8 May, 2019 (St. Mark the Evangelist) - For the last week or so, I have had a nagging desire to begin a devotion to Christ the King. From a natural view, this is not surprising as I am an ardent Monarchist, and thus I regard kings as sacred persons, most especially Catholic kings. They represent Christ the King in the civil realm, even as the Roman Pontiff represents Him in the spiritual, though the Pope is supreme over every man, including Emperors and Kings.
From a spiritual view, I believe it is the Lord calling me to piously submit to His Holy Will, and offer my sorrows and crosses for the good of my soul, and for the liberty of the Church. I see it also as a call from the Lord to deepen my relationship with Him, and to enter, if possible, into a mystical union with Him. It is a truth of Divine and Catholic Faith that Our Lord Jesus Christ is not only the King of the Universe, but also the King of every nation, family and person. It thus behoves each to recognise His Divine Kingship, and thus submit to it entirely and unreservedly. This very submission is what I desire to fulfil in my life, not only in this mortal life, but - please God - in the life to come. To begin with, I found the above icon, printed it off, laminated it and put it up on the wall in front of my altar. Thus, Christ the King is enthroned before me, and the icon presents to me an image of Christ the King that can help me focus when I pray. Besides the icon, I also use actions to help me meditate when I pray, and so at my appointed prayer times before I pray the Divine Office, I first prostrate myself on the floor three times saying "Blessed be Jesus Christ, my King". I then go on to say my appointed prayers, and end with the same prostration and benediction. I also endeavour to do the same first thing in the morning, and last thing at night, so that each day begins and ends with Christ the King. During my private prayers to Christ the King, I remind myself that He is Everything, and I am nothing; that everything I am and have are all but a gift of His generosity; that neither my life nor my possessions are truly mine, but rather the Lord's and that the Lord can give and He can take away. Every beat of my heart and every breath of my mouth are also a gift of the Lord's, and that - in truth - I cannot be certain that tomorrow will come, for the Lord could recall me to Himself during the night. I also remind myself that the Lord is both merciful and just, and that I desire to find Him merciful on the day of my particular judgment rather than a Just Judge; for I know that even the smallest of my sins deserve eternal Hell-fire because even the littlest of my sins infinitely offends my King. Truly, this devotion can teach one about humility, since it causes you to think properly on the truth of your existence, namely, that you truly do not control your own life, and that you are not, as the world would have you think, the master of your destiny. Rather, the Lord is Master, and the quicker one realises and accepts that truth, the faster that person will learn the virtue of humility, and virtue well-practised by Christ Himself. My developing devotion to Christ the King also has taught me another lesson: cease putting my faith in fallible, sinful politicians and their false governments which are under the control of the Enemy of Christ the King, and which also promote everything contrary to the Divine Kingship of Christ. I now recognise only one true ruler: Christ. He, and He alone, shall receive my faith, my hope, my confidence, my praise and blessing, my adoration and worship. As the faithless Pharisees cried out to Pilate "we have no king but Caesar", I declare: I have no King but Christ. Consecration to Jesus in Mary is called Holy Slavery. Many will probably read that and be shocked. Yes, there is a Catholic devotional practise called Holy Slavery. It requires a Catholic to submit himself entirely to Jesus, through Mary. Holy Slavery is want I desire to fulfil in my life: to so unite my mind, heart, soul, senses and all that I am to Jesus, through Mary, that I would - if Jesus asked - readily give up my very free-will to Him. This latter I know Jesus will not ask of me, since He gave men free-will so that they may free choose Him. And that brings me to another lesson in this devotion: Mary. I cannot submit myself entirely to Jesus without the Holy Virgin. She Herself is the model for Holy Slavery. She was so perfectly united to God, that the Blessed Virgin is rightly called the Spouse of the Holy Spirit. Because of Her humility, She became not only the Mother of God, but also Queen of Heaven and Earth. Thus, before I can submit myself to Jesus, I must submit myself to Mary as my Queen and Mistress, so that She may show me how to submit to Christ the King, and also so that Christ may readily find His Mother already dwelling in my heart. I pray that my new devotion to Christ the King may prove very fruitful indeed, as I seek to do on earth in my life that which all the Saints have in Heaven: supreme and complete love for Jesus through Mary.
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