Father Eduardo Robles-Gil, L.C., sends the following letter to the members of Regnum Christi on the occasion of the liturgical solemnity of Christ the King. Father Eduardo offers a reflection on the meaning of the petition «¡Cristo Rey nuestro, venga tu Reino!» in the lives of the members of the Regnum Christi Movement.
Rome, November 20, 2017
On the occasion of the solemnity of Christ the King
To the members of Regnum Christi
Very esteemed in Jesus Christ:
As every year, on this solemnity of Christ the King, members of Regnum Christi, in all countries and localities, gather to thank God for His gifts; particularly the gift of Regnum Christi and our vocation within this work of God.
This year is special in some way, because throughout it and especially in these last three months, we have been gathering to pray and reflect on what God wants from the Movement. We have held territorial assemblies and expressed opinions and preferences responsibly.
The life of Regnum Christi, like the life of the Church, is a divine-human reality. These are two dimensions that go together. We know, on the one hand, that the Kingdom of Christ is not of this world and, on the other hand, our mission as apostles is to be instruments so that this Kingdom is present in the world. It is God who is at the origin and reveals His will to us, but we must listen to it and translate it into life.
What does Jesus Christ, King of the universe, King of life and history, want at this moment for all of Regnum Christi? Without a doubt, He wants to help us in this process, somewhat long and complicated, so that we have a renewed Statute in accordance with the development we have had in recent years. But He undoubtedly desires something more important and profound. What does He want for each of us?
A few days ago, praying the breviary, I found as a reading a text from Saint Augustine to Proba. In it, he makes a beautiful commentary on the Lord’s Prayer. He says that in the prayer of the Lord are contained all the prayers we can make. I thought that in our petition we pray every day: «¡Cristo Rey nuestro, venga tu Reino!», the same applies. In this petition: that His Kingdom come, in some way, what He desires for each one and also all that we need and want is contained. All our charisma, spirituality, and mission are summarized within it.
In number 13 §1 of the Draft Statute, reference is made to the reign of Jesus Christ:
The testimony, proclamation, and growth of the Kingdom of Christ constitute the ideal that inspires and guides the Movement. Its motto «¡Cristo Rey nuestro, venga tu Reino!» expresses this longing. Therefore, the members of Regnum Christi, following the inspirations of the Holy Spirit:
1.º seek to clothe themselves with Christ in their hearts and works, so that He reigns in their lives through the progressive configuration with Him; and
2.º allow themselves to be penetrated and moved by Christ’s love for all people, striving that He reigns in the hearts of men and in society.
«¡Cristo Rey nuestro, venga tu Reino!» We must say it today with longing, gratitude, conviction, joy, commitment, and hope. This common prayer for every day is also what we ask now as we conclude the territorial assemblies. May His Kingdom come! May His Regnum Christi come!
Regnum Christi, like the Church —sancta et sanctificanda— must always be on a path of conversion and renewal. In this sense, Paul VI said forcefully: «The Church must deepen its awareness of itself, it must meditate on the mystery that is proper to it». He adds later: «From this illuminated and active consciousness […] springs, therefore, a generous and almost impatient desire for renewal, that is, for the correction of the faults that the conscience denounces and reflects, as an inner examination, before the mirror of the model that Christ left us of Himself» (Ecclesiam suam, 3). As an institution, we are in this process. In current circumstances, God asks us to be living and intelligent instruments to seek human structures and schemes that are important but always incidental and passing, in order to institutionalize within the Church what has been and is the Regnum Christi.
As a gift from God for us and for the Church, the charism is not exhausted in human structures and definitions. It goes far beyond. Since the first incorporations in 1968, almost 50 years ago, thousands of us have found and followed Jesus Christ in a personal way within Regnum Christi, without much concern for human structures. It is true that teams, sections, manuals, and other elements have helped us, but the fundamental thing has been the spirituality centered on Christ.
Each of us, members of Regnum Christi from all branches, with all the life experiences we have had, are also always in a process, never finished, of transformation in Jesus Christ, Lord of life and history, King of each one and Lord of Regnum Christi.
This path of conversion, of renewal, calls us, should move us to a greater life of prayer and union with Christ, «because apart from me you can do nothing» (Jn 15:5). It is very edifying and exemplary to see how, in these times, facing the challenges ahead, in some territories and in the various branches of the Movement, the life of prayer has increased in depth and intensity. It is our thirst for God that leads us to pray together, and to ask Christ the King present in the Eucharist, for that living water that renews and effectively transforms us in Him.
Therefore, when we celebrate in our locality the solemnity of Christ the King, the titular feast of our Movement, we must pray with great fervor to God that He grants us that the Movement be His Regnum Christi. But it will only be so if each of us welcomes Jesus Christ into our hearts and works and configures ourselves with Him. We must ask for this with strength, conviction, and perseverance.
What do we long for when we pray with faith and hope that His Kingdom come?
We ask that He give us His grace, which makes us aspire to be His and truly commits us to Him reigning in our hearts and transforming our souls into His dwelling, removing manifestations of individualism and selfishness. We ask that He cleanse us of all worldly splashes and attachment to worldliness and strengthen us to truly stand against the enemies of our soul.
When we ask that His Kingdom of love come, we want Him to transform our hearts and allow us to love as He loves; knowing how to welcome and love our brothers and sisters in the Movement with their qualities and fragilities, with their ideas and aspirations; knowing how to find Jesus Christ who dwells in each one’s heart.
When we ask that His Kingdom of justice and peace come, we desire Him to allow us to live a renewed communion according to what He truly desires; and we want Him to illuminate us, not allowing purely human considerations to affect what we present to the Holy See after the first General Assembly of Regnum Christi.
When we ask that His Kingdom come, we tell Him to grant us to be more vigorous apostles, in some way tireless, because «the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few» (Mt 9:37).
This is what I ask of God, Our Lord, for each member of the Movement: that, on this solemnity of Christ the King, He grant that His Kingdom come into our hearts and continue transforming us into His better children and bold apostles of His Kingdom in the world, serving the Church for the salvation of souls.
Your brother in Christ,
P. Eduardo Robles-Gil, L.C.
Translations:
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