Podcasts about our lord jesus christ

At the end of time, Our Lord will come as a just judge, dispensing publicly and privately the punishment or rewards to each as is due. How we respond to this Second Coming of Christ is reflected in how we respond now to his first coming in the Incarnation. It is at this time that we are called to submit to Our Lord Jesus Christ. For if we do not submit to him now, during this season of Advent, surely we will not submit when He comes again in glory.

First Sunday in AdventThe season of advent opens with hope. Not fear but hope that God is coming to save His people. Hope is not passive optimism; but invites total conversion, a new way of thinking, seeing, and living the life of grace. Spiritual sleep, on the other hand, is associated with set routines void of one's heart being fully engaged, faith void of intrinsically motivated desire for God, and habits that do not lift us toward God. Thus, a form of shallowness longing begins to develop in the mind, heart, and soul.Advent powerfully reminds all of humanity that change is possible and grace is near because Jesus Christ is close. Jesus desires a relationship with us as we prayerfully sing O Come O Come Emmanuel. Let us put aside works of darkness and put on the armor of light, Our Lord Jesus Christ.Scripture Readings for November 30, 2025Isaiah 2:1-5Psalm 122: 1-9Romans 13:11-14Matthew 24:37-44

Today, we celebrate the Feast Day of Christ the King and the readings bring us back to the foot of the cross. It seems like an odd place to bring us back as we enter into the end of our liturgy year and now enter into to the Advent season as we prepare for Christmas. Yet, that is where it does brings us, to the foot of the cross. (Read more…)Here is the Homily from The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. I hope you can enjoy it and please feel free to share with others.

Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe 

November 23, 2025. Fr. Tyler's homily for the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. Gospel Luke 23:35-43 The rulers sneered at Jesus and said, "He saved others, let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Christ of God." Even the soldiers jeered at him. As they approached to offer him wine they called out, "If you are King of the Jews, save yourself." Above him there was an inscription that read, "This is the King of the Jews." Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us." The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, "Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." He replied to him, "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."

Homily - The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe - Come Down from the Cross

Homily for The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe by Fr. Stephen Hamilton.Reading 1 2 Samuel 5:1-3Responsorial Psalm Psalm 122:1-2, 3-4, 4-5Reading 2 Colossians 1:12-20Alleluia Mark 11:9, 10Gospel Luke 23:35-43

Join Catholic evangelist and bible teacher, Hector Molina as he explores the Mass Readings for the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe (C).Mass Readings:2 Samuel 5;1-3Psalm 122;1-5Colossians 1;12-20Luke 23;35-43"A Walk in The Word" podcast is a weekly bible study and reflection on the Sunday Mass readings led by International Catholic evangelist and bible teacher, Hector Molina.PODCAST HOMEPAGE: https://awalkintheword.buzzsprout.comYOUTUBE CHANNEL: https://www.youtube.com/c/hectormolinacatholicevangelistSupport: Are you enjoying these videos? Become a Patron and partner with me in spreading the Good News! www.patreon.com/hectormolina/You can also show your support for the podcast by visiting: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hectormolina#solemnityofchristtheking #feastofchristheking #vivacristorey #sundaymassreadings #catholiclectionary #catholic #sundaygospel #sundaygospelreflection #catholicbiblestudy #awalkintheword #catholicpodcast #bibleinayear #wordonfire #sundayhomily #hectormolina

Msgr. Watkins gives the history of the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe instituted by Pope Pius XI in the wake of the First World War's devastation to call the faithful's attention away from earthly contestations and back to the true and rightful ruler of our lives: Christ the King.

Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

Father Matthew Dimock and Father Jonathan Torres' homilies on The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe at Sacred Heart Catholic Church 11-23-25 Vigil and 1030am Mass Readings https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/112325.cfm Check out our YouTube channel https://youtube.com/@salisburycatholic?si=CCpWLSfnDPxYCKnH

The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the UniverseJesus was one of the most misunderstood figures in history. From the beginning of his life, through the grace of the virgin birth until His death, many people, including his own followers found it difficult in understanding his mission and purpose. Everyday we choose which king we will serve: the false kings of power, pride, ego, and comfort or Jesus Christ, the King, who reigns from the Cross. We approach the altar of grace wholeheartedly and say. "Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom."Scripture Readings for November 23, 20252 Samuel 5:1-3Psalm 122:1-5Colossians 1:12-20Luke 23:35-43

Deacon Dan Diesel proclaims the Gospel (Luke 23::35-43) and breaks open the word on the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. Words for your Way from Santiago de Compostela Catholic Church in Lake Forest, California.

Homily for The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe - Nov 23, 2025 Readings for the Mass: bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/112325.cfm

Fr. John Christian's Homily for the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe 2025, 2 Samuel 5:1-3, Psalm 160, Colossians 1:12-20, Luke 23:35-43, Intro/Outro music from "by Daylight" from www.epidemicsound.com

Fr. Ignacio Llorente - The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe - Luke 23:35-43

Send us a textFr Joe Krupp homily on The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the UniverseCheck out the JIBM Web site at:  https://www.joeinblackministries.com/Please use the following link if you would like to financially support Church of the Holy Family: https://pushpay.com/g/hfgrandblanc?sr…Support the show

Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe (Solemnity)

Friends of the Rosary,Today, Sunday, November 23, is the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.It's the feast of Christ, the King, radiant, majestic, and divine, when He establishes His Kingdom of light upon earth. It's also the feast of the glorified Savior, the Warrior, and Conqueror.In 1925, Pope Pius XI 1925 established this feast as an antidote to secularism, which organizes his life as if God did not exist, putting the Lord out of man's thinking and living.The solemnity day, formerly referred to as "Christ the King", is intended to proclaim Christ's royalty over individuals, families, society, governments, and nations.Today's Mass establishes, 1) Christ is God, the Creator of the universe and hence wields a supreme power over all things; "All things were created by Him"; 2) Christ is our Redeemer, He healed us by His precious Blood; 3) Christ is Head of the Church; 4) God bestowed upon Christ the nations of the world as His dominion.The liturgy also describes the qualities of Christ's kingdom. This kingdom is: 1) supreme, extending not only to all people but also to their princes and kings; 2) universal, extending to all nations and to all places; 3) eternal; 4) spiritual, Christ's "kingdom is not of this world."Ave Maria!Come, Holy Spirit, come!To Jesus through Mary!Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.Please give us the grace to respond with joy!+ Mikel Amigot w/ María Blanca | RosaryNetwork.com, New YorkEnhance your faith with the new Holy Rosary University app:Apple iOS | New! Android Google Play• ⁠November 23, 2025, Today's Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET

On the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, we consider the beautiful and effusive reality of life in the kingdom of the beloved Son. (Col 1:13)

Music from the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. Permission to podcast / stream the music in this service obtained from One License #706462-A, and CCLI licenses #11534746 and #CSPL176036.

Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe; Christ the King 34th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/23/25 Gospel: Luke 23:35-43

Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe (C)

United Protestant, Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, Moravian, Methodist, Nazarene, Reformed, and Western Rite parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church outside Russia, celebrate the Feast of Christ the King. Observed as the last Sunday of the Liturgical year before the First Sunday of Advent, The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, commonly referred to as the Feast of Christ the King, Christ the King Sunday or Reign of Christ Sunday, is a feast which emphasises the true kingship of Christ the King, referred to in Key New Testament passages including the book of Revelation, which names Jesus as "KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS." Books by Bishop Robert Barron available at https://amzn.to/44W7nwN The Theology of Robert Barron at https://amzn.to/4mTIkUf ENJOY Ad-Free content, Bonus episodes, and Extra materials when joining our growing community on https://patreon.com/markvinet SUPPORT this channel by purchasing any product on Amazon using this FREE entry LINK https://amzn.to/3POlrUD (Amazon gives us credit at NO extra charge to you). Mark Vinet's TIMELINE video channel: https://youtube.com/c/TIMELINE_MarkVinet Mark's HISTORY OF NORTH AMERICA podcast: www.parthenonpodcast.com/history-of-north-america Website: https://markvinet.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.vinet.9 X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/HistoricalJesu Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denarynovels Mark's books: https://amzn.to/3k8qrGM Audio credit: Bishop Barron’s Sunday Sermons — What Does It Mean to Say that Christ Is King? 22nov2015. Audio excerpts reproduced under the Fair Use (Fair Dealings) Legal Doctrine for purposes such as criticism, comment, teaching, education, scholarship, research and news reporting. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Readings for the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/112325.cfm

Homily, November 23, 2025, The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

Homily from The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. The moment of victory is the moment of vulnerability. We often think that we win by being strong, or beautiful, or clever, or powerful. But Christ wins by another means. Christ the King, Lord of the Universe wins by choosing to empty Himself of all that we think we need to win. Mass Readings from November 23, 2025: 2 Samuel 5:1-3 Psalm 122:1-2, 3-4, 4-5Colossians 1:12-20 Luke 23:35-43

OCIA Director Matt Gray, reflects on the readings for the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

From Hallow, the # 1 prayer app.Bishop David Konderla reflects on the Gospel for the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe...The Eastern Oklahoma Catholic Podcast is brought to you by The Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma.Sign up for diocesan email updates or follow the diocese at...Facebook | X | Instagram | YoutubeSign up or Login to Hallow to Hear More from the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma...

Deacon Al reflects on the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King through this weekend's readings from Samuel, Colossians, and Luke, and explains what it means to live under Christ's rule. He shares personal moments — a silent retreat, assisting at Cursillo, turning 70, and the funeral of Monsignor Doug Hennessy — drawing connections between grief, joy, and faith. The episode closes with the gospel scene of the crucifixion and the good thief's plea, offering a hopeful reminder to place Christ at the center of our lives. Email your questions to Deacon AL:    goodnews@catholicspiritradio.org

Homily for the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.

Homily for the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe (23rd November 2025) by Fr Mike Delaney, Parish Priest of the Kingston Channel Catholic Parish in the Archdiocese of Hobart, Australia

Delivered by Melinda and Celine from the Parish of Saint Marinus Yohanes in the Diocese of Surabaya, Indonesia. 2 Samuel 5: 1-3; Rs psalm 122: 1-2.4-5; Colossians 1: 12-20; Luke 23: 35-43.THREE GIFTS FORCHRIST THE KING  The title for ourmeditation on this Sunday, Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of theUniverse is: Three Gifts for Christ the King. We end our liturgical year C witha great celebration, which is the solemnity of Christ as king of the wholeuniverse. He is our King too. A king who is glorified and honored at his very solemnmoment, he must be seen in his palace and sits on his throne. Every one comesfrom all over the kingdom to worship and give thanks. Visitors do not forget tobring gifts or souvenirs for the king. This is a commonpractice in the world in terms of honoring a king. For the Lord Jesus Christ asking, one might ask: where do we go to visit and give our gifts as signs of ourhonor to Him? For sure, in this world Jesus has no palace and throne. He has nosoldiers and staff surrounding him in the palace. Our gospel of todayillustrates that the palace and throne of Jesus are the Golgotha ​​Hill and thecross on which he hangs, in the midst of blasphemies and torments come from hisenemies. We, the members ofthe Kingdom of Jesus Christ must have the proper attitude of faith, so we cancome to visit our King without shame, hurt, and anger. On the contrary, we mustcome to pay our homage with an attitude of joy and gratitude. Why? Because Christthe King is very different from the kings of this world, which are the same asKing David, who will disappear one day with all his authority and glory. Christthe King reigns in the world and in heaven. In heaven lies His palace andthrone. His kingdom is the kingdom of Light.  By looking at thecrucified Christ the King, the gifts we should give to Him should be our faith,love and hope. Leaders should be teachers of the faith, but they actuallyinsulted and cursed Jesus on the cross. We must offer true faith to our King,because in and through Him our faith in God grows and bears fruits. We believein the truth that Jesus Christ suffered greatly under the power of PontiusPilate, was crucified, died and was buried. We believe that His throne in theworld is the Cross and his disciple we embrace that Cross as our strength. The soldiersarrogantly insulted Himself as king. They are like those who have no love,though their lives are entirely as servants and helpers, but they really do nothave love in treating Jesus Christ. We must treat Jesus Christ with true love,namely through our self-denial in following the way of His cross. A criminalconvicted with Jesus joined in insulting Jesus, and this reflects how sinnersand marginal people expect salvation through the actions of Jesus Christ. Wealso have that hope, that is, we die with Christ and rise again with Him.Let's pray. In the name of theFather... O Lord Jesus, our King, strengthen us on the path of Your way of theCross until we reach salvation. May we do not lose hope of that salvation. OurFather who art in heaven... In the name of the Father...

[DONATE WITH PAYPAL] As "Ordinary Time" comes to an end this Sunday (November 23), here's a classic episode from the CC vault: Greg and Cory unpacking what "feasts" or "feast days" are in the Catholic Church, the end of Ordinary Time, and the celebration of the solemn feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe on November 23, 2025. Donate with PayPal! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com  

For the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, Fr. Frank Donio, S.A.C. reflects on faith in Christ as the way to salvation. Follow us:The Catholic Apostolate CenterThe Center's podcast websiteInstagramFacebookApple PodcastsSpotify Fr. Frank Donio, S.A.C. also appears on the podcast, On Mission, which is produced by the Catholic Apostolate Center. Follow the Center on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube to remain up-to-date on the latest Center resources. Listen to Fr. Frank's more of weekly reflections and recent blogcasts.

