5. The Prophecy of Christ the King, Son of David

(The Covenant of the House and Kingdom of God in David’s Anointed Son as Priest, Prophet and King is our pathway to the Kingdom of Heaven through Christ the King, Sovereign Priest. Christ’s Church and God’s Kingdom to come is eternal life under the Messianic reign of the Son of God and Son of Man , Son of Abraham and Son of David predestined to come by, through and with the participation of Mary as His Mother and Queen.)

2 Samuel 7:12-14.  “And when thy days shall be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.  He shall build a house to my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.  I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son:”

“The Law, the sign of God’s promise and covenant, ought to have governed the hearts and institutions of that people to whom Abraham’s faith gave birth.  ‘If you will obey my voice and keep my covenant, … you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ (Ex 19:5-6; Cf. 1 Pet 2:9).  But after David, Israel gave in to the temptation of becoming a kingdom like other nations.  The Kingdom, however, the object of the promise made to David, (Cf. 2 Sam 7; Ps 89; Lk 1:32-33) would be the work of the Holy Spirit; it would belong to the poor according to the Spirit” [CCC, 709.]

The Only Son of God

“In the Old Testament, “son of God” is a title given to the angels, the Chosen People, the children of Israel, and their kings. (Cf. Dt 14:1; LXX 32:8; Job 1:6; Ex 4:22; Hos 2:1, 11:1; Jer 3:19; Sir 36:11; Wis 18:13; 2 Sam 7:14; Ps 82:6.)  It signifies an adoptive sonship that establishes a relationship of particular intimacy between God and his creature.  When the promised Messiah-King is called “son of God”, it does not necessarily imply that he was more than human, according to the literal meaning of these texts.  Those who called Jesus “son of God”, as the Messiah of Israel, perhaps meant nothing more than this.”(Cf. I Chr 17:13; Ps2:7; Mt 27:54; Lk 23:47.) [CCC, 441.]

“Such is not the case for Simon Peter when he confesses Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of the living God”, for Jesus responds solemnly: “Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” Similarly Paul will write, regarding his conversion on the road to Damascus, “When he who had set me apart before I was born, and had called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles…” “And in the synagogues immediately [Paul] proclaimed Jesus, saying, ‘He is the Son of God.'” From the beginning this acknowledgment of Christ’s divine sonship will be the center of the apostolic faith, first professed by Peter as the Church’s foundation.”(Cf. Mt 16:16-17; Gal 1:15-16; Acts 9:20; 1 Thess 1:10; Jn 20:31; Mt 16:18.) [CCC, 442.]

Thy Kingdom Come

“By a discernment according to the Spirit, Christians have to distinguish between the growth of the Reign of God and the progress of the culture and society in which they are involved.  This distinction is not a separation.  Man’s vocation to eternal life does not suppress, but actually reinforces, his duty to put into action in this world the energies and means received from the Creator to serve justice and peace”(Cf. GS 22; 32; 39; 45; EN 31.) [CCC, 2820.]

Our Father, 10 Hail Marys (contemplating the mystery), Glory Be and Fatima Prayer.

Excerpt from The Holy Family Rosary:

Servile fear of the Lord was found in Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, while Moses “…was a man exceeding meek above all men that dwelt upon earth.”[1]  This piety as filial fear of the Lord becomes present and pronounced when contemplating this Merciful Mystery of God in creation as witnessed in Moses and David but especially perfected within Mary from David’s lineage and root of Jesse as the virgin to come and Spouse of the Holy Spirit.  This is the House and Kingdom of the Lord to come as we learn this order followed the Law and the Prophets in the economy of salvation history and prepared Solomon in receipt of wisdom as the highest gift of the Holy Spirit, although failing to remain rooted in fear of the Lord.

