Father Paul Weinberger
Saint William the Confessor Catholic Church
Greenville, Texas
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time
October 28, 2007
I am already being poured out like a libation and the time of my departure is at hand. I have competed well, I have finished the race, I have kept the Faith. From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me which the Lord, the Just Judge will award to me on that day and not only me but to all who have longed for His Appearance...The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat and will bring me safe to His Heavenly Kingdom.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
In 1925, Pope Pius XI declared in Quas Primas that the last Sunday of October should be celebrated as the Feast of Christ the King, the Sovereign Priest. Up until 1969 that is when the Feast was celebrated. In 1969 the feast was moved back to the end of November, the Sunday before Advent. It crowns the year so to speak. In 1925, Pope Pius XI helped us to understand this reading from St. Paul and the significance of the Last Judgment, by Fra Angelico, as pictured on the front of this week's bulletin.
You will notice on the cover of the bulletin that this very famous Last Judgment scene has everyone either to the right or the left of Christ. When we speak of the left or the right of Christ we are disoriented. However when we put ourselves where Christ is the people of the left are in Hell and those on the right are the saints in Heaven. At the Feet of Christ are two angels with trumpets and the other angels surrounding Him are cherubim and seraphim like we just sang in the Opening Hymn, "Holy God we praise Thy Name." The angels with the trumpets are calling the dead from their graves and you see the division. The saints are on one side and there is a battle on the right hand side. You can even see the demons pulling some people into Hell. You see one man there holding a book and preaching evidently and one man covering his ears with his hands like some of you are doing right now.
November 1st is the Feast of All Saints or if you want, the Feast of All Hallows. The vigil of All Hallows is All Hallows Eve. Now some focus All Hallows Eve on the demonic. I was in Highland Park on Friday and in front of one of those very expensive homes was a skull the size of a Buick. What they couldn't build an Aztec pyramid? Can you imagine what the neighbors would have said if they had a Crucifix that size? Instead of getting it right about the saints on All Hallows Eve, people just emphasize the demons instead. Oh come on, just let the kids dress up as demons...(yeah right?) What is wrong with this picture?
The cover on the bulletin shows you a picture of the Church Triumphant, the Saints. You can also see the Church Militant involved in a battle and that represents in every age the present moment. What is not pictured there is a reference to the Church Suffering, the Holy Souls in Purgatory. The Holy Souls are guaranteed on Heaven but have to suffer for some reason. More of that in a different homily.
The Church in Heaven is the Church Triumphant with Our Lord, Our Lady, the angels and all the saints. The Church Militant is the Church at the present moment undergoing a battle. There will never be a time when the Church Militant is not undergoing a battle and is under attack. And you can see how placing the Feast of Christ the King at the last Sunday in October anticipating All Saints Day and All Souls Day, was to help make His Kingdom visible and not hidden away in churches. This is exactly what Pope Pius XI wrote back in 1925 right after World War I. Many thousands of Americans and many millions of Europeans died in WWI.
At that time there was great unrest also south of the United States. When troubles strike our neighbors we feel great compassion. For instance, the wild fires in San Diego are far from Greenville yet we feel anguish for them. In 1925, Mexico was enduring a civil war. It had not yet even been 100 years since that era when priests, nuns, and lay people were killed by the government. At that time there was a movement in Mexico called the Cristeros, Christ the Kingers is an approximate translation. Their motto was "Long Live Christ The King!" Just as the Pope published Quas Primas, the Mexican government executed a Catholic priest, Blessed Miguel Augustine Pro. Before he was executed by the government he forgave all those that were going to shoot him. Then he raised his arms, like Moses in last week's reading and Christ on the Cross, and he said, "Viva El Cristo Rey!" (Long Live Christ The King!) The government of Mexico had a camera filming everything and they just knew that this priest was going to break and the government was going to use the film against the Catholic Church. It never happened and no one has ever seen the release of this film. For some reason the government does not want to release it.
Now at that same time the Pope in Rome issued Quas Primas stating that we should celebrate the Feast of Christ the King just as the world appeared to care less. Right before Quas Primas was published World War I came to a close, also the Czar was overthrown in Russia and the communists came to power there. I know this sounds so remote and distant but at this moment nuclear missiles in Communist China are focused on this country. The rise of Communism still affects us to this day. I know you are thinking that they are going to have the Olympics in China next year. That does not mean the missiles are not aimed at us. The threat of Communism is still real.
