Today is the Feast of Christ the King 31st of October 2021
History
From the St. Andrew daily Missal,
Pope Pius XI (whose motto was: Pax Christi in regno Christi) instituted the feast of Christ the King as a solemn affirmation of our Lord’s kingship over every human society; He is King, not only of the soul and conscience, intelligence and will of all men, but also of families and cities, peoples and states and the whole universe. In his Encyclical Letter “Quas primas“the Pope showed how laicism or secularism, organizing society without any reference to God, leads to the apostasy of the masses and the ruin of society, because it is a complete denial of Christ’s Kingship. This is one of the great heresies of our time, and the Pope considered that this annual,public, social and official assertion of Christ’s divine right of Kingship over men in the liturgy would be an effective means of combating it.
That Christ is King over all creation is the theme of the whole Mass and Office of the feast. The Mass begins with the magnificent Apocalyptic vision of the Lamb of God, sacrificed but henceforth glorified for ever, acclaimed by the innumerable host of Angels and Saints (Introit). By its position on the last Sunday of October, towards the end of the Liturgical year and just before All Saints, the feast of Christ the King comes as the climax of our celebration of all Christ’s mysteries and a kind of earthly anticipation of his everlasting reign over the elect in the glory of heaven. It sums up the Christian message that by his Death and Resurrection Christ has conquered sin and death and reigns in the glory of his victory among the elect who are its fruit. Christ is the creative Word; He is the Man-God, seated at the right hand of the Father; He is our Saviour; these are His three titles to kingship.
Propers
The music of the Propers is explained in The chants of the Vatican Gradual, By Dominic Johner, OSB
Ordinary
Missa O quam gloriosum Tomás Luis de Victoria (sometimes Italianised as da Vittoria; c. 1548 – 20/27 August 1611) was the most famous composer in 16th-century Spain, and was one of the most important composers of the Counter-Reformation, along with Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina and Orlando di Lasso. Victoria was not only a composer but also an accomplished organist and singer as well as a Catholic priest. However, he preferred the life of a composer to that of a performer. (Kyr., Glo., Cr., San., Ben., & Agn.)
Other music
Dominus regnavit (Psalm 92) (Josquin des Prez) Sung in two parts the first after the Offertory the second after the Communion
St Bede's Choir Blog 