Msgr. John N. Fell

In just a few days, Pope Francis will solemnly open the Holy Door of the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in Rome, formally inaugurating Holy Year 2025. During this time of special grace and opportunity, the Holy Father encourages people throughout the world to become Pilgrims of Hope striving for “a moment of genuine, personal encounter with the Lord Jesus, the “door” (cf. Jn 10:7.9) of our salvation … ” (Francis, Spes Non Confundit, 1).

This Sunday the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Christ the King, the final Sunday of our liturgical year. Pope Pius XI instituted this feast in 1925 to combat the progressive secularization of Western culture. The Holy Father was dismayed by the increasing influence of anti-Christian values in the mainstreams of society, morality, and government; his hope was that increased attention to Christ the King would “hasten the return of society to our loving Savior” (Pope Pius XI, Quas Primas, 1925). The late Holy Father’s observations remain even more of concern in our own day, and thus our readings this weekend attempt to rekindle our own religious ardor by portraying Jesus’ kingship as a matter of loving service poured out for the sake of the truth, that is, his progressive revelation of his Father’s Heavenly Kingdom.

Our readings this Sunday offer words of hope and encouragement to people of faith. Jesus’ restoration of vision to the spiritually clear-sighted yet physically blind Bartimaeus, the assurances of Jeremiah that God will never abandon his faithful people, and the Letter to the Hebrews’ reminder that our High Priest, Christ the Lord, is both patient and merciful, all serve to powerfully reassure us that, while a life of faith is not always easy, it is always overwhelmingly rewarded. Our task is to embrace and live this faith.