For the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, Fr. Frank Donio, S.A.C. reflects on faith in Christ as the way to salvation. Follow us:The Catholic Apostolate CenterThe Center's podcast websiteInstagramFacebookApple PodcastsSpotify Fr. Frank Donio, S.A.C. also appears on the podcast, On Mission, which is produced by the Catholic Apostolate Center. Follow the Center on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube to remain up-to-date on the latest Center resources. Listen to Fr. Frank's more of weekly reflections and recent blogcasts.

Hello everyone, I'm not a huge fan of these sort of admin episodes, but there's enough going on I figure it'll be worth it. So here's an update on three fronts: first, the upcoming consistory, which may be on your radar already since you listen to my show, second, what's been going on at the USCCB this past week, and third, some show updates, including something I've put together to feel a bit better about having these admin updates periodically. So first, CONSISTORY Those of you already familiar with the word will know why it grabbed my attention earlier in the month, when various sources announced that Pope Leo was calling the Cardinals together for a consistory in January of next year. You see, it was a consistory that threw a wrench onto my daily show plans in 2023, and in 2024 it was another consistory that sent me back into a hiatus I'm still recovering from.   For those not in the know already, a consistory is a meeting of the Cardinals of the Catholic Church, a group so particular they have multiple terms even for their administrative meetings, the other being a conclave, and which, well, if you're listening to this, I'm just going to assume you're already familiar with the idea of a conclave, if only because that's what I spent most of my air time covering the first half of this year. So enough about conclaves. Those are different from consistories.   The type of consistory that gets me scrambling when I see the word is a consistory for the creation of new cardinals. The consistory that showed up on our radars earlier this month shows no particular signs of being one of those, though stranger things have happened and I'm fully expecting Pope Leo to hand out some red hats and titles sometime in 2026. I just don't think it'll be at this promised January 8th meeting, since that's usually included in the description—often with names—right from the start when we've got that on the docket.   Don't be disappointed though—we can still expect this to be an extraordinary consistory, and not least because “extraordinary consistory” is the technical term for this specific type of consistory and I enjoy punning with ya'll. You see, an “extraordinary” consistory is when the Pope calls together all the Catholic Cardinals around the world for a meet-up in Rome, as opposed to an ordinary consistory, which is typically just a meeting of the Cardinals resident in the Eternal City, which are generally unremarkable enough that they don't get reported on, unless he's creating new Cardinals. Oh, and by the way, I kind of had a hunch about this but this research is where I first confirmed Cardinals are actually *required*  to live in Rome unless they're serving out and about as a diocesan bishop somewhere. Which makes sense given their role as an advisory body for the Pope. It's clear there are exceptions—the Argentine Capuchin priest Cardinal Dri, may he rest in peace, died in Buenos Aires a few months ago. He's the one Pope Francis elevated at the age of 96 in 2023, we did an episode about him. Nor are such exceptions particularly new–Saint John Henry Newman, who Pope Leo recently proclaimed as a Doctor of the Church, became a Cardinal late in life and travelled to the Eternal City for the occasion but continued to reside in England. All right, enough about what older Cardinals get up to. How common are these extraordinary consistories? Well, these meetings are unusual, but not unheard of. According to the incredible Gabriel Chow of GCatholic.org, Pope Saint John Paul II held seven of them, all but one within a few months of him creating a batch of new Cardinals, something he tended to do every three years. It seems like he got Cardinals on his mind and liked to both create new ones and catch up with the old ones as a group in the same general stretch. Cardinal season, if you will. A lot of the reporting on this upcoming consistory notes that Pope Benedict, JPII's successor, never held an extraordinary consistory, and that might technically be true if we're only counting things officially declared “extraordinary consistories”, but GCatholic disagrees, counting the meetings of cardinals held the night before his first creations of new Cardinals as extraordinary consistories. I'm not sold on that interpretation, as from what I've seen those gatherings were not as well attended as a typical extraordinary consistory would be, since again, those are mandatory. But they did seem to be private affairs of the Cardinals, which is one of the hallmarks of extraordinary consistories and another factor that distinguishes them from ordinary consistories, at least as far as the Code of Canon Law is concerned. Put a pin in that.Also, even though, yeah, it was officially a pretty minor meeting, the consistory where Pope Benedict announced that he was going to be resigning the Papacy–yeah– I mean–wasn't officially an “extraordinary consistory”, but it was an *extraordinary* consistory.   As for Pope Francis, most of the coverage agreed he held two extraordinary consistories: one in 2014, with the topic of the family, which was part of the ramp up to Amoris Laetitia where communion for divorced Catholics was the apparent hot-button subtext. He also held one in 2022, where they discussed the new Apostolic Constitution Praedicate Evangelium. If that's not ringing a bell, that's the one where pretty much every Vatican department got renamed to a Dicastery. If it's still not ringing a bell, don't worry about it. For what it's worth, both of these were either right before or right after new batches of Cardinals were made. I think if I got made a Cardinal the day *after* a two-day closed-door meeting of all the Cardinals I'd feel a little bit left out. Though maybe the Cardinals who formally joined the body just in time to hear two days of explanations of that new Constitution changing all the department names would have preferred to have been left out of that one. Either way, GCatholic counts a third Extraordinary Consistory for Pope Francis, a two-day affair right before he made a batch of new Cardinals in 2015. But like the ones GCatholic reported as happening in Pope Benedict's pontificate, this gathering didn't have all the Cardinals–or at least it didn't have enough Cardinals around that it had a “mandatory for everyone” vibe like an extraordinary consistory is supposed to. According to Catholic News Agency, 148 cardinals made an appearance, and because I'm the sort of nerd I am, I can tell you that that was out of a full college of 212 at the time, and yes that includes disgraced Cardinal Keith O'Brien, because he never renounced the Cardinalate itself, only renouncing the rights and privileges associated with it, and it also incidentally includes Mr. Theodore McCarrick, who would go on to renounce the Cardinalate in later years and would wind up deservedly laicized, but who was still a Cardinal at this stage.You probably didn't need me to mention all that, but just in case, there you have it. It's worth noting that one of the reported topics during the 2025 conclave, at least during the meetings in the leadup to the conclave, was frustration from the Cardinals over a general lack of consultation of the Pope with the College of Cardinals as a whole, i.e. they wanted more extraordinary consistories. I wouldn't be too shocked if we saw such gatherings in say, January and June, fit in between the end of Christmas and the beginning of Lent and around the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, respectively, become a regular thing, if Pope Leo does want to lean into these big extraordinary consistories being a regular thing.   Now, it's fun and all to hear reports that the expected meeting is a response to popular demand by the Cardinals, but what will it actually be about? Why is Pope Leo apparently calling a closed-door meeting of all the Cardinals of the Catholic Church? Well, first off, despite all my talk, and despite a lot of other people's talk, no such meeting has actually been called yet. What we have at this stage is a letter that went out from the Secretariat of State stating that “Holy Father Leo XIV has in mind to convene an Extraordinary Consistory for the days of January 7 and 8, 2026.” Which, admittedly, is pretty straightforward, and is coming from an official source. But Pope Leo having that “in mind” is not the same as actually announcing it, which matters because the letter goes on to state that “In due course, the Dean of the College of Cardinals will send to Your Eminence the relevant letter with further details”. In other words, watch this space. And yes, it's entirely possible that “further details” could still include noting that by the way while everyone is in town Pope Leo's going to create some more new Cardinals too. I don't expect that since my read on him is he's going to want to be more respectful of the official 120-elector cap than his predecessor was, but it wouldn't be the first time they've covered multiple items while the Cardinals were gathered. It's probably more efficient from a travel cost perspective, anyhow. By the way, if they DO create more new Cardinals, it won't be right after the Extraordinary Consistory On An Unknown Topic, because Pope Leo is already booked for the next day, when he is due for his annual meeting with diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See, followed by him meeting with all the ambassadors from the 184 states that have full diplomatic relations with the Holy See. With that context–while recognizing those are regular annual meetings so it could be a coincidence–I am tempted to think there *will* be something big Pope Leo hopes to talk about with all the Cardinals and then all the diplomats. Maybe something going back to my hope–and the hope of many–on Catholic-Orthodox relations, some fruit of Pope Leo's visit to Turkey to mark the 1700th anniversary of Nicea later this month, a council which Catholics and Orthodox agree on, and which helped set the date of Easter. To speculate one step yet further, if they were looking at something relating to the dating of Easter, the timing would be pretty good, a few months out.   ***To complicate matters further, *** the day *before* the expected Extraordinary Consistory, Pope Leo will be closing the Holy Doors to finish out the Holy Year. So yeah, that date's booked too, unless he wants to multitask, which given all he's got going on, he doesn't seem opposed to doing.    *** IN THE END, it's likely the bulk of the discussion will be the fruit of the “study groups” that came out of the Synod on Synodality, which are meant to reach some form of consensus on a number of active topics discussed over the course of the synod during the last few years. The study groups are so idiosyncratic and generally wonkish that even I, who love listing off obscure stuff at you, refuse to go through them in detail, but they contain are hot button issues  such as women deacons and polygamy alongside, uh, cold-button topics such as canon law and the role of nuncios, although I suppose it depends on what you're into.   Anyways, it's worth noting that—following what has proven to be a pattern for the Synod on Synodality with extension after extension—the end-of-the-year “deadline” for the study groups doesn't seem to be a hard deadline and at least some of the study group discussions may well still be ongoing past the time of the Extraordinary Consistory, so really, who knows? Again, time will tell.