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Christ The King

It was a "set your hair on fire" kind of homily. Or more appropriately, your heart. Father spoke about Calles and his persecution of the Catholic Church in Mexico in the 1920s. He said that the world, the flesh, and the devil were really behind the whole thing, and ultimately, Satan is in a battle with Heaven for your heart and mine. In the little things, in the big things, in all things. He asked us to whom our hearts belonged, reminding us that they cannot belong to both. And he concluded with "Viva Cristo Rey!" or, "Long live Christ the King!," the words the martyrs shouted as they gave their lives.

Might I add that you need to see the film, "For Greater Glory" if you haven't. It tells this story, and does it well. It was easily the movie of the year.

I couldn't help but think yesterday--as I had my very own Thanksgiving, Part II (Mexican Style)--that my worlds are merging. Any good Christian you read will say that we must learn to see the ordinary in the light of the extraordinary, the commonplace in the light of the divine. I sensed that yesterday, that I was doing it. We were not a family eating turkey and watching football as ends in themselves; we were preparing for today, and celebrating Christ as the flock of his pasture. It is not for me to speculate about whether everyone saw it that way; the plain fact is, God's grace had reached down to open the way for that day to occur, and it is incumbent upon us who see it to give thanks.

It's good to say that not only are you not compartmentalizing your life, but there are no compartments. If we can begin to say that, we certainly are not far from the Kingdom of God.

Happy Feast of Christ the King!

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