Christ the King, C November 23, 2025
Fr. Alexander Albert St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville
Ninety-eight years ago today, the Mexican Jesuit priest José Ramón Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez was led before a firing squad in Mexico City. The Mexican government had severely restricted Catholicism at that time. So, Padre Miguel Pro continued to minister in secret. Eventually, he was caught. On the morning of November 23, 1927, Miguel Pro, holding a rosary in one hand and a crucifix in another, blessed the men about to shoot him and knelt to pray. He then stood and extended his hands like a cross, crying out “Viva Cristo Rey.” Spanish for “Long Live Christ the King!” Then they shot him.
In order to intimidate the Catholics in his country, Mexican president Plutarco Elías Calles had the event photographed and placed in the newspapers. That backfired spectacularly. Over 40,000 people lined the road for his funeral procession and another 20,000 waited at the cemetery. In 1988 he was formally beatified: Blessed Miguel Pro.
Mexico’s laws have since changed, though some anti-Catholicism still remains. Mexican politics and religion are messy. The 1917 constitution was anti-Catholic partly as a reaction to the political choices of the Church’s leaders in the 1800s. Yet, two facts remain clear: Jesus Christ is King and there are some who would die rather than deny it.
Jesus Christ, the king himself, was brutally beaten and unjustly executed by corrupt religious leaders and unbelieving politicians. Even as they killed him, the crowds called out “If you are King of the Jews, save yourself.” Instead, he proved his kingship by dying and then rising again. Blessed Miguel Pro knew this. And Miguel’s martyrdom did more to end anti-Catholicism than any battle of the Cristero War.
Miguel Pro loved his country, which is why he risked his life to serve his people. Miguel loved Jesus Christ even more than his country, which is why he broke the law in order to serve Christ in his country. God Bless America where we’re mostly free to practice our faith, to love God and neighbor. Though our country has flirted with anti-Catholic laws on occasion, we’re fortunate in comparison to most of history.
And yet, we face our own temptations to compromise the faith. Rarely is the compromise a conscious thing. It usually takes the form of quietly nodding along with your favorite politician or social analyst, saying “I’m Catholic, but…” followed by a bunch of pragmatic and social reasons to reject what the Church is teaching. This isn’t a problem just for people on the political left or just on the political right. The battle between good and evil, between truth and lies runs through every human heart. If you’ve never caught yourself compromising your faith for convenience, comfort, or power, then you haven’t looked carefully enough at your own heart.
Jesus Christ is King, but he is a crucified king. Good Catholics make good citizens because Catholicism reinforces virtue and respect for authority and love of the common good. We can be good citizens of our own country and be faithful Catholics, but there will always be some ways in which we must choose one over the other. We may not face literal trials and execution for our fidelity to Jesus Christ as Bl. Miguel Pro did, but if we face no persecution and no suspicion from the powers of this world, we’ve probably compromised somewhere.
Remember Covid? Some caution was surely necessary, but how many people were denied access to the sacraments unjustly? How many of us were outraged that we did not fight harder to classify our faith as “essential services?” It’s a small trial in comparison to the Cristero wars of Mexico or the Communist occupation of Poland, but it is perhaps a good touchstone for the kinds of conflicts we’re talking about.
There are other conflicts that continue still. Washington state tried to force priests to violate the seal of confession. The US Bishops fought it and, this time, we won. Today, some states still try to force Catholic doctors, nurses, and taxpayers to participate in Abortion, Euthanasia, and contraceptives. The U.S. Bishops are fighting back there too. We’re having a bake sale this weekend to support a trip to Washington D.C. for the March for Life as part of that ongoing battle.
The U.S. Bishops are not perfect. Some of them obviously favor left-leaning political ideals. Some of them obviously favor right-leaning ones. Many defy classification. Sometimes they fall short – like with the covid problem – and sometimes they come through – like defending the seal of confession. But when they speak with a unified voice, we must not dismiss them just because they challenge our political leanings.
Ten days ago, the U.S. bishops released a special message on immigration. 96% of the bishops voted for it. The Pope Himself directly endorsed it. Have you read it yet? Do you know what that message says? How many of you immediately clenched up… immediately felt angry or nervous or resistant when I mentioned it?
Take a breath and listen. Pay attention to what I’m actually saying, not what you’re afraid I’ll say. Do the pope and bishops want open borders? No. Definitely not. Open borders are not Church Teaching. Do the pope and bishops know how many drug dealers and human traffickers are crossing our borders? Yes, actually. Their message explicitly acknowledges that regulating borders and good immigration law is necessary to prevent that. Are the Pope and Bishops saying we should let people break laws and do whatever they want? No.
What the Pope and Bishops are saying however is that “human dignity and national security are not in conflict.” When we deport human traffickers and drug dealers here illegally, it’s proportionate. The “good thief” in the gospel acknowledges “we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes.” But what happens when the sentence does not correspond to the crime?
We all know the law is wrong sometimes. We were rightly outraged when people were arrested for silly things during covid. Are we okay with Catholics being detained without trial and held indefinitely in places they cannot receive the sacraments? Are we okay with armed men raiding churches and schools to round up children who are technically illegal but actually grew up here? With letting a woman starve because she doesn’t have documents? Did you know that Blessed Miguel Pro was a refugee in the United States for a little while when the Mexican government kicked the Jesuits out? There are priests and nuns in this country right now who are technically illegal. Should they be treated in the same way as the gang members and human traffickers? Good law enforcement should account for the differences.
There is a way to do both! To regulate immigration and treat illegal immigrants as human beings. To both take the law seriously and acknowledge when the law is wrong. To uphold justice and to apply mercy to extenuating circumstances. You can and should love your country. You can and should want law, order, and peace. But, if you are a servant of Jesus Christ the King, then you must also want to feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, and visit the imprisoned.
It’s not the Pope’s role or the bishop’s role or mine to write government policy. But it is our role to remind you of how your fidelity to Jesus Christ the King should guide you either in creating that policy or in how you respond to those policies. Immigration is a complicated, messy situation with lots of room for disagreement on the best way forward. What should not be disputed, however is this: Jesus Christ, your king, died for every human being. Legal or not, criminal or not, they are loved by your king. So they ought to be loved by you.
And what is love? To will the good of the other, even when that costs us. And yes, of course, sometimes punishment is what’s good for someone. But is that really why you want it? Are you absolutely certain you’re acting out of love for the immigrant instead of out of fear or prejudice or fake news or political agendas or greed or vengeance?
The world is watching. They want to see who is truly our king. Jesus Christ is the King of Love. If we’re to say with Blessed Miguel Pro, “Viva Cristo Rey!” – “Long Live Christ the King!” Then let us say it in the very way the King himself asked: “whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.”