November 1, 2022 // FEATURE

Novena to Christ the King: Nov. 11-19

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

The Church celebrates the Solemnity of Christ the King on Nov. 20. Nov. 11-19, the nine days preceding the Solemnity, let us offer our prayers to Christ the King for the freedom of the Church. 

Prayers

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name;

thy kingdom come;

thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread;

and forgive us our trespasses

as we forgive those who trespass against us; 

and lead us not into temptation,but deliver us from evil.

Amen

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee;

blessed art thou among women,and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.

Amen.

Glory be to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit;

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

Prayer to Christ the King

Lord, Jesus Christ, Our Sovereign King, the beginning and end of all things,

You have made Your Church to be a people that bears witness to the goodness and beauty of Your kingdom.

By Your Holy Spirit, You have united us as one body, called to live as one family of God.

Fill our hearts with Your grace, that we would be close to You by being close to the vulnerable and marginalized.

Give us the patience to share one another’s burdens,

And give us the courage to always be friends of the truth.

May we remain with You always.

Amen.

November 11

Intention

May the Lord strengthen the faithful in Nicaragua, who are suffering unjustly under their government. 

November 12

Intention

May Catholic schools continue to serve their communities and bear faithful witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ.  

November 13

Intention

May children waiting to be placed in a loving home and the caregivers who serve those children find strength and support from the Church. 

November 14

Intention

May Christian witness in the face of attacks on our churches convert hearts to faith in Jesus Christ.

November 15

Intention

May all people in Nigeria be free to worship without fear of attacks at the hands of violent extremists.

November 16

Intention

May governments respect the consciences of all health care workers.

November 17

Intention

May Christians in Lebanon be free to live with their neighbors in peace. 

November 18

Intention

May all people of faith in China enjoy the freedom to worship and practice their faith in its fullness, without undue interference from the government. 

November 19

Intention

May all Christians serve Christ the King and bear witness to his reign.

About Christ the King

On the last Sunday of each liturgical year, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, or Christ the King. 

Pope Pius XI instituted this feast in 1925 with his encyclical “Quas primas” (“In the first”) to respond to growing secularism and atheism. He recognized that attempting to “thrust Jesus Christ and his holy law” out of public life would result in continuing discord among people and nations. This solemnity reminds us that while governments come and go, Christ reigns as King forever.

During the early 20th century, in Mexico, Russia, and some parts of Europe, militantly secularistic regimes threatened not just the Catholic Church and its faithful but civilization itself. Pope Pius XI’s encyclical gave Catholics hope and — while governments around them crumbled — the assurance that Christ the King shall reign forever. Jesus Christ “is very truth, and it is from him that truth must be obediently received by all mankind” (“Quas primas”, 7).

Christ’s kingship is rooted in the Church’s teaching on the Incarnation. Jesus is fully God and fully man. He is both the divine Lord and the man who suffered and died on the cross. One person of the Trinity unites himself to human nature and reigns over all creation as the Incarnate Son of God. “From this it follows not only that Christ is to be adored by angels and men, but that to him as man, angels and men are subject, and must recognize his empire; by reason of the hypostatic union, Christ has power over all creatures” (“Quas primas”, 13).

The Church calls us to acknowledge Christ’s kingship with our whole lives:

“He must reign in our minds, which should assent with perfect submission and firm belief to revealed truths and to the doctrines of Christ. He must reign in our wills, which should obey the laws and precepts of God. He must reign in our hearts, which should spurn natural desires and love God above all things, and cleave to him alone. He must reign in our bodies and in our members, which should serve as instruments for the interior sanctification of our souls, or to use the words of the Apostle Paul, ‘as instruments of justice unto God.’”  (“Quas primas”, 33).

Today, religious freedom for many people means that we can believe whatever we want in private, but when we enter the public square or the marketplace, we may not speak of anything that relates to our faith. However, the Church acknowledges the reign of Christ, not only privately but publicly. This solemnity encourages us to celebrate and live out our faith in public. “Thus by sermons preached at meetings and in churches, by public adoration of the Blessed Sacrament exposed, and by solemn processions, men unite in paying homage to Christ, whom God has given them for their King” (“Quas primas”, 26).

For Christians, when our faith is repeatedly marginalized in public life, we can fall into the habit of compartmentalizing our lives. We love Jesus in our private lives, but we shrink from acknowledging the kingship of Christ in social life. When we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King, we declare to the world and remind ourselves that Jesus is the Lord of the Church and of the entire universe.