JESUS IS KING! But what does that mean? How do we act as instruments by which the Kingdom of God may shine through? I am an Integralist. That means I believe governments should be subject to the basic principles of Christian religion. Let me clarify that in stating that I am an Integralist of the Solidarity kind, not the theocratic kind. While I have no problem with Christian monarchy, or confessional states, I admit that expecting true social renewal from the top-down is futile outside of Jesus’ heavenly reign in the hearts and souls of his people. The people must love Jesus Christ on their own. You can’t make them do so with government force, nor should you ever try. If the vast majority of people want a confessional state, or even a constitutional monarchy, then they should have one. However, they shouldn’t expect to keep it if they do not manifest the Social Kingship of Jesus Christ in their personal lives. The failure of Christians to behave as Christians led to the loss of Christendom in the first place, and the rise of secular republics, which are quickly coming to ruin, probably before the end of this century.
The Kingdom of God has two manifestations in this world.
The first is the obvious one. It is his Catholic Church, as seen through his Prime Minister (The Pope), and the bishops in communion with him throughout the world. This also includes all Catholics throughout the world. By extension, in an imperfect and impaired sense, we could include those Christians who are united to the Catholic Church through Trinitarian baptism. These would include, for example, the Eastern Orthodox and most Protestants.
The second is the way through which Catholics (and other Christians) bring the Social Kingship of Christ into our secular world, in the actions of our everyday lives. This transformation of the world around us is a natural consequence of the gospel, for redeemed people will inevitably bring about a redeemed culture, if they’re open to it, and allow it to happen. A perversion of the gospel is one that focuses exclusively on death in Christ, or the End of the World (i.e. “The Rapture” in our American culture), to the point of escapism, that results in “putting our lamp under a basket” (Mark 4:21) hiding all material benefits to Christianity entirely.
We should not suppose that bringing the Social Kingship of Christ comes exclusively through force either, such as the coronation of a Christian king who would impose Christian social order on the populace whether they like it or not. For Christ himself told Pilate that is not how the Kingdom of God works (John 18:36). No, the Social Kingship of Christ comes about in another way. It comes about through the seemingly little, everyday acts of Christians in their day to day lives. It is in this way the Social Kingship of Christ shines forth in a material way throughout the world. So the Kingdom is not brought into fruition by armies, the wealthy or politicians. It is brought to fruition, in this world, by the little things common people do every day.
Letting the Social Kingship of Christ shine forth in North America, and particularly the United States, must be something that happens from the bottom-up, not the top down. Thus, the propagation of the gospel (Evangelism) is absolutely essential in this, and with the salvation of souls can come about a growing rejection of materialism, hyper-individualism and sexual revolution, in favor of solidarity with our neighbors. We are beginning to get a virtual taste of this on the Internet through the parallel economy currently being created by Gab Social. However, what Gab has to offer us is but a model, an example if you will, which we must implement in our own neighborhoods, towns and cities.
What does that mean in a practical sense? The following is a list of things we can do, people like you and I, that if every Christian started doing them (effective today) we would see the Social Kingship of Jesus Christ materialize in our American culture within a very short amount of time.
- Learn and understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Teach it to your family, and be good Catholics, going to Mass at least weekly and confession at least monthly.
- Open your wallet and support your local parish. If for some reason you can’t do that, due to local parish or diocesan corruption, then at least support the nearest Reverent Catholic Mass parish. Remember, it is the religious obligation of every Catholic to materially support the Church in some way (CCC 1351; 1387; 1438; 2043).
- Minimally, Catholics should support the businesses of other Catholics in their parish. Put together a parish business catalog, and make sure every parishioner has a copy. Maybe even include it on the parish website.
- Catholics should also support local business in their neighborhoods and towns. Get to know local business owners, patron them, and make sure they know you’re a devout Catholic. This will make them more friendly to Catholics, even if they’re not Catholic themselves. It could even open doors for Catholic evangelism at some future point
- If you want to start your own family business, or just do a hobby and maybe turn it into a business someday, then do it. Dedicate it to Christ and his Mother, and ask for their blessing.
- Move your money out of a big bank and put it into a local credit union. Keeping your money local, to help support your neighbors in their homes and businesses, is a big part of Catholic social teaching.
- Support worker-owned cooperatives and businesses with an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). People should have some form of ownership in their employment. This is basic Catholic social teaching.
- Homeschool your children if you can. If you can’t, try to form a Parental Education Cooperative (PEC) at your parish, with a common curriculum, so parents can share teaching responsibilities between them, three to five days a week, effectively making an education academy at the parish. Get your priest involved as the chaplain. If your parish already has a school, seek the financial help and arrangements you need to send your children there instead of public school. No Catholic should ever have to send their children to a public school. If your parish school won’t help you, then it’s not a good parish. Leave that parish and find another one as soon as possible, even if it means trying to start a PEC there.
- If you have the time, the means, and the skills, get on your local city council or county commission. We need skilled and competent Catholics in local government.
Classical Liberalism is dying, and the rise of Marxist organizations like BLM-Antifa are but the death throes of a system that could never survive on its own for long. The shelf-life of a Democratic Republic is about 200 to 250 years. By 2040, the United States will surpass its expiration date and its already starting to show. The entire Western paradigm is shifting. Some nations will go Marxist. Others will return to Christendom. However, if we are to return to Christendom the right way, the correct way, we need to do it from the bottom up. We must manifest the Social Kingship of Jesus Christ in our hearts, and our little daily actions, which is what he said would happen all along.
Shane Schaetzel is an author of Catholic books and an Evangelical convert to the Catholic Church through Anglicanism. His articles have been featured on LifeSiteNews, ChurchMilitant, The Remnant Newspaper, Forward in Christ, and Catholic Online. You can read Shane’s books at ShaneSchaetzel.Com
Complete Christianity 