The Modern World's Rebellion against God
The Feast Of Christ the king(26th October 2014 )
The Church has always created new feasts when it seemed helpful to do so. Today we have the joy of celebrating the kingship of Jesus Christ, which feast was instituted in the year 1925 by Pope Pius XI. So, why this feast?
King is a title that has always been given to the Messias, ever since the time of the prophets. In itself the title is nothing new. What was the special need that gave rise to this feast in the 20th century? The answer is clear enough. This feast was put on the Church¡¯s calendar because of the refusal of men to accept the governance of the Savior of mankind; of the refusal of men to submit to divine authority; of the refusal of men to acknowledge the submission God requires not only of individual persons, but also of nations, to his sovereign rule. In brief, this feast came about because of the tendency of the modern world to rebel against God.
You see, dear friends, we are dealing here with modernism as it displays itself in the political sphere. In philosophy modernism takes the form of rationalism; in politics, the form of liberalism, and the primary tenet of liberalism is the denial of all authority of God to rule the lives of men.
The Church teaches that Jesus Christ, by his divine nature, has the right to rule over man. He created us; we are his creatures; we belong to him. But catholic doctrine tells us also that Jesus Christ, as man, acquired the right to rule over us by his redemption of us. We owe Him homage not only as God, but also as man, for as man He redeemed us by his Most Precious Blood.
This fact has always been acknowledged. The very constitutions of christian nations once enshrined that teaching. One finds it even in the 20th century, in the preamble of the constitution of Ireland, for example. This preamble is worth reading:
In the Name of the Most Holy Trinity, from Whom is all authority and to Whom, as our final end, all actions both of men and States must be referred, We, the people of Éire [Ireland], Humbly acknowledging all our obligations to our Divine Lord, Jesus Christ, Who sustained our fathers through centuries of trial, Gratefully remembering their heroic and unremitting struggle to regain the rightful independence of our Nation, And seeking to promote the common good, with due observance of Prudence, Justice and Charity, so that the dignity and freedom of the individual may be assured, true social order attained, the unity of our country restored, and concord established with other nations, Do hereby adopt, enact, and give to ourselves this Constitution.
Now this is the sort of constitution that should be normal, but is not. It was written principally by Eamon de Valera, an Irish Prime Minister, who in fact more than once was the altar server of Abp. Lefebvre¡¯s mass. But now we are told that our states must be secularized. The word secularization comes from the Latin word meaning time. By extension time refers to life on this earth, here below. So secularization is a turning from the world to come to the world as it is now: a turning from God to man.
This liberation from God is the great goal of liberalism in modern times. Having freed themselves of God¡¯s yoke (which the Creator calls sweet) men who as individuals rebel against God wish also to drive their societies away from this same Creator. And this, dear friends, could not be more contrary to christian doctrine. Where in theology do we find a justification for putting true religion on the same basis as false religion? Where in the bible does God teach that the devils have a right to be worshiped? Where in christian dogma do we find a right of nations to reject Jesus Christ? We of course find these things nowhere.
And yet, perhaps we too are affected by this liberal climate that has been forming for centuries. Many catholics believe that other religions have a right to assert their doctrines in public. For some of us, religion is considered a private matter, a question to be decided by the individual without interference from the state. If we think in this way, then it is against us that the pope instituted this feast.
In the Our Father we say: Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Just what does it mean for the kingdom of God to come on earth? Christ must reign not only in our hearts, but also in our families, in our cities, in our nations. But it is impossible for Christ to reign in our nations if He does not first reign in the hearts of individual men. And do we really think He will be King over our nation when we do not allow Him to reign within our traditional catholic homes?
If Christ¡¯s kingly reign is to begin anywhere, it will begin with us faithful catholics who truly want Him as King. May that same Christ help us to know our own hearts and to see whether He really does reign over them. Amen.
Fr. Anderson(sspxamerica)