Up until 1969, the feast of Christ the King was simply that, the “Feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King.”
An emphasis was placed on Jesus’ kingship over the particular world, including the many nations included in it, as the previous collect prayer specifically mentions:
Almighty and everlasting God,
who in Thy beloved Son,
the King of the whole world,
hast willed to restore all things,
mercifully grant that all the families of nations
now kept apart by the wound of sin,
may be brought under the sweet yoke of His rule.
Pope Paul VI expanded the feast and added to the official title so that it reads, “Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.”
What is the universe?
NASA provides the following definition of what the word “universe” means:
The universe is everything. It includes all of space, and all the matter and energy that space contains. It even includes time itself and, of course, it includes you.
Earth and the Moon are part of the universe, as are the other planets and their many dozens of moons. Along with asteroids and comets, the planets orbit the Sun. The Sun is one among hundreds of billions of stars in the Milky Way galaxy, and most of those stars have their own planets, known as exoplanets.
Christ’s kingship is over everything that exists, even if we can’t see it.
The new collect for Mass reflects this all encompassing kingship over creation:
Almighty ever-living God,
whose will is to restore all things
in your beloved Son, the King of the universe,
grant, we pray,
that the whole creation, set free from slavery,
may render your majesty service
and ceaselessly proclaim your praise.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
Jesus is king over all things, not only our own earth, but also every planet and galaxy that exists in the wide expanse of space.
And today we celebrate...