“The presence, name and commandments of Jesus have been removed from governments, schools and public places. Laws are continually passed that violate His commandments [such as "legalized" abortion] thus opposing His kingdom. We must remember Pope Leo XIII's words that "all public power proceeds from God, for God alone is the true and supreme Lord of the world. Rulers are legates of God." Encyclical Letter, Immortale Dei. There is no peace in the world today, as we only need to consider the amount of evil all over the world, the dire state it is in, nations still at war, corrupt governments, the institution of the family being destroyed, reducing parental authority, easy divorce, abortion, legal recognition of irregular unions -homosexuality, the LGBT, reduction of social and financial assistance to large families, forced sterilization no freedom of worship, closing of churches, end of Catholic schools, bad children’s education, etc, etc. There is no peace in the world because the world has shoved aside God. Without God, without our keeping His Commandments there can be no peace because true peace can only come from God - from Jesus Christ. “We referred to the chief causes of the difficulties under which mankind was laboring. And We remember saying that these manifold evils in the world were due to the fact that the majority of men had thrust Jesus Christ and his holy law out of their lives; that these had no place either in private affairs or in politics: and we said further, that as long as individuals and states refused to submit to the rule of our Savior, there would be no really hopeful prospect of a lasting peace among nations.” Pope Pius XI, 1925 Encyclical Quas Primas. Well, as Catholics, we all ought to know that God made us, He made everything in the world and without Him we won’t exist. Furthermore, in Catechism, we were taught to love and to serve Him. The majority of Catholics know enough about our faith to acknowledge Him as Our Lord and King. All Christians, by virtue of our Baptism, are subjects of Christ's benevolent Kingship. In addition to the many graces that flow from being a child of Christ and His subject, this identity also entails responsibilities. Citizenship in the Kingdom of God (Phil 3:20) bestows, for example, a mission. This mission is not entrusted solely to bishops, priests, and deacons, nor is it reserved for the saints, and scholars. All the members of Christ, rather, have a part to play in the realization of His Kingdom. He is the head of the Church and we, the members are the body, as without the members there is no Church. “ Let every soul be subject to higher powers: for there is no power but from God: and those that are, are ordained of God. Therefore, he that resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God. And they that resist, purchase to themselves damnation.” - Romans 13:1-2. The proclamation of the Kingdom, begun by Jesus in the countryside of Galilee, is extended through time and space by the Church, with particular reliance upon the gifts and zeal of her lay members. By our exemplary lives and our commitment to God’s commandments and Holy will, we announce to all the world the peace and joy that come from submitting ourselves to the sweet dominion of Christ the King. “But if we ponder this matter more deeply, we cannot but see that the title and the power of King belongs to Christ as man in the strict and proper sense too. For it is only as man that He may be said to have received from the Father “power and glory and a kingdom,” since the Word of God, as consubstantial with the Father, has all things in common with him, and therefore has necessarily supreme and absolute dominion over all things created.” Pope Pius XI - Encyclical Quas Primas Pope Pius XI observed the result of the failing of establishing the Kingship of Christ even in his own time: “The empire of Christ over all nations was rejected. The right which the Church has from Christ himself, to teach mankind, to make laws, to govern peoples in all that pertains to their eternal salvation, that right was denied. Then gradually the religion of Christ came to be likened to false religions and to be placed ignominiously on the same level with them. It was then put under the power of the state and tolerated more or less at the whim of princes and rulers. Some men went even further, and wished to set up in the place of God’s religion a natural religion consisting in some instinctive affection of the heart. There were even some nations who thought they could dispense with God, and that their religion should consist in impiety and the neglect of God. The rebellion of individuals and states against the authority of Christ has produced deplorable consequences.” This is the very vicious situation we find ourselves in today. More and more we find savagely immoral governments of developed and developing countries, compelling Catholics to embrace essentially amended laws formed from liberal ideologies, all out of desperation to preserve their ability to simply continue to exist disgracefully with other false religions. Meanwhile, pagan and occult practices are on the rise, out in the open, because no logical excuse exists by which the secular state can deny them the same freedom as any other religion already given equal footing in the public square. Pluralism for one is, we are learning the hard way, pluralism for all. Those of you who are well read, better informed, know the root source of the evils of today have a lot to do with the “Declaration of the Rights of Man” which have links right back to the time of the French Revolution. As for the main Church problems were the fruits of Vatican Council II. Quoting Pope Paul VI in 1971 and 1972: “In many areas the Council has not so far given us peace but rather stirred up troubles and problems that in no way serve to strengthen the Kingdom of God within the Church or within its souls.” “ The smoke of Satan has entered by some crack into the temple of God; doubt, uncertainty, problems, restlessness, dissatisfaction and confrontation have come to surface… doubt has entered our conscience.” (Liturgical Time Bombs In Vatican II) “Where was this crack? With precision this can be pinpointed to the time of 1789 - the French Revolution. The Masonic and anti-Catholic principles of the French Revolution have taken two hundred years to enter tonsured and mitred heads. Today it is an accomplished fact. Such is the reality and the cause of your perplexities, my confused Catholic readers.” Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. (For better understanding read the following: Open Letter to confused Catholics by Arhcbishop Marcel Lefebvre; and Permanent Instruction of the Alta Vendita: A Masonic Blueprint For The Subversion Of The Catholic Church) Socialism and Communism have been infested in our world today through governments who are members of the United Nations. France and Spain were among the first to embrace Socialism. These are the “errors” Our Lady of Fatima was referring to: “..without prayer and consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart “she [Russia] will spread her errors throughout the entire world, fomenting wars and persecution of the Church.” How is it that from the great history of the Church with it’s height in the early 2nd century until the Late Middle Ages of 1300 to 1500, with so many European countries being Catholic only the Vatican City remains? The world's sole remaining Christian theocracy. The home of the Pope and the Roman Curia, and the spiritual center for some 1.2 billion followers of the Catholic Church. The world’s smallest independent nation-state. Two major problems were weakening the Roman Catholic Church. The first was worldliness and corruption within the Church. The second was political conflict between the pope and European monarchs. No doubt there were many reasons that let to the decline of the Church but in my opinion the cause of it all falls mainly on the decline of the fervour of members of the Church. Without love and faithful service, doing the Holy will of God, fervour cannot be achieved. “For, after all, what do we say each day when we pray? What can we expect when man reject God? But a secular and Godless troubled world in need of peace. It is like: God the ever loving Father who out of love made us, and sent His only begotten Son, Jesus, to die the terrible death as he did, so that the Gates of Heaven can be opened to us, yet we spurn His love by leaving Him out of our lives. How would you console a rejected loving father then? How would you make up for the many offences against God. Need not the world make reparation to stay the wrath of God? For the benefit of those who are not knowledgeable in the faith or need a refresher, the following paragraphs from Catholic Church teachings ought to inspire us to reinforce the need to hail Our Lord as King of Kings, if not out of love for Him. The central statement of Catholic faith, the Nicene Creed, begins, "I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible." Thus, Catholics believe that God is not a part of nature, but that God created nature and all that exists. God also sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to redeem us from sin. Without Jesus and the Church’s Sacraments, we would not have been able to free ourselves from the taint of original sin of Adam and Eve, and to save our souls. Christ the King is a title of Jesus in Christianity referring to Him being seated at the right hand of God in the Kingdom of God . Therefore He is rightly our King as He is also our Creator and Redeemer. But by right, not only all Christians but also non-Christians ought to recognize God in Jesus as sovereign king since He created nature and all that exists. Jesus is King “by nature and by conquest”, says St Louis de Montfort. By His divine nature, as God the Creator, Christ is King of creation, and, by His human nature – by His Incarnation – He is also King of the universe as man. Moreover, in the supernatural order of grace, He is King by conquest as the Redeemer. This is why He must reign over men and society, and over the whole universe, in the natural order as well as in the supernatural order." True peace of Christ can only exist in the Kingdom of Christ. (Pope Pius XI). True peace can only be found under the Kingship of Christ as "Prince of Peace". "For Jesus Christ reigns over the minds of individuals by His teachings, in their hearts by His love, in each one's life by the living according to His law and the imitating of His example." Attaining true peace through the commandments of God. Jesus Christ the King holds all executive power. All men must obey His sovereign rule. He must reign over every nation until the end of the world when He puts all enemies beneath the feet of God the Father. [1 Cor. 15:25] Against those who refuse His rule He has issued a penalty of eternal punishment which no one may escape. [Mt. 25:46] Jesus Christ the King also has all judicial power. "All judgment has been given to the Son." [John 5:22] This power of judgment is eternal and includes the privilege of rewarding and punishing of every single one of us and it will be immediately executed. "These will go off to eternal punishment and the just to eternal life." [Ibid.] Therefore, recognition of the Reign of Jesus Christ the King must first of all be recognized by every individual. Especially when one accepts and believe that Jesus is the only Son of God the Creator of Heaven and Earth, and He is also God in the Holy Trinity. It’s only logical for a man who believes this that he should accept Christ's sovereignty and submit himself to His reign through faith, conversion and membership in His Church. "Since the Kingdom of Christ is not of this world, the Catholic Church takes nothing away from the temporal welfare of any nation by establishing this Kingdom. Rather does she foster and take to herself insofar as they are good, the ability, resources, and customs of each people. Taking them to herself she purifies, strengthens, and