How to end the liturgical year
By Fr. Roy Cimagala
Chaplain
Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)
Talamban, Cebu City
Email: roycimagala@gmail.com
HOW should we end the current liturgical year which takes place on November
26? The quick answer to that is to make sure that Christ truly is our king who rules and
governs not only our lives taken individually but also the lives of all of us.
This is the proper closure of the liturgical year which should be a rehearsal and
an anticipation of the final closure of the earthly life of all of us. Christ, and no other,
should be our King. We have to learn how to close the liturgical year properly, prepared
to meet Christ in his second coming, and seeing to it that we are found to be worthy to
be part of his kingdom.
It’s no joke how this closure, with the celebration of the Solemnity of the
Solemnity of our Lord Jesus, King of the universe, should take place. We are expected
to follow and serve Christ all our life here on earth. And as the gospel reading of the
Solemnity reminds us, this duty to follow and serve Christ can be done by serving the
poor. (cfr. Mt 25,31-46)
“Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine,
you did for me,” said Christ. (Mt 25,40) We have to be ready and quick to discover, love
and serve Christ especially in the poor and those in some special needs and difficulties,
including those of the spiritual and moral kinds. This can be a big challenge to us since
we cannot deny that we tend to distance ourselves from this kind of people.
It, of course, will take a lot of faith and effort to abide by this standard of Christ.
But we can always do something about it. Even if it’s just little and hardly significant, as
long as it is done continually and daily, great progress in following and serving Christ
can truly be achieved.
Let’s remember that while we try our best to cope with our responsibilities for our
own personal needs, and those of our family, our relatives and friends, and those of
society and the economy, we should never forget to give preferential attention to those
who are poor not only materially but also and especially, spiritually and morally.
We need to make the appropriate adjustments in the way we prioritize things so
that while we take care of our big responsibilities, we do not neglect to take a more
special care to those who need immediate attention and help.
Let’s convince ourselves that this is how we can be truly serving Christ. Not only
that. Let’s strengthen the conviction that this is how we can be like Christ as we should.
Remember that God in Christ went all the way of not only becoming man, but also of
making himself like sin without committing sin and offering his life on the cross, just to
save us. (cfr. 2 Cor 5,21)
We have to be wary of our tendency to be self-righteous, quick to judge those in
some spiritual and moral anomalies, instead of helping them return to Christ. This is a
big challenge because this will practically require of us to carry the cross just as Christ
did to save us.
Let’s hope that with Mary, our Mother, we can echo her words: “My soul
proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has
looked with favor on his lowly servant.” That’s how we can truly make Christ as our
King.