On his ninetieth birthday Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr was asked by a reporter, "What has been the secret of your success?" The illustrious American judge solemnly responded: "Young man, the secret of my success is that at an early age I discovered that I was not God. "

History would definitely have been more peaceful and productive if its rulers had discovered the same lesson: that they were not God. Throughout history rulers were often considered divine because like God they too held the power of life and death over their subjects. The emperors of Rome took this further with their proclamation that indeed they were living gods. The king and queens of Europe didn't quite go that far but still upheld, until quite recent times, their so-called 'divine right. ' And in Japan it wasn't until the end of World War II that the people of that country could gaze upon their emperor Hirohito not as a god but a a man.

Earlier in this century Pope Pius IX realised that Europe's royal kingdoms were, with a few exceptions, becoming the stuff of fairy tales. But the pope was convinced that the new rulers of such kingdoms as nazism, socialism an communism would not eventually save people because these modern 'kingdoms' would also lord it over their subjects and rob them of their freedom to be sons an daughters of God. Pius IX wanted to challenge these new emerging kingdoms. He wanted to lead people to the one true throne. And so he proclaimed this Sunday's feast of Christ the King, with which we bring to an end the Church's liturgical year.

Because the feast of Christ the King emerged from such a particular political scene it isn't always easy to celebrate. The reason why we still do is to understand what real leadership is about. The reason why Christ reigns from a cross is that he never failed to remind the political and religious rulers of his time that they were not gods. Such a reminder has a contemporary relevance and not only for today's political and religious leaders. The secret for anyone's success still lies in Judge Holmes' remark that "at an early age I discovered that I was not God. " DG