{"id":451,"date":"2023-04-17T15:23:59","date_gmt":"2023-04-17T15:23:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orthoscopy.net\/?p=451"},"modified":"2026-02-25T01:26:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T01:26:11","slug":"viva-cristo-rey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orthoscopy.net\/index.php\/2023\/04\/17\/viva-cristo-rey\/","title":{"rendered":"Viva Cristo Rey"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Homily. 4-3-23, Monday of the 6th Week in Lent:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Viva Cristo Rey! Long live Christ the King! It was the battle cry of the Cristeros movement that revolted against the anti-Catholic Mexican government a hundred years ago. Many were tortured and killed as martyrs for the faith. Most notably was Blessed Miguel Pro, known as the undercover priest, who boldly exclaimed Viva Cristo Rey as the firing squad executed him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Viva Cristo Rey! These were also the last words of the four pro-lifers as they were taken away to prison after being sentenced this last week in Oakland County for trespassing at an abortion clinic. It was a fitting response as our society and government slip into anti-Catholic policies. But as I read the account of their sentencing, I was a little troubled because, before their final words, they also gave longer, more comprehensive statements. I wondered how I would have reacted. And I wondered if that is what God would want. Would He prefer that we react as Jesus did; silent like sheep being led to slaughter?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We heard today Isaiah\u2019s prophecy of Jesus: \u201cHere is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my Spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations, not crying out, not shouting, not making his voice heard in the street.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crying out and shouting is something that seems to come naturally to us as we defend our freedom and stand up for our rights. And it is good to stand up and speak out for the truth and in defense of the unborn who cannot speak for themselves. And I believe that was the purpose of the prolife advocates as they prepared to go to jail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But sometimes we cry out and shout for our own defense to protect our ego, to win a battle of pride against someone attacking us. And in those cases, it is often better and more effective to be silent in reaction to our accusers as Jesus did, especially when it is clear to all around us that we are not at fault. Sometimes our silence can be a more effective witness than our words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

St. Peter tells us in his first letter how Jesus responded when He was insulted: \u201cChrist suffered for you, and left you an example to have you follow in his footsteps. He did no wrong; no deceit was found in his mouth. When he was insulted, he returned no insult. When he was made to suffer, he did not counter with threats. Instead he delivered himself up to the One who judges justly.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although it seems to go against our very nature, let us try to follow the example of Jesus as St. Peter teaches us. When we are insulted, let us not respond with insults of our own. Let our response be in our hearts and our lips: \u201cLong live Christ the King!\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Homily. 4-3-23, Monday of the 6th Week in Lent: Viva Cristo Rey! Long live Christ the King! It was the battle cry of the Cristeros movement that revolted against the anti-Catholic Mexican government a hundred years ago. Many were tortured and killed as martyrs for the faith. Most notably was Blessed Miguel Pro, known as… Continue reading Viva Cristo Rey<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-weekday-homilies","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/orthoscopy.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/orthoscopy.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/orthoscopy.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orthoscopy.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orthoscopy.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=451"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/orthoscopy.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":452,"href":"https:\/\/orthoscopy.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451\/revisions\/452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/orthoscopy.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orthoscopy.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orthoscopy.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}