From this Divine House, the Ark of the Tabernacle of the living God now becomes our communal guide in worship and the wellspring responsible for the longevity and fullness of our faith in the promised Messiah to come.  The House of Jacob, Israel, and David’s Temple prophesied in Jerusalem as the Church of Christ built by his seed, the Son of God to come from David’s Kingdom establishes the Kingdom of God as the Kingdom of Heaven in the Kingdom of Christ, where Heaven returns on Earth in the Name and dwelling place of the living God – Emmanuel.  Mary as the Ark of this New Covenant is the Tabernacle of the Lord Who came and is to come, knowing God dwelled within, as we too must “Prepare ye the way of the Lord.”[2]

When pondering this meditation we learn King David’s humble and meek nature is a prophetic precursor of the Lord’s to come.  St. Ambrose (c.340-397) wrote: “The Lord does everything in an admirable way […].  He acts in this way to teach us that perfect virtue retains no desire for vengeance, and that where there is true charity there is no room for anger – in other words, that weakness should not be treated with harshness but should be helped.  Indignation should be very far from holy souls, and desire for vengeance very far from great souls.”[3]

The mystery of this meditation is taught fulfilled in the Crowning of Our Lady as Queen of Heaven and Earth and her recognition as Queen of Peace. Her Son as Prince of Peace really is, was, and ever shall be Our Lord and King.  Amen!

Employed by David and Solomon before the coming of the Messiah King, the forms of prayer[4] that are to follow in the next set of meditations lead in teaching us humility in the same way that the “multitudes that went before and that followed, cried, saying: Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.  And when he was come into Jerusalem, the whole city was moved, saying: Who is this?  And the people said: This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth of Galilee.”[5]

These meditations of the Merciful Mysteries can be seen as most appropriate for use as the premiere meditation on Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week, leading us directly to the Psalms and Gifts preceding the Joyful Mysteries to ponder with Mary the Annunciation of Our Lord.  This meditation allows us to recollect the first reception of Christ Who was foretold of old to come and to us who believe in Him, will come again.

On Palm Sunday of 2009, Pope Benedict XVI approached this dilemma experienced of old when asking the same in preaching: “When, at the gates of Jerusalem, Jesus mounts a donkey, the animal symbol of Davidic royalty, joyous certainty erupts among the pilgrims: It is he, the Son of David!  Thus they greet Jesus with the messianic acclamation: ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,’ and add, ‘Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come! Hosanna in the highest!’[6] We do not know exactly what the enthusiastic pilgrims imagined the coming kingdom of David to be.  But we, have we truly understood the message of Jesus, the Son of David?  Have we understood what the kingdom is that he spoke of when he was interrogated by Pilate?  Do we understand what it means that this kingdom is not of this world? Or would we like it to be of this world?”[7]

Seen within this mystery, we witness both unfolding in salvation history through the development of faith, hope and charity found within Mary’s expectation of God’s Son.

Who better to remind us than the Mother of Mercy in declaration of her faith in the living God (of Whom she believed in confidence was to come) when she said to Elizabeth: “My soul doth magnify the Lord. And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid; for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. Because he that is mighty, hath done great things to me; and holy is his name. And his mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear him. He hath shewed might in his arm: he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.  He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath received Israel his servant, being mindful of his mercy: As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed for ever.”[8]

This acclamation of Mary was spoken in sublime recognition of God’s Divine Word from within the most perfect human example of faith, hope, and charity for all of mankind.  In great admiration of this truth, this sinner is reluctant to add further comment on the mysteries that preceded these proposed meditations within the Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection that set our path by the Mother of Our Lord – being so perfectly explained in countless volumes given to Christ’s Church by numerous saints in loving admiration of Our Lord’s Blessed Mother, our Mystical Rose.

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[1] Num. 12:23.
[2] Isa. 40:3.
[3] Expositio Evangelii Secundum Lucam, ad loc.
[4] CCC #1831.
[5] Mt. 21:9-11.
[6] Mk. 11:9.
[7] Pope Benedict XVI: Homily at Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square.
[8] Lk.1:46-55.