One of the most egregious differences between the two calendars is the location of the Feast of the Kingship of Our Lord Jesus Christ. In the old calendar, it is always celebrated on the last Sunday of the month of October, right before All Saints. In the new calendar, however, it is the last Sunday of the liturgical year, leading up to the First Sunday of Advent. In practice, the gap between these is often as great as a month. In bi-formal parishes or chapels, the priest is advised to keep that October homily handy for November.
Therefore by Our Apostolic Authority We institute the Feast of the Kingship of Our Lord Jesus Christ to be observed yearly throughout the whole world on the last Sunday of the month of Octoberthe Sunday, that is, which immediately precedes the Feast of All Saints. The last Sunday of October seemed the most convenient of all for this purpose, because it is at the end of the liturgical year, and thus the feast of the Kingship of Christ sets the crowning glory upon the mysteries of the life of Christ already commemorated during the year, and, before celebrating the triumph of all the Saints, we proclaim and extol the glory of him who triumphs in all the Saints and in all the Elect. Make it your duty and your task, Venerable Brethren, to see that sermons are preached to the people in every parish to teach them the meaning and the importance of this feast, that they may so order their lives as to be worthy of faithful and obedient subjects of the divine King. (Encyclical Letter Quas Primas, 28-29)
Indeed, there's also the obvious fact, unmentioned in Quas Primas but surely in everyone's mind, that the last Sunday in October had, for centuries, been celebrated as Reformation Sunday. A Catholic counter-feast, reminding the world not only of the comprehensive Kingship of Jesus Christso often denied socially and culturally by various teachings of Protestantismbut also of the worldwide kingly authority of His Church, would certainly be a reasonable application of the principle lex orandi, lex credendi.
In the liturgical reforms following the Second Vatican Council, its place was changed to the last Sunday of the Church yearthat is, so that one week later would fall the first Sunday of Advent. This new position emphasizes rather the eschatological dimension of Christs kingship: the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, though begun in time, is here present as in a mystery (as Lumen Gentium phrases it) and in a crucified way. This Kingdom will be perfected and fully manifested only at the end of time, with the Second Coming. Hence in the new calendar the feast comes at the very end of the Churchs year, as the summation of the whole of salvation history and the symbol of what we hope for: expectantes adventum salvatoris nostri Jesu Christi, as the liturgy in the Ordinary Form proclaims after the Lords Prayer.
Though both placements are defensible, it would seem that Pius XIs intention, consistent with the encyclical as a whole, was more to insist on the rights of Jesus Christ here and now, and the corresponding duties of men and nations on earth. As Pius XI explains:
The empire of our Redeemer embraces all men. To use the words of Our immortal predecessor, Pope Leo XIII: His empire includes not only Catholic nations, not only baptized persons who, though of right belonging to the Church, have been led astray by error, or have been cut off from her by schism, but also all those who are outside the Christian faith; so that truly the whole of mankind is subject to the power of Jesus Christ. Nor is there any difference in this matter between the individual and the family or the State; for all men, whether collectively or individually, are under the dominion of Christ. In him is the salvation of the individual, in him is the salvation of society. If, therefore, the rulers of nations wish to preserve their authority, to promote and increase the prosperity of their countries, they will not neglect the public duty of reverence and obedience to the rule of Christ. When once men recognize, both in private and in public life, that Christ is King, society will at last receive the great blessings of real liberty, well-ordered discipline, peace and harmony. (Quas Primas 18-19)
This suspicion is confirmed by an examination of changes made to the liturgy for this feast, where direct references to Christs kingship over States and rulers have been suppressed, as Michael Davies documents in The Second Vatican Council and Religious Liberty (Long Prairie, MN: The Neumann Press, 1992), 243-51. In particular, the hymn for the First Vespers of the feast was significantly modified. The following verses (given here in a literal translation) were simply removed altogether:
The wicked mob screams out:
We dont want Christ as king!,
While we, with shouts of joy, hail
Thee as the worlds supreme king.
May the rulers of the world publicly honor and extol Thee;
May teachers and judges reverence Thee;
May the laws express Thine order
And the arts reflect Thy beauty.
May kings find renown
In their submission and dedication to Thee.
Bring under Thy gentle rule
Our country and our homes.
Glory be to Thee, O Jesus,
Supreme over all secular authorities;
And glory be to the Father and the loving Spirit
Through endless ages. Amen.
They arise, the kings [and presidents and prime ministers] of the earth,
princes [in the Church] plot against the Lord and his Anointed.
Come, let us break their fetters,
come, let us cast off their yoke.
He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord is laughing them to scorn.
Then he will speak in his anger,
his rage will strike them with terror.
It is I who have set up my king
on Sion, my holy mountain.
Now, O kings, understand,
take warning, rulers of the earth;
serve the Lord with awe,
and trembling, pay him your homage.
Blessed are they
who put their trust in Him! (Psalm 2)
(Photo of stained glass window courtesy of Fr. Lawrence Lew, O.P.)