These reflections are a result of more than 40 years of ministry as a Roman Catholic priest. Most of these years I spent in the Diocese of Charlotte which covers Western North Carolina. Now I am retired, and live in Medellín, Colombia where I continue to serve as a priest in the Archdiocese of Medellín.
Jesus Christ is the faithful witness,
the firstborn of the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,
who has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and Father,
to him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen. (Rev 1:5-8)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/112121.cfm
The Feast of Christ the King invites us to remember our dignity as “a kingdom, priests for his God and Father.” “Dominion, glory, and kingship” all defined by service to the poor and outcasts. Christ our king whose crown is made of thorns. Today’s video is Servir es Reinar (To Serve is to Reign).
King Antiochus said: “But I now recall the evils I did in Jerusalem, when I carried away all the vessels of gold and silver
that were in it, and for no cause gave orders that the inhabitants of Judah be destroyed.
I know that this is why these evils have overtaken me; and now I am dying, in bitter grief, in a foreign land.” (1 Mc 6:1-13)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/112021.cfm
Progroms against the Jews has been a consistent part of their long history. As we come to the end of the Books of the Maccabees, we hear this remorse from King Antiochus. In Fiddler On The Roof the question is asked, “Is there a proper blessing for the Tsar? And the rabbi answers: “A blessing for the Tsar? Of course, ‘May God bless and keep the Tsar . . . far away from us!’”
There was great joy among the people now that the disgrace of the Gentiles was removed. Then Judas and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel
decreed that the days of the dedication of the altar should be observed with joy and gladness on the anniversary every year for eight days, from the twenty-fifth day of the month Chislev. (1 Mc 4:36-37,52-59)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/111921.cfm
The anniversary of the dedication of the altar in the Temple in Jerusalem is remembered in the Jewish feast of Hanukkah. This year Hanukkah will be celebrated from November 28-December 6.
Then Mattathias went through the city shouting, “Let everyone who is zealous for the law and who stands by the covenant follow after me!” Thereupon he fled to the mountains with his sons, leaving behind in the city all their possessions. Many who sought to live according to righteousness and religious custom went out into the desert to settle there. (1 Mc 2:15-29)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/111821.cfm
We continue the heroic stories of the Books of Maccabees. Today we hear about Mattathias and his sons. The tiny Christian community in Rome was able to claim the two greatest apostles as its founders, Peter and Paul. Both were martyred in Rome. The anniversaries of the dedication of the two basilicas erected over their tombs have always been celebrated together.
It happened that seven brothers with their mother were arrested and tortured with whips and scourges by the king,
to force them to eat pork in violation of God’s law. Most admirable and worthy of everlasting remembrance was the mother,
who saw her seven sons perish in a single day, yet bore it courageously because of her hope in the Lord. (2 Mc 7:1,20-31)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/111721.cfm
The story of the mother and her seven sons is another example of faithfulness in the face of death. Saint Elizabeth was an early follower of Saint Francis of Assisi. She is considered the founder of the Third Order of Saint Francis.
