Christ the King
by Father Paul A. Duffner, O.P.
Christ's Triple Office
The Only-Begotten Son of the Father became Man in order to
Redeem Mankind. In that Redeeming Mission (Office):
He came as TEACHER (Prophet) to Free Man from the
Darkness of Error, and to Point-out the Way of
Truth, the Way to Heaven.
He came as PRIEST to Offer
Sacrifice in Reparation for the
Sins of Mankind, and to Win Back for the Human Race the Divine Life of
Grace and Access to Heaven,
Lost by the Sin of Adam.
He came as KING to Conquer
Satan and His Kingdom, Established at the
Fall of Adam, thus Liberating Mankind from
His Dominion, and to Establish on Earth the Kingdom of God
made-up of the Redeemed.
It is on this Third Aspect of Christ’s Redeeming
Mission that our Present Reflections are focused.
The Basis of Christ's Kingship
As Pope Pius XI Pointed-out in his Encyclical on
Christ the King, Christ’s Kingship is founded on the Ineffable
"Hypostatic Union", that is, the Union between the Human
Nature of Christ and the Second Person of the Blessed
Trinity. By reason of that Union, Christ, as Man, Transcends every
Creature, even the Highest Angels Who must Adore and Serve
Him. Saint John Testifies that Christ is
King of all Creation, since all Things were Made through Him
(John 1:3). And as Saint Cyril of Alexandria pointed-out, "Christ has Dominion over all
Creatures, a Dominion not Seized by Violence nor Usurped, but His by Essence and by
Nature".
Not only does Christ's Kingship stem from His
very Nature, but He also Acquired the Right to Kingship
"by Reason of Conquest", for He Purchased us by
His Sacrifice on
Calvary, Redeeming us from the Slavery of
Sin and Satan. That is why Saint Paul reminds the Corinthians:
"For you are Bought with a Great Price. Glorify and Bear God in your Body" (1Corinthians
6:20). It was after His Redeeming Sacrifice
and Resurrection that Christ said to
His Apostles: "All Power is given to Me in Heaven and on
Earth". (Matthew 28:18). Although the Kingship that
Christ Exercised in this World is of a Spiritual
Nature, by Reason of His Divine Nature and
His Role as Redeemer, He has
a Temporal Power as well, but He did not Choose to use it. As Saint Thomas
explains, He did not Will to have on
Earth the Temporal Administration of an Earthly Kingdom:
"Christ, although Established King by God, did not wish, while Living on Earth, to Govern with Temporal
Power an Earthly Kingdom; consequently He said: 'My Kingdom is not of this World'".
(III, 59,4, ad 1)
All Men, Unbelievers as-well-as Believers,
are Completely Subject to the Sovereign Dominion of
Christ. All are Subject-to His Kingship even though some
Refuse to Accept Him as
King, or Submit-to Him. At the End of Time
Christ's Temporal Power will be Manifest, and all will Submit-to His
Rule, Willingly or not, to the Eternal Anguish of those who
Refused to Recognize and Submit to His Authority
during their Life on Earth.
His Kingdom is not of this World
 As Jesus Testified before Pilate, He is a
King, but His Kingdom
"is not of this World" (John 18:36). His
Kingdom is in the World, but not of the World. That is, He
does not Rely on Temporal Power as Worldly Kingdoms do, but Spiritual Power.
He Rules not by Physical Force in the Conquest of Nations, but by the Conquest
of Minds and Hearts by means of
Divine Grace. His Kingdom (the
Church) is indeed in the World, but its Purpose, its Power, and its Means of Conquest are
of the Spiritual Order, and Ordained for their Final Fulfillment in the World to-come. Too,
it is a Kingdom "not of this World" inasmuch as it
Establishes and Imposes Principles which are Folly to the World, Principles quite Contrary-to those by which the World is Run. It is a
Kingdom in which Subjects Obey (not by
Force, but Freely) out of Love; but it is a
Kingdom where that Freedom can be Abused, where the
Will of Christ the King can be Rejected.
Our Blessed Lord seeks to Reign in our Minds
and Hearts through the Virtues of
Faith, Hope and Love,
which find Expression in the Acknowledgment of His Dominion, and the Return of
His Love through Obedience to His
Will. Although Christ is the Source of all Power and
Authority on Earth, during His Public Life He fled
from the Crowd when they wanted to Declare Him their King, their Temporal Ruler. As Saint
John relates: "When Jesus Perceived that they would come to Take Him by Force and make Him King, He Fled again
to the Mountains, Himself alone" (John 6:15).
The Kingdom of Christ is one of Peace, of
Justice and Love. Such will be the State of
Affairs if His Teachings are Accepted and Put-into Practice.
His Laws are needed to keep our Selfish and
Unruly Tendencies in-check, for He knows well the
Weaknesses of our Fallen Nature, and the
Evil that Humans are capable-of, if left to themselves. For that Reason, where His
Teachings are Rejected we have the Opposite:
Wars, Injustice and Hatred.
