Viva
Cristo Rey – Long Live Christ the King by Fr. Walt…
Today, on this last Sunday of the Church’s
Liturgical year, we celebrate the feast of Christ the King. At the culmination of this entire liturgical
year of our worship, we honor Jesus Christ as the Lord of the Kingdom of
Justice, Truth, Love and Peace. Our idea
of the Kingship of Christ is that at the ultimate coming of Christ, it will be
to claim this world as his kingdom and invite all who profess belief in Him to
join him in heaven.
In our society today, we don’t think in
terms of royalty with all its trappings and regal traditions, though many
Americans are fascinated to watch the pageantry that takes place in other
countries where monarchs still exist.
Well, there are other stories that tell us of how we honor Christ the
King and one in particular is connected to the feast of a 20th
century martyr who became a martyr on this date, November 23rd, in
the year 1927.
His name was Miguel Pro, a native of
Mexico, who became a Jesuit priest. He
received his education and training in Europe where, of course, it was the
custom for the clergy to wear the black cassock every day. He did this religiously, but when he returned
to his native Mexico, the country was going through a period of fierce
anti-Catholic repression. The clergy
were forbidden to wear any religious garb in public. If they were found out, they might be
arrested by the military police. Fr.
Miguel went along with this restriction though he had become very well known as
a priest, celebrating Mass, most often secretly, taking care of the sick and
dying and teaching the young people about their faith.
Naturally, he became a target of the
anti-Catholic authorities who would love to have captured him; it would be a
feather in their cap if they could silence him.
Miguel was a master of disguises and many times walked even in the
presence of the police disguised in some way that they never took a second look
at him. This enabled him to go about the
city visiting the sick, bringing Communion, hearing Confessions, anointing the
sick and bringing comfort to the bereaved.
His colleagues warned him that he was taking
a great risk in his efforts to carry out his ministry in the presence even of
the police; they told him that sooner or later, he would be found out and
captured and God only knew what would happen to him.
Well, the inevitable finally
happened. He was discovered and arrested
and thrown into a dark prison cell. He
remained there without being formally charged and left wondering what would
happen to him and when. Without any
forewarning, the soldiers came to his cell early in the morning of November 23,
1927. They dragged him up into a
courtyard and stood him in front of a firing squad. They asked him if he had any last requests
and he responded that he would like to pray.
When he finished praying, he stretched out his arms in the shape of a
cross and shouted out, “VIVA CRISTO REY” …..LONG LIVE CHRIST THE KING!
Not long before he was arrested, he
wrote a letter to some friends. He ended
the letter with the following message, “Adios, Remember me to all, never forget
me, and any time you lack someone for whom to say an “Ave,” know that I shall
accept it with the greatest gratitude.”
Fr. Walt Wainwright
No comments:
Post a Comment