A Sunday Thought to Start the Week Off Right
So we're post-Thanksiving/pre-Advent this coming week. Post-Thanksgiving in these parts means turkey dinner leftovers. If you've had a great feast on Thursday, your leftovers will reflect that. That's the case in our home.
Pre-Advent reminds us of the Holy Season that begins in exactly one week. It's worth a shout-out so we can all prepare. Getting ready for Christmas isn't just about all that "holiday music" that's already flooding the air waves; it's not just about shopping, "holiday parties," decorating your home. It's about getting ready for the coming of Jesus Christ, the savior of the world. So this week, get ready to get ready.
Meanwhile, to close out what the Novus Ordo calendar calls "Ordinary Time" we've got the feast of Christ the King today, a feast already observed in the traditional calendar on the last Sunday of October. Oh the confusion of it all! But never mind, either way, He is our King. And in a time of great political division in our country, and religious/theological division in our Church, it's a perfect time to remind ourselves of exactly Who's in charge. It's not the President, the Congress, or the Pope. It's Jesus Christ. And while most Catholics understand that we follow the Pope as the representative of Jesus Christ on earth, few of us remember that, at one time, governments recognized and endeavored to follow Jesus Christ.
With that in mind, here's something we've posted in the past...
The Feast of Christ the King
Today's feast of Christ the King begins the last week of the Church's Liturgical Year. While serious Catholics will easily grasp the fundamental importance of recognizing Jesus Christ as his or her King, many of us forget that all governments - at least in the West - once did the same. In other words, once upon a time it wasn't just a personal "choice" to formally place oneself under the authority and leadership of Christ; governments placed themselves under His authority and leadership too.
Today's twisted understanding of the "separation of Church and State" grew out of the Enlightenment - a time when human beings "freed themselves" from what they perceived as an oppressive Church. Let's be clear about this: the Church never was and never will be perfect. But the ensuing efforts on the part of many of the leading figures of the Enlightenment was not to "reform" that which needed reformation; it was to push the Church out of public life altogether. And in this, they have, for the most part, succeeded.
The United States has remained one of the last holdouts; at least it was until the 20th century, when calls to end even the hint of God - never mind our Holy Catholic Religion - gained momentum. In this we now follow the countries of Europe - what was once known as "Christendom" - who have already constructed their "enlightened" secular culture, pushing God unceremoniously out the back door. Yet, even as we recognize the "reality" of the dominance of a secular culture, we note that most of the state constitutions of the United States of America continue to formally recognize God in some way. For example, the preamble of the Constitution of my home state of New York quite clearly states, even in its recently revised version,
(And so it goes for most of the other state constitutions. If you didn't know this, just look it up and you'll see for yourself.)
Of course, efforts continue, on the part of today's children of the Enlightenment, to rid our country, both at the federal and state level, of any formal recognition of God in public affairs. It's the final push to keep God under wraps, perhaps permitting the Creator of the Universe to exist in the hearts and minds of individuals, but certainly eliminating - indeed forbidding - all public references to Him. (I say "perhaps" permitting, because the secular pagan culture may not be satisfied with the singular elimination of public recognition of God. But that's a subject for another time.)
For now, we Catholics must remind ourselves that our reference to Christ the King isn't something that exists only in our holy religion, or in our individual hearts and minds. It is in fact an objective description of a rightly ordered society - a society that recognizes that authority ultimately rests in the hands of Him who created the universe, in the person of His only begotten Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Anything less than this recognition of the true meaning of Christ the King simply won't do. I hope you understand this.
Pre-Advent reminds us of the Holy Season that begins in exactly one week. It's worth a shout-out so we can all prepare. Getting ready for Christmas isn't just about all that "holiday music" that's already flooding the air waves; it's not just about shopping, "holiday parties," decorating your home. It's about getting ready for the coming of Jesus Christ, the savior of the world. So this week, get ready to get ready.
Meanwhile, to close out what the Novus Ordo calendar calls "Ordinary Time" we've got the feast of Christ the King today, a feast already observed in the traditional calendar on the last Sunday of October. Oh the confusion of it all! But never mind, either way, He is our King. And in a time of great political division in our country, and religious/theological division in our Church, it's a perfect time to remind ourselves of exactly Who's in charge. It's not the President, the Congress, or the Pope. It's Jesus Christ. And while most Catholics understand that we follow the Pope as the representative of Jesus Christ on earth, few of us remember that, at one time, governments recognized and endeavored to follow Jesus Christ.
With that in mind, here's something we've posted in the past...
The Feast of Christ the King
Today's feast of Christ the King begins the last week of the Church's Liturgical Year. While serious Catholics will easily grasp the fundamental importance of recognizing Jesus Christ as his or her King, many of us forget that all governments - at least in the West - once did the same. In other words, once upon a time it wasn't just a personal "choice" to formally place oneself under the authority and leadership of Christ; governments placed themselves under His authority and leadership too.
Today's twisted understanding of the "separation of Church and State" grew out of the Enlightenment - a time when human beings "freed themselves" from what they perceived as an oppressive Church. Let's be clear about this: the Church never was and never will be perfect. But the ensuing efforts on the part of many of the leading figures of the Enlightenment was not to "reform" that which needed reformation; it was to push the Church out of public life altogether. And in this, they have, for the most part, succeeded.
The United States has remained one of the last holdouts; at least it was until the 20th century, when calls to end even the hint of God - never mind our Holy Catholic Religion - gained momentum. In this we now follow the countries of Europe - what was once known as "Christendom" - who have already constructed their "enlightened" secular culture, pushing God unceremoniously out the back door. Yet, even as we recognize the "reality" of the dominance of a secular culture, we note that most of the state constitutions of the United States of America continue to formally recognize God in some way. For example, the preamble of the Constitution of my home state of New York quite clearly states, even in its recently revised version,
"We The People of the State of New York, grateful to
Almighty God for our Freedom, in order to secure its blessings, DO
ESTABLISH THIS CONSTITUTION."
(And so it goes for most of the other state constitutions. If you didn't know this, just look it up and you'll see for yourself.)
Of course, efforts continue, on the part of today's children of the Enlightenment, to rid our country, both at the federal and state level, of any formal recognition of God in public affairs. It's the final push to keep God under wraps, perhaps permitting the Creator of the Universe to exist in the hearts and minds of individuals, but certainly eliminating - indeed forbidding - all public references to Him. (I say "perhaps" permitting, because the secular pagan culture may not be satisfied with the singular elimination of public recognition of God. But that's a subject for another time.)
For now, we Catholics must remind ourselves that our reference to Christ the King isn't something that exists only in our holy religion, or in our individual hearts and minds. It is in fact an objective description of a rightly ordered society - a society that recognizes that authority ultimately rests in the hands of Him who created the universe, in the person of His only begotten Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Anything less than this recognition of the true meaning of Christ the King simply won't do. I hope you understand this.
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