ennobles them, and if they would submit to Him as Sovereign, wars and animosity would cease.” THE FEAST OF CHRIST THE KING The Church celebrates the Feast of Christ the King, also called the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, on the last Sunday of the Liturgical year. Many decades leading to the early 20th century, the world was increasingly forgetting the Kingship of Christ, especially in the political sphere. Pope Pius XI saw the empire of Christ rejected in many countries. And this led to a division of sorts: Christ could be King of the heart and Church, but He was unwelcome to be King of anything that reached beyond that. So, the Vicar of Christ established this feast day, so the world “may hasten the return of society to our loving Savior.” He went on to say that once we “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.” In his charity and wisdom, Pope Pius XI included all persons under the banner of Christ’s Kingship. The Feast of the Kingshp of Christ was then established to respond to a world that was rejecting Christ and was being dominated by secularism; Pope Pius XI in 1925 wrote his encyclical Quas Primas. He quotes Pope Leo XIII to emphasize this point: "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." Pope Pius XI hoped that the establishment of this feast would bring about the following:
A Link to the Saints The Feast of the Kingship of Our Lord Jesus Christ was set to be observed annually on the last Sunday of October, the Sunday just before the Feast of All Saints. This was to emphasize the link between Christ the King and the saints. For it is when we recognize Christ as King that we can become saints. The saints chose to fight under the banner of Christ’s Kingship while they lived on earth, which transformed them into saints in Heaven. Likewise, we are called to claim Christ as King now, so we may one day be counted among them in Heaven. Since there are no government rightly ordered and subordinate to the Kingship of Christ, looking back at the words of Pope Pius XI: “human society is tottering to its fall, because it has no longer a secure and solid foundation.” it has become more true today then ever. What can we do? Since it is obvious there will be no clear governmental restoration of a truly Catholic civil sphere, anytime soon, we should have confidence in God’s providence that such a situation can and will return, in time, according to God’s will. For our part, a path to the Social Kingship of Christ begins, as with so many aspects of Catholic restoration, in our homes and families. It begins with us Catholics, acknowledging to the world that Christ is not merely the King of Hearts, but rightly of all men, and of all nations. How can we restore Our Lord’s sovereignty, if not publicly then privately?
By traditionally honoring Christ the King: 1) Dedication to the Sacred Heart Pope Pius XI’s institution of the Feast of the Kingship of Our Lord Jesus Christ includes the Consecration of the Human Race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This traditionally takes place after the Traditional Latin Mass on the feast day, at the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. 2The Devotion and office of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 4)Enthronement of the (image) Sacred Heart of Jesus in one’s home. Revive this traditional devotion, in which we make Christ literally the King of our homes. Having enthroned Him, an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, centrally at a place of honour, if possibly above an altar, in one’s home then the family can spend an hour in front of this altar to pray the family Rosary and other prayers and the daily recitation of the Renewal of the Consecration of the Family to the Enthroned Sacred Heart. Pray the Litany of the Sacred Heart and the Divine Praises. Recite the Act of Consecration of the Human Race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. (A partial indulgence is granted to the faithful, who piously recite this prayer, and a plenary indulgence is granted, if it is recited publicly.) Or pray the Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 5)Attend the Tridentine Latin Mass often. 6) Have a devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, visit Our Lord present in tabernacles in Churches whenever we can or when there is no Mass. 7) Lectio Divina - Divine Reading In the days leading up to the feast day of Christ the King, spend time praying with Scripture passages that call to mind Christ’s Kingship. Read the passages, meditate on them and pray. E.g. Daniel 2:44; Daniel 7:14; Psalm 72; Psalm 93; Philippians 2:10-11; Colossians 1:11-20 8)Attend an Ignatian Retreat (when available) to spend 5 days in silence with Our Lord. 9) Have a Sacred Heart of Jesus medal blessed by a priest and wear it. 10) By implementing the above actions, parents by their good examples would be educating your children, not only recognizing Christ as King of Kings but also in part the true Catholic faith and tradition. 11) Read and re-read the Catechism of the Council of Trent, the finest and most complete Catechism. Teach your children with this catechism and the Rosary. Let us pray : By the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Queen of Peace, set up Thy kingdom in our country. Enter closely into the midst of our families and make them Thine own through the solemn enthronement of Thy Sacred Heart so that no one cry may respond from home to home. May the triumphant Heart of Jesus be everywhere loved, blessed and glorified forever! Honour and glory to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary. Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ our Lord and King protect our families. Amen. Christus vincit! Christus regnat! Christus imperat! (supplementary information: The Kingship of Christ, ACCORDING TO THE PRINCIPLES OF ST. THOMAS AQUINAS, BY REV. DENIS FAHEY,) The Reign of Christ the King by Michael Davies
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