The preface for the Mass of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King is one of my favorites of the entire liturgical year. Actually, all of the prayers of the Masses for every day of the year are my favorites, but there is something special about the preface on the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King. I look forward to it every year. It makes me think of Heaven. It starts out, as all prefaces do, by addressing the Father with praise and thanksgiving: Father, all-powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks. We hear this so frequently that we can become sort of immune or desensitized to what is being said and hear it without really hearing it. The prayer can become just words in the air unless we are recollected and united with our priest who stands in the place of Christ, the head of our body. As one, we address our Father in Heaven who is so powerful that if He were to withdraw His life-giving presence from us, we would cease to be. His power should instill awe and wonder in us and a great sense of gratitude that He has made us His children. He is ever-living and He has created us to live forever with Him in love. Do we do well always and everywhere to give Him thanks? Do we thank Him for making us His children, for giving us life, for giving us faith, and for sending us all of those little crosses of each day that make us more like Christ, His beloved Son, in whom He is well-pleased? Thankfully, He has given us Jesus, Himself, and the more united we are to Jesus the more we CAN say that we give Him thanks always and everywhere.
The preface continues: You anointed Jesus Christ, your only Son, with the oil of gladness, as the eternal priest and universal king. How amazing to be anointed with the oil of gladness! It makes my heart glad just thinking of Jesus being anointed by His Father as eternal priest and king over all. I think of the times I have been anointed with the oil of gladness…in my Baptism, Confirmation, and several times receiving the Sacrament of the sick. Every Sacrament is a holy, solemn occasion and full of the sweetness of God’s grace. The Sacraments are such gifts of gladness! We are all made sharers in the divine life of God, but Jesus, as God, enjoys the fullness of it. Jesus is a priest forever, like Melchizedek of old (see Psalm 110), and He is the king of the universe. It continues: As priest, he offered his life on the altar of the cross and redeemed the human race by this one perfect sacrifice of peace. As king he claims dominion over all creation that he may present to you, his almighty Father, an eternal and universal kingdom: a kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love, and peace. Wow! It almost sounds like a fairy-tale kingdom or some sort of unattainable utopia, yet this kingdom awaits us and even now is partially experienced in our hearts. This beautiful and eternal kingdom of truth, life, holiness, grace, justice, love and peace has cost our Lord Jesus every single drop of His precious blood. How much He loves us! And how much He loves the Father to present this kingdom of love to Him! The words in this part of the preface always impact me. Imagining a kingdom of holiness and grace or a kingdom of life and love helps me to realize how much I thirst for righteousness and how blessed I am. I spoke once on this blog about entering into the joy of the Lord and how we don’t have to wait until death to do so. It is the same with the kingdom because the kingdom of God is within us (see Luke 17:21-22). At this very moment, God is making our hearts into a kingdom of holiness and grace…into the kingdom of His love!
I’m also struck by the phrase sacrifice of peace. To see those words together is odd somehow, but true peace is only achieved by doing the will of the Father with love and real love always involves sacrifice. I take a glance into my own heart and ask myself what sacrifices I’m willing to make to let Christ, my King, reign there in peace. Will I sacrifice friends and family, self-love, useless chatter, time, favorite music or shows, plans for the future or money? Am I willing to give Him my health and well-being and my very life if He requires it? Will I let Him “Take Control” (see U Got 2 Believe! by Fr. Stan Fortuna) of my pride, of my desire for controlling things myself, my impatience…of my entire weak humanity? I must be able to say ‘yes’ to Him so that He can reign in me and half-measures won’t do. He deserves everything for He is the true King. And when sometimes it seems hard to say ‘yes’, I must remember that His grace is sufficient for me and that all things are possible with Him. He is such a benevolent King that when we “sacrifice” for Him, He turns those very “sacrifices” into fountains of joy! To give to Him, our King, the whole of our hearts and lives is not a burden at all, but a sign of our love and He rewards our love with His own Kingdom of peace!
And so, with all the choirs of angels in heaven we proclaim your glory and join in their unending hymn of praise… How wonderful must God be to let us join in with the choirs of angels in heaven to give Him praise! At every Mass we are in so great a company from heaven and we are, or at least we should be, overwhelmed because it is really an awesome thing. We ourselves are able to glory in the Lord’s glory! Glory be to God!
It is such a lovely preface. All of the prayers of the Mass for this solemnity are beautiful, from the entrance antiphon to the opening prayer (in which both options are filled with the language of love), to the gospel acclamation, to the communion antiphon and the closing prayer. As we prepare to receive the King of Hearts into our own heart on this beautiful solemnity, let us all ask for the grace to let Him reign completely in us so that we can all be citizens together in His eternal and universal kingdom of truth and life, holiness and grace, justice, love and peace!
Oh, King of my heart, reign in me! Thank you for calling me…for choosing me to love you. Help me to love you truly. I want to be with you in heaven and spend all of eternity thanking you for all you have done and are doing for me. I want to thank you for being so good and so gentle with me and for not leaving me alone. You have come to me in my weakness and in my poverty…in my helplessness…and have poured all of the treasures of your kingdom right into my lap. I need your help, Jesus, to share these gifts with others as I seem unable to do so. You are a wise King and I trust that you will show me what to do and give me the strength and courage to do it. Help me not to resist you in any way or to count the cost of belonging to you, for to belong to you is perfect freedom and every delight. You reign from the Holy Cross, the altar of your love and when you give me your entire self, you do not hold back, not even a single drop of your precious blood. I don’t want to hold back, either, for I love you, but I am such a needy little thing and I need your constant reassurance so I can really love you and forget entirely about myself. You will do all for me because you are good and generous and have the perfect plan for me. Thank you! Oh, Jesus, what a king you are! Make my heart into your kingdom here on earth and help others to see your sovereignty in their lives. Fill us with the warmth of your presence and forgive our ingratitude toward you. Love us, Lord, and always reign in our hearts. Amen.
Recommended Reading:
- Life of Christ by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
- Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis
