For the Solemnity of Christ the King

Proclaiming Christ’s reign over one’s own life first.

Pope Pius XI instituted the Feast of Christ the King in 1925, in a Europe filling with dictators, to say that no earthly power holds final authority. This act of consecration is prayed on the solemnity, the last Sunday of the liturgical year, and carries a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions.

The Prayer

Most sweet Jesus, Redeemer of the human race,
look down upon us humbly prostrate before You.
We are Yours, and Yours we wish to be;
but to be more surely united with You,
behold, each one of us freely consecrates himself today
to Your most Sacred Heart.

Many indeed have never known You;
many, too, despising Your precepts, have rejected You.
Have mercy on them all, most merciful Jesus,
and draw them to Your sacred Heart.

Be King, O Lord, not only of the faithful
who have never forsaken You,
but also of the prodigal children who have abandoned You;
grant that they may quickly return to their Father's house,
lest they die of wretchedness and hunger.

Be King of those who are deceived by erroneous opinions,
or whom discord keeps aloof,
and call them back to the harbour of truth and the unity of faith,
so that soon there may be but one flock and one Shepherd.

Grant, O Lord, to Your Church assurance of freedom and immunity from harm;
give tranquillity of order to all nations;
make the earth resound from pole to pole with one cry:
Praise to the divine Heart that wrought our salvation;
to it be glory and honour for ever. Amen.

About This Prayer

The prayer’s logic is worth noticing: it begins with the person praying, not with the world. Christ’s kingship is claimed first over one’s own choices, and only then over nations. Any other order is politics.