QUEZON CITY, PHILIPPINES – A simple yet very meaningful celebration of the Solemnity of Christ the King was celebrated at Christ the King Parish, Green Meadows, Quezon City last November 22, 2020. The Eucharistic Celebration was led by Most Rev. Honesto Ongtioco, DD, Bishop of Cubao.
Only ten percent of the capacity of the church was allowed to attend the mass inside. A group of priests also decided to sing for the mass instead of the usual choir.
With the limited number of attendees due to pandemic restrictions, Bishop Ongtioco asked in his homily, “Where is our King today?” He said that normally, kings were garbed with golden capes and lived in beautiful palaces. However, Jesus our King presented himself as a “King Shepherd.” In the midst of a pandemic and successive natural calamities, He is always one in solidarity with the people, most especially the suffering community.
The prelate also encouraged the faithful to take part in fulfilling God’s kingdom. “Remember, the kingdom is still being fulfilled… there are still the forces of evil, corruption, indifference. The opposite of love is not hate, it is indifference: “I do not care,” Bishop Ongtioco said.
He likewise asked the faithful to pray so that we may have the heart of the shepherd king- “a heart that cares, a heart that reaches out to people, a heart that will bleed, that will give everything to attend to someone that needs him.”
The Solemnity of Christ the King marks the end of the liturgical calendar of the Church. The Church will start the beginning of a new liturgical calendar on the first Sunday of advent, the next Sunday after Christ the King.