Things to talk about:

• In this Gospel, the people who do not recognize Jesus as King treat him cruelly. Do you think people today recognize Jesus as King? Why or why not?
• Which of the two criminals in treated Jesus as King?
• Describe what you think Jesus’ kingdom is like.
• What does it mean to put your life under Jesus’ authority? How does this shape your actions and behaviors?

Things to do:

• Find a crucifix in our church and see if you can find the inscription. What are the four letters you see? These letters represent the Latin inscription, Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews.
• In the Archdiocese of Atlanta, our cathedral is Christ the King, plan a visit to tour the Cathedral, read the history, www.cathedralctk.com/ourstory/
• In the coming weeks, think about if your priorities align with God’s priorities. Make an effort to set God’s priorities above your own. What can you do to bring the peace, love and forgiveness of God’s kingdom to others in our community?
• Consider inviting someone who may be alone or new to the area to join you for Thanksgiving dinner or another time this week. Or look into ways to serve those in need on Thanksgiving by donating food to a food. Go to transfiguration.com, search St Vincent de Paul.

Closing Prayer

Taizé Reflection—Taizé prayer is a meditative prayer that originated in Taizé, France. It involves sung and chanted prayer and a period of silence.

Listen to the song,  Jesus, Remember Me. Take a few minutes of silence to listen to what God is saying to you, and then listen again. Share what you experienced.

Name those who need our prayers. Close with the Sign of the Cross.

Catholic Insight

Christ the King

This Sunday, we conclude our liturgical year and celebrate the Feast of Christ the King. The Gospel proclaimed shows the great mystery of our faith: In the moment of his crucifixion, Jesus is shown to be King and Savior of all.

The irony is that the inscription placed on the cross, perhaps in mockery, contains the profoundest of truth. As the leaders jeer, the thief crucified by his side recognizes Jesus as Messiah and King, and finds salvation.

Jesus is King, but not the kind of king we might have imagined or expected. His kingship was hidden from many of his contemporaries, but those who had the eyes of faith were able to see. As modern disciples of Jesus, we, too, struggle at times to recognize Jesus as King. This Gospel invites us to make our own judgment. With eyes of faith, do we recognize that Jesus, the crucified One, is indeed King and Savior of all?

Did you know… when Pilate ordered the inscription be placed on the cross, “This is the King of the Jews,” the Pharisees and Sadducees disputed this? They wanted it to read “This Man Claimed to be the King of the Jews.” Pilate didn’t change his mind.

Additional key concepts for this week:

Liturgical Year – Know the 5 seasons of the church year: Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, Ordinary Time. The Feast of Christ the King closes the Liturgical year. Next week, November 30, we begin the season of Advent. Locate the Liturgical calendar in your learning space!

In addition to each season being symbolized by a color, the cycle of readings also changes. This new liturgical year will be Cycle A and we will hear primarily from the Gospel of St. Matthew. Read more…

For Adults, read more HERE.

For Children, read more HERE.

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Resources adapted from 52Sundays.com, Celebrating the Lectionary, At Home with the Word, Celebrating Families, Sunday Connection