La Gloriosa Venida de Cristo Rey- The Glorious Coming of Christ the King

La Gloriosa Venida de Cristo Rey (The Glorious Coming of Christ the King)
“For as lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to another, so will the Son of Man be in His day.” Luke 17:24
St John Paul II’s inspiration to call the “kairos time” of his papacy “the New Advent”, appeared at the beginning of his first encyclical “Redemptor Hominis,” 2 March 1979. Two years earlier, in 1977 Holy Theologian William Stringfellow had written two articles of great power, wisdom, and Biblical insight about how we are to live as Christians in this time of the Second Advent of the Lord. Apparitions of the Mother of God since the time of the ones given to St Catherine Laboure’ of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, in Paris 1830, all seem to be calling to us with basically the same heavenly care and message. These include (in our time) Fatima, Portugal, Amsterdam, Holland, Akita, Japan, Medjugorje, Bosnia, and Kibeho, Rwanda; begging for peace among all people, and they all seem to point to the Second Coming of Christ the King. Probably the most dramatic, loving and radiant of these come from Poland, also in our time, to St Faustina Kowalska. The Lord Himself came to Faustina asking for deep trust and devotion to His Divine Mercy; which He said is as “uncountable” as the grains of sand on the beaches near the oceans.
Jesus calls us to be awake with our lights ( the love inside) lit, awaiting Him, who is Our Lord and Bridegroom. All through this time I had wanted to portray the return of Christ the King, and the Jesuits of Santa Clara University gave me this opportunity in 2004. November 24, 2019 is the last Sunday of the Church’s Liturgical Year, and the feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. If you feel an emptiness or deep deep longing in your heart, during Advent especially, it is probably this ancient prayer of begging for the coming of the Messiah that many holy women and men, like St Simeon and St Anna felt, in the first Advent, portrayed in chapter 2:25-36, in St.Luke’s Gospel.
“Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus!” Revelation 22:20
“Jesus, make my heart like unto Yours, or rather transform it into Your own heart that I may sense the needs of other hearts, especially those who are sad and suffering. May the Rays of Divine Mercy rest in my heart.”
From the Diary of St Faustina Kowalska
Fr Bill McNichols November 2019