THESE PRECIOUS THINGS
I recently read about
St. John Cantius, who was born in Poland in 1390. As a boy he was
bright and good to those around him. When he got older he became a priest and
taught Sacred Scripture at the University
of Krakow and also served
as a pastor for several years. He is remembered for his learning and his
devotion to the poor.
St. John Cantius made
four pilgrimages to Rome
on foot, carrying his luggage on his back. On one of these trips a gang of
robbers took his purse and then asked if he had any more money. Fr. John said
that was all he had, so they sent him on his way. He had not gone very far when
he remembered that he had several pieces of gold sewn in his clothes. He
hurried back and gave the gold to the robbers, begging them to forgive him for telling
a lie. The thieves were so dumbfounded and pleased that they returned all the
money they had taken from him.
Today we honor Jesus
Christ as our King. In the Gospel, Jesus tells His disciples that when the Son
of Man comes, He will say, "'Come, you who are blessed by My Father.
Inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I
was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a
stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for
me, in prison and you visited me.' Then the righteous will answer him and say,
'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?
When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?When
did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?' And the king will say to them
in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of the least brothers
of mine, you did for me.'"
In the Preface for
today's Mass we pray, "You anointed Your Only Begotten Son, our Lord Jesus
Christ... so that by offering Himself on the altar of the Cross... He might
accomplish the mysteries of human redemption and, making all created things
subject to His rule, He might present to the immensity of Your majesty an
eternal and universal kingdom, a kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of
holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love and peace." Every time we
work for these precious things - truth, life, holiness, grace, justice, love
and peace - we are working for Jesus, our true King.
TRUTH: Like
St. John Cantius, tell the truth no matter what it
costs, for we serve Christ, the King of Truth.
LIFE: Jesus came that we
might have life. His followers must promote life. For example, do everything
possible to prevent the killing of millions of innocent babies by abortion.
HOLINESS
and GRACE: Whatever we do to increase God's life in us helps us to
grow in holiness. For example, we can assist in various ways at our parish
church, at Mass, and in our community. Be attentive to the call of service as
Jesus was, for He "came to serve, not be served." Service is a true
icon of Jesus.
JUSTICE: When we try to be honest in our dealings with
God, our neighbor and ourselves, we are casting a vote for Christ as our Leader
and our King.
LOVE: Every time we try to please God and help
others, we are truly showing the outstanding mark of who we really are -
subjects of Christ the King.
PEACE: Make every effort to promote peace
everywhere, showing that we belong to Jesus' Kingdom of Peace.
"Thy Kingdom
come," we pray in the Our Father. On this feast of Christ, our King, let
us all pledge to promote, in our personal lives and in our communities, these
interior spiritual qualities that really make Christ our King!