The associated reading for this reflection can be found in your Every Sacred Sunday Mass journal or online here.
“I bet you're enjoying your honeymoon phase.”
I can’t count how often I’ve heard this said to us during the first months of our marriage. I would simply nod and smile, then find a way to change the topic. The reality is that the first few months of our marriage was the hardest. It was full of adjustments and fights; sometimes even getting annoyed at quirks we used to find cute. No one warned us that this would be the case. I was immersed in Theology of the Body and we were both formed in the same young adult ministry going into marriage; I was confident that our transition to marriage would be easy. That couldn't be further from the truth. It took us a couple of months to finally realize it would take our entire lives to recognize the need to die to self so the other might live. That we may truly live.
Today’s solemnity is a reminder that this truth not only applies in marriage, but for the entirety of our lives. Marriage, at least to me, is a crash course in recognizing that my own will and desires are no longer paramount -- my wife’s needs triumphs that of my own. By the same token, Christ is King and until we put all things under his will, everything will just be an exercise in futility. This truth is a hard pill to swallow for most of us who grew up in a democracy. We are used to the exercising of our rights because it is our right. This is why Saint John Paul II reminds us that authentic freedom is not the power of doing what we like, but the right of being able to do what we ought. And what we ought to do is be like Christ who obeyed the will of his Father even unto death. For the Kingship of Christ is the Kingship of Love, one that offers His own life fully and willingly for the sake of the one whom He loves.
The reconciling of our lives and will to the Kingship of Christ will take all of our lives, even at it’s cost. On our own it is impossible. But with God, who already gave all of His life for us, all things are possible. So let us look into the parts of our lives that are not yet reconciled to the Kingship of Christ. Let us start the new liturgical year offering these parts, so that Christ who is King may make them whole. So that our lives may be a joyful exclamation and witness to the truth, goodness, and beauty that can only be found in Christ who is King.
Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, All I have and call my own. You have given all to me. To you, Lord, I return it. Everything is yours; do with it what you will. Give me only your love and your grace, that is enough for me. (Suscipe, St. Ignatius of Loyola)
Kevin Muico is a missionary and speaker based in Calgary, Alberta in Canada. Together with his wife Tisa, they own Friends in High Places - a small business built around their friendship with the saints. When Kevin is not travelling on mission, he likes making coffee for Tisa, taking care of their plants, and playing video games. Come say hi on Instagram or hop on over to Kevin’s discord for some pray and play.