+AMDG
TRANSCRIPT
CCRPod S01E03: When is the feast of Christ the King?
Released:  14 May 2024

Hello, and welcome to CCRPod, a podcast of the
Confraternity of Christ the King.  The Confraternity of
Christ the King is an association of lay faithful dedicated
to the teaching and spread of the doctrine of Christ the
King and the service of the poor.  You can learn more at
ccregis.org.

This is Season 01, Episode 03:  When is the Feast of Christ
the King?

In a perfect world, this would be a pretty easy question to
answer.  However, as Catholics we know that we do not live
in a perfect world, and some bad theology has made answering
this question much harder than it has to be.  The short
answer, though, is this:  the feast of Christ the King is
the last Sunday of October.

Rather than release history's shortest podcast episode,
though, let's dig into this a little bit.

Jesus Christ has *always* been celebrated as King; literally
from the beginning, in fact.  What did the people do when He
came into Jerusalem?  They laid their garments and palms on
the ground before Him, and cried out, “Hosanna to the Son of
David!”  Calling Him the Son of David can mean only one
thing:  He is the heir of David, and therefore the rightful
King of Israel.  Nor, of course, did it end there; countless
prayers, hymns, and feasts honor Him in His kingly role.
One of the most ancient hymns we have, in fact, the Vexilla
Regis, literally translates to “the King's banner”.  When we
praise Jesus Christ as our King, we are following in the
footsteps of all Christians, from those who actually watched
Him enter Jerusalem until now.

It was relatively recently, however, that a feast
dedicated to Christ the King, specifically for His kingly
role, was established.  In 1925, Pope Pius XI issued the
encyclical Quas Primas, which set the feast on the last
Sunday of October, as we mentioned before.  Fortunately, the
Pope explained exactly why he put it where he did:

	Therefore, by Our apostolic authority, We establish  the
	feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King, every year, on the
	last Sunday of the month of October, which of course comes
	closely before the celebration of All Saints…  And it was
	seen far more appropriate for this celebration to be on the
	last Sunday of October, by which time the course of the
	liturgical year is nearly closed; it thus happens that the
	mysteries of the life of Jesus Christ commemorated
	throughout the year may be summed up and resolved by the
	holy solemnities of Christ the King, and, before we
	celebrate the glory of All Saints, His glory is preached and
	brought forth, Who triumphs in all the Saints and the Elect.

There is really a brilliant logic in this, setting the feast
on a Sunday, right before a universal Holy Day of
Obligation, and specifically right before All Saints' Day.
The king leads us to the new year; and following the king
are all His greatest soldiers, the saints, who triumph
precisely in His Kingship.

Even more, though, the Pope says that he is setting the
feast *near* (not *at*) the end of the liturgical year.  The
year isn't *over*, but it is *nearly* over; thus the feast
can serve as a crowning glory on all the other mysteries we
have celebrated.  Between this fact, and the close leading
to the feast of All Saints, Pius found the perfect place for
this great new feast to be celebrated.

In the new calendar, however, the feast of Christ the King
is changed in three important ways.  First, the *name* of the
feast has been changed.  The feast established by Pope Pius
XI is called, in Latin, the feast “Domini nostri Jesu
Christi Regis”, or in English the feast “of Our Lord Jesus
Christ the King.”  In the new calendar, however, it is
called the feast “Domini nostri Jesu Christi, Universorum
Regis”, or in English the feast “of Our Lord Jesus Christ,
King of All Things.”  There isn't much difference in actual
meaning between these two names; however, it does serve to
establish that we're celebrating a different thing.

Second, the *content* of the feast was changed.  There is
some overlap, of course, but the feel of the readings and
prayers is quite different, in all three years of the new
calendar's cycle, than that of the traditional feast.  We
will discuss this in more detail in a later episode.

Finally, it was changed in *place*: now it is celebrated on
the last Sunday per annum, what in English is rather
ridiculously translated to “Ordinary Time”.  One is forced
to wonder:  Why?  What benefit is there to moving this great
feast?  What other celebration on the last Sunday of October
needed to be accomodated such that the feast of Christ the
King had to be transferred?