How Clearly the World Situation of today Verifies this.
We live in a Troubled World in which Injustice,
Hatred and Lawlessness are Commonplace. Yet
still, Christ Greets each of us as He
Greeted the Apostles: "Peace be with you". If we Acknowledge His
Dominion, remember that we are Subjects of His Kingdom and Members of
His Body, and Strive to Maintain Justice and
Charity in our Dealings with Others, that Peace He
offered can be ours, regardless of the Turmoil in the World around us.
Two Key Faculties of the Soul - Intellect and Will
Supernatural Order
(
If you are in the State of Sanctifying Grace,
the Holy Ghost dwells 'in-you'
in a very Special and Personal way. )
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Human Being/Person
(A Unity (1) of Body
and Soul)
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Natural
Order
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Supernatural
Order
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Natural
Body
(Satisfactions
& Passions)
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Natural
Soul
(Intellect
& Will)
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Supernatural Grace/
Infused Virtues
and Gifts of the
Holy Ghost
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The Supernatural Order is the Ensemble of Effects exceeding the
Powers of the Created Universe, and Gratuitously produced directly by God for the
purpose of Raising the Rational Creature above its Natural Sphere to a God-like
Life and Destiny.
Reason/Mind/Infused Knowledge/Heart & Conscience
all exist in the
Soul |
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God is a Pure Spirit, and Dwells Personally
in the Soul by means of the Two (2)
Spiritual Faculties - Intellect and
Will. The Object of the
Intellect is TRUTH, which in the Order of Nature, is attained by the
Light of Reason. The Object of the
Will is the GOOD which the Will
Chooses. But to attain the Supernatural Truth and
Good for which we were Created, the Intellect
(with its Power of Reason) must be further Enlightened
by the Light of Faith; and the Will must be further
Perfected and Strengthened by the Infused Virtue of Charity which Enables one to
Love God above all things. So the Intellect is Perfected by
the TRUTH that is God (John 14:6),
and the Will is Perfected by the LOVE that is
God (1John 4:8). It is by means of the
Gift of Faith that Christ the King Guides and Reigns in the
Mind of Man; and by means of the Infused Virtues
of Charity and Hope that
He Reigns in the Will or Heart of Man.
Yet, the Will is a Blind Faculty. It can Choose only
what the Intellect (the Light of the Soul)
Presents to it as Good. However, the
Soul is United with the Body
which has its own Needs; and because of Original Sin, the
Body tends to demand its own Satisfactions
Inordinately. The Body must be Subject-to the
Soul, if it is to Function as God Intends; but Unfortunately, the
Opposite is often the case, namely, the Body gets its Own Way even when it seeks
Satisfactions that are Not-Lawful. But we
might ask, how can this be - since the Will can Choose
something only under the Aspect of Good?
The Body has its Natural and Legitimate Demands, and the
Intellect presents these to the Will as
Good. But, as we said, the Body Tends-to Demand
Satisfactions that are Not-Legitimate; and because the
Intellect has been Obscured by
Original Sin, its Vision can be so Clouded by the
Passionate Clamoring of the Body, that it Presents-to the
Will some Inordinate Demand of the
Body here-and-now as Good, or as Theologians
express it, as an "Apparent Good". In this way the Will
Chooses what is Evil, but Under the Appearance of
something Good.
In all this we see the Interaction between the Body and
Soul, between Intellect and Will,
which instead of Functioning as God Intended, has been
Fouled-up by Original Sin. All this may be a bit Confusing, but if Understood,
it helps to see what is needed if Christ is to Reign in the
Soul. We can see how Grace is Needed to
Enlighten the Mind as to what is Truly Good,
and to Strengthen the Will to Choose what is
Truly Good even when Difficult; for due to
Original Sin, the Will is Self-Seeking,
whereas to Live the Christian Life it must become Self-Sacrificing.
The Obedience of Faith
We have been Created by God for the Manifestation of His
Glory, and we give Him Glory in the Measure that
His Will is Fulfilled in us. He
Reigns in our Soul in the Measure that our Mind
is Guided by His Truth, and our Will
Chooses what Pleases Him. But due to our
Fallen Nature, we tend to seek our Own Glory
instead of God's - which is the Essence of Pride.
The Virtue of Humility is Needed to Counter that
Pride, bringing about the Submission of both the Mind and the
Will to God; for only then does
Christ the King Truly Reign in the
Soul.
We are not Humble by Nature. In fact, as we just saw, the Opposite is True. Saint
Thomas Aquinas, the Great Mind and Great Saint that he was, well aware that Pride is a Great
Stumbling Block in the Matter of Faith. That
is why he pointed out that "Humility removes Pride - whereby a Man refuses to submit himself to the Truth of
Faith" (II II, 4,7). Such a one refuses what Saint
Paul calls the "Obedience of Faith" (Romans 1:5; 16:27).
