Dear Brothers and Sisters, Fiat!
The Solemnity of Christ, King of the Universe, which we celebrate today, is set at the conclusion of the liturgical year and recalls that the life of creation does not advance at random, but proceeds toward a final destination: the definitive manifestation of Christ, Lord of history and of all creation. The conclusion of history will be his eternal kingdom. Today’s Gospel passage (cf. Jn 18:33-37) speaks to us about this kingdom, the kingdom of Christ, the kingdom of Jesus, recounting the humiliating situation that Jesus is in after being arrested in Gethsemane: bound, insulted, accused and led before the authorities of Jerusalem. And then, he is presented to the Roman prosecutor, as one who seeks to undermine political power, to become the king of the Jews. So Pilate conducts his inquest and, in a dramatic interrogation, twice asks Jesus if He is a king (cf. vv. 33, 37).
And Jesus initially responds that his kingship “is not of this world” (v. 36). Then he states: “You say that I am a king” (v. 37). It is evident from his entire life that Jesus does not have political ambitions. Let us recall that after the multiplication of the loaves, the people, excited by the miracle, would have sought to proclaim him king, to overturn the Roman power and reestablish the kingdom of Israel. But for Jesus the kingdom is something else, and it is certainly not achieved by revolt, violence and the force of arms. This is why he withdrew alone to pray on the mount (cf. Jn 6:5-15). Now, in responding, He makes Pilate take note that His disciples did not fight to defend Him. He says: “if my kingship were of this world, my servants would fight, that I might not be handed over to the Jews” (Jn 18:36).
Jesus wants to make it understood that above and beyond political power there is another even greater one, which is not obtained by human means. He has come to earth to exercise this power, which is love, by bearing witness to the truth (cf. v. 37), the divine truth which ultimately is the essential message of the Gospel: “God is love” (1 Jn 4:8); and he wishes to establish in the world his kingdom of love, justice and peace. And this is the kingdom of which Jesus is king, and which extends until the end of times. History teaches us that kingdoms founded on the force of arms and on the abuse of power are fragile and sooner or later collapse. But the Kingdom of God is founded on his love and is rooted in hearts — the Kingdom of God is rooted in hearts —, conferring peace, freedom and fullness of life upon those who embrace it. We all want peace; we all want freedom and we want fulfilment. And how do you do this? Allow the love of God, the Kingdom of God, the love of Jesus, to take root in your heart and you will have peace, you will have freedom and you will have fulfilment.
Today Jesus asks us to allow him to become our king. A king who, with his word, his example and his life immolated on the cross saved us from death, and — this king — indicates the path to those who are lost, gives new light to our existence marred by doubt, by fear and by everyday trials. But we must not forget that Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world. He will give new meaning to our life — at times even put to difficult tests through our mistakes and our sins — merely on the condition that we not follow the logics of the world and of its ‘kings’.
In the passage of September 24, 1928, Jesus tells Luisa that it is God’s Will to give the Kingdom of His Divine Volition, nor Jesus can help wanting and yearning to give the great gift of It. If it were not so – if He did not yearn for the return of man into the royal palace of the Divine Will – He would go against the order of His creative work which, with highest wisdom, created man so that he might live of His own, and dwell in the Kingdom of His Fiat, given to him by Him as his inheritance. By going out of It, man formed disorder in God’s creative work; and how can God tolerate letting His most beautiful work remain disordered? Centuries upon centuries have passed, and more centuries may pass, but God will not change; this will always be His most important point – His only purpose and special interest: that His creative work be restored and reordered as it came out of His creative hands, and that it live in the Kingdom of the Divine Will.
God’s Adorable Majesty, finds Himself in the condition of a father whose son was once happy, of a rare beauty which brought him joy and happiness, and lived as the owner of the inheritance of the father - given to him by the father. This son, voluntarily, left the paternal inheritance, he rendered himself unhappy, and broke the beautiful and pure joys between father and son. Now, what would the sorrow of the father not be, and his sighs, his tears and his unshakeable will for his dear son to return to be happy? More so, since the inheritance given to the son exists – the father himself keeps it in custody, and he longs for his son to take possession of it once again. But in the midst of so much sorrow, tears and sighs of this father, his will is resolute: he wants his unhappy son to desire – to pray that his paternal inheritance, his lost happiness, be returned to him. This disposes the son to receive and to appreciate his happy state, the return of his inheritance; and the father, drowned with love for his dear son, will say: ‘Your praying has formed a right over my heart that burns for you. Take again what you lost – you have deserved it. I am content as long as I see you happy, and I can say: “My son is no longer unhappy, but happy”.’
Now, God is more than a father - even more, his love is a shadow compared to that of God, and the Divine Will in unshakeable – no one will be able to change It: the unhappiness of man is a disorder for the work of Creation, and Gods wants His rights in His work; just as it came out of Him, so do He wants it to return to Him. God’s love drowns Him, His justice demands it, His goodness claims it, His very happiness longs for it and does not tolerate unhappiness in His work. The Divine Will, surrounding Him like a crown, renders Him immutable and wants Its Kingdom to be possessed. But in spite of this, God wants the creature to pray – to yearn for the good He wants to give. This forms a right over His paternal Heart, and a shelf within his heart to be able to receive what He wants to give, so that He may be able to say to him in His emphasis of love: ‘My son, you have deserved it, and We have given you what We wanted to give you.’ One who prays disposes himself; that which is obtained by praying is appreciated, is kept safe. And since the knowledge of the Divine Will, the
possession of Its Kingdom, is not an individual good, but a general one, in order to obtain it, Jesus makes us pray for all, in the name of all and of each thought, word and act of creature, so that all may receive the Kingdom of the Fiat, as well as the dispositions within themselves to be able to possess It. So the Queen of Heaven did, to impetrate the Kingdom of Redemption. She had a prayer, a sigh, an act, for all and for each one - She let no one escape Her; and by this, She gave to each one the right to be able to receive their Redeemer. So Jesus did to redeem them, and so He wants us to do for the Kingdom of the Divine Will.