Living in the Kingdom of Christ

May heads of nations fear thy name
And spread thy honor through their lands,
Our nation’s laws, our arts proclaim
The beauty of thy just commands.
Let kings the crown and scepter hold
As pledge of their supremacy;
And thou all lands, all tribes enfold
In one fair realm of charity.
—Hymn, Second Vespers, Feast of Christ the King (Te saeculorum Principem)

THE Feast of Christ the King was proclaimed by Pius XI in 1925 for a very specific purpose, as he tells us in Quas Primas: “That these blessings may be abundant and lasting in Christian society, it is necessary that the kingship of our Savior should be as widely as possible recognized and understood, and to the end nothing would serve better than the institution of a special feast in honor of the Kingship of Christ. For people are instructed in the truths of faith, and brought to appreciate the inner joys of religion far more effectually by the annual celebration of our sacred mysteries than by any official pronouncement of the teaching of the Church. Such pronouncements usually reach only a few and the more learned among the faithful; feasts reach them all; the former speak but once, the latter speak every year — in fact, forever. The church’s teaching affects the mind primarily; her feasts affect both mind and heart, and have a salutary effect upon the whole of man’s nature. Man is composed of body and soul, and he needs these external festivities so that the sacred rites, in all their beauty and variety, may stimulate him to drink more deeply of the fountain of God’s teaching, that he may make it a part of himself, and use it with profit for his spiritual life.”

Now, the whole idea of the Kingship of Christ far predates 1925. As Second Person of the Holy Trinity, through whom was made all that was made, according to His Divine Nature, and as rightful heir of the messianic Kingship of David by His human nature, Jesus Christ was King of the Universe at His birth. On the first Maundy Thursday, in addition to founding the Priesthood and beginning the Eucharist (which task would be completed with His death on the Cross), He united His Davidic Kingship with the Communio of the Church. Henceforth, Catholic Kingship (after it began in Armenia in 303, and was realised most perfectly with Theodosius’ Christianising of the Roman Empire in 380) would be a participation in the Kingship of Christ. Thus emerged the Catholic State.

All Catholic nations (and Catholic individuals outside their boundaries) were seen as part of one Res Publica Christiana, headed by the Pope on one side, and the Emperor (eventually Byzantine, Holy Roman, or both) on the other. In 494 AD, Pope Gelasius I described the relationship between the Emperor and the Church thusly: “Indeed, there are two means, August Emperor, by which this world is chiefly ruled: the sacred authority (auctoritas sacrata) of the priests and the royal power (regalis potestas). Of these, how much greater is the responsibility of the priests, in that they even have to render an account for the kings of men at the divine judgment. You also know, most merciful son, that though you preside over a human office, as a devout man you nevertheless bend your neck to the rectors of divine things and await from them the reasons of your salvation.”

This, then, was the attempt by Catholics to incarnate the Kingdom of Christ within the countries they inhabited. The Monarchs were crowned by their country’s top prelate and had special relationships with the Papacy peculiar to each, while a network of Papal diplomats kept in touch with those Monarch’s governments and with each national hierarchy. Each Monarch also had a religious household, a chapel royal whose clerics ministered to the ruling family, and presided over their weddings, baptisms, funerals, and daily Masses, often at a specific major cathedral. The cleric who headed the chapel royal was also often the head of the country’s military chaplains; as cabinet government developed there was often a “ministry of worship,” which existed to help the Church in its salvific mission. “Red Masses” invoking the Holy Ghost were offered for the opening of parliaments and the judiciary, and those bodies (and their chaplains) invoked God’s wisdom on their proceedings. The Church’s major feast days were national holidays, and every country, province, and town celebrated its patron saint. The processions on such days were often attended by royalty, government, and military figures.

All of this was altered considerably by the Protestant Revolt, the French and following revolutions, and the waves of secularism following the World Wars — hence, initially, Pope Pius XI’s reaction. Yet even in our own denominationally divided country, there are remnants of the old order — although, just as in the Protestant Monarchies of Europe, their Catholic origins are often unnoticed by Catholic and non-Catholic alike. So it is that in our own United States, although the president is not crowned and anointed, each one attends a religious service, on or around inauguration day — often at St. John’s Episcopal Church — the “Church of the Presidents.” Presidential funerals and other such rites are offered at the Episcopal Nation Cathedral. There is a national Red Mass at St. Matthew’s cathedral, echoed in larger cities across the country. Washington also offers a Papal Nuncio and the Military Archdiocese — while our armed forces each maintain a chaplaincy, as do the Senate, House of Representatives, and many State Legislatures. For all of its 20^th century “Separation of Church and State” activism, every session of the Supreme Court opens with the bailiff solemnly intoning “God Save the United States and the Honorable Court” — some variation of which is used in most jurisdictions across the Country. Even though the government refuses to aid religion directly, the National Historic Register maintained by the National Park Service lists a great many houses of worship of various kinds.

In common with the Coronation and other royal rites in Protestant Europe, the departments of worship or religion in most formerly Catholic countries, and a great many others such beside throughout the West, all of these things are more or less desiccated remains of a Catholic Order, of the Kingdom of Christ. They are maintained because the current regime finds them either inoffensive or useful. How should a Catholic who wishes to be a living subject of that Kingdom regard these dry bones?

Rather than despise them, to the degree that a Catholic can support them, he should. Certainly, the influence of the Red Mass is definitely needed on our judges, however much they may choose to ignore it. Sending Catholic chaplains into the military, police, and prisons is a fine way of not only helping them, it honors the Church. We should help as we can with any community celebration of the Church’s holidays, whether religious or secular — especially local patrons! So too with any expression of the Church outside her own doors and property — pilgrimages, processions, and local state, or national consecrations in particular are great ways to show Christ’s ongoing supremacy over the secular world.

To the degree that we can, we must also work for the extension of the Church’s Social teachings over the society in which we live — unlikely though victory may seem. The victory of anti-Catholic forces we have noticed earlier is further complicated by the reluctance or even refusal of Church authorities to stand up for the Faith — and, sometimes, even to hinder those of the laity who wish to do so. Certainly, the four points of Catholic Social Teaching from the 19^th century — Altar, Throne, Subsidiarity, and Solidarity — had been chopped down to the last two after the World Wars and Vatican II. But half a loaf is better than none. In addition to learning about the entirety of the Church’s teaching in this area, and trying to find like-minded, keep an eye on the activities of the National and State Catholic Conferences, and your own diocese’s Justice and Peace Commission, and see what if any of their campaigns you could support.

Our homes, of course, we can transform into small provinces of the Kingdom of Christ. A home altar, family devotions, familial consecration to the Sacred Heart — in accord with Quas Primas — will go a long way to establishing your home as a refuge for your family from the enemy-occupied territory outside. We must treat those with whom we share our abode as fellow subjects of Christ the King.

The smallest territory over which we offer Christ the King control is our own selves. By virtue of our baptism we are each of us members of the Body of Christ, and citizens of the Roman Empire — for all that both of those entities are invisible. But, as subjects of the Kingship of Christ, we are also subjects of the gentle Queen whose realm is coterminous with that of her Son. As Pius XII wrote in his encyclical Ad Caeli Reginam, “Let all Christians, therefore, glory in being subjects of the Virgin Mother of God, who, while wielding royal power, is on fire with a mother’s love.” One beautiful and certain way to show them both our allegiance, despite all, is always to have on our persons what St. Louis Marie de Montfort dubbed “Our Lady’s Livery” — the Rosary and Scapular.