Viva Cristo Rey

Viva Cristo Rey

Viva Cristo Rey is well known as the words of Blessed

Miguel Augustine Pro, a Mexican

Jesuit martyr working in the country under the rule of anti-clerical government. On the

day of his execution, he forgave his executioners, prayed, bravely refused the

blindfold and died proclaiming, "Viva

Cristo Rey”, which means "Long

live Christ the King!"

Words of the King (Sabda Pandita Ratu), in the context of Javanese People, were

considered as the truest commandments. No one will dispute when the King has

ordered the people something to do. In the meantime, they respect and obey all

things the King wanted. This system has a bad excess, for example, the people

become uncreative in determining their own lives because everything has been defined.

 In this context, the crystal is quite clear how

powerful the words of the king are. In the Spiritual Exercises, St. Ignatius

uses the call of the temporal king as an aid toward contemplating the life of

the eternal king. Now, let us try to place before our minds a human king,

chosen by God, our Lord himself, whom all people reverence and obey. The king

says, “My will is to conquer the whole

lands of infidels. Hence, whoever wishes to come with me has to be content with

the same food I eat, and the drink, and the clothing which I wear, and so

forth.” (SE. 93). Nowadays, the figure of a king is stained by bad

attitudes of those who have a role as leaders. If there is a king who behaves

kindly, it must be very easy to imagine the king like in the Spiritual

Exercises and in the Javanese context in which many people still respect him.

The power and charisma of the King must be very

touching for everyone and he or she has no more reasonable reason to dispute

them. Instead, if someone does not answer and responds his call, he or she will be

upbraided and scorned by everyone and accounted as an unworthy knight or

citizen. (See SE 94).

Palm Sunday is a moment when the King whom we

follow and obey is not just a temporal king, but an eternal king. Jesus is the

king whom people adore. He mounted the ass, which was covered with the cloaks

of the Apostles. Then, the people come out to meet him and spread their cloaks

and branches of trees on the road, and shout, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of

the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!”

Do we know that those who shouted

on the road were the ones who would persecute and crucify Him in several days

after? We probably think that nothing can hinder our loves to the eternal King. Shouting and

saying that we are on His side are very easy. Nevertheless, we have to be more

critical that maybe we plan to persecute and kill Him too. Therefore, let us

reflect upon our lives and look at them more intensely. The eternal King always

calls us to be with Him and to conquer the whole world and all enemies, and thus

to enter into the Glory of the Father. Therefore, whoever wishes to come with Him

must labour so that through following Him in pain, we may follow in the Glory. Do

we have courage to labour with Him and keep watch in the night wholeheartedly? 

Seminari Wacana Bhakti Jakarta, 

April 13, 2014