Feast of Christ the King, the last liturgical Sunday of 2021

“My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my people would have fought so that it would not be handed over to the Jews; But my kingdom is not from here” (Jn 18, 36).

As a finishing touch to the liturgical year is the solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, better known as the ffeast of Christ the King, established by Pope Pius XI on December 11, 1925 in response to secularization, atheism and communism. And it is also one of the most important celebrations on the Catholic liturgical calendar.

This feast was celebrated in October, just before All Saints. However, the date was changed to give it a new meaning: the closing of the year and the recognition of Christ as the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end, plus the promise of his kingdom in heaven.

In Ecuador, the celebration of Christ the King began, according to history, in 1926 when a group of Catholic women invited their neighbors to decorate their rooms, a tradition that continues to this day; the faithful decorate their balconies and windows with lights, candles, the national flag and pictures with the image of Jesus Christ crowned with a scepter in one right hand and the planet in the left. Although in some paintings he appears only with the scepter and in others the heart of Jesus Christ stands out as the central figure, from which intense rays come out.

This is the way in which the Catholic Church publicly recognizes that the sovereign is Christ and not other gods. What’s more, in Guayaquil, a parish it bears his name.

We are on the sixth day of the novena of Christ the King; the first was on the 12th of this month. During the nine days of intentional prayer, which the parish baptized with the same name, located on Colombia Street and 39, celebrates daily starting at 7:30 p.m., the parishioners thank Christ for his kindness and the invited priest prays for each intentional request; from blessing grandparents and grandchildren to the sacrament of marriage.

This Wednesday, November 17, the topic will be Life, gift of God, under the direction of Father Alfredo García, who will bless pregnant women and couples who want to conceive.

With regard to the activities that this celebration includes, in addition to the ornaments in the homes, there are the processions; However, this year, according to Father Francisco Sojos, a priest of the Archdiocese of Guayaquil, there are no planned processions.

“Although there will not be the traditional walks, all the parishes carry out activities following the norms established in the biosafety protocols. The parishes that carry out an act in the streets do so in coordination with the respective authorities, ensuring that they always maintain the current protocols, ”he explains. For example, the parish Our Lady of Fatima will do a procession, but the surrounding streets will be held on Sunday, November 21 at 6:00 p.m.

It also invites believers to celebrate the end of the liturgical year by keeping faith under a very simple reality: the only true sovereign is Christ.

“He is the sole owner, we are only administrators of temporal goods. Therefore, the feast of Christ the King reminds us that we will have to present to him, to our king, the fruits of our life. In the midst of so much doubt and hopelessness, so much pain and suffering, he also reminds us that he is the one who has the last word. That those who engage in injustice in this world will not prevail. And those who thirst for justice, because they have not received it in this world, will be blessed because they will be satisfied with the justice and mercy of God, which is worth much more than anything in this world, “he concludes. (I)