Gospel (Jn 18,33-37) - At that time, Pilate said to Jesus: "Are you the king of the Jews?". Jesus replied: "Do you say this on your own, or have others told you about me?". Pilate said: «Am I a Jew? Your people and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?". Jesus answered: «My kingdom is not of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have fought so that I was not handed over to the Jews; but my kingdom is not from down here." Then Pilate said to him: "So you are king?". Jesus replied: «You say it: I am a king. This is why I was born and this is why I came into the world: to bear witness to the truth. Whoever is of the truth, listen to my voice."

The commentary on the Gospel by Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia

The liturgical year ends with the feast of Christ, king of the universe. It is a recent celebration in the Latin Church. It was established while the totalitarianisms of the twentieth century were affirming themselves and violently enslaved the history of Europe and other parts of the world. But the roots of this celebration lie in the Gospel, we could say in the most dramatic moment of Jesus' life. This Sunday's Gospel passage presents us with the Roman governor who turns to Jesus and asks him: "So you are king?". «You say it: I am king», Jesus replies to him.
Of course, to human eyes Jesus really appears like a strange king: for his throne he has a cross, for his crown a crown of thorns, and for his court two thieves crucified with him; then there are a few women with a young man who, grieving, huddled under the scaffold. Yet, this is the image that has always marked every Christian community. The cross stands out in every church and above all appears when Christians are persecuted, outraged to the point of being killed. Today, that cross seems to take strong root in various countries around the world. There are many Christians who continue to suffer the very passion of Jesus. We, like that small group of women who clung to the cross of Jesus, want to cling to all those who are still on the cross today, to all those who are affected by the violence. In the face of many tragedies, in the face of the spread of violence, we are invited to raise our gaze to the cross of Jesus and contemplate his royal power. The Gospel tells us that from that cross the prince of evil is defeated. From the cross, Jesus frees men from the dominion of sin and death. The apostle Paul transmitted this conviction to all the Churches, aware of the scandal it would cause: "But we proclaim Christ crucified: a scandal to the Jews and foolishness to the pagans" (1Cor 1,23). It is from the crucifixion that Jesus exercises his royal power. While he was nailed to that wood, an identical invitation came to him from everyone: "Save yourself!". These three simple words contain one of the dogmas that most firmly establish the existence of men, even today. Self-love is a doctrine that is learned from childhood, and is so firmly rooted in hearts that it appears difficult to eradicate it. It is the gospel of the world, an alternative to the Gospel of Jesus. And each of us knows well how insidious and penetrating this gospel of the world is. This feast of Christ the King shows us the royal love that transforms the hearts of men and the life of the world. Let us rally around this king, weak and poor. It is from him crucified that salvation flows for all. And, with the words of the Apocalypse, we say to him: «To you, Lord, who loves us and has freed us from our sins with your blood, who has made us a kingdom of priests for our God and Father, to you the glory and power forever and ever. Amen".