Christ the King 25.10.20
We believe in one God, Creator of Heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen.
We believe firstly that there is a God. He actually exists, has always existed, and will never cease to exist.
We anchor ourselves on these points every time we come to Mass.
It is comforting that we have such a strong foundation on which to base our lives.
God is real and God is relevant. There are people who deny one or the other of these points.
They will say that God either does not exist, or if He does exist, that He is very remote, like a distant star, not really having any effect on us.
The modern movement on separating Church from State comes from this viewpoint.
Separating Church from State really means separating God from state, such that God is not welcome in His own universe!
God is the Creator of heaven and earth. Every inch of this earth is His property.
He does not always make His presence obvious as in physical miracles, but there are signs everywhere of His creative power at work. ( For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world His invisible nature, namely, His eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. Rom 1,19-20)
We will read also the signs that He gives us as to how to conduct our lives. The whole area of morality stems from God's closeness to us, and His desire that we understand right from wrong, and freely choose the right.
God tells us what is to be done and what to be avoided. He does this through the Church, which interprets His will, as made evident in Scripture and Tradition
The Church is unpopular for doing this, but it is vital that everyone has a chance to hear the word of God.
If we let God have a say in His own universe, we will actually be far better off than we are now.
Imagine a world where everybody did all the right things. Would you not prefer that?
We might have to give up a few vices but there would be ten-fold compensation.
We would be happier people, and better as well.
All the chaos of the present world and all our painful history can be attributed to disobedience on our part.
It is bad enough to disobey God, but when we try to keep Him from even having a voice, then we really are making trouble.
God wants us to know Him, not as a hard taskmaster, but as a loving Father.
If we can perceive that God means well towards us it will make it a lot easier for us to trust and obey Him.
We do not always trust our rulers; but God is a different matter – He is perfect.
Many people do not know God, whether through lack of instruction, or lack of prayer.
When we pray to God we come to know His ways, mysterious though some of them will always be.
But we get to know the basic ideas that God wants to impress upon us.
It will be a small number at first, as it always is. Then recognition will spread.
The kingdom is like a tree whose branches extend to all the world (cf Mt13,32)
If we know we should obey then it is only a matter of rousing the will to serve God. He can help us with that too. He tells us what to do and gives us the grace to do it.
Pope Pius XI probably did not get what he hoped for when he established this feast in 1925.
But it was a good idea all the same, as it is a good idea
now to remind the world of the pressing need to give God due place.
Long live Christ the King, and may all His enemies become His subjects.
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