Pleroma: Contemplating the Glory of Christ the King
Pleroma: The fullness of Time, the fullness of Eternity, the fullness of love, the fullness of joy, anticipation of the Beatific Vision, which satisfies all of our heart's desires forever and ever. Amen.
- Heaven and earth are full [πλήρης] of your glory.
- πλήρης πᾶσα ἡ γῆ τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ
- Heaven and earth are full [πλήρης] of your glory.
- John 15:11
- “I have told you [these things]
- so that my joy may be in you
- and your joy may be complete [πληρωθῇ]."
- John 15:11
A secret season
A celebration of love, justice, and joy.
"Peace, love, and joy!"
Celebrating the Pleroma:
- - Has no rules or regulations, except for the rule that there are no rules or regulations.
- - Is not mandated by the Church.
- - Is not forbidden by the Church.
- - Has no special decorations.
- - Does not use any special vestments.
- - Imposes no fasts or feasts on the community.
- - Is entirely inward.
- - Is a focus of meditation and prayer.
- - Does have mantras:
- "Come, Lord Jesus, come!"
- "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done."
Pleroma is the completion of ordinary time, which directs our attention to the completion of time and the new creation in eternity.
It is a time to seek the grace of the contemplatio ad amorem.
The coming of the King and the Kingdom is the fulfillment of God's plan of salvation.
- The culmination of all of our deepest desires.
- The culmination of creation.
- The culmination of the liturgical year.
- - The Return of the King in glory.
It is a joyful season.
- "The last word is joy!"
"Already but not yet."
- - The Kingdom has come.
- - The Kingdom is within us.
- - The Kingdom is not yet fully realized.
"The End is near!"
Mark 1:15
Luke 10:9.11, 21:31
Passage from preface about what today's feast means: joyful fulfillment
I pray for the joyful fulfillment of your vocation.
I pray for the fullness of God's love for you.
"Joyful fulfillment!"
A greeting for the season.
Beatifying vision.
Anticipating the beatific vision.
Helps to make us happy in this life.
What is easy to see is suffering, death, misery, poverty, natural catastrophes, sin, stupidity, loss, grief, innocent suffering, crimes, wrongdoing.
The reality of God's glory is hidden at the moment behind the veil of creation, but what we see now will not be so forever.
Things are gonna change, and the whole story of the universe will have a happy ending.
Forward-looking
The only season that is primarily future-oriented.
- Advent looks forwards and backwards.
- Christmas looks back to the birth of Jesus.
- Lent considers the history of sin and salvation through the Paschal mysteries.
- The Easter season is bi-focal, rooted in the Resurrection of Jesus and the joy of the apostles.
- Ordinary time contemplates the difficulties of the disciples in ordinary circumstances.
The second Advent fulfills the first.
The Creed is prophetic:
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead
and his kingdom will have no end. [...]
I look forward to the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
In Pleroma, we look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen!
- "The one who sat on the throne said, 'Behold, I am making all things new'" (Rev. 21:5).
His wrath is momentary
- For his anger lasts but a moment:
- his favor a lifetime.
- At dusk weeping comes for the night,
- but at dawn there is rejoicing.
His love is everlasting.
"All'alba vincerò."
Greetings
¡Viva Cristo Rey! (Bl. Miguel Pro)
"The grace and peace of Christ the King be with you always!"
The peace, love and joy of Christ the King be with you always!
The joy of Christ the King be with you!
The joy of King Jesus be with you!
The joy of Judgment Day be with you!
The joy of Jesus, your spouse, be with you!
- St. Mother Teresa
- "May you always be joyful in your union with the Lord. It is this union with your Divine bridegroom that is the cause of your joy."
The grace and peace of Pleroma be with you!
Peace be with you!
Peace, love, and joy!
Hail the new creation!
The End is near!
Happy Harvest!
It's harvest time!
Jesus is LORD.
"The kingdom of God is within you" (Lk 17:21).
- "The kingdom of God is in your midst"
- γὰρ ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐντὸς ὑμῶν ἐστιν
"The Kingdom of God is at hand!" (Mark 1:15).
- "The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand! Repent, and believe in the Good News."
- Πεπλήρωται ὁ καιρὸς καὶ ἤγγικεν ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ Θεοῦ μετανοεῖτε καὶ πιστεύετε ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ
Caution
- The devil can quote Scripture for his purpose; and the text of Scripture which he now most commonly quotes is, “The Kingdom of heaven is within you.” That text has been the stay and support of more Pharisees and prigs and self-righteous spiritual bullies than all the dogmas in creation; it has served to identify self-satisfaction with the peace that passes all understanding. And the text to be quoted in answer to it is that which declares that no man can receive the kingdom except as a little child. What we are to have inside is a childlike spirit; but the childlike spirit is not entirely concerned about what is inside. It is the first mark of possessing it that one is interested in what is outside. The most childlike thing about a child is his curiosity and his appetite and his power of wonder at the world. We might almost say that the whole advantage of having the kingdom within is that we look for it somewhere else.”
- ― G.K. Chesterton, What I Saw in America
Mantras
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.
Maranatha!
Advent, Jesus, advent!
Opportunities
All Saints
All Souls
Feast of St. Martin of Tours
Prayers
Luminous mysteries -- all about the King and the Kingdom!
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
Our Father, Who art in Heaven,
hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
Deliver us, Lord, we pray, from every evil,
graciously grant peace in our days,
that, by the help of your mercy,
we may be always free from sin
and safe from all distress,
as we await the blessed hope
and the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
For the kingdom,
the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Hymns
- Joy to the world
Joy to the world, the Lord [will] come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And heav’n and nature sing,
And heav’n and nature sing,
And heav’n, and heav’n, and nature sing.
Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.
No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.
He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.
- The King of Glory Comes, the Nation Rejoices
Based on Ps 24.
The king of glory comes,
The nation rejoices
Open the gates before him,
Lift up your voices.
Who is the king of glory, How shall we call him?
He is Emmanuel, the promise of ages.
In all of Galilee, in city or village
He goes among his people, curing their illness
He gave his life for us, the pledge of salvation;
He took up on himself the sins of the nation.
He conquered sin and death, he truly has risen.
And he will share with us his heavenly vision.
Decorations
"You know neither the day nor the hour."
"Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done."
- Banner?
- Icon?
History of the Feast of Christ the King
- In 1925, Pius XI instituted the feast on the last Sunday of October.
- In 1969, Paul VI moved it to the last Sunday of Ordinary Time.