***   Ok, time for the second promised topic: the USCCB, that is, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. They had one of their Plenary or General assemblies this week–I believe they use the word interchangeably–-which, now that you're hip to consistory talk you can think of Plenary Assemblies as the US Catholic Bishops' version of an extraordinary consistory with everyone gathered to chat about whatever. In this case, a major order of business was the election of new leadership, especially a new USCCB President and Vice-President. When it comes to the USCCB, often the Vice-Presidency is the real election to watch, since unless they've hit retirement age the Vice President usually gets elected the President after putting in their three-year term as VP. But in this case, both President and Vice President were retiring, so this was one of the more open election years, with ten candidates nominated by their peers, including Bishop Barron of the Word on Fire media empire which will be printing breviaries for Americans in the coming years–more on that lucrative endeavor some other time. In the end, Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City was elected USSB President, and will serve in that capacity until 2028 when, if tradition holds, he will be succeeded by the man who was runner-up this time around, Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, Texas. We'll see if tradition does hold, as it's not really a secret that US politics is deeply divided and the shift would be from a perceived conservative to a perceived liberal if that's the way it goes, although yes, both are Catholic bishops so there's a lot of agreement between the two. One bishop who was not particularly agreeing with the rest of the body present was  the emeritus bishop of Tyler, Texas, one Joseph Strickland. I've discussed Bishop Strickland here and there, and he seems interested in continuing to pop up, despite his removal from his see a couple years ago after publicly endorsing a video calling Pope Francis a “diabolically disordered clown”. In any case, he is apparently still part of the USCCB–which makes sense as he's still a bishop, though I'm not going to act like I expected him there. From what I can tell, since he's officially an emeritus bishop, he does not get to vote. But he did have some floor time, and used it to try to add condemning Fr James Martin's outreach to LGBT folks to the docket, a plea which went unanswered. There's video of this online if you want to find it, and sure, a link in the notes for your convenience. Don't get the wrong idea though, the bishops actually have been pretty active since the new USCCB President took up his role, on the one hand banning gender-affirming care for transgender patients at Catholic hospitals, something which I honestly was  surprised wasn't already done, and on the other hand speaking up pretty loudly about all the deporting going on around here. It's the latter topic I'm going to focus on for today, no offense to my friends who might love a word on the former, but I'm trying to stay positive, you know? Plus there's more meat on the immigration side of the discussion, specifically my favorite thing: a statement short enough to read in its entirety for ya'll.Yes, for the first time in over a decade–since their Special Message on the contraceptive mandate in the Affordable Care Act–the Bishops overwhelmingly voted in support of releasing the following Special Message, and by overwhelmingly I mean 216-5 with three abstentions. Without further ado: “As pastors, we the bishops of the United States are bound to our people by ties of communion and compassion in Our Lord Jesus Christ. We are disturbed when we see among our people a climate of fear and anxiety around questions of profiling and immigration enforcement. We are saddened by the state of contemporary debate and the vilification of immigrants. We are concerned about the conditions in detention centers and the lack of access to pastoral care. We lament that some immigrants in the United States have arbitrarily lost their legal status. We are troubled by threats against the sanctity of houses of worship and the special nature of hospitals and schools. We are grieved when we meet parents who fear being detained when taking their children to school and when we try to console family members who have already been separated from their loved ones.  Despite obstacles and prejudices, generations of immigrants have made enormous contributions to the well-being of our nation. We as Catholic bishops love our country and pray for its peace and prosperity. For this very reason, we feel compelled now in this environment to raise our voices in defense of God-given human dignity. Catholic teaching exhorts nations to recognize the fundamental dignity of all persons, including immigrants. We bishops advocate for a meaningful reform of our nation's immigration laws and procedures. Human dignity and national security are not in conflict. Both are possible if people of good will work together. We recognize that nations have a responsibility to regulate their borders and establish a just and orderly immigration system for the sake of the common good. Without such processes, immigrants face the risk of trafficking and other forms of exploitation. Safe and legal pathways serve as an antidote to such risks. The Church's teaching rests on the foundational concern for the human person, as created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:27). As pastors, we look to Sacred Scripture and the example of the Lord Himself, where we find the wisdom of God's compassion. The priority of the Lord, as the Prophets remind us, is for those who are most vulnerable: the widow, the orphan, the poor, and the stranger (Zechariah 7:10). In the Lord Jesus, we see the One who became poor for our sake (2 Corinthians 8:9), we see the Good Samaritan who lifts us from the dust (Luke 10:30–37), and we see the One who is found in the least of these (Matthew 25). The Church's concern for neighbor and our concern here for immigrants is a response to the Lord's command to love as He has loved us (John 13:34). To our immigrant brothers and sisters, we stand with you in your suffering, since, when one member suffers, all suffer (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:26). You are not alone! We note with gratitude that so many of our clergy, consecrated religious, and lay faithful already accompany and assist immigrants in meeting their basic human needs. We urge all people of good will to continue and expand such efforts.  We oppose the indiscriminate mass deportation of people. We pray for an end to dehumanizing rhetoric and violence, whether directed at immigrants or at law enforcement. We pray that the Lord may guide the leaders of our nation, and we are grateful for past and present opportunities to dialogue with public and elected officials. In this dialogue, we will continue to advocate for meaningful immigration reform.  As disciples of the Lord, we remain men and women of hope, and hope does not disappoint! (cf. Romans 5:5) May the mantle of Our Lady of Guadalupe enfold us all in her maternal and loving care and draw us ever closer to the heart of Christ.” Alright, now for the final topic, PODCAST ADMIN. Assuming you've been around for a minute, you've probably noticed that Popeular History is approximately eight projects in a trenchcoat. You might think that sounds like an exaggeration, but I did wind up with 8 tabs when I organized all my episodes i  nto a spreadsheet I plan to use as a roadmap for the show. The Cardinal Numbers tab even has info about the Cardinals in question from my cardinals database. Not all the Cardinals, mind you, for now it's focused on the current cardinals since that's where the show is focused. Eventually the full database will be made public-facing in some form, minus perhaps some embarrassing scribbled notes like instructions on how to pronounce names that will only make sense to me since I'm bad at phonetic alphabet stuff. Oh, and the Worldbuilding section has the epitomes next to links to the episodes they're summarizing! Cool stuff like that, and as an added bonus I'll even be putting things like when I expect to get to the next episode or two of a particular series, that way if you want an answer it's there without relying on me randomly mentioning on the show at some point. I'm even including notes about things like when I have something recorded and am just working on editing it. So that's all exciting! Check it out!–I'm putting that link at the tail end of the show notes for your convenience. It should be publicly accessible, let me know via email to popeularhistory@gmail.com if you hit any snags. Also, jubilation! Popeularhistory.com is back up, and I have no idea how that happened. My ability to make changes to it directly went away about a year ago, hence all but the RSS feeds being frozen, zombie mode, but now it's back. I didn't even have to log in to anything. I think St Carlo Acutis just did another miracle (miracles effect from Pontifacts). So that's an unexpected plus that literally only came up when I googled up the name of my old host as part of an explanation that the spreadsheet I just described was going to replace the website moving forward. I guess it isn't? We'll see–I am very confused, I was already prepared to move on–but I'm not mad about it. Finally, one more last-minute thing has popped up. Our hero, Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, will be visiting Detroit December 4th through 7th, raising funds for the struggling Christian remnant in the Holy Land. Detroit is a manageable trip from my home base in Ohio (go Bucks) and I'd love to meet Pierbattista Pizzaballa. But I don't plan to crash Pierbattista Pizzaballa's fundraising trip emptyhanded. And so, I've created a gofundme to raise money so I can give Pierbattista Pizzaballa a real check for a grand in addition to a comedically oversized check made by my children, which I'm sure Pierbattista Pizzaballa will really truly appreciate as a Franciscan friar. Obviously December 4th through 7th is soon, so act now via the link in the show notes if you'd like to contribute to what is already my most successful fundraiser to date. And don't worry if you miss the deadline, I still intend to forward funds to him and his cause as appropriate, whatever way I can. Full disclosure: I'm setting aside $200 of the funds for travel expenses for me getting there, and giant check. Thank you in advance and remember: prayer support is just as welcome and is even more important than financial support. Alright, that's all for tonight! November's Habemus Pointsam is coming out soon, I just need to edit it! Of course, you already knew that, because you saw it on the database, right? Thank you for listening, God bless you all! Thanks, Joe! LINKS: Early reporting on upcoming extraordinary consistory: https://www.americamagazine.org/vatican-dispatch/2025/11/08/pope-leo-to-call-college-of-cardinals-to-rome-for-a-two-day-january-meeting/ https://thecatholicherald.com/article/pope-leo-to-call-cardinals-to-rome-for-extraordinary-consistory-amid-speculation-of-first-encyclical https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/pope-leo-xiv-to-convene-extraordinary-consistory-of-cardinals-in-january-report/?utm_source=lsncathfb&fbclid=IwY2xjawN_jjJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA80MDk5NjI2MjMwODU2MDkAAR7SwHBdI9sPFNkrmLzutgXvu6eUyuUQPNbHpBxEEej8S63RLNA83qCYOPDyqQ_aem_kfnzrdO3vyL7EE2rqlgcWg https://www.ncregister.com/news/pope-leo-calls-january-2026-consistory Gcatholic.org consistory notes: https://gcatholic.org/documents/tag/consistory CNA Reporting on 2015 consistory: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/31501/a-reform-to-promote-harmony-%E2%80%93-pope-francis-opens-a-much-debated-consistory Bishop Strickland at the USCCB: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/OU0i97XFTlw USCCB Special Message: https://www.usccb.org/news/2025/us-bishops-issue-special-message-immigration-plenary-assembly-baltimore Popeular History Episode Spreadsheet link (feel free to share, this should give public access) https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17NFWcln6CA8yjH96-bORP2G3HA2ct331E6Zi880BewU/edit?usp=sharing Pizzaballa Trip Gofundme: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-gregg-bring-pierbattista-pizzaballa-a-giant-check?fbclid=IwY2xjawOKzAVleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA80MDk5NjI2MjMwODU2MDkAAR4IokJTnLt5tbazv1IuHqeQowX8-horhHZ0HRkHo5beXwCliQi3avOZ4LXDaA_aem_Lsc6fiO4LRUoTq6WizJ3fQ

