November 23, 2025 Homily: Fr. Vigoa — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:02Today the church dares to proclaim
2. 0:04something bold,
3. 0:07something every age has tried and failed
4. 0:10to ignore that Jesus Christ is king.
5. 0:14Not symbolically or poetically,
6. 0:18not as some sweet relic of memory, but
7. 0:22truly, eternally, unshakably, Jesus
8. 0:26Christ is king.
9. 0:29Everything in heaven and on earth
10. 0:31belongs to him.
11. 0:34Every human life, every human heart,
12. 0:37every culture, every government, every
13. 0:40nation, every breath, whether we
14. 0:42acknowledge it or not, is under his
15. 0:45dominion.
16. 0:47This feast is not ancient.
17. 0:50Was born from chaos.
18. 0:53In 1925, the world was trembling.
19. 0:58Atheistic communism had seized Russia
20. 1:01and declared war on God.
21. 1:04Mussolini had risen in power in Italy.
22. 1:08National socialism was beginning to take
23. 1:11root in Germany.
24. 1:13Across Europe, political kingdoms were
25. 1:16emerging that hated Christ, denied
26. 1:19Christ, and persecuted Christ's
27. 1:22followers.
28. 1:25And it and it is into this darkness that
29. 1:28Pope Pas the 11th proclaims to the
30. 1:31world.
31. 1:33He says, "While nations insult the name
32. 1:36of our redeemer, we must proclaim his
33. 1:40kingship all the louder."
34. 1:43He instituted this feast because the
35. 1:46world was forgetting Christ.
36. 1:49And when the world forgets Christ, it
37. 1:51never remains empty.
38. 1:53Something else climbs onto the throne.
39. 1:57Power, ideology, politics, pleasure,
40. 2:01wealth, violence, pride.
41. 2:05We saw it unfold.
42. 2:08The Soviet Union rose, but it fell.
43. 2:12Nazism rose, but it was crushed. Fascism
44. 2:16rose, but it was defeated.
45. 2:19And Christ
46. 2:21remains.
47. 2:23His kingdom remains. His church remains.
48. 2:27This is not triumphalism.
49. 2:31Simply a truth.
50. 2:33Every empire has collapsed except for
51. 2:36the one that was founded by a crucified
52. 2:39carpenter from Nazareth.
53. 2:42And yet Christ's kingdom never looked
54. 2:44like what the world expects.
55. 2:48On the surface, it almost seems
56. 2:49unattractive.
57. 2:52He tells us to take up our cross daily.
58. 2:55Who wants that?
59. 2:58He tells us to forgive our enemies, to
60. 3:00love the unlovable, to deny ourselves,
61. 3:03to put God above every other priority.
62. 3:07He tells us that the first will be last
63. 3:10and the last will be first, and that the
64. 3:13greatest are those who serve.
65. 3:16He also tells us that those who cling on
66. 3:19to their lives will lose it, but those
67. 3:22who lose their lives for his sake will
68. 3:25find it.
69. 3:27The world hears all of this and wonders,
70. 3:30why would anyone choose this kingdom?
71. 3:36If we look at today's gospel, the world
72. 3:38expects a king on a throne,
73. 3:42guarded, robed in gold, surrounded by
74. 3:44admirers.
75. 3:46But instead, we find Christ, our king,
76. 3:49nailed to the cross, surrounded by those
77. 3:53who mock him. The rulers sneer at him.
78. 3:57The soldiers taunt him. Even one of the
79. 4:00criminals crucified beside him joins the
80. 4:04chorus. If you are the Christ, save
81. 4:08yourself.
82. 4:10And then above his head, the
83. 4:12proclamation of truth is twisted into an
84. 4:14insult. This is the king of the Jews.
85. 4:20Yet there in this place of humiliation,
86. 4:23our king reveals the true nature of his
87. 4:26kingdom.
88. 4:28While the world demands display of
89. 4:30power, Christ reigns by mercy.
90. 4:34While the world shouts for him to save
91. 4:36himself, he chooses instead to save all
92. 4:39of us.
93. 4:42And in that moment when one criminal
94. 4:44mocks him and the other reaches out
95. 4:46towards him in trembling faith, Jesus
96. 4:51opens his royal treasury and speaks the
97. 4:53most beautiful kingly words ever uttered
98. 4:58today.
99. 4:59Today you will be with me in paradise.
100. 5:05In that exchange, we learn everything
101. 5:07that we need to know. And we know in a
102. 5:11special way the heart of our king. A
103. 5:14king who does not rule from a distance
104. 5:16but from a cross. A king whose throne is
105. 5:19made of wood. A king who draws near to
106. 5:22sinners and opens up heavens with a
107. 5:25single sentence of mercy.
108. 5:28And then there's the crown.
109. 5:31Earthly kings wear crowns.
110. 5:34Christ wears thorns.
111. 5:37Earthly kings sit on marble thrones.
112. 5:40Christ ascends upon a cross.
113. 5:44Earthly kings demands service. Christ
114. 5:46kneels down, bends low, and washes feet
115. 5:49and gives his life away.
