We Must Look for the Peace of Christ in the Kingdom of Christ
On the Feast of CHRIST
the KING
The Feast of
Christ the King marks the last Sunday in ordinary time and end of the
liturgical calendar year. The feast was
instituted in 1925 by his Holy Father Pope Pius XI in his encyclical ‘Quas
Primas’(QP). The intention of the feast
is to celebrate Jesus Christ as ‘King and Lord of the Cosmos’. Pius XI gave the Church this feast in
response to the rise of secularism. Secularism
would lead to the twentieth century becoming the most violent in the history of
man. This secularism, strong as ever
today, denies not only the divinity of Jesus Christ but aims at doing away with
Christianity as a whole.
By the public veneration of the Kingship of Christ, Pope Pius XI hoped and prayed three blessings may be accrued to the Church, to society, and to each one of the faithful. These blessings were:
1.
That
nations would see that the Church has the right to freedom, and immunity from
the state (QP,
31).
2.
That
leaders and nations would see that they are bound to give respect to Christ (QP, 32).
3.
That
the faithful would gain strength and courage from the celebration of the feast,
as we are reminded that Christ must reign in our hearts, minds, wills, and
bodies (QP,
33).
In a country so divided by politics, it is good to remember to put our faith and trust in the Lord. But our focus on Christ can be skewed by so much talk of ‘rights’ and ‘social justice’. Both have become more political tools than virtues of our society. So in open rebellion against secularism and politics, I offer these few arguments in support of the Holy Fathers prayers:
On the first, “that nations would see that the
Church has the right to freedom and immunity from the state.”
The relationship between spiritual fulfillment
and moral integrity is that the first gives meaning and purpose to the life of
man while the later provides a structure to work out that meaning and purpose. It
is wrong for any agency to inhibit the Church because human need for spiritual
fulfillment and a moral construct exceed the abilities of institutions that are
solely human or finite.
To quote the Catechism of the Catholic Church,
paragraph 2244,
“Every institution is inspired, at least
implicitly, by a vision of man and his destiny…[and when societies] do not
admit that one can defend an objective criterion of good and evil, they
arrogate to themselves an explicit or implicit totalitarian power over man and
his destiny, as history shows”.
Today moral relativism, a direct product of
secularism, dominates our culture.
Secularism in our culture claims that in a democracy, the will of the
majority should determine what is moral.
This idea is erroneous. Democracy
is a means and not an end. If democracy
becomes an end, inalienable rights become alienable and you have the ‘might
makes right’ tyranny of the majority. If
everyone in the world were to agree that the moon is made of cheese, we would
still be wrong.
Pope Pius XI spoke out against this type of
tyranny in
his encyclical ‘Quadragesimo Anno’ when
he said,
“…[E]very social activity ought of its very nature to furnish help to
the members of the body social, and never destroy and absorb them.”
Therefore,
justice demands that the Church be free speak, the faithful free to respond and
all free to pursue the transcendental connection between man and his ultimate
good, in both private and public. When agencies enact policies or pass
legislation that violates the conscience, they pervert natural human
flourishing. As Pope Benedict said, “Wherever Politics tries to be redemptive,
it is promising too much. Where it
wishes to do the work of GOD, it becomes not Devine, but demonic.”
Now focusing on the Holy Fathers second point, “that
leaders are bound to give respect to Christ.”
Arch Bishop Charles Chaput said, “what social scientists
like to call the “Secularization” of society…in practice, involves
repudiating the Christian roots and soul of our civilization.”[i] Think about that for a minute. We are being told to forget who we are! And what’s more, by denying Christ a voice in
the public square, we are being told to forget the greatest affirmation of our
human dignity, the incarnation, God made man.
By obscuring human dignity, the inherent
goodness of our being, both body and soul, we develop an inadequate
anthropology, a person’s value becomes marginalized, we become duplicitous, sex
becomes arbitrary and laws become arbitrary.
Our political leaders become advocates for utilitarianism or materialism
and humanism becomes inhuman.
The darkening of our reason through moral
relativism can only be dispelled by faith in Christ. Faith enhances reason much
like a telescope enhances the eye. You
can see things with a telescope that you can not see with the naked eye. With the help of the telescope, new truths are
revealed in the night sky. By faith in
Christ, the truth of who we are as persons is revealed. Do you know anybody who enjoys being lied to? Why not?
Because our minds were made for Truth.
Take a child with Down syndrome and let’s say that some other children
come along and tease and taunt that child.
The child becomes angry.
Why? Because even a child with Down
syndrome can have a sense of injustice. And
that would be impossible if they were not at least vaguely aware of some perfect
justice that exists outside of themselves. This justice we know by reason is
the natural law and FAITH tells us
that if there is a law, there must be a law giver.
Applying this to our second point, Alexis de
Tocqueville said it well, “Despotism can do without faith,
but liberty cannot . . .” Therefore, “What is to be done with a people that is
its own
master, if it is not obedient to God?”[ii]
Lastly, Pope Pius XI prayed
“that the faithful would gain strength and
courage from the celebration of the feast, as we are reminded that Christ must
reign in our hearts, minds, wills, and bodies.”
Strength and courage are the principle elements
of the cardinal virtue of Fortitude.
Life is a gift from GOD but if we are to persevere in the hostile
environment of the secular world, we must join with Pope Pius XI in praying for
Fortitude. The Catechism, “being the
sure norm for the teaching of the faithful”[iii], has this to say about
the Kingship of Christ in relationship to man and this world:
“Christ
"is the head of the body, the Church." He is
the principle of creation and redemption. Raised to the Father's glory,
"in everything he [is] preeminent," especially in the Church, through
whom he extends his reign over all things.” CCC 792
“Christ the Lord already reigns through the
Church, but all things are not yet subjected to him. The triumph of Christ’s Kingdom will not come
about without one last assault by the powers of evil.” CCC 680
“At the end of time, the Kingdom of God will
come in its fullness. Then the just will reign with Christ for ever, glorified
in body and soul, and the material universe itself will be transformed. God
will then be "all in all" (1 Cor 15:28), in eternal life.”
CCC1060
And from the Gospel of John:
John 18:33,36-37
33 So
Pilate went back into the praetorium and summoned Jesus and said to him,
"Are you the King of the Jews?"
36 Jesus
answered, "My kingdom does not belong to this world.”
37 So Pilate said to him, "Then
you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the
world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my
voice."
Christ’s Kingdom is not of this world. We are called to be in the world but not of
the world.
Viva Christo Rey!
[i]
Most Rev. Charles J. Chaput, Living within the Truth, 24 August 2010.
[ii] Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, vol.
1, pt. 2, chap. 9 (New York: Library of America,
2004), 340.