The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe and the early part of Advent focus on the coming of Christ at the end of time. As Christians we hope for our salvation through Jesus Christ and in the Jubilee year it is most appropriate to place our hope in Christ. Listen to Fr. Frank Donio, S.A.C share more in this segment of the Son Rise Morning Show on Sacred Heart Radio, about how we hope in Christ as we prepare for his Second Coming to restore all righteousness.Advent refers to the coming of Jesus Christ in time and at the end of time. We look forward to commemorating his birth into this world at Christmas and we look forward to the coming of Christ at the end of time where he will usher in the new heaven and the new earth. During this time at the end of the calendar year, we put our hope in Christ as the pathway towards our salvation and we pray that he will enter more fully into our lives today, so we can help serve him more completely. Notes:Access Advent ResourcesOn Mission: AdventThe Feasts of AdventAdvent ResourcesMore episodes about Advent From the Ad Infinitum blog:Embracing AdventMore blogs about Advent Follow us:The Catholic Apostolate CenterThe Center's podcast websiteInstagramFacebookApple PodcastsSpotify Fr. Frank Donio, S.A.C. also appears on the podcast, On Mission, which is produced by the Catholic Apostolate Center and you can also listen to his weekly Sunday Gospel reflections. Follow the Center on Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), and YouTube to remain up-to-date on the latest Center resources.

