Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.       The last Sunday of the Church’s Liturgical Year is the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.  In the Preface of the Eucharistic Prayer, the priest, and we, give thanks to the Father for His “Only Begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ” whom the Father anointed “as eternal priest and King of all creation,” – ALL creation: angels, humanity, animals, plants, galaxies. The prayer continues, “So that, by offering Himself on the altar of the Cross as a spotless sacrifice to bring us peace, He might accomplish the mysteries of human redemption and, making all created things subject to His rule,” – note, ALL creation subject to Christ’s rule. Continuing: “He might present to the immensity of [the Father’s] majesty an eternal and universal kingdom, a kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love and peace.”  Wow!       Bl. John Duns Scot...

The Second Coming of Christ.       The Liturgical Year of the Church comes to a close Sat. Nov. 26, 2022, and a new liturgical year begins with the first Sunday of Advent on Sun. Nov. 27th. At this time of year the Biblical readings at Mass tend to focus on the end times – where is history headed, what is the culmination.       This theme is a fitting ending to our series of articles on what Jesus and the Bible have to say about how we are to live in this world, so today’s last article of that series explores what the second coming of Jesus Christ is all about.       We’ve already discussed the “antichrist,” the “man of lawlessness,” who will exalt himself and proclaim himself to be God ( 2 Thes 2:2-4 ). He comes first before Christ returns. He will be given great power ( Rev 13:2 ) and practically the whole world will go to war against God ( Dan 7:25 . Rev 13:6 ; Ps 2 ). From the Bible, it appears the antichrist will not ...