This year’s feast of Christ the King was a memorable event for the Missionary Sisters of Christ the King (MCR). Bishop Alain Faubert, V.G. celebrated the 90th anniversary of the founding of their community at their Mother House in Laval, Nov. 24. The Honourable Guy Ouellette, Member of the Quebec National Assembly for Chomedey, was also in attendance to thank the sisters for their work.

Christ, King of the Universe

The Feast of Christ the King marks the end of the liturgical year, which was dedicated to the Gospel of Luke. The upcoming liturgical year will be dedicated to the Gospel of Matthew. Pope XI introduced the feast in 1925 and it is not simply meant to highlight the transition between two liturgical years. Christ the King is a concept found in Christology; it evokes royalty and the power of Jesus Christ over the whole creation. It reminds us that our world has been transformed by death, by resurrection and by the Rising of Jesus Christ.

“Remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Lk 23:42

In his homily, Bishop Faubert reminds us that Jesus is not an authoritarian king deprived of feelings or capricious by nature. On the contrary, what we see is a “humble king crowned with thorns.” Through mercy, Jesus shows us how much we are worthy of God’s love. While being on the Cross, he invites us to keep loving no matter how rough things get. He introduces a royalty anchored in service, something he demonstrated by washing everyone’s feet during the Last Supper (Jn 13:15). He leads us all towards holiness, hence the name “King.” His perfect love spreads out of his kind heart at the moment he suffers the most on the Cross, and yet he says to the good thief: “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43).

“So that my life can be an answer to love,” MCR Founder Sr. Frédérica Giroux

A festive meal was served after the celebration, in the presence of close friends of the nuns, including Bishop Faubert and the Honourable Guy Ouellette who gave to the Mother Superior of the congregation, Claudette Morin, the National Assembly’s Medal of Honour in the name of the President of the National Assembly. It was a moment filled with emotions. The wonderful devotion these nuns show every day, in eight countries spreading over four continents, was socially recognized.

The nuns also received from the Members of the Quebec National Assembly for Chomedey and Gaspé, where the congregation was founded, a certificate for each country they are actively present in the world: Canada, Japan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Benin, the Philippines, Ivory Coast and South Korea. For more information on this magnificent community filled with joy and love for Christ, please visit their website at www.missionnairescr.org. You will find there full details on each of their missions in the world.