Catholic Thought discussion

This is on the encyclical, Quas primas, by Pius XI in 1925 on the institution of the Feast of Christ the King.

Here is a link to the encyclical.
http://www.vatican.va/content/pius-xi...

Paragraphs ten and eleven make the case for Christ as king from New Testament, but what really makes the argument solid is the justification presented from the Old Testament prophets, mostly in paragraph nine. Let me quote P9 in its entirety.

9. The testimony of the Prophets is even more abundant. That of Isaias is well known: "For a child is born to us and a son is given to us, and the government is upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, God the mighty, the Father of the world to come, the Prince of Peace. His empire shall be multiplied, and there shall be no end of peace. He shall sit upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom; to establish it and strengthen it with judgment and with justice, from henceforth and for ever."[7] With Isaias the other Prophets are in agreement. So Jeremias foretells the "just seed" that shall rest from the house of David - the Son of David that shall reign as king, "and shall be wise, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth."[8] So, too, Daniel, who announces the kingdom that the God of heaven shall found, "that shall never be destroyed, and shall stand for ever."[9] And again he says: "I beheld, therefore, in the vision of the night, and, lo! one like the son of man came with the clouds of heaven. And he came even to the Ancient of days: and they presented him before him. And he gave him power and glory and a kingdom: and all peoples, tribes, and tongues shall serve him. His power is an everlasting power that shall not be taken away, and his kingdom shall not be destroyed."[10] The prophecy of Zachary concerning the merciful King "riding upon an ass and upon a colt the foal of an ass" entering Jerusalem as "the just and savior," amid the acclamations of the multitude,[11] was recognized as fulfilled by the holy evangelists themselves.

Those numbers are footnotes, which I’m not going to provide but you can find them in the text. Christ is the son of David, and perhaps more importantly the fulfillment of the typology presented in the Old Testament. As David is the great King of Israel, Christ stemming from David’s lineage is the great King of heaven and earth.

How beautiful! Thanks so much, Manny.

Frances wrote: "How beautiful! Thanks so much, Manny."

You're welcome. That's right out of the read. Were you participating in the short read? I should post a link to the read.

OK, I've attached a link in the first comment above to read the short encyclical. I wish all encyclicals could be this short.

Manny wrote: " I wish all encyclicals could be this short."

LOL! Now if you want one of the long ones, try Fides et Ratio: On the Relationship Between Faith and Reason ;-)
It is fantastic.

I found paragraph 18 to be extremely powerful. It starts off with a quote from Pope Leo XIII.

18. Thus the empire of our Redeemer embraces all men. To use the words of Our immortal predecessor, Pope Leo XIII: "His empire includes not only Catholic nations, not only baptized persons who, though of right belonging to the Church, have been led astray by error, or have been cut off from her by schism, but also all those who are outside the Christian faith; so that truly the whole of mankind is subject to the power of Jesus Christ."[28]

So Christ is not just the King of Roman Catholics or the King of Christians. He is the King of all. Pope Leo XIII must be thinking of Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians:

…though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phil 2:6-10)

When we refer to Jesus Christ is Lord, we do mean king. A king is the highest lord of a nation, and Jesus is “King of Kings, Lord of Lords.” The paragraph continues.

Nor is there any difference in this matter between the individual and the family or the State; for all men, whether collectively or individually, are under the dominion of Christ. In him is the salvation of the individual, in him is the salvation of society. "Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given to men whereby we must be saved."[29] He is the author of happiness and true prosperity for every man and for every nation. "For a nation is happy when its citizens are happy. What else is a nation but a number of men living in concord?"[30]

Christ as King then is at the crux of salvation of the individual, the prosperity of society, and the happiness of people. It is through the authority of His divinity that upholds everything. That’s powerful stuff. The paragraph continues, now focused on the responsibility of earthly kings.

If, therefore, the rulers of nations wish to preserve their authority, to promote and increase the prosperity of their countries, they will not neglect the public duty of reverence and obedience to the rule of Christ. What We said at the beginning of Our Pontificate concerning the decline of public authority, and the lack of respect for the same, is equally true at the present day. "With God and Jesus Christ," we said, "excluded from political life, with authority derived not from God but from man, the very basis of that authority has been taken away, because the chief reason of the distinction between ruler and subject has been eliminated. The result is that human society is tottering to its fall, because it has no longer a secure and solid foundation."[31]

Earthly rulers then (and I would imagine that would include today’s presidents and legislators) must act in “reverence and obedience” to Christ the King in order to derive legitimate authority. Otherwise illegitimate authority leads to an unstable society. That last sentence, a quote I think from one of Pius XI’s earlier encyclical, deserves repeating: “The result is that human society is tottering to its fall, because it has no longer a secure and solid foundation."

If Pope Pius XI wrote that in the 1920’s, can you imagine what he would say today? Society without Christ, let alone as Christ as King, has no foundation. Since the 1920’s society has tottered and fallen several times. We are no better today. Actually we are worse.