116. 5:52And yet in this upside down kingdom,
117. 5:55something extraordinary happens.
118. 5:58The poor are blessed. The meek are
119. 6:01lifted up. The merciful are honored, the
120. 6:05persecuted are crowned, and the pure of
121. 6:07heart see God.
122. 6:11In 2005, when Benedict the 16th was
123. 6:14elected,
124. 6:16cameras captured Cardinal Francis George
125. 6:19of Chicago standing very close on a
126. 6:22balcony, gazing out onto the plaza,
127. 6:26looking on the Roman obelisk.
128. 6:29It was the same grounds where emperors
129. 6:31once ruled and Christians were
130. 6:33slaughtered.
131. 6:36Later he was asked, "What were you
132. 6:37thinking? Why so pensive there up on
133. 6:40that balcony?" And he said this,
134. 6:44"When I was looking out upon the plaza,
135. 6:47looking upon that obelisk, I was saying
136. 6:49to myself, where are the successors of
137. 6:53Caesar Augustus?
138. 6:55Where's the successor of Marcus
139. 6:57Aurelius?
140. 6:58And finally, who cares?
141. 7:02But if you want to see the successor of
142. 7:03Peter, he's standing right next to me.
143. 7:07The world's kingdom rise and fall.
144. 7:10Christ's kingdom endures.
145. 7:14But here's the crucial truth we cannot
146. 7:16miss.
147. 7:17Christ's kingship must not remain out
148. 7:20there.
149. 7:23If he is not king of your heart, your
150. 7:25home, your priorities, your habits, your
151. 7:28relationships, your moral choices, your
152. 7:31words, and your ambitions, then he's
153. 7:33truly not your king.
154. 7:36Something else is king and rules.
155. 7:40Many Christians want Christ the Savior,
156. 7:42but not Christ the King.
157. 7:45Christ the Comforter, but not Christ the
158. 7:48commander.
159. 7:50Christ the gentle shepherd, but not
160. 7:52Christ the judge. Christ the healer, but
161. 7:56not Christ the ruler.
162. 7:58But the gospel does not offer a partial
163. 8:01Christ. He's either king of all or he's
164. 8:04king of nothing.
165. 8:07This feast day is not meant to comfort
166. 8:09us. It's meant to convert us
167. 8:13because our in our age just like in the
168. 8:161920s is filled with ideologies that
169. 8:19push Christ aside.
170. 8:21They may not wear military uniforms.
171. 8:24They may come dressed in but they come
172. 8:27dressed in cultural pressure in
173. 8:29relativism and moral confusion in
174. 8:32political ideology hyperindividualism
175. 8:35and subtle shame towards public
176. 8:38expressions of faith.
177. 8:42If the church becomes silent, if the
178. 8:44families stop praying, if disciples stop
179. 8:47witnessing,
180. 8:48the vacuum then fills empty and it fills
181. 8:52quickly with values that are not of God.
182. 8:56That's why Pope Pius the 11th insisted
183. 8:59that the world needs Christians who
184. 9:00proclaim Christ's kingship
185. 9:03not by arrogance or arguments but
186. 9:06through holiness, conviction, courage,
187. 9:09charity, purity, fidelity to the gospel.
188. 9:14Because in the end only one kingdom will
189. 9:16remain. Only one king will stand when
190. 9:20every other throne has crumbled.
191. 9:23Only one name will be proclaimed when
192. 9:25every ideology has passed away. Only one
193. 9:29shepherd will be gathering his people
194. 9:31when time gives way to eternity. And
195. 9:35that is why we must be honest with
196. 9:37ourselves.
197. 9:39You may think your job is important,
198. 9:42your success is impressive, your
199. 9:44schedule may be overwhelming, your
200. 9:46influence is significant.
201. 9:49But if God is not first, if Christ is
202. 9:53not king of your heart, then all of that
203. 9:56is built on sand.
204. 9:59Every accomplishment, every title, every
205. 10:02treasure will one day fade. Everything
206. 10:05you have, your gifts, your talents, your
207. 10:07breath, your life comes from him.
208. 10:11And only what what is surrendered to him
209. 10:14endures forever.
210. 10:16Jesus Christ is our king.
211. 10:20So my dear brothers and sisters, let
212. 10:23this feast awaken something in us.
213. 10:26Christ wants to reign in your heart. Not
214. 10:28as a distant ruler, but as the one who
215. 10:31heals your wounds, forgives your sins,
216. 10:35restores your dignity, and reignites
217. 10:37your purpose, and leads you home.
218. 10:40If you've been silent about your faith,
219. 10:42find your voice again.
220. 10:45The world does not need more Christians
221. 10:47who blend in. I like to always say we
222. 10:50have enough Secret Service Catholics. We
223. 10:52don't need anymore.
224. 10:54The world needs disciples who dare to be
225. 10:57different, dare to be bold, to shine, to
226. 11:00witness, to proclaim that their lives
227. 11:02belong to Christ and that Jesus Christ
228. 11:05is king.
229. 11:07Praise be Jesus Christ the King now and
230. 11:11forever. Viva Christo.
231. 11:15Amen.