A paraphrased excerpt from the November letter by Fr. John Fullerton:

Many still refuse to acknowledge the King of Kings, as they also did during His time on earth. “Ah! If thou hadst known, and in this thy day, the things that are to thy peace, but now they are hidden from thy eyes” (Lk xix:42). If only men would follow our Lord’s words and “seek first the kingdom of God and His justice, and all these things shall be added unto you” (Lk. xii:31). But in his folly, modern man continues to seek rulers to his own measure and not to God’s. The cry is the same as that of old: “We will not have this man to reign over us” (Lk xix:14) — “We have no king but Caesar” (Jn xix:15).

Because of perversity, modern man desires rulers who personify their pride, ambition and short-sightedness. Many have been persuaded that the state can, by its own resources and without God’s help, bring about that perfection of intellectual, material and moral culture which will procure temporal happiness for its citizens. Thus, they deny Christ any say in such areas as international relations, the drafting of constitutions and laws or systems of public education. Christ may be tolerated in men’s private lives, but He is kept out of their social lives, as citizens, and seen unfit to rule.

The folly of this view is not too difficult to see. One need only look at the current conditions in our own country to see how great the moral degradation is. From vice taught in the public schools, to rampant immorality protected by “laws,” our culture continues to depart further and further from God’s Law.

Christ’s unerring vision, through His Beatific and Infused knowledge, can alone provide the means by which man can realize his good here on earth. His plan alone can order our lives in the best way calculated to procure the welfare of nations while providing happy conditions for all classes of men. He was born a ruler able not only to point out the goal of human life, but also to effectively lead men to it. He has proven this by His power, wisdom and mercy.

Despite this, He is rejected again and again — not because He is a tyrant, but because He cannot be diverted from the pursuit of men’s good. He is rejected, not because He is inhuman, but rather, oddly enough, because He is too perfectly human. He invites man to live, not in part, but in the whole of his life, as a child of God; to regulate all his human activity, whether personal or social, according to this status, made possible through the redeeming grace of His Precious Blood, shed on the cross.

Christ was commissioned by God the Father to reorganize humanity, scattered by Adam’s sin. His grace, communicable to men, was meant to be the bond that welded men together among themselves and with Him into a perfect social unity of a supernatural order. This unity was also to be visibly reflected in the earthly sphere. Thus, heads of states, by submitting their intellects and wills to Him as their sovereign, will be enlightened and moved by His spirit to see the order of things that will promote the state’s temporal welfare.

Society, as well as the individual, must draw from the Sacred Humanity of Christ the light capable of promoting the material, moral and spiritual welfare of the citizens. From His grace, the strength to put His principles into practice is derived. If docile to His authority and teachings, states will find the ways to construct the social and economic framework within which each citizen may freely develop his personality.

But if the state denies God, it forces itself into His place, and slavery will necessarily press heavily upon the citizens. For it is real slavery for man to have his actions declared good or evil by an authority no higher than himself. True freedom comes only from following and serving God and His Law. This denial is simply a repeat of Adam’s revolt, whereby he aimed at making his own reason the law of truth and his own will the rule of good. Inevitably, this denial will lead to further disorder which will have to be met by force, which is the constraining principle in the kingdom of man. On the other hand, in the kingdom of Christ, love is the constraining principle.

Christ will inspire men to use similar weapons as He did, when, with supreme fortitude, He flung His defenseless humanity against the forces holding mankind in captivity. He used no other arms in this conflict than His unflinching courage, perfect truth, uncompromising faithfulness to the true human ideal, undying hatred of hypocrisy and unreality, death-braving devotedness to God and zeal for the well-being of man.

If nations and their rulers would only submit themselves to the merciful and gracious rule of Jesus Christ, the world would have a profound peace. All would live in harmony, free from anxiety and fear, while they assist one another in preparing themselves to be citizens of heaven.