Father Paul Weinberger, Pastor
St. William the Confessor Catholic Church
Greenville, Texas
Feast of Christ the King
November 26, 2006
Everyone who belongs to the Truth listens to My Voice.
In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit
Amen
Normally on the eve of a First Friday I would have the Promises of the Sacred Heart to St. Margaret Mary included in the bulletin. One of those promises is that He, Jesus will honor those who have a picture of the Sacred Heart in their home, where it is venerated and honored. So, on the cover of the bulletin you have a copy of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and also Christ the King. Now you all have an image for use at home.
The picture Fr. Paul is referring to can be viewed here
http://www.paisleydiocese.org.uk/christ-king2.jpg
This image is very important but so seldom thought of and considered.
In the last line of today’s Gospel, Jesus says,
Everyone who belongs to the Truth listens to My Voice.
This is the last line of the last Gospel, the Gospel of St. John on the last Sunday of the year. Next Sunday is the First Sunday of Advent, four Sunday’s before Christmas. The new Liturgical Year of the Church begins next Sunday. So, the image of Christ coming at the end of time in the Book of Daniel in the Second Reading reminds us of this reality that is certain to occur and something we seldom consider. It would sever us if we did consider it often.
If Christ is a King then that means He has an Empire and power. You can see the way it is depicted here in the picture on your bulletin cover. It is as if the sun is emanating from His very figure just as the sun will touch every inch of the surface of the earth…except for Detroit, where I will be going next week. As the earth turns the sun touches every inch of it’s surface and so everyone is to fall under the Power of Christ the King. There is another “team” and then there is the team of Christ the King, if you will; there are no other teams.
The aspect of His having subjects can be seen even in those Christians who are not Catholic. We are Catholic Christians. Last Thursday we stopped as a nation to consider these non-Catholic Christians, who followed Christ. If you know the story of Robin Hood, the sheriff of Nottingham, and where it is situated in England…the Sherwood Forest…this is where the pilgrims originated but they left England so they could freely practice their own religion and they fled to Holland and not to this country. They jumped out of the fire into the frying pan. About a thousand left the beautiful middle portion of England to go to Holland, which was a very permissive place and it hasn’t changed except the clock is now 2006 rather than 1620.
The pilgrims arrived in Holland and saw some other Christians, who were not Catholic Christians, called “The Ancient Brethren”, who’d preceded them by about sixteen years. The Ancient Brethren moved to Holland for exactly the same reason. The pilgrims looked around at their children and found that the children had been assimilated into habits and customs and irreligiosity of the Dutch.
If this was the fate of the Ancient Brethren why would these new pilgrims think their fate would be any less, so they discerned that God was calling them to an even greater sacrifice for the good of their children, to cross the ocean, not the channel but the Atlantic ocean and come to this land.
There were two ships, the Mayflower and one about half the size named the Speedwell, which should have been christened the “sink well” because it did that very well. It was loaded with pilgrims and took off but had to turn around and come back because it was sinking. They repaired the vessel only to have the same results repeated. Many of the pilgrims took this as a sign that they were not supposed to cross the ocean. That IS one of the “seven warning signs” that you are not supposed to cross the ocean.
When the Mayflower set sail there were 102 passengers and of those 102, thirty-five were pilgrims; only thirty-five out of 1000 who’d started out from England. They knew that going across the ocean would be a great sacrifice and it would be perilous. They arrived in New England at the most unfortunate time; they arrived in the winter in November. Winter in Cape Code is very unforgiving. By January the records show that the pilgrims built crude shelters. The records also show that on January 16th the pilgrims were lying around in one of these shelters, holding their stomachs and groaning, which of course could easily pass as the first Thanksgiving because that custom has come down to us. [Laughter]
The reason the pilgrims were groaning and holding their stomachs is because they were ill; many of them had food poisoning. This illness had them flat on their backs and while they were on their backs the roof caught fire. Many of them without any strength left, miraculously were able to get up and get out of the smoke filled shelter. There was gun powder inside the shelter; talk about mixing up the holiday of Thanksgiving and the 4th of July. It nearly became the same thing. The shelter did not completely burn but made for a terrible time that winter.
