Christ the King (Christus Rex)

       

Today we celebrate the feast of Christ the King. Unlike Presidents and Prime Ministers, Kings are not elected and therefore are not submissive to opinion polls. Special interest groups, lobbyists, and the media have no influence over the crown. One either accepts the authority of King and complies with his will OR they reject his rule and suffer the consequences. The question Christians must ask themselves is: WHO IS MY KING? 

Some like the crowd before Pilate, proclaim: 'we have no King but Caesar'  They are the secular progressives who pander to public opinion. They go with the majority even when it is wrong. Those who said women have no right to vote; those who said slavery was a personal choice; those who said states should decide for themselves if they want racial segregation; they are in reality saying WE HAVE NO KING BUT CAESAR. Caesar is the world, secular culture, and business and politics devoid of morality.  Those who advocate or tolerate abortion, euthanasia, same sex marriage, etc., reject the Divine Law and Natural Law given us by God. They repudiate the reign of God and therefore refuse to obey His Will or His Bride, the Church. Politicians and voters and sadly even ecclesiastics who place popularity over propriety have no King but Caesar. Whether it is the State, the secular culture, business, political parties, or the politically correct, none of these outranks the majesty of God. None of them are superior to the Supreme Being.

Others reject the kingship of Christ AND of the world. They make themselves king (as did Lucifer, Adam & Eve, Sodom and Gomorrah, et al.) since their pride and ego refuse to bow to anyone else. They are self-anointed experts and know-it-alls who condescendingly look down on those of us who faithfully submit to the Magisterium. They refuse to get mandatums and imprimaturs since both are exercises of legitimate teaching authority.

Those who herald CHRIST OUR KING obey Him and His Vicar on earth. The Pope represents Christ and has been given FULL, SUPREME, UNIVERSAL and IMMEDIATE authority to govern the Church. When teaching on matters of faith and morals, he is infallible. The radical left and the reactionary right often sleep in the same bed when they embrace HERESY and/or SCHISM. Saint Ambrose said it well and said it all when he coined the phrase UBI PETRUS IBI ECCLESIA. While the prudential judgments of the Roman Pontiff are not infallible, his authority cannot be appealed and therefore his decisions bind us and oblige us to submit intellect and will. Reject the authority (governing or teaching) of Peter's Successor and you reject the One Who gave it to him (Jesus Christ).