The U.S. bishops' Committee for Religious Liberty is encouraging Catholics to take part in a Nov. 15-23 novena ahead of the feast of Christ the King, celebrated this year on Nov. 24.
The feast day, which falls on the last Sunday of each liturgical year, is "a fitting moment" in the liturgical year to promote the church's teaching on religious freedom, because the feast was "born out of resistance to totalitarian incursions against religious liberty," according to the committee's foundational document, "Our First Most, Cherished Liberty: A Statement on Religious Liberty," first issued in 2012.
"We also urge that the Solemnity of Christ the King ... be a day specifically employed by bishops and priests to preach about religious liberty, both here and abroad," the document says. "To all our fellow Catholics, we urge an intensification of your prayers and fasting for a new birth of freedom in our beloved country. We invite you to join us in an urgent prayer for religious liberty."
The committee prepared materials to help educate the faithful about this solemnity, which the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops shared with diocesan communications offices. The USCCB's Office of Public Affairs provided the material to OSV News Oct. 22.
The novena can be found at https://www.usccb.org/Christ-the-King-2024-novena. For each day there is a dedicated intention, to be followed by an Our Father, a Hail Mary, the Glory Be and a prayer to Christ the King.
"May all people of faith be free to gather in houses of worship without fear" is the intention for Day 1. The daily intentions for the rest of the novena include praying that God give "hope and courage to people who live in fear of persecution under unjust blasphemy laws," that he protect "all migrants and refugees" and that he "give us the courage to bear witness to the truth of the Gospel."
Pope Pius XI added the feast of Christ the King to the annual church liturgical calendar in 1925 with his encyclical "Quas Primas" ("In the First") to respond to growing secularism and atheism.
During the early 20th century, in Mexico, Russia and some parts of Europe, "militantly secularistic regimes threatened not just the Catholic Church and its faithful but civilization itself," according to the USCCB committee's materials prepared for the novena. "Pope Pius XI's encyclical gave Catholics hope and -- while governments around them crumbled -- the assurance that Christ the King shall reign forever. Jesus Christ 'is very truth, and it is from him that truth must be obediently received by all mankind'" ("Quas Primas," 7).
"Testifying to the truth is a significant part of Jesus' mission. That mission persists in the body of Christ, that is, the Church. The Church is called to bear witness to the truth," the committee said. "As Catholics, we help to build up the common good in our society by bearing witness to the reign of Christ in public life."
"The Solemnity of Christ the King is a day for Catholics to rededicate themselves to the truth by listening to the voice of Christ and to recognizing the reign of Christ by obeying his word," the committee added, urging all of the faithful to "acknowledge Christ's kingship in our individual lives ... by examining our consciences, so that we can hear how Christ is calling us to grow in truth."
To that end, the committee suggested questions the faithful should ask themselves: "Have I held back from speaking truthfully because of fear? Or, have I been so committed to my political faction that I have perpetuated untruths? Have I been obstinate in refusing to listen to others who are also seeking the truth in good faith?"
