE BISHOP'S CROZIER: Entering the New Liturgical Year with Hope

By Bishop James R. Golka

As we approach the end of November, we are nearing the end of our liturgical year and prepare to start a new year in Christ with the season of Advent. 

We end the liturgical year with the great Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe which reveals much about our times and the mission Jesus our King is entrusting to us. 

The Solemnity of Christ the King is a very recent solemnity of the Church, as it was promulgated by Pope Pius XI in the Jubilee Year of 1925 in his encyclical “Quas primas.” Pope Pius XI, in reading the signs of the times, saw how the culture at the time was becoming increasingly more secular, and that world governments and institutions were continuing to push Jesus Christ and his truth to the side. It was therefore an urgent task of all in the Church to restore the Kingship of Jesus Christ to society and the world. He reminded the Church that our hope of salvation and the true fulfillment of human life in a just and ordered society is not ultimately found in governments, political ideologies, or through our own initiative, but only through the reign of Christ the King and the building up of his kingdom on earth.  This urgent mission of bringing the reign of the Kingdom of God in society is the responsibility of every Christian.  Pope Pius XI states:

“We firmly hope, however, that the feast of the Kingship of Christ, which in future will be yearly observed, may hasten the return of society to our loving Savior. It would be the duty of Catholics to do all they can to bring about this happy result. Many of these, however, have neither the station in society nor the authority which should belong to those who bear the torch of truth. This state of things may perhaps be attributed to a certain slowness and timidity in good people, who are reluctant to engage in conflict or oppose but a weak resistance; thus the enemies of the Church become bolder in their attacks. But if the faithful were generally to understand that it behooves them ever to fight courageously under the banner of Christ their King, then, fired with apostolic zeal, they would strive to win over to their Lord those hearts that are bitter and estranged from him, and would valiantly defend his rights.”  (“Quas primas,” 24)

A century later, as we prepare to celebrate the Jubilee Year of Hope, this mission urgently remains. For Catholics, this is not a time to be discouraged, timid, or afraid, but a time to move forward in hope.  The Church on earth is called to be the Church militant.  This is not to suggest that the People of God are called to arms to incite a violent political or societal revolution, but to engage is a spiritual battle through which our souls and the soul of our society and our country is at stake.  We are engaged in a real and sometimes violent spiritual battle in which “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”  (Ephesians 6:12) 

The Solemnity of Christ the King not only sheds light on the reality of this spiritual battle in which we are daily engaged, but it also reveals how we are to engage in this battle.  First, we need to have a firm faith and hope in the truth that Christ is the King of the Universe who already reigns victoriously over sin and death.  Secondly, we need to have the conviction that through our baptism we come to share in this same royal kingship of Christ and that he calls us to reign with him in this world and the next.  This sharing in the kingly mission of Jesus Christ is at the heart of our mission as the Church militant.  Our battle is the battle of conversion, to every day strive to reign with Christ over sin in our own lives so that we can share in his life and glory.  It is only through the conversion of hearts that our culture and society will return to Christ and once again allow him to reign in truth and love.  This sharing in Christ’s kingly mission is also a mission of service, for “the Son of Man came not be served, but to serve and to give his life for the ransom of many.” (Matthew 20:28) We conquer the world through Christian service — bringing God’s merciful love into the world through the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. St. John Paul II reminds us that this sharing in Christ’s kingship is the call and mission of every member of the Church: “Because the lay faithful belong to Christ, Lord and King of the Universe, they share in his kingly mission and are called by him to spread that Kingdom in history. They exercise their kingship as Christians, above all in the spiritual combat in which they seek to overcome in themselves the kingdom of sin (cf. Rom 6:12), and then to make a gift of themselves so as to serve, in justice and in charity, Jesus who is himself present in all his brothers and sisters, above all in the very least (cf. Mt 25:40).” (Christifideles laici, 14)

The Solemnity of Christ the King fills us with hope — a hope that is founded upon the truth that Christ reigns victoriously over all things and that he has entrusted to us his own mission of bringing hope and mercy into the world.  The Jubilee Year of Hope, called by Pope Francis, begins on Dec. 29 and I will be inaugurating the Jubilee Year with special Masses at St. Mary’s Cathedral that day. I am also happy to announce that I will be promulgating my first Pastoral Letter to all the faithful of the Diocese of Colorado Springs on Dec. 12, the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, who is the patroness of our diocese.  This letter, entitled “Christ Our Hope,” will outline how we are all called to more deeply encounter Christ who is our hope so that we can become his witnesses of hope and bring the reign of Christ our King into our world today.  As your shepherd, I look forward to celebrating this Jubilee Year with you and look forward to what the Lord will accomplish through all of you this coming year and beyond.