The first sentence paragraph 19 I think sums up why acknowledging Christ as king is so important: “When once men recognize, both in private and in public life, that Christ is King, society will at last receive the great blessings of real liberty, well-ordered discipline, peace and harmony.” But why actually have a feast day of Christ the King? Pius acknowledged earlier that Christ has been revered as king since Christ walked on earth. What does having a feast day accomplish? He explain in paragraph 23.

21. 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.

In other words, it takes a feast day to promulgate the word, to instruct those not learned, and to work the notion into the rhythm of life. It takes a feast day to transfer it from an intellectual concept into the heart and soul. It becomes a spiritual concept as well as an intellectual one.

Thank you again, Manny, for an excellent analysis! I had never thought about feast days and why we have them, had never thought beyond the observance. This is much needed enlightenment.

This is a powerful document. The boldness is refreshing, especially today.

Part of paragraph 19 is worth repeating as well:

If princes and magistrates duly elected are filled with the persuasion that they rule, not by their own right, but by the mandate and in the place of the Divine King, they will exercise their authority piously and wisely, and they will make laws and administer them, having in view the common good and also the human dignity of their subjects. The result will be a stable peace and tranquility, for there will be no longer any cause of discontent.

This paragraph and the previous one (18) bring to the forefront the concept of the "first servant." Of the master being no better than the slave (John 13: 1 - 20; Washing of the Feet) If one truly acts in the common good, the good will proliferate. By their fruits you will know them (Mt 7:20)

Paragraph 21 had me thinking the most. The idea that a feast regularly recurring in the liturgical year will bring more benefit for body and soul than lessons taught. This applies to every liturgical feast, high and low. With regularity we remember and deepen our understanding of each of these liturgical milestones, supernaturally within the sacred rite of the Mass.

The Institute of Catholic Culture has a talk/podcast on Christ the King. I listened to it this morning, and it gives a little more background to our reading plus delves deeper into the concept of Christ as King.
To find it on the app from apple, go to 19 November 2016 - this is probably the easiest way. Co-incidentally, this was recorded right after the last presidential election...
Otherwise, listen or watch on their website, though one has to sign up with them now. Not sure when that changed.
https://instituteofcatholicculture.or...

Madeleine wrote: "Thank you again, Manny, for an excellent analysis! I had never thought about feast days and why we have them, had never thought beyond the observance. This is much needed enlightenment."

Well, it wasn't my original thought. It was Pius XI's. :)

Kerstin wrote: "The Institute of Catholic Culture has a talk/podcast on Christ the King. I listened to it this morning, and it gives a little more background to our reading plus delves deeper into the concept of C..."

I thought I already belonged to that. But I have to sign up. Iguess they're not asking for money. So why not.

With paragraph 30 Pius outlines the expectations of instituting the Christ the King feast day.

30. We would now, Venerable Brethren, in closing this letter, briefly enumerate the blessings which We hope and pray may accrue to the Church, to society, and to each one of the faithful, as a result of the public veneration of the Kingship of Christ.

And then he provides three paragraphs, each with an expectation of a benefit. Let me just sum them in a sentence each:

Par 31: By honoring the dignity of Christ with the feast, men will in turn respect and give due freedom to the Church from the power of the state.

Par 32: By creating the feast nations will be reminded that their ultimate allegiance and obedience is to Christ.

Par 33: The faithful will through the feast will gain great strength and allow Christ to reign in their hearts.

As I think over these three, I have to say society has roundly failed in the first two. Across the world countries have limited and denied religious freedom, especially to the Catholic Church. Look at the Covid restrictions of recent times on religious services, of which they have not been denied to other forms of gatherings. In fact I was struck by this sentence in paragraph 31: “The State is bound to extend similar freedom to the orders and communities of religious of either sex, who give most valuable help to the Bishops of the Church by laboring for the extension and the establishment of the kingdom of Christ.” Ha! Think of the Obama administration’s limiting of the freedoms to the Sisters of the Poor! Even in this country we have been limiting religious freedoms.

And as to nations having obedience to Christ, well the almost one hundred years now since the encyclical we have not seen it. Well, shortly after the encyclical we had the Second World War, the Cold War, and now the rise of terrorism. There have not been too many nations since the encyclical that have been obedient to Christ. Of course in due time the work of grace from this encyclical can change hearts and the world. I pray that it be so.

As to strengthening the hearts of the faithful, I can tell you it had a wonderful effect on me. I had not known the details of Christ the King feast. Indeed, it has enlarged my understanding of Christ in my heart. What a great encyclical.

Kerstin wrote: "Manny wrote: " I wish all encyclicals could be this short."

LOL! Now if you want one of the long ones, try Fides et Ratio: On the Relationship Between Faith and Reason ;-)
It is fant..."

Kerstin, didn't you mention a book that had several encyclicals in it? I have thought about it ever since it was mentioned. I think it was you. If you get a chance, and thank you Manny also, for posting this.

Susan wrote: "Kerstin, didn't you mention a book that had several encyclicals in it?"

Yes, the book is called The Popes Against Modern Errors: 16 Papal Documents.

Thank you so much!