Honor The King
It is the duty of every man and woman to pledge allegiance to the flag of his country. Patriotism is not an option for the Catholic, and no matter what might be the nation of our birth we owe to it our loyalty and service. Just as we must be ready to give up our lives for our faith, so too are we expected—by God himself—to die for our country if the need arises. Our men and women in uniform, including our first responders on the domestic front, are to be held in the highest esteem, as it is to them we owe our freedom and tranquility. The Constitution of the United States is, in this land, the highest law we have and we are obliged, not only legally, but morally, to respect and obey it.
And yet our Constitution is deeply flawed. I speak here on shaky ground as I am not an American citizen and may therefore be seen as an outsider criticizing the nation that has afforded me shelter, a means of livelihood, and the liberty to earn it in peace. However, the points I make are made from a Catholic point of view, based on the teachings of the Church, and more importantly the natural law created by God. The Constitution worked well for a couple of hundred years, but only because the citizens of this country were themselves subservient to the laws of God. Take God away from the Constitution and God’s enemies are more than willing and able to use that Constitution against the natural law and against us.
As examples, I need go no further than the laws now governing marriage. Starting with divorce, which is forbidden by God, then moving through time to contraception, abortion, same-sex unions, surragocy, and other crimes against the natural law, it has become obvious that the Constitution is unable by itself to prevent such horrors. Indeed, it follows the “will of the people” in encouraging them. For another solid example of how our hands are tied by the United States Constitution, look at the rise of Satanism in this country. What could be more evil than this? But because of the Constitution, we are legally forced to accept this evil. How many schools are being forced to allow openly Satanic clubs? The number is rising every week and God-fearing politicians and school boards are powerless to prevent it—because of the constitutional “right” to free speech and the separation of Church and State. The Constitution recognizes Satanism as a legitimate religious body. It has to. The result is that you can’t stop them putting a statue of Satan next to the public display of a Nativity scene because the civil rights of a Satanist in this country are no less than those of the most devout and godly Catholic organization.
So yes, the Constitution is flawed. But where did it all begin? Again, I assure you that I speak not as an Englishman who perhaps doesn’t hold the same pride you have in your American Revolution. I am merely echoing the words of St. Peter, first Pope and Prince of the Apostles, when he wrote today’s Epistle. He tell us that we must submit ourselves “to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether he be the king, as supreme, or unto governors.” “Fear God!” he says, “Honor the King!” These are words that every Christian should heed, and not for reasons of politics. St. Peter was not writing a political message here, no more than this is a “political sermon.” His words are based on his profound knowledge of the God with whom he walked and talked for three years during our Lord’s life. His words are based on the very nature that God created, a nature that was violently overturned by the American Revolution and even more violently by the French Revolution that followed soon after.
The fact is, that whether we like it or not, all authority derives from God. He delegates his authority to certain human beings so they may govern each nation in his Name. Usually, these delegated persons are called kings or emperors and have supreme authority over the kingdom or empire. They rule over the people, delegating in their turn dukes, earls, and barons, who act in the name of the king and enforce laws in their local region. In the modern age, a king is more likely to appoint a Prime Minister who in turn divides his administration of the government among other Ministers or cabinet members who are in charge of the various aspects of bureaucracy, similar to the administration of a US President and his cabinet.
At the very basis of our flawed Constitution is the supposition that people should not be subservient to their king. Once we accept that denial of the natural law, we destroy all earthly authority. Authority is replaced by the will of the people, and it is “we the people” who now determine, supposedly, who will wield authority over us. Not only that, but “we the people” must also decide how much power our governors may use and in what way they may use it. They do not govern us, in other words. We govern them. The result? Life in this nation has become an endless day-to-day battle between liberals and conservatives, each sincerely but often erroneously dictating their own opinions and trying to impose them on each other. The nation is thus divided, having no central power to make decisions and enforce laws based on the will of God. Gone are the days when a central authority, that of a beneficent King, would with a wave of his hand outlaw Satanism and punish its adherents, all in the Name of the King of kings, our Lord Jesus Christ and according to his divine will. But with the people so divided as they are now, so must our nation be similarly divided. And let’s not forget that a house divided must surely fall.
Ah yes, you might say, but what if your king is a bad king? Look at George III and the unfair laws he imposed on the American colonists. It’s a fair objection to the idea of monarchy, and heaven knows, my own country has had its share of bad kings. Let’s not forget Henry VIII who abolished the authority of the Pope, or Elizabeth I who persecuted her own subjects who chose to remain loyal to the Catholic Church. Again, St. Peter has an answer in today’s Epistle to this objection when he tells all men, including the King, to “Honour all men, love the brotherhood.” If only the King would indeed “honour all men” and remain loyal to his own coronation oath, there would be no need for a revolution, no need for a Constitution that claims that a king has authority only so long as the people are willing to accept him.
The three precepts (the Tria Praecepta) of the king’s coronation oath, at least in England before the reformation, were as follows: to take care that a true peace shall be maintained for the church of God and all Christian people at all time; secondly, to interdict all rapacities and other iniquities in all grades (in other words to enforce the Ten Commandments); and thirdly, to act as judge with equity and mercy, so that all persons may enjoy a firm peace through his justice. If a king were to act in accordance with these precepts, there would have been no need for an American Revolution, no need for a French Revolution, or a Russian Revolution and the list goes on. Only by the abuse of a King’s power does a restless and indignant people feel the need to rise up against him. Fortunately today we have constitutional monarchies, where checks and balances from Parliament to prevent a king from abusing his power with unabated freedom.
And really, is a bad king worse than a bad democracy? Is a king who doesn’t uphold the Ten Commandments any less pleasing to God or his people than the current regime in the United States with its blatant disregard for God’s laws? Is a king who doesn’t judge with equity worse than the current transgressions against justice being organized by the woke liberals to persecute anyone who disagrees with them. Is President Donald Trump for example being tried and judged with equity? If anything this is actually worse than an evil king, because the injustice is being done in the name of the people. Somehow, “we the people” are the ones who will be blamed for the persecution of our past, and hopefully future, president.
In this country, however, we are now in the unfortunate position of having no king to rise up against, even if we wanted to. For we do not have a bad king. Who leads us? Supposedly it’s “we the people”, but how can we rise up against ourselves? Even the slightest display of disapproval against our system meets with immediate subjugation. The poor folks who tried to express their indignation against the obviously rigged election of 2020 were met with cries of “insurrection”, crimes against the people. Many are still in jail today awaiting trial. The enemies of God are using the Constitution against “we the people” when “we the people” simply object to being governed and lied to by a tyrannical elite which clearly goes against the interests of “we the people.” The Constitution leaves us with no way around our subjugation by this elite.
As Catholics and citizens living in this new tyranny, we have no power to effect change. The system is now what it is, and for two hundred and fifty years, we have been living with it and working with it so that it works for us. Regrettably, we have reached the inevitable crumbling of that system which always contained the flaws that now will bring it down. It was a system that worked only as long as the people based their lives on God. Those days are apparently over, and as the world turns, it will turn on us!
Pray that God continues to send his manifold graces to our ungrateful nation as it rebels against God, and to those of its citizens who now so eagerly seek to rid themselves and their society of the very idea of God. And then let’s offer up some prayers for ourselves, that we and our children may be able to survive spiritually if their plan works. May God bless America.