A Sunday Thought About True Loyalty and Obedience
Where is our true loyalty? The question arises in reference to the past and future feast of Christ the King. Past because the traditional calendar observed this glorious feast at the end of October. Future because the newfangled calendar will observe the Sunday before Thanksgiving.
So today's discussion connects old and new. No matter your calendar preference, we come together for the sake of our King. All of us owe him our obeisance and our obedience.
For many of us, obeisance comes more easily than obedience. We may have no trouble expressing a deferential respect for Our Lord, our King, in our prayers, our outward gestures, for example, at Mass: We genuflect whenever we stand before the Tabernacle, before we take our place in the pew, etc. (While some of our brethren attending the Novus Ordo Mass may not genuflect, perhaps they bow? If no bow, then...well, we'll leave that for another time.)
As for obedience, the sound of the word may grate against some of us who have imbibed too much of the modernist cocktail served up by our culture and - in many instances - even some (many?) of our Bishops and priests. You don't hear much about Commandments, or obligations these days. But that doesn't mean they've disappeared. Indeed, if we take seriously the Kingship of Christ, doesn't that make us His subjects, His devoted servants. And doesn't obedience then come naturally to us? If not, maybe we can take some time during our Sunday respite from daily cares and put some serious thought into this.
If obedience remains arcane or undesirable after applying some brain power, perhaps you might appreciate the palpable benefits that it brings to all of us. Here, let's assume, or rather accept, that we're all sinners in need of forgiveness. And the road to forgiveness of course takes us right to acts of penance. (Basic Catholic sensibility, right?) With that understanding, this advice from Father Wilfrid Herbst, S.D.S. helps us appreciate both the importance and the benefits of obedience:
“We must all practice a certain amount of mortification and do penance. But there are three ways in which we can perform quite enough without doing anything extraordinary. Let us (1) do all that we are commanded to do by any law, human or divine. Let us (2) avoid whatever is forbidden by human or divine law. And let us (3) bear with all possible patience and resignation all crosses and contradictions to our natural will that come to us by the hand of God, for instance, dryness in prayer, temptations, afflictions or bodily pain, sickness and infirmity, loss of honor and esteem, the loss of friends, the want of necessaries and comforts, and such like things. All this is to be patiently and lovingly endured, whether these crosses come directly from God or by means of His creatures. The above three categories offer enough mortification for any soul. There is no need to ask for, to advise, or to impose others. We must not be hindered from becoming saints by mistaken notions of mortification. At any rate, let us first do all this perfectly well before we go in search of extraordinary (and often unsuitable and oppressive) things.”
With a personal benefit in hand, let's turn now to the benefit to society - all of us together. If we recognize Our Lord Jesus Christ as our King, and give him the appropriate obeisance and obedience, all of society benefits. It's not just a Catholic thing. But if you're Catholic, you should be able to grasp this quickly. Others may require some proof, something we don't have time for today. But if you do think proof is needed, try simply keeping an open mind as you read the following. It's taken from the prayers for Terce in the Divine Liturgy for the Feast of Christ the King:
Orémus. OmnÃpotens sempitérne Deus, qui in dilécto FÃlio tuo, universórum Rege, ómnia instauráre voluÃsti: concéde propÃtius; ut cunctæ famÃliæ géntium, peccáti vúlnere disgregátæ, ejus suavÃssimo subdántur império:
Qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitáte SpÃritus Sancti, Deus, per ómnia sǽcula sæculórum.
R. Amen.
Let us pray. Almighty and everlasting God, who in thy beloved Son, the King of the whole world, hast willed to restore all things: mercifully grant that all the families of nations, now kept apart by the wound of sin, may be brought under the sweet yoke of his rule.
Who with thee liveth and reigneth, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end.
R. Amen.
Now, Catholic or not, doesn't this make a lot of sense? Nations have been at each others' throats since Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden. While there's been an ebb and flow of more vs. less peaceful interludes, somehow some group always manages to convince their compatriots that they should attack some other group. Peace has thus remained elusive.
Oh, and if you're of the ilk that believes that One World Government would end war forever, well...I'll just say "Good luck" with that. If you recall, when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1989, some claimed that would mark what they called "the end of history." The U.S. would dominate the world and usher in a kind of Pax Americana. While "the end of history" didn't last very long, you ought not have been surprised. All you needed to do was consider the "Pax Romana" - the relative "peace" that prevailed for a while during the days of the Roman Empire. That too didn't last. Besides, a knowledge of the history of the time shows the "Pax" wasn't all la-de-da. Will some prospective One World Government fair any better?
May I suggest we not waste time with all the failed efforts to impose some kind of "Utopia" on this world of ours. If, by God's grace, we all reject sin and give our full obeisance and obedience to Our Lord Jesus Christ as "the King of the whole world," then and only then will true peace reign.
For now, let's spend our time and energy giving our loyalty and obedience to Christ the King.
Happy Sunday!
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