Sunday, October 26, 2014

Why is the Feast of Christ the King Celebrated on Different Sundays in the OF & EF Calendars?

A happy feast of the Kingship of Our Lord Jesus Christ to all NLM readers!

Earlier this week at Rorate Caeli, I published an article concerning the transference of this feastday from the last Sunday of October (where Pope Pius XI had originally placed it when he instituted the feast in 1925) to the last Sunday of the liturgical year in the Ordinary Form, which falls at the end of November. Sometimes one hears conservatives who have not studied the subject say: "The differences between the old and new Roman calendars are not so very great; most of the major feasts stayed where they were, some obscure old saints were removed and a number of more recent saints added." But the Feast of Christ the King is a particularly striking example of a major difference, and one that certainly has theological reasons behind it. In my article I attempt to show what's at stake -- and, not surprisingly, it does have a profound relevance for the very issues that are now tossing the barque of Peter like a cork upon the waves.

To read the article, go here.

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