The One True King

Gospel Reflection for November 26, 2023, Feast of Christ the King - Matthew 25:31-46

And when the Son of man shall come in his majesty, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit upon the seat of his majesty.

And all nations shall be gathered together before him, and he shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats:

And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on his left.

Then shall the king say to them that shall be on his right hand: Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in:

Naked, and you covered me: sick, and you visited me: I was in prison, and you came to me.

Then shall the just answer him, saying: Lord, when did we see thee hungry, and fed thee; thirsty, and gave thee drink?

And when did we see thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and covered thee?

Or when did we see thee sick or in prison, and came to thee?

And the king answering, shall say to them: Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me.

Then he shall say to them also that shall be on his left hand: Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels.

For I was hungry, and you gave me not to eat: I was thirsty, and you gave me not to drink.

I was a stranger, and you took me not in: naked, and you covered me not: sick and in prison, and you did not visit me.

Then they also shall answer him, saying: Lord, when did we see thee hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to thee?

Then he shall answer them, saying: Amen I say to you, as long as you did it not to one of these least, neither did you do it to me.

And these shall go into everlasting punishment: but the just, into life everlasting. (Matthew 25:31-46 DRA)

Today is the great Feast of Christ the King, instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1925 in order to combat the rise of secularist regimes following the so-called Enlightenment. In his encyclical establishing the holiday, Quas Primas, Pius XI reiterates a principle of Catholic Tradition for which many saints have been martyred over the centuries. This principle is the necessary autonomy of the Church and its supremacy above all human laws and states. From the martyrs of the Roman coliseum to St. Thomas Becket, St. Thomas More and the many martyrs of the French Revolution and the communist, socialist and fascist regimes of the 20^th century, Catholics have always stood up against attempts by any human authority to subordinate the Church to its power. All of these diabolical efforts are, as Pius recognized, violations of the kingship of Christ who, as both the Son of God and Son of Man, possesses full and total rule over all Creation and to whom all human authorities owe their obedience. As Pius explained:

When we pay honour to the princely dignity of Christ, men will doubtless be reminded that the Church, founded by Christ as a perfect society, has a natural and inalienable right to perfect freedom and immunity from the power of the state; and that in fulfilling the task committed to her by God of teaching, ruling, and guiding to eternal bliss those who belong to the kingdom of Christ, she cannot be subject to any external power. (Quas Primas, 31)

Prior to the Enlightenment, and especially before the absolute monarchies and nationalist Machiavellian ideologies of the Renaissance, Christendom largely adhered to this understanding of the universal kingship of Christ. According to the philosophy of integralism, the kings and princes of Europe recognized the superior purpose and mission of the Church and saw themselves as the secular arm of the Church, defending her against internal and external threats. This was the motive for the Crusades – not the wonton fanatical violence they are often seen as today but works of heroic self-sacrifice and penance by which the people of Europe defended Christendom against Islamic jihad and the rupture of social order by heretics. As time went on, however, European nations came to ignore the voice of Christ speaking through His Church, preferring their own power and prosperity over holiness and unity. This ultimately culminated in the Wars of Religion and led to the reappearance of slavery, imperialism and persecution of the Church to a degree which had not been seen since the Roman Empire. Christendom was replaced with nation-states that ignored the warnings of the Church and saw their authority as coming from the world rather than from God. In this way, governments were no longer beholden to any authority or morality above themselves, paving the way for totalitarian regimes, mob rule and the degradation of society. Pius made this clear in his encyclical:

If princes and magistrates duly elected are filled with the persuasion that they rule, not by their own right, but by the mandate and in the place of the Divine King, they will exercise their authority piously and wisely, and they will make laws and administer them, having in view the common good and also the human dignity of their subjects. The result will be a stable peace and tranquillity, for there will be no longer any cause of discontent. Men will see in their king or in their rulers men like themselves, perhaps unworthy or open to criticism, but they will not on that account refuse obedience if they see reflected in them the authority of Christ God and Man. (Quas Primas, 19)

As in his later encyclical rebuking the Nazis, Mit Brennender Sorge, Pius issued Quas Primas specifically targeting the modern ideological regimes mentioned previously. However, his message is far broader than this and applies as much to liberal democratic nations as to socialists and fascists, and it remains a problem today as much for “liberal” as for “conservative” Catholics. Although the Church since Vatican II has sanctified the Enlightenment concept of religious liberty, the truth remains that the state has no rights over the Church but instead is obligated to obey the commands of Christ given in Tradition. When the government excludes Christ from its laws and institutions, even in the name of pluralism and tolerance, disorder will necessarily follow. The legalization (and even funding through taxes) of the evils of pornography, contraception, abortion, euthanasia and countless other atrocities extend from this national rejection and privatization of Christ. Christians today are now told, even by other Christians, that it is intolerant, unkind and fanatical to live the Faith openly and to obey Christ even in one’s political and economic life, that we are forcing our views onto others. This is a deceitful lie to which so many people today have fallen prey and we are now seeing its effects in culture. The farther the West strays from Christ, the more it will disintegrate at all levels, finally lacking the conviction and will to stand up against the far more unified and determined forces of communism and Islam in the world today.

The allure of wealth and the complacency of entertainment have lulled the world into ignoring the slaughter of the unborn, the trafficking of children, the mutilation of bodies in the indulgence of mental disorders and the secularization of education, marriage and the arts. All of these are forms of disobedience to the kingship of Christ, who is the Lord of government, family and the individual, without which there can be no true liberty or justice. Temporal society is not the only thing at stake – we will also as individuals be held accountable by God for our infidelity and will be required to kneel before His throne and answer to our offenses against His crown. His kingdom is not of this world – it consists of the poor, the neglected and those considered worthless in the sight of men, and it is ruled by the law of love. May we, on this feast day, come to a greater recognition of Christ’s divine kingship and submit our lives in total fealty to Him, ordering all that we do toward the fulfillment of His kingdom through courage, self-discipline and charity.

Nations will be reminded by the annual celebration of this feast that not only private individuals but also rulers and princes are bound to give public honor and obedience to Christ. It will call to their minds the thought of the last judgment, wherein Christ, who has been cast out of public life, despised, neglected and ignored, will most severely avenge these insults; for his kingly dignity demands that the State should take account of the commandments of God and of Christian principles, both in making laws and in administering justice, and also in providing for the young a sound moral education. (Quas Primas, 32)