By Archbishop Thomas Wenski - The Archdiocese of Miami
Homily by Archbishop Thomas Wenski at Mass for the Solemnity of Christ the King at Christ the King Catholic Church. Miami, Sun. Nov. 23, 2025.
Long live Christ the King! Viv Kris Rwa! Viva Cristo Rey!
Alabado sea Dios. Hoy se termina el año litúrgico y el domingo que viene ya entramos en la temperada del Adviento, un tiempo de esperanza. Por lo tanto, hoy es un día ideal para dar comienzo a esa obra de construir su nuevo templo.
Today is the Solemnity of Christ the King and the end of the liturgical year. Next Sunday we begin Advent, a time of expectation, a time of hope. And as we begin this new year, there is renewed hope, great expectations here at Christ the King the Parish. After Mass, we will proceed to the site of the groundbreaking. We break ground for a new church building, a new center of worship.
Jodi a, avèk Fèt Kris Rwa n a koumanse yon nouvo ane nan kalendriye legliz la. Se vire n a vire paj epi n a antre nan sezòn Lavan, sezòn espwa. Epi, konsa apre lames n al foure pèl la nan tèren kote n a bati yon nouvo legliz.
Long live Christ the King! Viv Kris Rwa! Viva Cristo Rey!
To reign as Christ reigns means to serve God and others as He did. This is a service that flows from love, it is a service for the sake of love.
The Gospel reading is that of the death of Christ because it was at that moment that Christ began to rule over the world. The cross is the throne of this king. He is not robed in majesty but mercy and even as he hung on the cross, when some of his followers still might have expected some sort of spectacular manifestation of his kingship, he revealed it to one man - and a criminal at that: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” Not majesty but mercy; not pomp and circumstance but poverty; not power but passion. These are the attributes of our King and Lord who will judge us and our history.
La lectura del Evangelio es la de la muerte de Cristo, porque fue en ese momento cuando Cristo comenzó a reinar sobre el mundo. La cruz es el trono de este Rey. No está revestido de majestad, sino de misericordia, e incluso mientras colgaba de la cruz, cuando algunos de sus seguidores aún esperaban alguna manifestación espectacular de su reinado, se lo reveló a un hombre, un criminal: «Jesús, acuérdate de mí cuando vengas en tu reino». Y Jesús le dijo: «En verdad te digo que hoy estarás conmigo en el paraíso». No majestad, sino misericordia; no pompa ni ostentación, sino pobreza; no poder, sino pasión. Estos son los atributos de nuestro Rey y Señor, quien nos juzgará a nosotros y a nuestra historia.
Reinar como Cristo reina significa servir a Dios y a los demás como Él lo hizo. Este es un servicio que brota del amor, un servicio por amor mismo.Jezi se yon Rwa; men pou li komande vle di sèvi – sèvi Bondye, sèvi lòt yo, li pa renmen pouvwa tankou chèf nou konnen yo; li sèvi ak pouvwa renmen pou l renouvle fas tè a. Kouròn li pa fèt ak bijou ak l, men ak pikan, kè l pa gofle, men pito kè l sansib. Se chemen grande l ap chèche, men se chemen lakwa a.
Long live Christ the King! Viv Kris Rwa, Viva Cristo Rey!
Jesus calls us to a culture of solidarity where rather than seeking to rule over others, we seek to be ruled by God. He calls us to a culture of encounter that proclaims the equal dignity of each, and every person made in the image and likeness of God.
A culture of encounter celebrates, even in the challenges and disappointments of life, the possibility of joy, a joy that comes from the gift of oneself. One of the central teachings of the Second Vatican Council is that the human person can only realize himself as a human being through the sincere gift of himself or herself. True human fulfillment, true happiness, is not found through self-seeking or self-assertion but through self-giving. And this gift of self is modeled for us by our Lord Jesus Christ – who gives himself to the Father for us on the cross.
It is this capacity to give oneself that is the secret to a happy, well-lived life Long live Christ the King! Viv Kris Rwa, Viva Cristo Rey!
