Christ the King Parish

Located in Room C of the Parish Hall

Friday, May 17 - 6pm-8pm

Saturday, May 18 - 12pm-8pm

Sunday, May 19 - 8pm-12pm

Dear Christ the King Community,
A decision was made today after consultation and dialogue with parish, school, and Festival senior leadership to CANCEL this weekend’s Festival.

We considered many factors in our decision-making process. First and foremost is the safety of our community, as well as other impacts from site construction projects in progress, and inclement weather being forecasted in our region. We explored several options to reconfigure the festival with available site facilities, and were unable to find a configuration that would safely accommodate all of the activities.

Presently, options are being explored to maintain our parish and school Festival at a future date to be determined. We thank you in advance for your understanding at this time. Tremendous gratitude to Festival Chairs Matt Lakin and Brigid Rose, Festival committee members, and to Christ the King community,

Father Paulson Mundanmani 
Pastor 
Christ the King Church

Joe Silveira 
Principal 
Christ the King School

Dear friends,
Last Friday our school children celebrated the traditional May crowning ceremony. It is always beautiful and prayerful to place a crown around our Blessed Mother’s head. May Crowning is a traditional Roman Catholic ritual held during the month of May.  It is a solemn procession to Mary and at the close of the procession a statue of the Blessed Virgin is crowned with a garland or crown of flowers honoring Mary as “the Queen of May.” There is a special honor attached to being chosen to crown the statue.

The queen symbol was attributed to Mary because she was a perfect follower of Christ, who is the absolute “crown” of creation. She is the Mother of the Son of God, who is the messianic King. “He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High; the Lord will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of His kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 1: 32-33) I would like to share with you excerpts from Arlington Catholic Herald 2015.

The origins of the May Crowning are hard to pinpoint. Concerning the significance of the month of May, toward the end of the 18th century, Father Latomia of the Roman College of the Society of Jesus (in Rome) instituted the practice of dedicating this month to our Blessed Mother. His desire was to promote devotion to Mary among the students as a way to counteract infidelity and immorality. From Rome, the May devotion spread throughout the Jesuit colleges, and eventually throughout the whole church. Pope Pius VII in 1815 granted a partial indulgence for participating in either a public or private devotion honoring Mary during the month of May. Pope Pius IX made the indulgence plenary in 1859. (This particular indulgence is no longer listed in the present Enchiridion of Indulgences, although numerous devotions to our Blessed Mother are, such as the recitation of the rosary or the Litany of Mary.)

May probably seemed most appropriate because the liturgical calendars, former and present, mark several feast days honoring our Blessed Mother: Our Lady, Queen of Apostles (the Saturday following the Ascension); Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament (May 13); Our Lady of Fatima (May 13); Mary, Help of Christians (May 24); Mary, Mediatrix of All Graces (May 31); and the Visitation (May 31).
The May devotions also were energized by the four authenticated apparitions of our Blessed Mother. In 1830, Mary appeared to St. Catherine Laboure and instructed her to have the Miraculous Medal struck with the inscription, “Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.” In 1846, she appeared to the children of La Salette, France, and tearfully lamented the lax practice of the faith. In 1858, she appeared to St. Bernadette at Lourdes, identifying herself as the “Immaculate Conception.” Finally, she appeared to the three children at Fatima May 13, 1917, where she instructed the people to pray the rosary daily for peace.

Regarding the crowning, the image of Mary (as well as Jesus) wearing a gold crown is found in the earliest forms of iconography, especially in the Eastern Churches. In the West, the pious practice of publicly crowning an image of the Blessed Mother gained popularity in the 19th century. In Rome, the image known as Salus Populi Romani — of our Blessed Mother holding the Child Jesus — is enshrined at the Basilica of St. Mary Major. Tradition holds that St. Luke painted the image. Pope Clement VIII (1592-1605) added two crowns to the icon, which were at some point later lost. Nevertheless, on Aug. 15, 1838, the Feast of the Assumption, Pope Gregory XVI with great solemnity, again added the crowns, and thereupon the practice of crowning the image of the Blessed Mother became popular, especially during the month of May.

Although we are fast approaching the end of May, nevertheless, let us be sure to honor our Blessed Mother in our hearts and our homes. The recitation of the family rosary each day, images of our Blessed Mother, having a special shrine in our yard, and having our own family May Crowning are wonderful ways not only to foster devotion and faith, but also to draw us closer to the heart of Our Savior.

Weekday
8:00am
Saturday
8:00am, 5:00pm (vigil)
Sunday
7:00am, 8:00am, 9:15am, 10:45am, 12:15pm, 6:00pm - Youth Mass
Holy Days
8:00am, 12:00pm, 7:00pm
Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
First Friday - 4:00pm-6:00 p.m. 
First Friday Mass
8:00 am, 6:00pm
Reconciliation:
Saturdays, 3:30-4:30pm

prayerline@ctkph.org