Day 5: Christ the King

The fifth day of the Infant of Prague Novena, the midpoint, turns to the iconographic elements of the statue that distinguish the Infant of Prague from other Catholic devotions to the Christ Child: the crown on His head and the globe in His hand. The Christ Child of the Prague statue is depicted as a King, with the royal regalia visible in His small Person. The Catholic devotion is therefore not principally a sentimental devotion to a small child but a Catholic profession of faith in the kingship of Christ, expressed through the small form of the Infant.

Today's invocation

O Most gracious Infant Jesus, I have recourse to You... (the full opening prayer)

Today's meditation

The Catholic doctrine of the kingship of Christ was developed over the entire Catholic theological tradition but received a particular magisterial articulation in Pope Pius XI's encyclical Quas Primas of 11 December 1925, in which the Pope established the Solemnity of Christ the King in the universal Roman Calendar (now celebrated on the last Sunday of the liturgical year, the Sunday before the First Sunday of Advent). The doctrine teaches that the Lord Jesus Christ is King of the universe by three principal titles: by nature (as the Eternal Son of God, in whom all things were created), by inheritance (as the descendant of David and the rightful heir to the messianic throne of Israel), and by conquest (as the One who through His Passion and Resurrection conquered the powers of sin and death and was given universal dominion).

The Catholic devotion to Christ the King is celebrated in many forms. The Solemnity of Christ the King in the liturgical calendar is the principal annual celebration. The traditional Catholic Acclamation of Christ the King (Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Christus imperat: Christ conquers, Christ reigns, Christ commands) is sung at solemn liturgies throughout the year. The Catholic devotion to Christ the King in particular nations and societies is expressed in shrines, religious orders, and Catholic civic processions across the Catholic world.

The Infant of Prague, with His small crown and globe, is the Catholic miniature representation of all of this. The Lord whose Solemnity is celebrated with full liturgical splendor at the close of the year is the same Lord who is in the small form of the wax-coated statue in the Carmelite chapel of Prague. The kingship is identical; the form is small.

The Catholic theology of the small kingship has implications for our prayer. The Lord whom we approach in the Infant of Prague is the same King of the universe to whom every knee must bow (Philippians 2:10), and yet He has chosen to receive our prayers in the form of a small child. The accessibility of the small Lord and the universal sovereignty of the King are united in the single Person of the Christ Child.¹

Today's intention

Today, in addition to your principal intention, profess the kingship of Christ in the matter you are praying about. Divine Infant Jesus, You are the King of the universe. The matter I have brought before You is in Your hands; You have full authority over it. I trust in Your kingship and in Your decision.

A traditional Catholic invocation, particularly fitting for this day:

Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Christus imperat. Christ conquers, Christ reigns, Christ commands. Divine Infant Jesus, King of all the earth, reign in my heart.

Reflection

The Catholic doctrine of the kingship of Christ has practical consequences for the Catholic life. The Catholic faithful are sometimes tempted, in the conditions of secular Western culture, to limit Christ's reign to the spiritual dimension of life (the soul, the prayer, the Sunday Mass) while reserving the practical dimensions (work, politics, culture, money, sex) for autonomous human determination. The Catholic doctrine of Christ the King contradicts this division. The Lord Jesus is King of every dimension of human life. There is no part of the Catholic faithful's existence that is not under His sovereignty.

The Infant of Prague, with His small crown and globe, is a daily Catholic reminder of this comprehensive kingship. The Christ Child holds the entire globe in His hand; nothing in the world is outside His authority. The novena's fifth day is the appropriate Catholic moment to renew our submission to His reign across every dimension of our lives.

Closing prayers

Conclude with the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the Glory Be.

Divine Infant Jesus, King of the universe, reign in our hearts and in our world.

Footnotes

1. Pope Pius XI, Quas Primas (encyclical, 11 December 1925), establishing the Solemnity of Christ the King. Available at vatican.va. The acclamation Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Christus imperat is preserved in the Catholic Laudes Regiae (royal acclamations of Christ the King) since the early medieval period. ↩