Is Christ Your King?

We’ve just celebrated the Feast of Christ the King, the climax of the church year. My religious province in Chardon, Ohio, was named Christ the King and used to celebrate this day in grand style, complete with the majestic song “Christus Vincit” in four-part harmony. In those days the feast occurred in October when the surrounding countryside was ablaze with autumn leaves. In my religious community, when the time came to receive a religious name, it was the custom to submit three name choices, usually those of saints. The general superior in Rome would then select your name, and you would celebrate your name day on the saint’s feast day.  Because I had my heart set on having the Feast of Christ the King as my name day, I came up with thirty-two names that stood for him. Some were unique, such as Inri (for the sign on the crucifix, the acronym for Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews). Rana, which is “king” in modern Indian, made my list, until I discovered it meant “frog” in Latin! Click to continue