The Lamb who was slain is worthy to receive strength and divinity, wisdom and power and honour: to him be glory and power forever and ever! Indeed Christ is the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega, “Who was, who is and who is to come”. We began the liturgical year with Him and today we solemnly end it with this special Feast of Him as the Universal King of kings and Lord of lords, and next Sunday we begin a new one with the first Sunday of Advent.

As we already know, the return of Jesus Christ is to be the most phenomenal event in all human history. It will be the most amazing and spectacular event ever to be witnessed by the eyes of man. Its importance cannot be overstressed, for when Christ returns, both the blessings and the judgment of God will fall upon the earth. Genuine believers will be blessed and unbelievers will suffer the wrath of God. This is our faith and hope!

"In God We Trust", as we know is the official motto of the United States of America. It was adopted as the nation's motto in 1956 as a replacement or alternative to the unofficial motto of E pluribus unum pluribus, which was adopted when the Great Seal of the United States was created and adopted in 1782. History records that it was Reverend Mark R. Watkinson of 'Ridleyville', Pennsylvania, (pastor of Prospect Hill Baptist Church in present-day Prospect Park, Pennsylvania) in a letter dated November 13, 1861, that first petitioned the Treasury Department to add a statement recognizing "Almighty God in some form on our coins" in order to "relieve us from the ignominy of heathenism".

In the first reading from Deuteronomy, the opening word, “Shema”, means “listen”; it also has the sense of “obey”. It's a Jewish prayer, the SHEMA. This prayer is a daily reminder not only of the covenant obligations but also of the privilege from which those obligations flow. As people of God, it's a call each day to listen and obey.

The Pontifical Biblical Commission in its 1993 document, The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church, picked up this motif, describing the local Christian community as one “which knows that it is addressed by God (cf. John 6:45), a community that listens eagerly to the Word with faith, love and docility".