9781644135945

The Light of the World
Feast of Epiphany (2)
“Behold the Lord the Ruler is come; and the kingdom is in His hand, and power and dominion”
(Introit). On the obelisk which stands in the plaza of St. Peter’s in Rome, the following words
are emblazoned in great, golden letters: Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Christus imperat: “Christ
has conquered, Christ reigns, Christ commands.”
Christ is King of all visible creation. “All power is given to Me in heaven and in earth” (Mt 28:18).
“Thou hast subjected all things under His feet” (Ps 8:8; Heb 2:8). By virtue of this plenitude
of power He established His kingdom on earth, the Church. He chooses His disciples and
apostles, and sends them forth endowed with His power to teach and with the power to loose
and to bind. Then He gives up His life, and through His death and resurrection He conquers
death, sin, hell, and the prince of this world, and acquires that perfection and glorification
which will be displayed before all His creatures. The glory that is His, He will communicate
to all who belong to Him. His victory over death and the powers of hell will become their
victory. In a little while all creation will share His victory, “and of His kingdom there shall be
no end” (Lk 1:33).
“And behold, I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world” (Mt 28:20).
“For where there are two or three gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of
them” (Mt 18:20). He is the King of all realms and kingdoms, and governs all by means of His
Spirit. Whatever any creature on earth seeks and desires, conceives and accomplishes, undergoes
and suffers, believes and trusts, has its source in Him. He, the King, leads and governs all
His subjects. He fondly cherishes all His creatures and sends forth His Spirit into their hearts
and rules their souls with His divine strength. “Behold the Lord the Ruler is come.” Come let
us seek Him, greet Him, adore Him, and serve Him.
Christ is the King of our soul. He inspires the soul to search for that which is good. He
penetrates the spirit with His light, and subjects it to His truth and to the precepts of our holy
faith. He rules in the consciences of men, and metes out the proper rewards and punishments.
It is He who lays down the principles by which the human will must be governed and by which
it will be judged. He guides and directs the steps of every soul and watches over them at every
moment with an all-seeing eye and a mighty arm. There are no pure accidents in the life of the
soul. Everything is subject to the touch of His hand. He rules with a benevolent providence
in every soul that He has destined for eternal happiness. With His all-powerful graces He illumines
the eyes, sways the heart, and floods the soul with a supernatural light. He moves the
will to attain the precious fruits of salvation. “But to every one of us is given grace according
to the measure of the giving of Christ. . . . From whom the whole body, being compacted and
fitly joined together, by what every joint supplieth, according to the operation in the measure
of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in charity” (Eph 4:7, 16).
How wonderfully the power of His rule is manifested in the souls of the saints! They are the
product of the irresistible grace of Christ. His kingdom will not be fully revealed until the time
of the general judgment, when He will return with power and majesty. What a revelation when
the full glory of His kingdom is revealed in eternity, and we are permitted to gaze upon it forever!
Christ is King. All creation is His kingdom. All that exists in heaven and on earth is His and
is subject to the divine King who rules from the crib and the tabernacle. All things are laid at
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