By Katie Prejean McGrady
Everything we do, both on this feast and throughout the year, should be in honor of Jesus as King.I voted on Tuesday. Like many Americans, I showed up with my driver’s license, stood in a long line, and made my selections for whom I’d like to be my representative in Congress.
As I pressed the bright orange “cast vote” button and emerged from behind the curtain to collect my “I VOTED!” sticker, I thought to myself, “Well…whatever happens, happens, and whoever wins, wins…Jesus is still King, no matter what.”
That brief thought isn’t to dismiss our civic duties to vote in elections on our officials and other important matters. But whatever happens in Washington D.C. or in my town’s city hall is absolutely secondary to the undeniable reality that Christ is King, and, as such, he should be both the King of my heart and the King of my life.
As a child, the feast of Christ the King didn’t mean much to me (other than marking the end of Ordinary Time, which meant Advent was coming, which meant Christmas was close, which meant presents and food and presents and Santa and presents). But as I grew older and studied theology, and then began teaching theology to ninth graders, it began to dawn on me that this Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, is far more important than I knew, because on this feast we remember that the things of this world will all one day pass away, but Jesus will still be King.
Ultimately, celebrating the solemnity of Christ the King is a recognition of the immense trust we are meant to place in Jesus. If he is King and we are living in his kingdom, then we are meant to place our hopes and dreams, our trust and confidence in his power, which is eternal, glorious, and life-giving.
Everything we do, both on this feast and throughout the year, should be in honor of Jesus as King. The way we wash the dishes, the way we read books to our children, the way we go to work, pay the bills, study for school—everything we do, from the loftiest to the most mundane of tasks can be a moment to trust and be confident in the power of Jesus Christ as King, and to ask him to show us his power both in our life and in our world.
As I went to the polls and cast my vote, I was hopeful that my town and this country would be represented by good men and women and that measures and laws would be put in place to uphold the common good and defend human life. But my hope and trust doesn’t ultimately rest in manmade laws or ballot measures or with men and women in elected positions: my hope and trust is ultimately in Jesus Christ, the King of the Universe, whose power is unending, and whose love is abundant and perfect.
Katie Prejean McGrady was a U.S. delegate sent by the USCCB to the Vatican’s pre-synod gathering of young people. She is a Catholic speaker and the author of Follow: Your Lifelong Adventure with Jesus (Ave Maria Press). She lives in Lake Charles, La., with her husband and daughter.