Fortunately, the consilium that made the change was good
enough to tell us why:

	On the last Sunday of the year is the solemnity of Our
	Lord Jesus Christ, King of All Things, *in place of* the
	feast instituted by Pope Pius XI in the year 1925 and
	placed on the last Sunday of October.  For this reason:
	the eschatological importance of this Sunday is placed in
	a better light.

The Consilium very notably states that it is *replacing* the
traditional feast with a new one (this new feast is “in
place of” the old; the old is not being moved to a new
date).  However, once again, we will talk about that in
another episode.  For now, we can focus on the consilium's
reasoning for the date:  that its “eschatological”
importance is clearer this way.

What in the world is “eschatological”?

The Oxford dictionary says that “eschatological” means
“relating to death, judgment, and the final destiny of the
soul and of humankind”.  So the Consilium was trying to show
us that the nature of the feast of Christ the King is
relating to death, judgment, and the final destiny of the
soul and humankind.

Wait, what?

When Christ spoke of His Kingship, He made it very clear
that it extended over all times and places, not that
it became important at some unspecified future time.
He said, after all, that “All power *is given* to me in
heaven and on earth”:  in the present tense.  Not that it
*will be* given to Him; that it *is*.

Moreover, when Pius XI established this feast, he made it
very clear that he was celebrating a Kingship of Christ
which is *present*, right here and right now.  He pointed
out that the problem wasn't the *existence* of Christ's
Kingship, which is present and indisputable; the problem
is the *recognition* of that Kingship by sinful men.
Indeed, the entire point of establishing this feast was to
promote that clear, preexisting, here-and-now Kingship of
Christ to the faithful, so that they might better publicly
acknowledge it:

	[S]ince the knowledge of the kingly dignity of Our Savior
	must be disseminated as widely as possible, nothing seems
	more useful for it, than if a proper and particular feast
	of Christ the King should be established.

Nothing eschatological in that at all.

The traditional feast of Christ the King was designed to
celebrate Christ's Kingship, which encompasses all times
and places, and to encourage the faithful to acknowledge
that Kingship everywhere.

Notably, it was *not* established to promote some
He-will-reign-at-the-end-of-the-world eschatological notion
of Christ's Kingly authority.

However, putting the feast at the *end* of the liturgical
year makes Christ's Kingship *seem* eschatological, even
though the Church's (and, of course, Christ's own) perennial
teaching is that it is *not* eschatological, but in fact
present now and always.  So we can add yet another to Pius's
reasons for setting the feast in October, rather than later
in the year:  this location makes it perfectly clear that
Christ's Kingship is not a celebration of something *yet to
come*, but of something that is here and now, lacking only
man's acknowledgement but none of its authority and beauty.

Those of us blessed enough to have access to the traditional
liturgy need have no heartburn concerning this feast:  we
continue to celebrate it on the last Sunday of October, as
we always have.  Those not so blessed, however, are in a
pickle.  They want to honor Christ the King, and they want
to honor Him as the Church established the feast, and they
*don't* want to cast His Kingship as if it is something yet
to come, some eschatological thing that is not present and
need not be supported as we live here and now.  What are
they to do?

Such Catholics are in a difficult position, but their piety
to Christ the King does not need to suffer.  They may
celebrate on the last Sunday of October, just as we all do.
They may pray the traditional office, or read the
traditional Mass readings; they may read about and reflect
on the nature of Christ the King.  Their joy and devotion to
Christ the King is just as great as anyone's, and they
should show it and cultivate it just as much as anyone.
Praise to Christ the King is universal, just as His Kingship
is universal.

So, to sum up:  when is the feast of Christ the King?

1.  The feast of Christ the King is on the last Sunday of
October, right before the feast of All Saints, so that as we
proceed through the liturgical year we find Christ the King
followed by His loyal and triumphant soldiers.

2.  The feast of Christ the King is on the last Sunday of
October, nearly at the end of the liturgical year, thus
serving as a crown on the many other mysteries of the life
of Christ celebrated throughout that year.

3.  The feast of Christ the King is on the last Sunday of
October, near but *not* at the end of the liturgical year,
to emphasize the fact that Christ's Kingship is not
eschatological, but in fact is present right here and right
now.

When is the feast of Christ the King?

On the last Sunday of October.

Christus vincit!  Christus regnat!  Christus imperat!