CHRIST THE KING, Cycle A, November 24, 2002

Memorial Mass for My Mothe= r on the Feast of Christ the King, November 19, 2005

Introduction

My sisters and brothers in Christ,

&n= bsp; Today we bring this liturgical year to a close with the feast of Christ the King. It also brings to a clo= se a major part of my life. Many o= f you know that my dear mother died this past All Souls Day, November 2, at the a= ge of 106. I have invited some o= f her and my dearest friends and those who took such good care of her in her last days to be with us today. Thi= s Mass will be offered in her memory. It will be the regular Mass of Christ the King, but I will include special commemorations of my dear mother.

&= nbsp; So let us begin by asking God to purify our minds and hearts of all stain of s= in and attachment to evil, that we may be inspired by the Scripture readings proclaimed to us, and that as we encounter our living and risen Lord in his sacramental presence in this Eucharist, we may all grow in our personal relationship with him and with one another.

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Homily

&= nbsp; The feast of Christ the King was first established by Pope Pius XI in 1925 and placed on the last Sunday of October. It was transferred after the Second Vatican Council to the very last Sunday of the liturgical year to bring it to a resounding and dramatic climax. How fitting that it should= end with a proclamation that the kingdom of God is established in the person of Jesus, who reigns by virtue of his cross and resurrection from the dead, to remind us that God's ways are not our ways, that mystery lies at the heart = of all reality, and that all the good we do, the beauty we seek, the love we share, are just glimpses and tastes of the ultimate reality we call God.

&n= bsp; Our first reading today (Ezek 34:11-12,15-17) provides the background imagery f= or the gospel story of sheep being separated from goats. The prophet Ezekiel bitterly indic= ts the kings of Israel for being bad shepherds. The = people of Israel are now in exile, thanks to the lack of care of their leaders. Ezekiel pictures their God promisi= ng restoration to the scattered flock in terms of tender endearment. In contrast to the false shepherds= who feed themselves instead of their sheep, the God of Israel is the Good Sheph= erd who goes out to seek for sheep that are lost, crippled, or have strayed, in order to restore them to their home pasture.

&= nbsp; The prophet pictures God taking the initiative in gathering the flock together = when he writes, "For thus says the LORD God, 'Behold I, I myself = will search for my sheep, and will seek them out.... I will rescue them from all places= where they have been scattered.... = And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the fountains, and= in all the inhabited places of the earth.'" Our reading extracts those verses = that do not refer the exile as such. As a result, the text becomes more universal in tone and can readily be applie= d to the role of Jesus as Good Shepherd of all God's people.

&= nbsp; Our second reading (1 Cor 15:20-26,28) presents Christ's resurrection as the crowning event of salvation history. It begins by describing Christ's resurrection as the firstfruits of = all who will rise. This is a cult= ic term describing the first sheaves of grain offered in the temple as a symbo= lic consecration of the entire harvest to God.= Paul sees Christ's resurrection as the beginning of an entire "harvest," the ingathering of all believers to God. At the end of time, Christ will ha= nd over to God the royal authority that was conferred upon him as savior of the world. When he comes back aga= in, his majesty will be manifested to all.&nbs= p; Christ's personal victory over death has destroyed the power of deat= h, just as it destroyed the power of sin.

&= nbsp; Today's gospel passage (Matt 25:31-46) gives us one early Christian view of a final judgment by Christ the King, here portrayed in the image of the Son of Man = from the book of Daniel. This pass= age concludes the Gospel according to Matthew proper. It is an imaginative scene in whic= h the author sets the core of the moral teaching of Jesus. Entrance into the kingdom of God was promised toward the beginning of this gospel in the beatitudes to the p= oor, the merciful, and the peacemakers. Now at the end of the gospel, as a conclusion to the final discourse= of Jesus to his disciples, the author gives his final interpretation of the message of Jesus: entrance into the kingdom of God is given onl= y to those who perform works of mercy. Notice clearly that there is no mention of any motive here, or of any conscious awareness of works being done for Christ. The only criterion for judgment= in this passage is attention to the needs of one's fellow human beings: "the least of my brothers [and sisters]." The clear and unequivocal message = of the story is that the way one treats fellow human beings alone determines one’s salvation.

&= nbsp; These readings are also a source of great consolation to me as I remember my moth= er in a special way during this = Mass. A mother’s love is a reflect= ion of the pure, unconditional love of God that was expressed in today’s fir= st reading. Indeed, without our = early experience of our parents’ love, it would have been very difficult fo= r us to have faith in a personal God who loves and cares for us. Much of our spiritual commitment is conditioned by our mother’s love.&nb= sp; Like God’s love, a mothers' love is a transforming love, contributing t= o a new creation. It is a model f= or the love that should permeate all our lives.

&= nbsp; In the second reading, Paul proclaimed Christ's resurrection as victory over death, the first installment of our own resurrection. Where he has gone, we too will follow. And in the gospel story we heard J= esus saying, “Come, inherit the kingdom prepared for you…. I was ill and you visited me and c= ared for me.” These dear fri= ends of mine and of my mother’s who are here with us today did just that—older friends for so many years of my mother’s life, young kids from Catholic University who came to visit and help feed Mom over the = past few years. I experienced the realness of this gospel message in all those here today who came to visit a= nd care for Mom. For them I have= the deepest gratitude and appreciation. May God bless them abundantly for all they have done for Mom and me.=

&= nbsp; Let us now continue our eucharistic liturgy, which commemorates the death and resurrection of our Lord. Let= us reaffirm our belief in the Christian mystery that it is precisely through d= eath that one comes to fullness of life in God.

Commemoration in the Eucha= ristic Prayer

&= nbsp; Remember my mother Marguerite, whom you have called from this life. In baptism she died with Christ; m= ay she also share his resurrection.