AN END, A BEGINNING
The end of a liturgical
journey has arrived; we will close a cycle and begin a new one. The season of
Advent is already upon us. But to enter into the newness, and begin the time
that comes to us, we must appropriately close the time we have traveled. During
the last liturgical year, the Church has accompanied us with the celebration of
the Eucharist and the sacraments. During this year God has spoken to us through
his Word, and will continue to do so. During this year, this accompaniment of
the Church and the Word of God has given us life, hope, consolation, strength,
encouragement, holiness, and new beginnings.

Today we close this
liturgical journey with our gaze always looking forward, towards what is yet to
come, and we will do it again in the company of the Church and the Word of God.
Today we celebrate the feast of Christ the King, with which we confess the
greatness of the Son of God not only before men but before all creation. Christ
is the first among us, Christ is the one who inaugurates the new, in Christ
everything is recreated, in Christ everything has a new beginning, because Christ
makes all things new.
In today's gospel (Mt
25, 31-46) Jesus himself presents us with the image of those who
are blessed at the end of time by the Father, as well as those who will be
separated from the eternal presence of the Father. That Christians can access
the eternal promises of the Kingdom of God is a deep desire of God, but whether
that really happens depends a lot on the attitudes that each one has towards
their neighbors who need us. Jesus praises those who have acted with mercy,
helping the needy with what they really need, and have committed themselves to
these acts of charity. Not having attitudes of mercy toward our neighbors
positions us far from the Father, since charity and mercy are the Father's own attitudes
that have been shown to us in Christ. So that Christ reigns today and always in
each of us, we live as Christ himself has lived, has taught us to live and asks
us to live. Amen.
Fr. Carlos Flores, OSA