By spring, of the 102 passengers that came over on the Mayflower, fifty remained; only fifty just after a few months had passed. The first winter had been incredibly cruel. Of the adult women only four remained and of all the pilgrims the ones who faired the best were the children. All seven daughters survived and of the thirteen sons, ten survived. Many of the children survived because their parents did then what good parents do, they sacrificed for their children.
By the time October came around they wanted to give thanks to God. They would have nothing to do with Christmas and Easter because these were considered pagan festivals, which of course they have become in many Catholic churches today. You know…Santa Clause and the Easter bunny…right? They try to turn every holiday onto Halloween! How sad! The pilgrims did give thanks because God had blessed them with a good harvest. They invited the Indians that were near by and a real surprise was that they invited the Chief and he brought ninety braves with him. The four surviving women had to cook dinner for 140 people over a three-day period on a campfire. This was not easy but the women did it.
The incredible effort of these pilgrims in 1620 was just 101 years after the Conquest of Mexico. In fact, this Thanksgiving Mexico and the sacrifice of the pilgrims are joined because Thanksgiving this year was November 23rd, the Feast of Blessed Miguel Pro. Father Pro was a Jesuit priest, a real son of St. Ignatius.
In 1927, on November 23rd in Mexico City, Fr. Pro raised his arms just as Jesus has His arms raised here on the Crucifix, and shouted in Spanish,
The government firing squad then shot Father Pro dead. Fortunately all of this is preserved in celluloid on film. Even though it was 1927 the government saw an opportunity to break the position of the revolution and so they filmed every aspect of his execution, considering that he would no doubt break.LONG LIVE CHRIST THE KING…VIVE CRISTO REY
Last night there was a man here from Denton, Texas for the 6pm Mass. He and his family visited the Church in Mexico City, where the reliquary of the remains of Blessed Miguel Pro are kept. He was telling the guide that he desired to go and visit and venerate the place where Fr. Pro was martyred. The guide from Mexico told him that the government would not release or display the site where Fr. Pro was mowed down by the firing squad in 1927. After all these years they will not release the information? They are so ashamed, and rightly so, that they would so easily mow down the flower of Mexican strength and faith so easily.
The Revolution began in 1910 and of course, those Bishops in Mexico incited the Revolution. They looked for the geographic center of Mexico and when they determined the center they established a monument to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. They purchased the land, put up the monument to the Sacred Heart and elements of the government had it blown up with dynamite. The bishops put up a larger one only to have it blown up as well. This is where the yell “Long Live Christ the King” came to be the refrain for the followers of Christ, the Christians in Mexico made up of priests, nuns and the lay people who were killed there during the Mexican Revolution.
To let you know how serious this was, a governor in the northwestern part of Mexico named his two sons Stalin and Lucifer. Either way they are both Satan, right? He was clearly drawing a line between himself and the followers of Christ. Literally, the doors of the Churches in Mexico were closed during this time of persecution. Certain privileges were given to the Church in Mexico during this persecution…amazing!
For example, as a priest I would never be allowed to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass without my vestments, without the chasuble or the stole. During this time of persecution the Holy See granted the clergy of Mexico unusual privileges. Only the essential parts of the Mass had to be said and no vestments had to be worn during the Mass. Also, any type of bread could be used for the host and they could use a common glass as a Chalice. I was thinking about this in the morning when I brushed my teeth; the glass that I used that was on the sink I could have used as a Chalice during the persecution. There was one provision that stated the common glass could be used as a Chalice provided the priest broke it after the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in respect for the Precious Blood. The glass could never be used again for common or ordinary purposes.