Just a few years after the civil war in Mexico a similar situation developed in Spain. In the 1930s Catholic Spain was under attack from within. In fact, today, something happened in Spain that has NEVER happened before. Four hundred and ninety-eight priests, nuns, and lay people were beatified. Beatification is the step just prior to canonization. This is the largest group ever beatified in a single moment happened today.
You see Spain had a civil war going on in the 1930s. The Communists, the Fascists from Italy, and the Socialists from Germany all got together and used Spain as a test ground for the new weapons and innovations in battle. That is why so many were killed in Spain during their civil war. Spain is used to civil war. The longest civil war in the history of the war occurred in Spain. From 711, the date not the story, to 1492, the Christians fought to get back their country from the Muslims. In 1492, they succeeded. Spain is familiar with civil war and in the 1930s civil war took a great toll on Spain and the Church. One of the men who was beatified today was a bishop. He was inside of a seminary that was under attack. A policeman who was sympathetic to the bishop went in to get him out. The policeman wanted to exchange clothes with the bishop and all him to sneak out as a policeman. When the bishop was told of the plan he said that he would not do that. He would not remove his cassock and he was killed as a result. And, again, like Blessed Miguel Augustine Pro from Mexico, this bishop forgave the men who were about to kill him and he was executed. This was repeated so many times that it could seem monotonous. However the virtue could not be considered monotonous.
There was also a group of Claretian seminarians, from the order started by a bishop of Cuba, St. Anthony Mary Claret. His feast day was last week. At the Claretian seminary in Spain all the priests were killed and they were going to kill the young men who were studying to be priests. The seminarians were given an offer that if they were to take off their religious garb, the cassocks, they wouldn't be shot. The young men said no and they were killed. Not even 100 years have gone by. This seems so far away and remote so why even bother? Christ's Kingdom is under attack in every age. Christ is not a King, kind of, sort of, play like. He is truly the King of Heaven and Earth.
Here is a quote from Quas Primas and if you have the opportunity look it up. Quas Primas It's only five pages or so and it is a fresh today as it was in 1925.
If Christ does not reign in our minds, in our hearts, in our bodies, and every member then the other team does. The United Nations is not ruling us. There is not a third category out there. It is either Christ or the other team, the demons. If you believe there is another choice God will correct you one way or the other. The pope is very clear that Christ's Kingdom is very real. It is not play like.Paragraph 33.(Christ the King) He must reign in our minds, which should assent with perfect submission and firm belief to revealed truths and to the doctrines of Christ. He must reign in our wills, which should obey the laws and precepts of God. He must reign in our hearts, which should spurn natural desires and 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, or to use the words of the Apostle Paul, as instruments of justice unto God.
Did you know that in the last couple of weeks that there are members of Congress in Spain are promoting a bill that would give human rights to monkeys and apes? It's in the news. It is not a joke. I just want to give human rights to humans. There is a civil war being raged in this country and if you compared the casualties of this civil war with all other wars combined you would learn that there is no comparison. More than 40 million, since 1973, have died through procured abortion. Again, I am just looking to give human beings human rights.
I have a friend from St. William's who moved back to Mexico with his family. In the last month there have been three explosions in the heart of Mexico. These attacks were by Communists. Did you know that in the recent Mexican elections they almost elected a Communist for president? All of a sudden it is like having your neighbor's house catch on fire. It might actually get you to turn off the TV, get off the couch and go take a look! Right? It is really sad to see this. The Church Militant is suffering today and the Christ is not being honored as King in the world, not even by people who call themselves Christian.
Inside the bulletin today is a letter by Bishop Farrell of Dallas. He is promoting the movie, Bella, that opened on Friday. He is wholehearted promoting this movie along with the Catholic Conference of Bishops. Bishop Farrell mentions that the lead actor and producer from Metanoia (metanoia means conversion) Films are devout Catholics that are dedicated to making films that give and inspire. They received the blessing of Pope John Paul II for the movie, Bella. The bishop said that he sincerely believed that God's Hand was on Bella as part of the new evangelization.
