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Buenos Aires, Sunday, November 21, 2004

Father Oscar Pezzarini

Christ the King

This weekend we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King. By celebrating Christ as King of the Universe theis feast tells us about the place He occupies in Creation, His place of majesty as God, as the “Word by which everything was created”, by becoming Man without stopping being God, and after His Death and Resurrection he goes back to the Father in order to “gather together all things again in God”. On occasions like this we must ask ourselves: Who really is Jesus for us? What is His place in our life? We say and we believe He is the King of the Universe, but not an “external” distant King, but a King which takes part in our life, who questions us, demands things from us, compels us.

Together with the whole Church we celebrate this weekend the Feast of Christ the King, a very traditional celebration in our Faith.

In the Church's Liturgy this celebration marks the end of the Liturgic Year, and some days later a new year begins in Liturgy with Advent, the immediate preparation for the great feast of Christmas.

By celebrating Christ as King of the Universe this feast tells us about the place He occupies in Creation, His place of majesty as God, as the “Word by which everything was created”, by becoming Man without stopping being God, and after His Death and Resurrection he goes back to the Father in order to “gather together all things again in God”.

On occasions like this we must ask ourselves: Who really is Jesus for us? What is His place in our life? We say and we believe He is the King of the Universe, but not an “external” distant King, but a King which takes part in our life, who questions us, demands things from us, compels us.

Christ's “reign” is much more than something “human”, his reign is a reign already present in the world, a reign of love, peace, and justice. But all of this must be experienced and transmitted by us who believe in Him. We must show through our lives and deeds that He is the “true King”.

A King who identified Himself with the poor and the needy, with suffering people, with the humble, with those who approach Him in Faith. Thus our way of truly paying homage to Him will show in how we live our Faith in Him, in how we “serve” and pay attention to those in need, those many who suffer, those who are alone, those many who walk by our side or who knock at our door expecting a helping hand, a smile, or some help at their request.

If we were asked who Jesus is to us, surely we would say He is “everything”, that He is “the most”, that He is the “center of our life”, and no one will doubt His “supremacy” as a King. This is fine from a theoretical point of view, but today we need to testify the specific part of what we believe and assure.

Thus in the present world those who surround us expect us to show the “reality” of this King Jesus who reigns and worries and cares about every human being, particularly about those who are more in need, those who are alone and wait, the streetkid who holds out his hand in order to get something from his fellow men.

Christ is the King of the Universe, such is told by our Faith and we accept it this way, but each of us believers are required to show this daily, putting into practice our Faith in Him through love and through service.

Father Oscar Pezzarini
General Commissioner of the Work of Don Orione in Argentina

Father Oscar Pezzarini makes us think on Saturdays from 8 to 12 AM (GMT-03:00)with "VENTANA A LA VIDA", the Don Orione radio program he conducts on FM PROVIDENCIA, 106.5 MHz together with some residents of the Claypole Cottolengo (Raúl Romero, Julia Cansinos, Alberto Zoroch, Américo Torres), with the production of Roberto Beluzzo and Ignacio Cavalli as technical operator. You can also listen to FM PROVIDENCIA by clicking here.

Little Cottolengo Don Orione 0800-333-6746 in Argentina, or +54 (11) 4268-7722 from abroad.

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