Sister Kate’s “Gospel Question of the Week” (Luke 23: 35-43) …Weekend of 11/23-24/2013 … 34th Sunday in Ordinary Time…Christ the KING Sunday…The title of King is not all that familiar to us who were born and raised in the USA! Once we started to study World History, the term came alive. Likewise, in our relationship with Jesus, we don’t ordinarily close our eyes and picture Jesus, our friend, as a King on a throne (at least I don’t!). So what gives with what we celebrate this weekend…the Feast of Christ the King? Actually, it was Pope Pius XI who brought the Feast of Christ the King into the liturgy in 1925. He did it to bring Christ, his rule and Christian values back into lives of Christians, into society and into politics. This certainly was a good thing! At the time, the Feast was also a reminder to the totalitarian governments of Mussolini, Hitler and Stalin that Jesus Christ is the ONLY Sovereign King. That certainly makes sense to me for that time! But, in today’s living of the Gospel as American Roman Catholics, what does Christ as King mean for us? Although in our minds Emperors and Kings now exist mostly in history books, I see a place for honoring Christ as the King of the Universe and especially by “enthroning Him” in our hearts and allowing Him to take control of our lives. This image of Jesus challenges us to see Christ the King in everyone, especially those whom our society considers the least important, and reminds us to treat each person with love, mercy and compassion as Jesus did. Sooooo…since Christ, our King, lives in our hearts and fills our souls with His grace (aka pours out His love on us with great generosity), we need to recognize that we actually live in His Holy Presence. If we do, we will endeavor to do God's will by sharing His forgiving love with everyone…EVERYONE! This image of Jesus is a special reminder as well to any of us who might find ourselves in a leadership position of any kind. We would do well to examine how we use our leadership/power with those with whom we give direction. Do we use it with kindness to draw the best out of them or do we use it to puff up our own ego? Hmmmm…this is a very good exercise to complete! Long live Jesus, the King…and long live all those who recognize Him as the King of their heart! GOSPEL QUESTION FOR THE WEEK: Who/what rules your heart?