I spent last week with Bishop Farrell and the priests from the diocese in Denton, Texas. He is very practical man. A meat and potatoes kind of man. He wouldn't say that God's Hand was on Bella if he didn't believe. Now it is amazing. Bella is a movie that has NO NUDITY, NO CUSS WORDS, and promotes the family in a positive light unlike the Simpsons or modern TV. Bella is not a Catholic movie per say. There are Catholics in it. It is not a movie about the Catholic Church. It is about a woman who has just discovered that she is with child and she mentions it to one to a friend of hers. I will tell you right now that she is considering an abortion. I will ruin the movie for you. She doesn't have the abortion. I would not send you to a movie where somebody has an abortion like the movie Cinderella Man that glorified euthanasia. Bella is absolutely beautiful and should be seen. Don't presume that your children know the score and that they really understand.
Everyday in the paper there is a section dedicated to good kids. What follows is the description of the "good" kid from Friday's paper. It says her name and where she lives. She attends a Catholic high school and that she plans on going to either Texas Tech or Iowa State and major in architecture. It lists her community and school activities as Student Council, Honor Society, Art Honor Society and the Tennis Club. Her hobbies include painting, sculpting, tennis and dance. That is ok, she is a girl. She is described by people as being creative, determined and ambitious. So far, so good. She says she is most proud of discovery her own identity. Her favorite subject is Art...they probably don't have recess. The two people she would most like to meet are Pope John Paul II and Picasso. I would like to be there too. Now for the point I am getting at. She goes on to say that the best book she ever read was Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. Dan Brown also wrote the Davinci Code that smears Christ, the Blessed Mother, Saint Mary Magdalene and Catholic teaching for 2000 years. Other than that it is a good book and movie. (Father's eyes are rolling here..) I don't have to read the book to know that Dan Brown got it wrong. Dan Brown with the Davinci Code has influenced the culture for the worse the way Bella will for the positive.
Bella was shot in New York in 25 days on a shoestring budget. Before they started shooting each day on the set the actors went to Mass. They went to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass on the set. Eduardo, the Brad Pitt of Mexico, said that up until 12 years ago he would have been in any slimy soap opera or movie that was presented to him. He said that up until 12 years ago he was poisoning the world with his acting. Twelve years ago God touched his life and he wanted to make a difference. Bella does make a difference. Go see it soon because the more people see it now the more theaters it will open in.
In the next couple of months a movie is coming out that will be the first of three installments. It is named after a book. If you see the movie you will probably get the book. The movie is called The Golden Compass. The author of the book wants to spread atheism. They have gone soft on the first movie. He wants to spread atheism and a lot of bad information. They go soft in the first movie so that people will buy the books for their children. The books will try and destroy the children's belief in God. We need to pray for people who would do this to children. We need to pray for Mr. Pullman.
It seems so impossible to believe that so much negativity is going on. You could see why Pope Pius XI instituted the Feast of Christ the King. Nobody was paying attention to Christ in the world. Kingdoms which had been Catholic were overturned.
The Church was persecuted. The family was under attack.
Yesterday in Fort Worth Dr. Ray Guerendi from EWTN Radio gave a conference. The guy is really intelligent. He has a lot of common practical wisdom. Dr. Ray and his wife couldn't have children. They adopted 9 children from different races and countries. He has had to teach them along with his wife. They have turned out very well. Dr. Ray was telling the conference that number 10 came along. It was an unplanned adoption. How is the world do you get an unplanned adoption?
There was a 13 year old girl who was seven months pregnant. She had gone to the nice people at the clinic for an abortion. The nice people at the clinic told her how this was going to happen. Since she was seven months along they would need to dismantle the baby. She was smart enough to realize that she didn't want that to happen to her baby. She left and called Dr. Ray. She must have heard him on the radio. One thing let to another and they adopted her baby. The world tells you it is impossible to do that and yet it is possible. There are people in our parish adopting children.
Christ must reign in our minds, our hearts, our wills, our bodies, and our decisions. If any one of those is not serving Christ it is serving the other team. Last Tuesday's Morning Prayer reading says it all. Praise the Eternal King in all your deeds. You are either serving Christ or you are not. God gives us all the graces we need in the Sacraments to be part of the Church Militant.
I am already being poured out like a libation and the time of my departure is at hand. I have competed well, I have finished the race, I have kept the Faith. From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me which the Lord, the Just Judge will award to me on that day and not only me but to all who have longed for His Appearance...The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat and will bring me safe to His Heavenly Kingdom.
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen
Transcribed by Lori