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From Mockery to Majesty – Christ the King

From Mockery to Majesty – Christ the King

Last updated on: November 21, 2025 at 9:09 am by Billy Kangas

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From Mockery to Majesty – Christ the King 2025-10-06T16:38:18-04:00 Billy Kangas

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Apsis mosaic of Santa Pudenziana, Rome; detail; c. 410 AD

“Viva Cristo Rey!” Long live Christ the King. Once shouted by martyrs in the face of persecution, these words became the defiant anthem of faith during the Cristero War in Mexico (1926–1929). When the government sought to erase Catholic worship from public life, ordinary men, women, and even children took up this cry as their final confession of loyalty to Christ.

It was on the lips of Blessed Miguel Agustín Pro, S.J., a Jesuit priest executed by firing squad in 1927. With arms outstretched like Christ on the cross, a rosary in one hand and a crucifix in the other, he faced his killers and proclaimed with unwavering courage: “¡Viva Cristo Rey!” The photographs of his martyrdom, meant to terrify the faithful, instead immortalized his witness and inspired countless believers.

It was also the cry of St. José Sánchez del Río, a 14-year-old boy who, after brutal torture, refused to renounce his faith. As he was led to his death, he shouted again and again: “¡Viva Cristo Rey!” His youthful courage testified that Christ’s kingship is not bound by age, power, or circumstance, but is written in the hearts of the faithful.

This proclamation echoes the ancient Church’s conviction that Christ reigns not by worldly might but through the cross. The martyrs remind us that to acclaim Jesus as King is not merely to honor him with words but to entrust our lives to him—even unto death. Their cry, born in blood and faith, still resounds today as a summons to courage, fidelity, and hope.

This cry now echoes on the final Sunday of the liturgical calendar. The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, proclaims that the one mocked as “King of the Jews” in Luke 23:35 is enthroned on the wood of the cross where he reigns by divine mercy.

In 1925 Pope Pius XI instituted the feast in the encyclical Quas Primas in response to secular ideologies that sought to remove Christ from public life. He insisted that Christ must reign “in our minds, in our wills, in our hearts and in our bodies” (Quas Primas 33). By placing the celebration on the last Sunday of the liturgical year, the Church declares that Christ’s kingship is cosmic, public, and eternal.

At the beginning of human history God granted humanity a royal vocation. Genesis 1:28 commands us to fill the earth and subdue it with a mandate to share in God’s dominion. Through original sin we forfeited that role and became subject to sin, death, and the devil. At Golgotha Christ reestablished the throne lost by Adam. His cross is the true seat of kingship because there he took our brokenness upon himself and restored us to royal dignity.

In Luke 23:35 the soldiers mock Jesus as “King of the Jews” without realizing they are escorting him to his throne in glory. That jeer becomes an unintentional invitation for the Son of Man to ascend by way of the cross and rise to alpha and omega.

From the earliest centuries the Fathers proclaimed Christ’s universal rule. As St. Cyril of Alexandria wrote, “Christ has dominion over all creatures, a dominion not seized by violence nor usurped, but his by essence and by nature.” This truth is echoed in the Catechism which teaches that Christ is Lord of the cosmos and of history and that to reign with him is to serve especially the poor and suffering (CCC 668, 786).

Embracing the King

This feast is not only about proclaiming Christ’s kingship with our lips—it is about enthroning him in our lives. To say “Jesus is King” is to surrender our pride, our plans, and our fears to his merciful rule. It is to let his reign of love shape our daily choices.

To honor the King is to serve others. His throne is the cross, and his crown is of thorns. To reign with him is to stoop low in love—feeding the hungry, comforting the sorrowful, and standing with the forgotten.
To embrace the King is to embrace the cross. Each of us has been entrusted with a share in Christ’s suffering. The crosses we bear—whether illness, loss, disappointment, or hidden struggles—are not signs of defeat but invitations to reign with him. When we carry them with faith, we discover that his power is made perfect in weakness.
To reign with the King is to live in hope. In baptism we are born into royal sonship. In the Eucharist we receive the life of the King. In reconciliation we are restored to the dignity of our calling. These sacraments are not mere rituals but portals of grace, drawing us into the very life of the King who reigns forever.

Joining the King’s Mission

To acclaim “Viva Cristo Rey” is to commit ourselves to making his reign visible:

In our families, by choosing forgiveness over resentment.
In our communities, by working for justice and peace.
In our workplaces, by acting with integrity and compassion.
In our hearts, by daily prayer and trust in his mercy.

The King of the Universe does not reign from afar. He reigns in the midst of our struggles, our joys, and our daily lives. He invites us to share in his victory, not by escaping suffering but by transforming it through love.

On Christ the King Sunday we join the Church across time and space to acclaim: Viva Cristo Rey! Let this cry not only be on our lips but in our lives. May his reign of love, truth, and peace transform our hearts, our communities, and our world. And may we, by embracing the cross he has given us, discover the joy of reigning with him—now and forever.

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