Young people worship Christ the King during inaugural celebration in Columbia
Even while facing imminent death, the Cristo Rey Martyrs of the past century never lost hope in their Supreme Lord and King.
It allowed them to forgive their executioners and cry out with joy: “Viva Cristo Rey!” — “Long live Christ the King!”
“It’s that inner peace that no one can rob from you. The moment that you have Christ in you, it’s yours!” Maureen Quinn, diocesan director of religious education and youth/young adult ministry, told nearly 300 teens and young adults at the diocesan observance of the Global Celebration of Young People.
It was the Solemnity of Christ the King. Pope Francis called for Catholics throughout the world to mark the day with youth-oriented events.
This diocese’s celebration drew young people from all over the diocese to Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Columbia.
They partook of festive food from a food truck; inspiring testimony from a nationally-renowned Catholic speaker; and Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament with Bishop W. Shawn McKnight.
“Whenever the Eucharist is exposed, all of our attention is upon our Lord, Our Savior, our Master, our KING!” Bishop McKnight proclaimed from the pulpit. “All activity is geared toward recognizing the Real Presence of the very Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ.”
Renewed focus
“We live in a world that’s going crazy, that’s tearing itself apart, that’s desperate for hope,” said keynote speaker Brian Greenfield. “You have people who are hurting, who are lost, who are afraid."
What they need is to know the love of Jesus.
“And what does Jesus say? He says, ‘Look up at Me. Focus on Me. I’ll show you who you are. I’ll keep you safe. I’ll give people the lessons they need to hear, and it’s going to come through you,’” Mr. Greenfield stated.
Mr. Greenfield serves as assistant principal for an all-boys Catholic high school in Florida.
He was emcee at last year’s National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) in Cleveland and has presented at numerous Steubenville Catholic youth conferences.
Quoting Isaiah 43:1, he assured all who were present that God is summoning them by name to be not only His loyal subjects but His active, outspoken witnesses.
“The Lord didn’t call you here by accident,” he stated. “God has brought you here not only to be a light in His world but also for you to have an encounter with Him.”
Mr. Greenfield said Christians are called to listen to and heed “that small voice” that leads them to be a source of hope and healing.
He told of his conversion experience that began during Adoration while he was on a retreat in college.
“The best way I can put it is, the Lord just demolished my heart,” he stated. “The Lord changed me! And I was in a situation where I didn’t think I was changeable.”
He had been raised Catholic, “but I wasn’t really worshiping God,” he said. “I was worshiping the Unholy Trinity: me, myself and I.”
But that day, Jesus took away Mr. Greenfield’s inward focus and gave him purpose and direction.
“God spoke to my whole heart, not just the good things but the broken parts, and all I wanted to do was know more about Him,” he said. “So I started to serve God.”
“That’s why I’m really excited for you guys,” Mr. Greenfield told his audience. “Because I know that when you give the Lord a part of your heart, especially in Eucharistic Adoration, He will begin to change you.”
“Not for sale”
Mrs. Quinn and Milan native Erik Chinchilla, a graduate student at University of Notre Dame, served as emcees for the event.
They explained the significance of the theme for the youth celebration, “Viva Cristo Rey.”
They told of the Catholic rebels in Mexico in 1926-29 who chose to die rather than let a repressive government keep them from practicing their faith.
“Long live Christ the King!” became their rallying cry, even while they were being put to death.
The faith of the martyrs emboldened the Mexican people, who were overwhelmingly Catholic, to take back their freedom.
Many of those who were killed in the Cristero War have been declared blessed or saints of the Church.
“One thing that’s more attractive than sin is virtue,” Mr. Chinchilla asserted. “We want to be strong, we want to be peaceful, all these things.”
He noted that Christians in the United States are not being called to die for their faith. “However, all love leads to death. When we love Christ, when we love God, we’re dying to sin.”
Mrs. Quinn talked about Blessed José Sanchez, who gave his life at age 14 rather than renounce his faith.
When adults in his life pleaded with him to cooperate with the government in order to save himself, he responded: “My faith is not for sale. If I am called to die for the faith, then I will do it.”
Mrs. Quinn said Blessed José’s message is timeless.
“Christ is our King, and our King is not dead,” she said. “Just like Blessed José, you can live out your faith and refuse to sell that faith to the small things that fight against it.”
Gift of gratitude
Bishop McKnight spoke of the significance of adoring Jesus fully present in the Holy Eucharist, the Most Blessed Sacrament.
He pointed out that at every Mass, all participants are drawn into the experience of Jesus’s life, death and resurrection and the heavenly banquet described by St. John in the Book of Revelation.
“That’s where we’re headed!” the bishop proclaimed. “And by the same Sacrament, we not only participate in the great saving event of Mount Calvary more than 2,000 years ago, we anticipate what will happen in heaven, here and now!”
It is, therefore, an occasion for tremendous joy and thanksgiving.
“Jesus desires that we have life in Him,” Bishop McKnight noted. “That’s why He died! For us to have joy! Everlasting joy with Him in heaven.”
That gift is not meant to stay locked up in a church.
“Whenever we receive Holy Communion, we are to bring the Eucharist in our very bodies out into the world,” the bishop proclaimed. “And it is through us — we who are His disciples, we who are His subjects — that the Lord desires to lead others to share in the gift of the Eucharist.
“It is through us,” he stated, “that others see the beauty of our Catholic faith, whenever we practice humility, compassion and gratitude.”
Bishop McKnight explained that the Eucharist is the gift of Jesus’s perfect thanksgiving to His Father.
“We share and consume that thanksgiving,” the bishop noted. “And we LIVE lives of gratitude because of Who we believe is present among us, in this, the supreme Sacrament of the Church.”
Sacrament of unity
Through the rest of the Holy Hour, the people sang hymns, offered prayers of petition and thanksgiving, and worshipped in silence.
A Hispanic choir from St. Peter Parish in Marshall and an Anglo choir made up of past Totus Tuus missionaries in the diocese joined voices and led the singing.
For the final 20 minutes, Father Paul Clark, diocesan vocation director and director of seminarians, processed the Blessed Sacrament around the church.
People were filled with the Holy Spirit, fell to their knees and worshipped Jesus.
Some were moved to tears.
Deacon Enrique Castro, diocesan executive director of faith formation, said he was impressed with how engaged the participants were throughout the Holy Hour, regardless of the language.
“The music, the whole environment, God being at the center of it all — it was way beyond anything I expected,” he stated.
“We brought two cultures together and it worked!” said Mrs. Quinn. “You know an event is good when the people want more. The choirs want to work together and sing more songs together in the future.”
Loyal subjects
Seminarian Jacob Hartman marveled at the diversity and commitment of the people who attended the celebration and those who helped bring it into being.
“The event was a success because the people who brought others or organized the day have a relationship with Christ the King,” he said. “They all encountered Christ in different times and places in their life because someone else spoke the Word of God to them first, and they believe that same God is present today.
“It reminded me that others can truly encounter the same God I encountered when I began to grow in my faith but it is only if I preach Christ to others,” Mr. Hartman stated. “Even if I think I don’t have anything to give others I have my faith, of which I am called to be a good steward by sharing it with others.”
