The Feast of Christ the King recognizes the triumph of Jesus, the one who testified to the truth with his words and with his life.

Should our politicians be constrained in their access to the seats of power? Few Americans would vote for a return to monarchy, and most of us are content to “throw the bum out” after a few years—even if we voted that person into office to begin with. That natural skepticism seems part of the American way when it comes to being led.

Pilate said, “Are you the ‘King of the Jews’?”

On the morning of May 19, 2018, I joined 29.2 million other viewers to witness the marriage of Britain’s Prince Harry and the American, Meghan Markle. I watched as guests paraded into Windsor Castle in a display of pageantry that the events of the British monarchy seem to inspire.

I was mad at a guy in my parish. He had accused my daughter of pulling a Halloween prank—splattering his porch with eggs and shaving cream.

Pilate, like most of us, is a guy who can’t handle the truth because it means accepting that our world is upside down and inside out.

In History of the World: Part One, Mel Brooks, playing Louis XVI, had a running gag: “It’s good to be the king.” It implied that the king was free to do whatever he wanted, wherever he wanted, and however he wanted to do it.

Christ is our King, who judges us fairly and with love. Let us confess to him our faults.

Therefore, distrust every claim for truth where you do not see truth united with love; and be certain that you are of the truth and that the truth has taken hold of you only when love has taken hold of you and has started to make you free from yourselves.