Fr. Wade gives us a teaching on the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, faith, family, and fellowship, and more on today's Open Line with Fr. Wade Menezes.

A Bible study on Luke 23:35-43, the Gospel reading for the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe - Cycle C.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. -Year C - Sunday, 23 November 2025 (EPISODE: 557) Readings for Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.- Year C FIRST READING: 2 Samuel 5:1-3 Psalm 122:1-2, 3-4a, 4b-5. “Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord” SECOND READING: Colossians 1:12-20 GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (Mark 11:9b+10a). Alleluia, alleluia! Blessed is he who inherits the Kingdom of David our father. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. GOSPEL: Luke 23:35-43 Image Credit- https://creator.nightcafe.studio/creation/a3yhf6TNfcFfHP2Tm1RH/christ-the-king-of-the-universe?ru=Paul-Evangelion References: Homily Fr Paul W. Kelly **Brief Prayers for Busy People. Author: Bruce D Prewer. ISBN 978- 1- 62880- 090- 6). Web site www.acresources.com.au ## Kym Harris, a Benedictine nun from Tanby near Rockhampton. On "Celebrating Jesus' authority." Image Credit- https://creator.nightcafe.studio/creation/a3yhf6TNfcFfHP2Tm1RH/christ-the-king-of-the-universe?ru=Paul-Evangelion +++ Archive of homilies and reflections: http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au To contact Fr. Paul, please email: paulwkelly68@gmail.com To listen to the weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks Details relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog: "Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection" - Led by Rev Paul Kelly Prayers and chants — Roman Missal, 3rd edition, © 2010, The International Commission on English in the liturgy. (ICEL) Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989, and 2009 by the NCC-USA. (National Council of Churches of Christ - USA) "The Psalms" ©1963, 2009, The Grail - Collins publishers. Prayers of the Faithful - " Together we pray" by Robert Borg'. E.J. Dwyer, Publishers, (1993). (Sydney Australia). Sung "Mass in Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" - By Jeffrey M. Ostrowski. The Gloria, Copyright © 2011 ccwatershed.org. "Faith, Hope and Love" theme hymn - In memory of William John Kelly (1942-2017) - Inspired by 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. Music by Paul W. Kelly. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019. “Quiet Time.” Instrumental Reflection music. Written by Paul W Kelly. 1988, 2007. & This arrangement: Stefan Kelk, 2020. “Today I Arise” - For Trisha J Kelly. Original words and music by Paul W. Kelly. Inspired by St Patrick's Prayer. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019. Sound Engineering and editing - P.W. Kelly. Microphones: - Shure Motiv MV5 Digital Condenser. And (2024+) Rode Nt-1 + AI-1 Sound Mixer. Editing equipment: -- MixPad Multitrack Studio Recording Software v10.49 (NCH Software). NCH – WavePad Audio Editing Software. Masters Edition v 17.63 (NCH Software) Sound Processing: iZotope RX 10 Audio Editor (Izotope Inc.) Text transcription as per recorded podcast version is transcribed by TurboScribe.ai {excellent and accurate transcription from voice to text} [Production - KER - 2025] May God bless and keep you. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

October 30, 2025Today's Reading: Introit for Pentecost 21 - Psalm 50:1-2, 14-15; antiphon: Psalm 50:23Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 31:30-32:27; Matthew 20:1-16“The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; the one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!” (Psalm 50:23)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You know our situation. As human beings, we are conceived and born sinful; there is no good in us to do anything right. None of us could ever offer thanksgiving that is perfect in God's eyes. No one could sacrifice anything that would glorify God. How could we ever be shown the salvation of God?! How can this verse from the upcoming introit make sense?Jesus continued giving perfect thanks to the Father, sacrificing himself once and for all on the cross. That was the greatest moment of God's glory, showing His ultimate mercy to all in the suffering and death of Christ crucified. Look to the crucifix. See Jesus in all His glory, pouring out God's mercy on you. In that sacrifice of His that glorifies God, you are made His. There you are shown (and given) the salvation of God!While Christ's giving thanks perfectly showed God's glory in giving mercy for all, He still delivers the benefits and blessings of that thanksgiving. “Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks…” “In the same way also He took the cup after supper, and when He had given thanks…” In the Last Supper, Jesus gives thanks to His Father in heaven. The Church picked up on that detail and has often used a name for the Lord's Supper: the Holy Eucharist. Eucharist is simply a Greek word for “Thanksgiving.”But here is the awesome thing: the Last Supper was not about the disciples giving thanks; Jesus gave thanks! The Eucharist today is not about you and me giving thanks, or even your pastor. It is Jesus giving perfect thanks on your behalf!The salvation of God was purchased and won for you at the cross. Now, the salvation of God is delivered to you through Baptism, Absolution, the proclamation of the Gospel, and through the Holy Eucharist! At His altar, Christ once again offers thanksgiving as His sacrifice, and that glorifies God. The Lord feeds you His body and pours His blood into your mouth, showing (and nourishing you with!) the salvation of God!Dear Baptized friends, your Jesus eucharists for you! And your Jesus IS the Eucharist for you, feeding you the salvation of God with His Body and Blood.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Praise we Him, whose love divine Gives His sacred blood for wine, Gives His body for the feast – Christ the victim, Christ the priest. Alleluia! (LSB 633:2) Rev. Richard Heinz, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, Lowell, IN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Harrison Goodman is the Executive Director of Mission and Theology for Higher Things.Step back in time to the late Reformation and learn about a divisive yet inspirational figure: Matthias Flacius Illyricus. His contributions to Lutheranism still echo in our teachings today, from the Magdeburg Confession to parts of the Lutheran Confessions. Learning about Flacius's life will help you understand more intricacies of the Reformation than ever before.

