Solemnity of Christ the King Reminder Faith Transcends “daily religious practices”: Apostolic Nuncio in South Africa

The Polish-born diplomat, who also represents the Holy Father in Lesotho, Botswana, Namibia, and Eswatini, said that celebration also encourages Christians to see the world differently, not as their final home, but as a place of journeying. 

“Christianity teaches that history is moving toward fulfilment: toward the moment when Christ will reveal the fullness of His authority and love. This is not meant to inspire fear, but rather to offer a promise of justice, healing, and peace that surpass anything humans can achieve on their own,” he said.

Archbishop Jagodziński explained further that when the Church proclaims that Jesus “will come again to judge the living and the dead,” it highlights that every life has meaning and every choice matters.

 “It is not only a statement about judgment, but also a hope that truth will be made complete — that goodness will ultimately triumph, that wrongs will be set right, and that love will prove stronger than all forms of evil,” he said.

Referring to the day’s second reading from St. Paul’s second letter to Colossians, the Apostolic Nuncio in South Africa said that Jesus’ Kingship goes beyond earthly ideas of government.

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“Christ is not merely one ruler among many; He is the origin of existence, the heartbeat of creation, the One in whom all things find their meaning. His Kingdom is not bounded by borders or constitutions. It extends over galaxies and the depths of the human heart,” he said.

He added that in the Kingdom of Jesus, Christians receive everything that Jesus has revealed through the Gospel, not only the parts that please them, not only the pieces that fit comfortably into modern sensibilities, but the fullness of His truth.

In this regard, the Nuncio said that the task of the Church is to proclaim Jesus’ revelation to every creature, to the ends of the earth, across centuries, cultures, and continents. 

“We may change the form of the proclamation, new languages, new styles, new tools, but the content cannot be changed. It does not belong to us. It comes from God,” he said in his November 23 homily.

He likened Jesus’ revelation to “a priceless treasure carried in a bag,” which he said remains irreplaceable even if the bag wears out, its seams loosening over time.

“The treasure cannot be touched. We cannot remove a single jewel from it, nor can we add a stone of our own. We must preserve the Gospel exactly as we have received it from Christ. The Church may renew her methods, but she cannot rewrite her message,” he said. 

The Nuncio said that the Gospel is a treasure placed in the hands of the Christians, not clay for them to reshape, for they are just guardians, not inventors of the truth. He added, “We must have a holy ambition, an apostolic desire, to extend the Kingdom of God.”

He explained, “For twenty centuries the Church changed the world: through charity, through culture, through saints, through the defence of human dignity, through schools and hospitals, through the quiet heroism of believers who lived the Gospel in their villages, their families, their workplaces.”

The Nuncio clarified that it was the Church that transformed the world, not the other way around.

“We must not fall into the temptation of letting the world reshape us. It is Christ who came to renew the world by His Gospel. He did not come to be adapted; He came to convert,” Archbishop Jagodziński said, and added, “We cannot censor the Word of God, trimming away the demands of the Gospel to make it easier, more palatable, more fashionable.”

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Silas Mwale Isenjia is a Kenyan journalist with a great zeal and interest for Catholic Church related communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communication from Moi University in Kenya. Silas has vast experience in the Media production industry. He currently works as a Journalist for ACI Africa.