God, Who is Infinite
(∞) Truth, has Created the
Human Intellect capable of Knowing Truth, and
has given the Baptized the Gift of Faith,
Enabling one to Share-in God's Own Knowledge. Yet, as we pointed out, the
Gift of Faith Needs the Virtue of
Humility to Safeguard it, to Check that Pride which Hinders the Humble Submission of
the Mind to the Truth of Faith and gives
Rise to Dissent. However, there are many who prefer to be Guided by the
Light of Reason alone, for they are Unwilling to
Humble the Mind to Accept some Teaching handed down by the
Church merely on the Authority of another - even though that Authority is
God Himself.
After Testifying before Pilate that He was a King,
Christ said: "For this was I born and for this I came into the
World: that I should give Testimony of the Truth" (John 18:37). To
Reject that Truth is to Reject
Christ, for He declared
"I am the Truth" (John 14:6).
The Two Kingdoms
Every Member of the Human Race, whether he knows it or not, is a Member of One (1) or the
Other of Two (2) Kingdoms: the
Kingdom of God, or the Kingdom of the Evil One.
There is no Middle or Neutral Course. "He that is not with Me, is against Me"
(Matthew 12:30). Either one is in the State of Grace, and is a Member of
the Kingdom of God, or is not, and comes under the Dominion
of the Devil. While that Statement is True, we must be very careful about Judging Particular
Individuals in that regard, for only God knows what goes on in every Individual
Soul. In each of these Two (2) Kingdoms there
are Countless Degrees of Difference as to the extent of one's Allegiance to the Leader of his or her Choice. Even if we feel quite sure
that we are in God's Friendship, if we are Honest, we will have to admit that
Christ's Reign in our
Soul encounters many Obstacles. "We must see
ourselves", says Fr Gerald Vann, O.P., "unless we are deluded, as at best torn between Two Kingdoms,
as Acknowledging Christ indeed with our Lips, but Betraying Him in our Lives" (Of His Fullness, P. 153).
As we have pointed-out, there are many in whom God Dwells through
Grace, but whose Heart is divided between
God and the Satisfactions of this World. Saint Ambrose spoke of this
when he said that there are as Many Kings Ruling in our Heart as there are
Sins and Vices Controlling us.
However, once a Choice is made that is Incompatible
with Friendship with God, as Father Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P. explains,
"where the Spirit of Christ no longer Reigns, the Deadly Spirit of Evil takes its place" (Love of God and
the Cross of Jesus, p. 314). Those who Reject the Dominion of
Christ, automatically place themselves under the Dominion of the Great Enemy
of Souls. Those who declare themselves "Pro Choice" in
regard to Abortion for instance, do not realize how Far-reaching are the Effects of that
Choice, and Who it is that is Behind the
Inspirations that Guide them.
On the other hand, there are those whose Goal in Life is to let Christ live
His Life in them, by Striving to Share His Redeeming
Mission through Recognizing and Bearing Patiently the
Crosses and Trials of Daily Life, to make the
Sacrifices needed to keep His Commandments and Fulfill the Duties
of their State in Life. In such Souls the Throne of
Christ is Center Stage. There He Truly
Reigns.
The Need of Self-Denial
Because of all the Selfish Inclinations of our Fallen
Nature, there must be Frequent Discipline of those
Self-seeking Tendencies. That Inordinate
Self-love is the Root Source of all our Problems as Father Victorino
Osende, O.P. explains:
"All the Evils of Life, all Hatred, Envy, Discord and Wars come from Self-Love which demands all Rights
for Itself and Rejects whatever Hinders Self-Satisfaction. Therefore, once this great Enemy of Charity is Destroyed, the World will
Enjoy the most Perfect Peace and Union. In order to Establish this Kingdom in our Hearts we must First Destroy all Other Kingdoms and
Dominions within it, or rather, the Sole Kingdom of our Ego, of our Self-Love, which is the Origin, Sum and Compendium of them all,
and which is Diametrically Opposed to the Kingdom of Christ" (Fruits of Contemplation, p. 336).
However, the Weaknesses of our Fallen Nature
are not Overcome Easily or Quickly. Ours may be a Life-Long Struggle in that Direction,
and may leave us Feeling we have made Little Progress. Yet that very Struggle
Merits an Increase of Grace which, in turn,
Increases the Extent of our Submission to Christ's Dominion over us. We have to keep coming
back to the fact that it is Self-Seeking that Radically
Opposes the Kingdom of God, and Self-Sacrificing
that Unites us with our Redeemer-King, Removing the
Obstacles to His Reign in the
Soul. We may be Greatly Distressed and even Critical about the
Rejection of God's Revelation and Rule in
Today's World, but as Father Vann reminds us, "We shall not be in a Position to Work Adequately for the Spread
of the Kingdom (of Christ) unless and until the Kingdom is Established in our own Souls".
- End of Treatise by Father Paul A.
Duffner, O.P. -
Audio Clip on
Christ the King
by Father Paul Hinnebusch, O.P., STM
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