Not a solemnity but a feast which was instituted by Pope Pius XI in the year 1925 for the Roman Catholic Church at a time when there was the need to make people know more about Christ and also to Adore and Respect Him. This will make me reflect on this popular hymn:
The Lamb upon his throne;
Hark, how the heavenly anthem drowns
All music but its own:
Awake, my soul, and sing
Of him who died for thee,
And hail him as thy matchless King
Through all eternity.
Crown him the Lord of peace,
Whose power a sceptre sways
From pole to pole, that wars may cease,
Absorbed in prayer and praise.
His reign shall know no end,
And round his piercèd feet
Fair flowers of paradise extend
Their fragrance ever sweet.
Crown him the Lord of heaven,
One with the Father known,
And that blest Spirit through him given
From yonder triune throne.
All hail, Redeemer, hail,
For thou hast died for me;
Thy praise shall never, never fail
Throughout eternity
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The feast was instituted with the mindset of proclaiming Christ to the whole world by public exposition of THE HOLY EUCHARIST using the MONSTRANCE, to assert Christ's rulership over the world, to inform world powers and dictators that Christ is the only King and Ruler and so all respect must be given Him and to His Church on earth.
The feast is a reminder and call to the fact that at the end of time, the kingdom of Jesus Christ will be established in all its fullness to the ends of the earth. It is a Sunday that signifes the end of a liturgical year and also leads into a new season and a new year which is the Advent season, when the Church commemorates the arrival of the newborn king.
It might seem confusing to Catholics who are reading this article cos am combining two great feasts together; THE CORPUS CHRISTI AND CHRIST THE KING CELEBRATION.
Though this two are separate feasts celebrated in every Catholic Church at different days, but due to the weather conditions in Nigeria and some other countries that rainfall is predominant at the time this feast is to be celebrated, the Mother Church has given these countries the opportunity to shift the procession of Corpus Christi celebration to the day the Church celebrates the feast of CHRIST THE KING OF THE UNIVERSE.
So it is not the celebration of Corpus Christi that is shifted but the procession due to weather conditions. Let us all know that
Let his subjects all proclaim
In the splendour of his temple
Honour to his holy name.
Christ is King! No soul created
Can refuse to bend the knee
To the God made Man who reigneth,
As ’twas promised, from the tree.
Christ is King! Let humble sorrow
For our past neglect atone,
For the lack of faithful service
To the Master whom we own.
Christ is King! Let joy and gladness
Greet him; let his courts resound
With the praise of faithful subjects
To his love in honour bound.
Christ is King! In health and sickness,
Till we breathe our latest breath,
Till we greet in highest heaven
Christ the victor over death
Cyril of Alexandria once said
We can derive at a conclusion from this that to Christ angels, men and everything that exists are subject to the universal King which is CHRIST JESUS. Christ is also King by acquired, as well as by natural right, for he is our Redeemer. We are no longer our own property, for Christ has purchased us "WITH A VERY GREAT PRICE"; SOMETHING INVALUABLE, "HIS VERY OWN PRECIUOS BLOOD" our bodies are the members of Christ. A third ground of sovereignty is that God bestowed upon Christ the nations of the world as His special possession and dominion.
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He said that
AND THIS MAKES US BELEIVE WITHOUT DOUBT THAT THE NAME OF THE LORD IS A STRONG TOWER AND THE RIGHTEOUS RUNS INTO IT AND ARE SAVED
He must reign in our hearts, which should spurn natural desires and we must love God above all things, and cleave to him alone. He must reign in our bodies and in our members, which should serve as instruments for the interior sanctification of our souls.
Daniel knew His greatness and wrote in the book of Daniel 3:57-88
To him be highest glory and praise for ever.
And you, angels of the Lord, O bless the Lord.
To him be highest glory and praise for ever.
And you, the heavens of the Lord, O bless the Lord.
And you, clouds of the sky, O bless the Lord.
And you, all armies of the Lord, O bless the Lord.
To him be highest glory and praise for ever.
And you, sun and moon, O bless the Lord.
And you, the stars of the heavens, O bless the Lord.
And you, showers and rain, O bless the Lord.
To him be highest glory and praise for ever.
And you, all you breezes and winds, O bless the Lord.
And you, fire and heat, O bless the Lord.
And you, cold and heat, O bless the Lord.
To him be highest glory and praise for ever.
And you, showers and dew, O bless the Lord.
And you, frosts and cold, O bless the Lord.
And you, frost and snow, O bless the Lord.
To him be highest glory and praise for ever.
And you, night-time and day, O bless the Lord.
And you, darkness and light, O bless the Lord.
And you, lightning and clouds, O bless the Lord.
To him be highest glory and praise for ever.
O let the earth bless the Lord.
To him be highest glory and praise for ever.
And you, mountains and hills, O bless the Lord.
And you, all plants of the earth, O bless the Lord.
And you, fountains and springs, O bless the Lord.
To him be highest glory and praise for ever.
And you, rivers and seas, O bless the Lord.
And you, creatures of the sea, O bless the Lord.
And you, every bird in the sky, O bless the Lord.
And you, wild beasts and tame, O bless the Lord.
To him be highest glory and praise for ever.
And you, children of men, O bless the Lord.
To him be highest glory and praise for ever.
O Israel, bless the Lord, O bless the Lord.
And you, priests of the Lord, O bless the Lord.
And you, servants of the Lord, O bless the Lord.
To him be highest glory and praise for ever.
And you, spirits and souls of the just, O bless the Lord.
And you, holy and humble of heart, O bless the Lord.
Ananias, Azarias, Mizael, O bless the Lord.
To him be highest glory and praise for ever.
Let us praise the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit:
To you be highest glory and praise for ever.
May you be blessed, O Lord, in the heavens:
To you be highest glory and praise for ever
He is the king that David kept praising all his life, he longed to build Him an ark so he could be closer to God and worship Him
He is the Alpha and Omega
The Redeemer
The Saviour
We cannot praise Him the way we should. You can also praise Him by commenting on this post.