Feast of Christ the King - Procession of the Blessed Sacrament

Mass Celebrated by Archbishop Denis Hart
at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Melbourne,
on Saturday, 19th November, 2005, at 8.00pm

Introduction

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

This evening we have carried our Lord and Saviour through the streets.  We acknowledge him as Lord of all and King of our hearts, as we celebrate this feast of Christ the King, who rules from the cross.

Grateful for his total self-giving we seek to allow his example to lead us, as we call to mind our sins and resolve to be guided by his light.

Homily

“The Lord our Judge, the Lord our Lawgiver, the Lord our King, He will save us.”  (Christ the King, Prayer during the day.)

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In the month of November we have focused on praying for those who have died and naturally we think of our own death, when we will meet Christ face to face.  We know that after death comes a particular judgement by Christ according to the good or evil we have chosen to do.  We will either go directly to heaven, directly to hell, or spend time in purgatory, so that we will be readied through suffering to be one with the all holy God, who has made us for himself and who redeemed us by dying on the cross.

In the Creed we profess every Sunday, “He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end.” 

By baptism we have been welcomed into the kingdom of our Lord and Saviour and this leads us immediately to the things so evident in his life; his total devotion to the Father’s will, his care for the poor, the blind, the sick, the lame, the outcast, his answer when challenged, stating that his kingdom is not one of earthly power, but one made of the love in the hearts of men and women.

In prayer, as we have walked in procession, we have discovered that Jesus is our God.  Everything we have comes from him.  All that we think, say and do is meant to be used for him, but the words which ring in our hearts above all are Jesus’ invitation because of our love of him, to do what he did for the people of his time.  As often as you did this for one of the least of my brothers and sisters, you have done it to me. 

Jesus is the hungry person on the side of the road, the elderly person in the nursing home waiting from someone to remember her, the stranger who came into the church uncertain of the welcome, the prisoner.  We may well be judged on our ability to see Christ suffering in those around us and to the extent that we have found strength from Christ to minister to them.

In the Prayer of the Mass we say, “Almighty, eternal God in your dearly beloved Son, the king of all, you chose to restore all things.  Mercifully grant that all creatures freed from servitude may serve your majesty and may praise you without ceasing.”

Our recognition of Christ whom we adore, present in the Eucharist, is an invitation to go forth into the streets of our city, our homes and by word and deed to see him and serve him.  Our contribution can never be just for ourselves or to concentrate on our own burdens, but if we are asked to share in suffering, to accept it courageously and carrying our own suffering to reach out with compassion to others as we have received the same compassion, love and forgiveness from the king who reigns from the cross.  Our king, who will save us.

+ Denis J. Hart,
Archbishop of Melbourne.