Rome gave these privileges and Rome does not give those privileges lightly but they were helping the people of Mexico continue to receive the many graces from the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass during this persecution. This way the priest could offer Mass quickly and the people could receive Holy Communion and they could avoid arrest. Today people want Mass to be offered quickly, not to avoid arrest but to get on to things that are more important. What did that lady say after Mass?
“Come on children, on to bigger and better things.”
I have yet to find anything bigger or better than the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in this world…in this life!
Father Pro was once offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in an apartment and got word that the police were on their way. Just before the police arrived he slipped out like Lon Chaney; he had a thousand disguises. Father Pro returned moments later dressed as a police detective and he started going through the apartment saying,
“Where is he? I know you have to be hiding him here! I bet this is that Fr. Pro we’ve been hearing about!”
He was going on and on while being in disguise. He’d done this many times so he could serve the people in baptism, confession, marry, bury and distribute Holy Communion. He cared for his flock at great personal risk to himself ever since he had to sneak out of the country during this persecution through Laredo, go to Belgium to be consecrated and volunteer to go back to Mexico to serve. We have an account here of him having received foster children to find homes for. So many children were devastated by the Revolution, the glorious Mexican Revolution that not even 100 years have passed since and most Mexicans don’t even realize that it occurred, as well as Americans. Of course it is not important to me because it didn’t happen to me? Yea, right!
Father Pro once was given a baby to find a home for so he was taking it to the foster home. He said,
Of course the first jolt of the car, the baby nearly slid off the seat and he had to catch the baby. He said,I made the mistake of putting the baby, all wrapped up in a shawl by my side on the seat of the car.
See what happens when you give a baby to a man? [Laughter]I decided to hold the baby in my arms the rest of the way. I don’t need to tell you how damp my clothes were by the time I gave the child over to the foster parents.
Father Pro was a follower of Christ in Mexico just like the pilgrims, with such determination and dedication, doing anything they could to help themselves and their children on the way to Heaven.
A friend of mine is a policeman and recently I heard that he was working at a Wal-Mart on Thanksgiving night in another city. On this night people began to arrive at the Wal-Mart at 9pm. The store was locked and these people got in a line and waited in line for eight hours so that when the store opened again they could be the first to get to the sales…especially the big TVs. If I told you to line up out in front of the Church under the covered walkway and I held a gun to your head, many people would tell me to go ahead and shoot, they won’t do it. They won’t stand in line to get into the Church but Wal-Mart has a sale and there they are!
The following night the same officer went to a theatre. By the way, we treat our police officers so well they have to get a second job. We all like law enforcement as long as someone else pays for it.
So the officer went to the theatre as security and I understand that what he saw was amazing. People would drop off their children, young teens around 6pm and these kids were still milling around the front of the theatre by 1am. Kind of like the town dog that is just left alone; we know what happens there! Only good things happen, right? So these teens are just left at the theatre. Understanding what was a stake the officer approached some of these teenagers and exhorted them to go home. A mother of one of the teens was near by, probably on her migratory route past her child. She probably checks in on them once a year. She overheard the officer speaking to these teens so she began to curse him out.
I didn’t realize it but we can say absolutely anything we want to a police officer, cursing him out and using every four-letter word there is and he can’t respond in kind or arrest us. BUT…if someone is listening and is offended then the one who offends can go to jail. So, this was happening at the theatre and that rotten mother was not taking care of her children. Here the teens are hearing four-letter words in front of the theatre and probably had been exposed to the same or worse inside the theatre; theatres being what they are today.
One of the employees of the theatre turned to one of the ladies who was obviously offended by such offensive words and asked her if she was offended by what she had just heard. The lady told the employee that she wasn’t. Talk about gutless. You see, if someone is offended, the woman cursing the officer could have been arrested and sent to jail where she belongs. Instead she is just left to roam the streets like her teenage children. There is not thought or consideration given to these children and eternity; the lines are clearly drawn. The pilgrims and Fr. Pro along with so many others show us that it is possible to concentrate in a dedicated manner on Christ and to serve Him. When we happen upon these people such as Padre Pro, they put us to shame; they put me to shame.
