Year C
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.
This is the last Sunday of the church year.
Next week we begin a new year with the first Sunday of Advent.
No matter what way your year went; no matter how many times, and in how many ways you may have failed to live up to the Christian way of life, we conclude our year with the celebration of Jesus as King of the world.
That is the one thing that has not changed, and that never will.
It is like a taste of the end of time.
At that time, the kingdom of the world, and the kingdom of Satan will come to an end, and Jesus and his kingdom will stand alone, with eternal victory.
I share a story with you (that I got from a friend of mine, now deceased, Fr. Jack McArdle SS CC).
There was a king of a certain country who had a servant who was a fool.
One day the king handed the fool a stick and said, “Take this stick and keep it. If however, you meet a greater fool that you then give this stick to that person”.
The years passed and the fool kept the stick.
The king went on many journeys to other countries and always went well prepared with documents and clothes etc.
The king grew old and one day took very ill and called his family and his fool to his bedside to say farewell as he was dying.
He told them that he was going on a long journey, one that he would not return from.
His family were very sad.
The fool asked him a question: Master every time you went on a journey you were always well prepared. Tell me, what preparation have you made for this most important journey?”
“I have made no preparations for this journey”, said the king, “I kept putting off doing the preparations and now it is too late. I just don’t have time”.
“In that case, Majesty”, said the fool, “take this stick, because, at last I have found a fool much greater than myself!”.
Dear friends, will you be handed that stick when your time comes to die? Do not be a fool!
Begin now!
Begin to live the kingdom of God now!
We are just passing through this world, and our destination is elsewhere.
The Kingdom of God now will become heaven later on.
There is nothing I will get when I die that I am not offered now.
I have to learn how to live in the Kingdom of God now.
This even includes learning a new language.
I have to develop the eyes, the mind, and the heart of the Christian, so that I can see things differently.
Jesus tells us that our names are registered as citizens of heaven.
In other words, we have a passport and a visa for heaven.
We are already citizens of the Kingdom.
Let us live and rejoice in the victory now… Let the party begin…!
For most people the notion of monarchy is outmoded and our own constitutional monarchy is not something that can be applied to Christ so better to concentrate on the coming Kingdom or Reign of God.
This is an opportunity to help people appreciate that the Kingdom is not just some future reality but that it is happening around us all the time among people of every faith and none.
Why not have a display around the church of all the ways in which the Kingdom of God is happening?
Draw on local resources like the Foodbanks or the welcoming of refugees, the care of the elderly or ways in which families are being helped and supported.
This could be a project for the young people to work on in the weeks beforehand.
This might even be an opportunity to invite people to come and talk about the various ways in which, although they wouldn’t speak of it like this, they are working to bring about the kingdom in the lives of others.
Note: These hymns have been chosen from different sources.
All hail the power of Jesus' name (CFE19, L323, LHON116, TCH199)
Crown him with many crowns (CFDE139, L321, LHON229, TCH141)
Hail Redeemer, King divine (CFE239, L320, LHON310, TCH142)
Jesus shall reign where'er the sun (L322, TCH231)
Majesty, worship his majesty (CFE477, L767, LHON469)
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.
