November 23 – Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
“The sceptics may sneer. But the sneer of sceptics has never been able to deter the victorious march of those who have faith,” stated Dr. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira. And reading the Gospel chosen for this solemnity (cf. Lk 23:35-43) we exclaim in the same vein: the impious may mock the Divine Crucified One, but they will finally witness how splendorous His Reign will be!
From the height of the Cross, facing the insults and sarcasm of the insolent mob, Our Lord kept a silence filled with dignity. His closed lips, however, had awe-inspiring eloquence. It was as if He were saying to those who insulted Him: “The day will come when facts will be my triumphant reply.”
Pilate himself unintentionally confirmed Jesus’ royalty with the inscription that so displeased the Jews. Neither could have imagined that the Kingdom of this “defeated One” would be eternal, established by a crushing victory over His enemies.
Even less could they have conceived how solid and effective this reign would be: He would reign over hearts. He would not conquer power by arms, but by love, and only those who were bound to Him by this bond would enter the Kingdom of the Crucified Lord.
Opportunists, like the bad thief, who sought only his physical comfort, would be excluded. Once again, silence would be the answer to those who sought to enter His Kingdom for spurious motives or material gain.
But – oh, marvel of divine mercy! – complete innocence would not be required to be admitted to the Kingdom of Christ. The doors are open to contrite and humbled hearts, and to corroborate this comforting truth, Our Lord chose to convey it through a moving episode.
By the conversion of a thief condemned to death, followed by a dialogue between the two crucified men, He showed that the King of Heaven welcomes with open arms those who humble themselves, acknowledge their faults, and ask for forgiveness.
The loving and compassionate sentence that decreed the former bandit’s immediate admission to eternal happiness echoes in the ears of the repentant – and the reprobates – of all time, as an invitation to repeat the request of the one who would be the first in history to be “canonized”: “Jesus, remember me when You come into your Kingdom” (Lk 23:42).
O souls who labour under the burden of your countless sins: have confidence! If the good thief received such complete forgiveness and such a great reward, why doubt that the same Sacred Heart that took him to Heaven will not eagerly answer your plea for mercy? “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Lk 23:43). This is the resounding affirmation of Christ’s kingship.
But there is more. Immediately after addressing the good thief, Jesus wanted to surpass Himself: He gave us His own Mother as our Mother! Oh, wonder of mercy and goodness: His Kingdom would be a maternal kingdom! ◊
