Dear Parishioners and Friends,
The Solemnity of Christ the King, which falls today, the last Sunday of the liturgical year,  closes and opens the next chapter of our lives. It ends the church year, the Year of Mercy and brings Advent – the watchful waiting for the coming of the Savior.
Although Jesus never wore a royal crown, and did not hold a scepter or sit on a royal throne, the royal title of King completely belongs to Him. It is in the realm, which any ruler of the world can claim. He reigns in the minds of men, not because of the depths of His mind and the extent of His knowledge, but because He himself is the Truth, and the people should draw from Him the truth and accept it obediently.
What He said, what He preached, attracted many and attracts people to this day. Practically for over 2000 years, His name did not come down from the mouths of people, and when we talk about Him or pronounce His name, often our knees bend. Today He would be the same as He was then – I doubt if anything would change, perhaps He would use the resources of the mass media, but He might as well not have to, because His words, gestures and actions would target  all of us with the same clarity. This is Jesus Christ. When you are looking now at the Crucified One, what do you think? Do you see in Him Our Lord, who in the promise of our salvation embraces us with His love? Or when we look historically, we feel the grief and sorrow, but do we not see in Him the King, God, the Supreme Cause, the Good, but only the icon image?
St. Paul in his letter to the Colossians clearly tells us who God is, writing about His love for us: “Give thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption – the forgiveness of sins. “Colossians 1,12-14). He further determines the status and position of Jesus Christ and the role he played. He died on the cross to later rise again and liberate us all from sin, from eternal damnation: “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church.  He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He Himself might be preeminent” (Col 1,17-18).

The Gospel, is a reminder of the last moments of Jesus Christ on the Tree of Death and the answer to the problems and questions that bother us in our life. His words to the good thief dispel any doubts about what, how and when it will be. We can take these words as addressed to each of us – believe and you will be with Me, believe and you will be saved. God bless!