Gospel Reading
Luke 23:35-43
Jesus is crucified under the title King of the Jews.

Background on the Gospel Reading
Today as a Church, we conclude our liturgical year and celebrate the Feast of Christ the King. The Gospel we proclaim shows the great mystery of our faith: In the moment of his crucifixion, Jesus is shown to be King and Saviour of all.

Luke's Gospel has been loaded with surprises: the poor are rich, sinners find salvation, the Kingdom of God is found in our midst. Here we see the greatest surprise of all. We are confronted with the crucified Jesus, whom faith tells us is King and Saviour of all. The irony is that the inscription placed on the cross, perhaps in mockery, contains the profoundest of truth. As the leaders jeer, the thief crucified by his side recognises Jesus as Messiah and King, and finds salvation.

Jesus is King, but not the kind of king we might have imagined or expected. His kingship was hidden from many of his contemporaries, but those who had the eyes of faith were able to see. As modern disciples of Jesus, we, too, struggle at times to recognise Jesus as King. Today's Gospel invites us to make our own judgment. With eyes of faith, we, too, recognise that Jesus, the crucified One, is indeed King and Saviour of all. 

Family Connection
Understanding today's Feast of Christ the King may be particularly challenging. While we may not have a direct experience of kings or royalty, we have some sense of what these mean. We know that royalty have sovereignty over their kingdom. We know that those who are subjects to royalty offer them allegiance and Honour. Christ is King in a way that is different from traditional understandings of royalty. Christ's kingship extends to all places, all people, and all times. Christ manifests his kingship through his death on the Cross, in which he offers salvation to all.

Recall with your children stories that you may have read about royalty. Talk with your children about what they have learned from these stories about what it means to be a king. Talk about what they have learned from these stories about what it means to be a subject.

Tell your children that this Sunday is the last Sunday in the Church Year, and on this Sunday, we celebrate a special feast called the Feast of Christ the King. Read Sunday's Gospel, Luke 23:35-43. Reflect together on how the various people in this Gospel respond to Jesus on the Cross. Who in this Gospel recognises Jesus as King? (the thief) What does Jesus promise the thief as a result? (The thief will be with Jesus in paradise.)

Talk about how your family will recognize and honour Christ the King. Pray together the Lord's Prayer and ask God to help your family to act in ways that show you recognise and honour Christ as King.

Advent – Week One – hope

First Sunday of Advent (Year A)
“So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” Matthew 24:44

On Sunday 27 November we enter into the holy season of Advent. Advent, more than anything else, is a time of spiritual preparation to receive the greatest Gift we could ever receive: Christ Jesus Himself!

The readings for this First Sunday of Advent remind us that the Savior of the World will one day return to earth. We are reminded that He will return in all His splendour and glory and that this coming will be “at an hour you do not expect…” 

My ever-present Lord, You constantly come to me at an unexpected hour to pour forth Your grace and mercy into my life. Help me to form within me a permanent habit of preparedness by which I continually open myself to You and to Your perfect will for my life. May this Advent be a true time in which my readiness to meet You increases a hundredfold. Jesus, in hope I trust in You.