Our Lord Jesus Christ is king by both His nature as God and also by His free decision to become one of us, to lead us out of sin to salvation. Out of devotion to Our Lord's right to rule, we have the feast of Christ the King. And in this feast we not only honor Him, but reaffirm the sacrifice on Calvary, the great gift Christ has bestowed upon us through this sacrificial act, and accept the love He freely offers.

[DONATE WITH PAYPAL] "OCIA: The Bridge to Rome" continues by focusing one the main character in the Gospel story: Jesus Christ. Delve into the Incarnation—Jesus as fully divine and human in hypostatic union—and His redemptive mission through life, death, resurrection, and ascension, with insights from Scripture and the Catechism. Greg contrasts Catholic sacramental Christology with evangelical atonement emphases, offering reflection prompts to bridge perspectives. To go deeper, check out these episodes: Snapshot: Christ the King (#156) What is the "Feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe?" (#283) Donate with PayPal! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

1 Chronicles 4 records the descendants of Judah. One of the notable descendants was Jabez, whose prayer to God and subsequent blessing is told in verses 9-10. What we learn is that Yahweh is ever attentive to the pleas of His children both small and great. We know nothing about Jabez except for his prayer seeking for the Almighty to bless and prosper him. Next the record tells of Simeon's descendants - perhaps we would have expected those of Reuben. But Reuben lost the position of firstborn through a disgraceful act (Genesis 49 verses 3-4). Ezekiel 17 records the parable of the two eagles. The eagles were those kings of Judah who were promoted to prominence by the king of Babylon. But the eagles did not maintain faith with Nebuchadnezzar but broke the covenant which they had made with the Babylonian monarch. Those kings rebelled and were savagely dealt with by the king of Babylon. Our God expects His children to be truthful at all times verses Matthew 5 verses 33-37; Zechariah 8 verses 16-17; Revelation 22 verses 14-15. Yahweh will exalt the lowly and abase the lofty verses James 4 verses 7-10; 1 Peter 5 verses 5-6. In Luke 13 the enemies of the Lord maliciously attack him by drawing his attention to the Galileans, who Pilate had slaughtered as they were sacrificing in Jerusalem. Jesus tells his audience of Judeans of a recent event where a wall in Siloam - Jerusalem's backyard - fell on many Judeans. Did it happen because they were bad sinners? No, on both counts - but both tragedies provided opportunities for reflection and repentance, as any report of suffering does for us today. This is followed in chapter 13 by the parable of the barren fig tree which represents Israel's failure to bring forth fruit to God. Jesus next, on the Sabbath day heals a woman with an unclean spirit. The parables of the mustard seed and the leaven come next in the record. Then the record speaks of the parable of the narrow door, through which every disciple must strive to enter. Our Lord Jesus Christ laments over Jerusalem - to be torn down stone by stone as the leprous house. He will be welcomed in the Kingdom, when they would say, "Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord" (Psalm 118 verses 26). Chapter 14 of Luke begins with Jesus healing a man on the Sabbath day. That man had clearly been planted as a test for Jesus. Would he heal on the Sabbath day? The Lord was invited to speak at a dinner for Pharisees and Jesus gives advice in the parable of the wedding feast. Then came another parable about the great banquet to which each invited class found excuses not to attend. These people who were called by the gospel to come to the wedding feast of the Son of God all adjudged themselves unworthy of eternal life in the kingdom. As a result of their rejection, we have graciously been offered a place. Two parables follow which tell us that as disciples of Jesus we must always count the cost of discipleship and wholeheartedly pursue that goal. Every disciple of our Lord must accept the peace that our Sovereign offers to us through the emissaries of the gospel and then make peace with Him verses Ephesians 2 verses 11-22. The chapter concludes with the need for zest and salt among our Master's disciples. Salt was an essential ingredient of every sacrifice and spoke of keeping covenant with the Almighty. And so, it is a vital component of the disciple's faithful walk before his/her Sovereign leading onto His gracious bestowing of eternal life on His saints. Salt speaks of sincerity in Christ's disciples as we are told in Colossians 4 verses 6. Thanks for joining us - we pray you found these comments helpful in your appreciation of God's words, join again tomorrow

Today is day 261 and we are studying The Ten Commandments. 261. How did Jesus fulfill God's Law? For our sake, Jesus fulfilled God's Law by teaching it perfectly, submitting to it wholly, and dying as an atoning sacrifice for our disobedience. (Psalm 119:49–72; Isaiah 53:4–12; Matthew 5:17–20; Romans 8:1–4; Hebrews 10:1–18) We will conclude today by praying the Collect for the Circumcision and Holy Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ found on page 600 of the Book of Common Prayer (2019). If you would like to buy or download To Be a Christian, head to ⁠anglicanchurch.net/catechism⁠. Produced by Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Madison, MS. Original music from Matthew Clark. Daily collects and Psalms are taken from Book of Common Prayer (2019), created by the Anglican Church in North America and published by the Anglican Liturgical Press. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Catechism readings are taken from To Be a Christian - An Anglican Catechism Approved Edition, copyright © 2020 by The Anglican Church in North America by Crossway a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

On the feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we have the opportunity to reflect on the importance of this feast for the Society of Saint Pius X. In union with Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who Our Lady brought into the world and stood with painfully at the Cross, Mary dedicated the whole of her life for the redemption of mankind. Her designated role in our salvation as Co-Redemptrix is particularly material when we consider the Society's mission of forming holy priests who stand in persona Christi to provide sacramental grace to the faithful.

