Allocution Sunday, November 21, 2021

Today, Sunday, November 21, we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King.

We read the Gospel of Saint John, chapter 18, verses 18 to 37.

(GOSPEL)

Pilate asks: Are you the King of the Jews? It was very difficult for him to understand that a king had been born in a cave in a marginal town, Bethlehem; that he had lived in Nazareth, a town about which many wondered: Can anything good come from here? May he walk with fishermen and sinners and make them his disciples; that he would sit next to women of bad life and eat with different sinners; and that he had ridden on a donkey and didn’t have a penny; and that now, before him, he was accused by the Jews, and less understood that the King ended up crucified.

Although he did not understand he put a sign on the cross that we have all seen: INRI and the text was written in Latin, Hebrew and Greek. INRI are four initials of the words: Jesus, Nazarene, King of the Jews. The sign in Latin language was understood by the Roman soldiers, in Hebrew by those who lived in Palestine and in Greek, which at that time was the universal language, by all the foreigners who were in Jerusalem.

Pilate did not understand the truth of the reign of Christ, but he became the first missionary through the sign that announced Christ the King, in Jerusalem, Rome and the world then known.

It is clear to all that the reign of Christ is not one of military, economic power. His Kingdom is the truth.

His Kingdom is present in the true spouses who fulfill the promises of the courtship 5, 10, 25, 50, 75 years.

His Kingdom is present in the true parents who never abandon their children.

His Kingdom is present in the true pregnant mother who loves and defends the blessed fruit that she bears within her.

His Kingdom is present in the true sons and daughters who make their old, sick, bedridden parents happy.

His Kingdom is present in the neighbors who help the sick, those who cry and are true brothers in pain and suffering.

If we are true fathers, mothers, grandparents, brothers, relatives, Christians, friends, and we live what we are, the Kingdom of Christ is within us.

Family Synod at Sunday Lunch: What has been the most wonderful moment of love in our family in which Christ has been our King? I would like to know to thank God.

(SINGING)

The King crucified with hammer blows had in mind today’s hammer blows.

A father abandons the mother of his children and them too.
A pregnant woman allows her blessed fruit to be killed.
A brother fights with his brother.
Two brothers have not spoken to each other for years.
An alcoholic makes his mother suffer.
A child does not appreciate or value everything that his parents have taught him.
The daughter-in-law and the mother-in-law make family life unbearable for each other.
We have not offered Masses for our deceased, nor have we preserved the heritage of faith and charity that they bequeathed to us.

The crucified does not want any more hammering.

(SINGING)

The Pope tells us about Saint Joseph:

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning. On December 8, 1870, Blessed Pius IX proclaimed Saint Joseph patron of the universal Church. Now, 150 years after that event, we are living a special year dedicated to Saint Joseph, and in the apostolic letter Patris corde I have collected some reflections on the figure of him. Never before like today in this time marked by a global crisis, with different components, can it serve us as support, comfort and guidance. That is why I have decided to dedicate a series of catechesis to him, which I hope will help us to be enlightened by his example and his testimony. For a few weeks we will talk about San José.

In the Bible there are more than ten characters named after Joseph. The most important of them is the son of Jacob and Rachel, who, through various adventures, went from being a slave to becoming the second most important person in Egypt after Pharaoh. The name Joseph in Hebrew means ‘God increases. May God make it grow. ‘ It is a wish, a blessing founded on trust in providence and with special reference to fertility and the growth of children. In fact, precisely this name reveals an essential aspect of the personality of Joseph of Nazareth. He is a man full of faith in his providence; he believes in the providence of God, he has faith in the providence of God. Each of his actions, as recounted in the Gospel, is dictated by the certainty that God “makes it grow,” “that God increases,” “that God adds.” That is, God arranges for the continuation of his plan of salvation. And in this Joseph of Nazareth is very much like Joseph of Egypt.

Also the main geographical references that refer to Joseph: Bethlehem and Nazareth, assume an important role in understanding the figure of him.

In the Old Testament, the city of Bethlehem is called by the name of Beth Lehem, that is, ‘House of bread’, or also Ephratha, after the tribe that settled there. In Arabic, on the other hand, the name means ‘House of meat’, probably due to the large number of flocks of sheep and goats present in the area. In fact, it is no coincidence that, when Jesus was born, the shepherds were the first witnesses of the event. In the light of the story of Jesus, these allusions to bread and meat refer to the mystery of the Eucharist: Jesus is the living bread that came down from heaven. He himself will say of himself: ‘He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood, he has eternal life.’

(SINGING)

“That is why the choice of Bethlehem and Nazareth tells us that the periphery and the marginality are God’s favorites. Jesus was not born in Jerusalem with everything to the court … no: he was born in a periphery and spent his life, until he was 30 years old, in that periphery working as a carpenter, like Joseph. For Jesus, the peripheries and marginalities are favorites. Not taking this reality seriously is equivalent to not taking seriously the Gospel and the work of God, which continues to manifest itself in the geographical and existential peripheries. The Lord always acts secretly in the peripheries, also in our soul, in the peripheries of the soul, of feelings, perhaps feelings of which we are ashamed; but the Lord is there to help us move forward. The Lord continues to manifest himself in the peripheries, both geographical and existential. In particular, Jesus goes in search of sinners, enters their houses, speaks to them, calls them to conversion. And he is also reprimanded for it: ‘But he looks at this Teacher – say the doctors of the law – look at this Teacher; he eats with sinners, he gets dirty, he goes looking for those who have not done evil, but have suffered it: the sick, the hungry, the poor, the last. Jesus always goes to the peripheries. And this should give us a lot of confidence, because the Lord knows the peripheries of our heart, the peripheries of our soul, the peripheries of our society, of our city, of our family, that is to say that part that is a little heal that we do not let see, maybe out of shame ”.

 

(SINGING)

“Today I would like to send a message to all the men and women who live in the most forgotten geographical peripheries of the world or who live in situations of existential marginality. May they find in San José the witness and the protector to look at. We can address him with this prayer, a ‘homemade’ prayer that has come from the heart:

 

Saint Joseph,

you who have always trusted God,

and you have made your decisions

guided by his providence,

teach us not to count so much in our projects

but in his love plan.

You who come from the peripheries,

help us to turn our gaze

and to prefer what the world discards and puts on the margins.

Comforts those who feel lonely

and supports those who silently commit themselves

for defending life and human dignity.

Amen.

 

(SINGING)

We place our entire family in the hands of God and we pray together the prayer that Jesus Christ taught us, the Lord’s Prayer:

 

(Pray the Lord’s Prayer)

We ask Our Lady of Charity to carry all our sick people, fill them with the peace of God, comfort them … and we pray:

Hail Mary, you are full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among all women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. We join Christ the King in spiritual communion.

 

(SINGING)

The blessing of Almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, descend upon all of you and remain forever. Amen. What you have heard tell everyone … You can go in peace.