“Where is Christ in my life?”
For UST Central Seminary Vice Rector Fr. Napoleon Sipalay Jr., O.P., the solemnity of Christ the King is a stark reminder that Jesus is everyone’s center and end.
“If you’re going to see the reason why the solemnity of Christ the King is placed, it is because we have to come to the realization that Christ is the center of our lives, not only in this world, but he’s our destination – eternal life,” he said in his homily at a Mass offered at the Santisimo Rosario Parish Church on Sunday, Nov. 26.
Sipalay asserted that following Jesus requires putting his teachings into practice, which will be judged in the afterlife.
“[I]t is very clear that with our actions, especially mercy to the least of our brothers and sisters, we will be judged, and if we’re going to look into our lives, how have we really shared mercy, compassion to those who are in need?” he said.
The seminary vice rector shared a story of a father addicted to gambling and philandering who moved away from his vices after he found Christ in his life, saving his family from being shattered.
“I hope when we come to that moment that we will be judged, we will be part of those blessed by the Father,” Sipalay said.
A procession was held within UST after the 4 p.m. Mass.
Pope Pius XI instituted the solemnity of Christ the King in 1925 through his encyclical “Quas primas (In the first)” to address the growing wave of secularism and atheism.
The solemnity, or the 34th Sunday in Ordinary Time that marks the end of the liturgical year, was meant to “set the crowning glory upon the mysteries of the life of Christ already commemorated during the year, and, before celebrating the triumph of all the Saints, proclaim and extol the glory of him who triumphs in all the Saints and in all the Elect,” Pius XI wrote. Sheila May S. Balagan