The Friday before Thanksgiving I got a phone call from a man that could not go as planned to help the Missionaries of Charity on Saturday. There was an illness in the family that prevented him from going so he was asking for help from other men in the parish. I made some calls and we were able to find men to go on Saturday morning to help the sisters in south Oak Cliff get ready for Thanksgiving. On Thanksgiving Day these four sisters, who are all from countries outside the USA, took food around to the poor the way the Knights of Columbus in our parish so commendably do at Christmas. The sisters bought food from a food bank in bulk and then they divided it up. The sisters of course need help because of the weight of some of the boxes and bags that can weigh 100 pounds. I think there might be a height requirement kind of like at Six Flags; you cannot be taller than this to be a Missionary of Charity.
Father measures about 4 feet from the floor
[Laughter] And they are all about this big around so they aren’t supposed to lift these large boxes and these sacks. The men and their sons who went over there that morning made quick work of it, helping the sisters divide the food on the driveway in front of the Women’s shelter. They take care of women who are expecting children and have been abused and cannot live at home. They were telling me stories about what they were finding and they asked the sisters what to do with the bent cans. Sister would take the can and place it in the kitchen of the convent… the sisters live in, not the shelter where the women live. They were going through the taco shells and one of the boxes was growing some green fuzz so they showed the sisters and the shells met a similar fate as the dented cans and were taken to the convent kitchen. The sisters were going to eat those. There is only one problem people have with Thanksgiving and that is figuring out what to do with the leftovers.
“Oh just throw it away, nobody cares!”
Those sisters care! God cares! The pilgrims would never do something so reckless but of course we are older than they are.
At the end of this charitable undertaking the sisters gave the helpers a broom and a dust pan and asked them to sweep up the beans and rice that had dropped as they transferred them from the large bags into smaller ones to be distributed. The sisters told them not to throw away what they swept up, took the dustpans and took the swept up food home to wash and eat it themselves. The same thing you …or I would…. Do… right? We can’t even pretend we would. It is very difficult for me to be around the Missionaries of Charity; I love it but it is difficult. No, it is not because it is difficult for me to go and work around poverty; it is difficult because they are very dedicated. What these sisters do is dedication and that is serving Him. I can see the contrast between my life and theirs. These sisters are full of joy and it radiates from them. I have to do something about that and it involves me!
Look at the way the attendance at a Catholic Church can vary when the “game” is on, right? A friend of mine, who is a priest, was telling me that at his parish attendance was down but of course the Cowboys were playing. I was thinking,
“Yea, God’s team says it is ok to miss Mass!”
It has been a long time since anyone has called them “God’s team”. Even God doesn’t consider that anymore but they have been winning and some people just think of going to the game and not Church. We have a 24 hour period called “Sunday” where everything is devoted to God and yet, we feel torn somehow.
“Well, we can do Mass and then we can do this but that is it.”
Sunday is God’s Day, the Lord’s Day; there is a Commandment about it! What about people who have already been to Mass today?
“Well, we have already been to Mass and to come back to the Church for the Procession on the Feast of Christ the King? Gee, that just seems so radical!”
Yea, it almost appears that we are in His Service! The pilgrims, Father Pro and the Missionaries of Charity can do it and I can’t. I say I can’t; perhaps you are in the same boat. The service of a King is what is expected from his disciples and Fr. Pro and the Christians faced and chose death rather than to betray their King. They chose service rather than betray Christ the King.
As it says in the last line of the last Gospel on the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year,
Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to My Voice.
I pray God gives me the strength to listen to His voice and serve Him now and every day He grants me in the future, thus I will be serving Christ, the King of the Universe. “Long Live Christ the King” will be the refrain of my actions, words, and thoughts.
In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit
Amen