How to end the liturgical year

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

HOW should we end the current liturgical year which takes place on November 26? The quick answer to that is to make sure that Christ truly is our king who rules and governs not only our lives taken individually but also the lives of all of us.

This is the proper closure of the liturgical year which should be a rehearsal and an anticipation of the final closure of the earthly life of all of us. Christ, and no other, should be our King. We have to learn how to close the liturgical year properly, prepared to meet Christ in his second coming, and seeing to it that we are found to be worthy to be part of his kingdom.

It’s no joke how this closure, with the celebration of the Solemnity of the Solemnity of our Lord Jesus, King of the universe, should take place. We are expected to follow and serve Christ all our life here on earth. And as the gospel reading of the Solemnity reminds us, this duty to follow and serve Christ can be done by serving the poor. (cfr. Mt 25,31-46)

“Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me,” said Christ. (Mt 25,40) We have to be ready and quick to discover, love and serve Christ especially in the poor and those in some special needs and difficulties, including those of the spiritual and moral kinds. This can be a big challenge to us since we cannot deny that we tend to distance ourselves from this kind of people.

It, of course, will take a lot of faith and effort to abide by this standard of Christ. But we can always do something about it. Even if it’s just little and hardly significant, as long as it is done continually and daily, great progress in following and serving Christ can truly be achieved.

Let’s remember that while we try our best to cope with our responsibilities for our own personal needs, and those of our family, our relatives and friends, and those of society and the economy, we should never forget to give preferential attention to those who are poor not only materially but also and especially, spiritually and morally.

We need to make the appropriate adjustments in the way we prioritize things so that while we take care of our big responsibilities, we do not neglect to take a more special care to those who need immediate attention and help.

Let’s convince ourselves that this is how we can be truly serving Christ. Not only that. Let’s strengthen the conviction that this is how we can be like Christ as we should. Remember that God in Christ went all the way of not only becoming man, but also of making himself like sin without committing sin and offering his life on the cross, just to save us. (cfr. 2 Cor 5,21)

We have to be wary of our tendency to be self-righteous, quick to judge those in some spiritual and moral anomalies, instead of helping them return to Christ. This is a big challenge because this will practically require of us to carry the cross just as Christ did to save us.

Let’s hope that with Mary, our Mother, we can echo her words: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.” That’s how we can truly make Christ as our King.

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com