Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe 2018

Published: November 25, 2018

Bishop Anthony B. Taylor preached the following homily during a Mass to celebrate the solemn profession of Sister Anu Maria Jose, OCD, at the Carmel of St. Teresa of Jesus in Little Rock on Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018.

Bishop Taylor

Today we celebrate the feast of Christ the King, which is a very appropriate day for Sister Anu Maria to place her life totally in the loving arms of Jesus, her King.

The Gospel we have today has a lot to say to all of us whom Jesus invites to share fully in the life of his kingdom, but especially those of you who have wed yourself to Jesus, your King, through perpetual vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.

Meaning that in a certain sense, you are a queen because you are a bride of the king. And of course, this is all a pure gift of God’s infinite love and mercy — for your own sanctification, Sister Anu, and through you for the good of the Church and indeed the whole human family.

The passage we have for today’s Gospel is the second part of a three-part interaction before the judgment seat of Pilate, who will soon condemn Jesus to death. First Jesus’ adversaries denounce him before Pilate as an insurrectionist deserving death, a sentence which only he can impose.

And now with that in the background of today’s Gospel, the allegation that as Messiah he was a rival to Caesar, Jesus takes up Pilate’s own words to affirm that while as Messiah he is in fact a king, he is not a rival to Caesar at all because his kingdom of love and mercy is not of this world.

It is not a territorial kingdom and he has no army. Those who belong to his kingdom are those who recognize and embrace the truth of who he is and what he proclaims. Everyone who belongs to the truth listen to his voice and follow him freely when he calls, just as sheep follow their shepherd — quite appropriate since Sister Anu’s title is the Good Shepherd, and this is exactly what Sister Anu Maria of the Good Shepherd is doing today.

In the passage following today’s Gospel we will see that Pilate understands clearly that Jesus in fact poses no threat to Caesar or anyone else, but even so — out of cowardice — he gives in to the crowd, freeing Barabbas and condemning Jesus to death by crucifixion.

Sister Anu, that’s the king whose bride you become today. In ages past it was common to use marriage to seal alliances between countries and some of these royal brides are now canonized saints.

St. Elizabeth of Hungary was a German princess married to a Hungarian king. St. Margaret of Scotland was an English princess born in exile in Hungary and married to the king of Scotland. St. Elizabeth of Portugal was from Aragon, and so on. In this way two peoples were united in the person of the queen, who left the world in which she was raised in order to unite herself to her king, making his life her own. And Sister Anu, isn’t that what you are doing today? Today you become a royal bride!

Like these royal saints, you came to us from elsewhere, from India, but you know, most of your fellow sisters have come to this Carmel from elsewhere too, with roots in Panama, Korea, Louisiana, California, Fairfield Bay and of course Pennsylvania, and I’m sure other places as well — you have that in common with most of your fellow sisters.

But that’s not what I’m talking about. The bigger transition is not from one physical location to another, but rather a transition from the life, values and concerns of this world to those of the Kingdom of God … and your Carmel is sort of like an outpost, a colony of the Kingdom of God, an oasis, a beacon of hope right here on 32nd Street in the middle of a worldly city that very much needs the prayers you sisters offer for the salvation of souls: You Carmelite sisters to offer a powerful witness to the Kingdom of God in our world today!

In a world given over to the pursuit of possessions, your poverty gives witness to the one path to true riches that thieves cannot steal and moths cannot destroy. In a world given over to the pursuit of pleasure, your chastity gives witness to the one relationship in which true fulfillment can be found. In a world given over to the pursuit of power, your obedience gives witness to the all-powerful God, whose servant you are. In a world given over to the pursuit of prestige, your conversion of life gives witness to the one place in which true honor can be found.

Sister Anu, in the name of the Church, I thank you for your total gift of self as you make your solemn profession today. May you grow more and more in love with Jesus, your king, whose bride you now become!