Exultation of the Cross Behold the Man: The Cross and Our Shared Criminality Homily on the Passion and the Cross I Corinthians 1:18-24; St. John 19:6-11, 13-20, 25-28, 30-35 Christ was crucified among criminals, a mirror of our own sinfulness and complicity in His Passion.  Yet like the repentant theif, we are invited to turn to Him in humility, behold His mercy, and enter the Kingdom with the New Adam who reveals true humanity.  Enjoy the show! ++++++ Our Lord Jesus Christ, the God-man, was condemned and put on a cross to die in the midst of criminals.  Not just the obvious criminals, such as the thieves on his right and his left, but he was surrounded by them.  For the entire world had been given over to sin.  The religious authorities, the ones who knew the law and the prophets, and should have been the first to support him, were certainly criminal.  They “assembled together… unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, and consulted that they might take Jesus by subtlety and kill him.” (Matthew 26:3-4).  They were jealous of Jesus, seeing how “the world is gone after him.” (John 12:9).  They did not want a trial; they wanted his death.  Remember that when the good and law-abiding man, Nicodemus, called them on this and suggested to them that Jesus be brought before the court for a hearing, saying, “Does our law judge any man, before it hears him, and know what he does?”  They mocked Nicodemus, saying, “Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet.”  They were not interested in the Law or the Truth or even the facts; they were preserving their own comfort and power, and were willing to break the law and commit murder (deicide!) to protect it.  They were criminals. Nor were they the only criminals.  Think also of Judas, who participated in their perfidy by betraying his alleged friend and teacher for thirty pieces of silver.  And then there was the entire crowd who came out, and in their own criminality, chose the convicted criminal Barabbas over Christ.  As St. Nikolai Velimirovic puts it; “God or a criminal?  And the criminals choose the criminal.” Yes, Christ was surrounded by criminals.  But before we condemn them, let's remember one of the first rules of biblical interpretation; when the scriptures speak of bad men, be they the scribes and pharisees, Judas, the Jewish people, or even common criminals, we are to think not just of them, but how it is that we are like them.  In our fallenness, it is easy to see the criminality of others, especially those with whom we disagree or are from other Babelic tribes than our own.  But so often their crimes are not obvious because they are so heinous, but because they have been magnified by the problems with our vision – we can only see darkness when our eyes are full of darkness and it is hard to see anything objectively when we have giant honking logs sticking out of our eye-sockets.  When tempted by such judgment, let us remember Christ, draw in the sand and say, “Let he who is without sin, throw the first stone.” Yes, we are all criminals of the sort that participated in the passion of our God; petty, jealous, riotous, scheming – it's all there in our hearts and on our lives for everyone to see.  We are the criminals of this story.  All of us have sinned against God and against His Way. But there was one criminal who stepped out of his sin and the propaganda of the devil, and repented.  He accepted that he had earned his suffering.  Again, paraphrasing St. Nikolai; blessed is the criminal who, in the midst of his very real agony, does not lash out in condemnation of the other criminals but rather recognizes that he has earned his cross because of his sins.  The resulting clarity then allows him to see the God-man in his midst, repent, beg for God's mercy, and then find himself in Paradise with his saviour.  We quote this saint every time we take communion: “Remember me, O Lord, when Thou comest into Thy kingdom”.  We imitate his words, but do we imitate the deep transformation that allowed him, while feeling such pain, to say them? And now that we have looked at the crowds of the scene described in today's Gospel, let us look to Christ.  Right before today's reading, Pilate had brought our Lord out before the people after he had been beaten and scourged and had a crown of thorns put on his head and had said, “Behold the man!”. Yes, let us behold the man.  For Jesus was both fully God and fully man.  And His humanity had brought Him immense agony.  Earlier, we saw Him as a man when He was an infant in a cave, and when He and his family fled to Egypt, and when He was hungry and thirsty and had no place to lay his head.  Of course we also saw Him as God, walking on water, quelling storms, healing the sick, and multiplying loaves.  But at no time was his humanity more on display than from the Garden of Gethsemane to the Cross.  First, sweat poured from his head like blood because of anguish, and then that blood was joined by more from the lashes and the crown and the nails.  Jesus in the Garden was tormented; as man he knew pain and was expecting more – and as God He had ordained this as the path to the salvation of the world.  St. Nikolai writes; “these two were in conflict and had to be brought into accord.”  And so the man-mind and will went from the tortured; “if Thou be willing remove this up from Me” to the submissive “nevertheless, not My will, but Thine, be done.”  And when He did this, He acquired a peace that could not be broken by unjust accusations, or blasphemies, or physical pain. Yes, “Behold the Man”!  Behold the sort of man that God had in mind when he first formed Adam.  A man obedient to God and willing to do everything so that some might be saved.  Think of His dignity as He went to His death.  Not only did He avoid grumbling and condemnations, “He worked for the good of all to His dying breath.” (SNV, 201)  He desired good even in the midst of the pain of crucifixion, even in the midst of the most supreme injustice, and even in the midst of those who reviled Him.  As St. Luke records, He said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”  Do we see the charity?  Do we see the love?  Are we not drawn to imitate Him in His magnanimity?  Rather than throwing their sins against their teeth and shouting it out to God for vengeance, He was merciful toward them.  For even if the criminals who assaulted Him used words to justify their blasphemy, they “knew not what they did.” “Behold the Man.” Are we men?  Are we willing to imitate the Ur-Man, the New Adam; the very definition of what it means to be a man?  Can we be charitable in our pain?  Can we look to the salvation or others from the depths of our despair? And if this is, at least for now, beyond our reach, let us then imitate the one at his side, and focus not on the sins of others, but on our own, and turn to God in repentance, crying; “Remember me, Lord, in Thy Kingdom.”

"Our Lord Jesus Christ, He Who is the blessed and only potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords Who alone has immortality, Who dwells in unapproachable light.” (1 Timothy 6: 14-16)

Having preached the condemnation that Israel's idolatry deserved, Hosea once more calls the people to return to the LORD in honest confession. He gives them words to speak that both acknowledge the guilt and folly of their idolatry and look to the LORD's mercy with faith. The LORD is quick with His promise. He speaks words of healing and love, in which He will cause His people to flourish in safety once again. Unlike idols that only make demands, the LORD promises only His gifts. Hosea calls Israel to hear the LORD's word with the wisdom of faith, walking in the way that leads to life. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of this promise, for He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.    Rev. Dr. John Bombaro, pastor at St. James Lutheran Church and School in Lafayette, IN and a chaplain for the LCMS serving with the 14th Marine Regiment, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Hosea 14:1-9.  To learn more about St. James Lutheran, visit stjameslaf.org. “Majoring in the Minors” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that goes through the books of Hosea, Joel, Jonah, Micah, and Nahum. Although the books of these prophets are shorter, the Word of God they preached was important in the years leading up to the coming of the Christ, and that Word remains important for the Church today. Just as we still need to listen to their call to repentance over our idolatry, so we still need to heed their call to trust in the Savior, Jesus.  Sharper Iron, hosted by Rev. Timothy Appel, looks at the text of Holy Scripture both in its broad context and its narrow detail, all for the sake of proclaiming Christ crucified and risen for sinners. Two pastors engage with God's Word to sharpen not only their own faith and knowledge, but the faith and knowledge of all who listen. Submit comments or questions to: listener@kfuo.org