If you ask most Catholics today, they give you a blank stare when you talk about the idea of the Kingship of Christ. Heck, talk to traditionalists and a timeless beautiful doctrine that touches everything from the individual to the role of governments becomes an apologia for early Middle Age monarchism anachronistically interpreted through a modern lens. At most, the idea of the Kingship of Christ is presented as something simply done by governments. We just need to wait, and one day the government will become Catholic and enact a confessional state, and all will be well. Right.....
I think this understanding completely misses the point of Christ the King. The Gospel makes it very clear "My Kingdom is not of this world." While all nations should acknowledge Christ, we should be realistic in that most will not, especially as we draw closer and closer to Christ's return.
Given this reality, many modern minds simply relegate the idea of the Kingship of Christ as an eschatalogical hope, something we can simply hope for at the end of time. Sadly, moving the Feast of Christ the King to the last Sunday of the liturgical year, and giving the readings entirely an eschatalogical feel reinforce this.
Yet the Kingship of Christ is something that is integral to the everyday life of the Christian. While the ultimate goal is to have society acknowledge Christ, society starts with the individual and most importantly the family.
What we need to do is make sure our catechesis is mindful of this fact. That Christ the King is not just the concept of nation states, or some eschatalogical incident at the end of time, but rather a concrete reality in this very moment. We also need to understand that this Kingship is something we share in. When parents order the home properly, they are participating in Christ's Kingship. When we help convert people to moral truth in regards to matters of life, we are doing so as diplomats of Christ's Kingship. This is how nations are conquered for Christ. Yet even if we can't conquer America and plant the Holy Cross in the middle of DC, we can save our souls and the souls of others.
I might be wrong, but I really don't hear this kind of talk in a lot of areas where Christ the King is mentioned.
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