Listen to the Word


nstaurare omnia in Christo” (“to renew all things in Christ”), the motto of Pope Pius X (served 1903- 14), echoes in the Opening Prayer of this feast promulgated by his namesake and successor but one, Pius XI (1922-39), whose motto, “pacem Christi in regno Christi” (“Christ’s peace in Christ’s kingdom”), also echoes. In 1925, in the middle of ever-increasing social strife, Pope Pius XI proclaimed this newly composed feast celebrating the Christian vision of human society. Christ the King was originally assigned to the last Sunday of October, which was Reformation Sunday and the Sunday preced- ing All Saints’ Day. The reform of the calendar after the Second Vatican Council established Christ the King on the Last Sunday of Ordinary Time and counted Sundays back- wards to Pentecost. For the first time, the liturgical year builds to a crescendo in this feast.


Textual analysis: The prayers exemplify the good Latin composition of their day. During the liturgical reform after Vatican II, the pur- pose clause of the Opening Prayer was changed to reflect the vision of two conciliar documents providing a more optimistic per- spective of the Church in the modern world.


Ritual development Opening Prayer: Cosmic in scope, this


prayer contributes the image of Christ the King of all things who acts on behalf of all Creation. The prayer describes the drama of salvation on a cosmic scale, whereby all Creation is freed from slavery and directed to the service of the divine majesty. We consciously share as crea- tures in this cosmic drama of salvation, and we articulate Creation’s hymn of divine praises. Prayer Over the Gifts:Human reconcili- ation with God and neighbour is the contribution of this prayer. The role assigned to human agency is strong in that we offer the sacrifice of human reconciliation to God. This contrasts with the reconciliation among peo- ples achieved only when God’s Son grants the gifts of unity and peace. Preface:Human society is renewed when


human reconciliation with God and neighbour are brought to their completion. The basis of both our redemption and social renewal is the mystery of the Incarnation whereby the eternally begotten Word of God was born in time and history and the Creator became a part of Creation. In Christ, our humanity is


16 | THE TABLET | 13 November 2010


Thy kingdom come “I


Opening Prayer Almighty eternal God,


who has willed to restore all things in your beloved Son, King of all, kindly grant that all Creation, freed from slavery, may serve your majesty and praise you without end.


Through our Lord Jesus Christ … Amen.


Prayer Over the Gifts Offering the sacrifice of human reconciliation to you, O Lord, we humbly pray that your Son himself may grant the gifts of unity and peace to all peoples, who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.


Collecta


(Opening Prayer) Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui in dilecto Filio tuo, universorum Rege, omnia instaurare voluisti, concede propitius, ut tota creatura, a


servitute liberata, tuae maiestati deserviat ac te sine fine collaudet.


(Missale Romanum, 2008)


Preface Truly worthy and just it is, fitting and right, that always and everywhere we give you thanks,


Lord, holy Father, almighty eternal God, who with the oil of gladness anointed your only-begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ the eternal Priest and Ruler of all things so that, offering himself as the immaculate and peacemaking victim on the altar of the Cross,


he might complete the mysteries of human


given to divinity and his divinity is given to humanity. This mutual self-offering completed the mystery of human redemption, which is continually being perfected in us over the course of human history whenever our human society is imbued with truth and life; holiness and grace; justice, love and peace. Prayer After Communion:We share per- sonally in all that has been said in that Christ becomes for us personally the food of immor- tality, and by our response of obeying the commands of Christ we come to share per- sonally in renewed human society. His command is to love others as he has loved us, and then he washed their feet.


The art of celebrating The cosmic, human, social and personal


When these four prayers are examined together, the universality of this feast comes into greater relief, writes Daniel McCarthy. Each prayer contributes a nuanced statement about Christ and the Christian in regard to Creation, reconciliation and personal integration into a renewed society


FEAST OF CHRIST THE KING redemption,


and, all creatures subjected to his command, he might deliver the everlasting and universal kingdom to your boundless majesty: a kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace,


a kingdom of justice, love and peace.


And therefore with Angels and Archangels with Thrones and Dominations,


with the entire force of the heavenly army,


the hymn of your glory we sing without end saying: Holy, Holy, Holy …


Prayer After Communion Having received the food of


immortality we ask, O Lord, that we who are proud to obey the commands of Christ, the King of all,


may be able to live with him in the heavenly kingdom without end, who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.


(The study texts are translated directly from the Latin in collaboration with Frs Reginald Foster OCD and James Leachman OSB. They are not polished translations but are intended to reveal a theological richness and beauty.)


dimensions of God’s kingdom are united in Christ, King of all. Our response emerges from the brute matter of Creation which God has embraced in the Incarnation, and rises to our sharing in a society imbued with truth and life; holiness and grace; justice, love and peace. Here ends this fourth annual cycle of com- mentaries in which we have tried to indicate from our own close rendering of the Latin how the various prayers develop as we gather, pres- ent our gifts, give thanks and prepare to live with a renewed appreciation. May these repeated cycles every Sunday over the course of our lives lead us to the full stature of Christ.


■Daniel McCarthy OSB is a monk of St Benedict’s Abbey, Kansas, who writes and teaches on liturgy.


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