Thanks! This is both timely and clarifying. I've been reading through the two different Christ the King liturgies myself. And it led me to dust off my long-forgotten college textbooks in order to confirm my recollection that the liturgical reform happened during the exact same years when progressive Catholics were also fomenting the collapse of the Portuguese Empire and the spread of Communist insurgencies across Africa. Most people associate Liberation Theology with Latin America in the 1980s. But Angola and Mozambique were both at war during Vatican II. And the Church was under tremendous pressure in both countries. So it's hard not to wonder if the eschatological overtones and the language about "freeing us from slavery" betray the subtle influence of OstPolitik. I would be very curious to hear what you think about this....
For sure. There was already a strong pro-democracy push going on from the 1940s onward, largely as a reaction against fascism and communism. The "secular Christendom" model of Maritain and Journet was also very influential: the idea that you could have a purely secular state ("laicite") but informed by the consciences of believers who adhered to the natural moral law and were inspired by Christianity. So after Vatican II a number of states, with Vatican approval, actually removed from their laws or constitutions privileges that had been granted to the Church. In retrospect it seems like madness.
Thank you, Dr. K for this excellent article . I will be getting the book.. It amazes me how “right on “you are about so many matters and especially this and how you are able to articulate my gut feelings exactly.
I grew up with Christ the king being in November. I did not know it was originally in October until I started going to the TLM. It makes more sense for it to be right before we celebrate All Saints day.
Dr. K, in this article, I think you plainly answer the question, "Why are you taking away a beautiful ancient liturgy that helps them pray and nourishes their souls?"
"Catholic" simply does not mean what our opponents insist it means and what pontiffs, prelates, and clerics require it to mean if you worship that other way. It just doesn't.
Put another way -
When my Jewish brother-in-law asks me about this feast because some unintended turn of events has made him aware of its existence and he's the type that enjoys making conversation, I can't tell him that we're celebrating the fact that Christ is king of every person, place and thing! Don't you understand how that will start a war in the family?! I'm surely not going to say it at work, or admit I'm voting for political candidates who most closely agree with that truth! Do t you understand I need to interact with non-catholic every day?!
Thanks! This is both timely and clarifying. I've been reading through the two different Christ the King liturgies myself. And it led me to dust off my long-forgotten college textbooks in order to confirm my recollection that the liturgical reform happened during the exact same years when progressive Catholics were also fomenting the collapse of the Portuguese Empire and the spread of Communist insurgencies across Africa. Most people associate Liberation Theology with Latin America in the 1980s. But Angola and Mozambique were both at war during Vatican II. And the Church was under tremendous pressure in both countries. So it's hard not to wonder if the eschatological overtones and the language about "freeing us from slavery" betray the subtle influence of OstPolitik. I would be very curious to hear what you think about this....
For sure. There was already a strong pro-democracy push going on from the 1940s onward, largely as a reaction against fascism and communism. The "secular Christendom" model of Maritain and Journet was also very influential: the idea that you could have a purely secular state ("laicite") but informed by the consciences of believers who adhered to the natural moral law and were inspired by Christianity. So after Vatican II a number of states, with Vatican approval, actually removed from their laws or constitutions privileges that had been granted to the Church. In retrospect it seems like madness.
Thank you, Dr. K for this excellent article . I will be getting the book.. It amazes me how “right on “you are about so many matters and especially this and how you are able to articulate my gut feelings exactly.
I grew up with Christ the king being in November. I did not know it was originally in October until I started going to the TLM. It makes more sense for it to be right before we celebrate All Saints day.
Dr. K, in this article, I think you plainly answer the question, "Why are you taking away a beautiful ancient liturgy that helps them pray and nourishes their souls?"
"Catholic" simply does not mean what our opponents insist it means and what pontiffs, prelates, and clerics require it to mean if you worship that other way. It just doesn't.
Put another way -
When my Jewish brother-in-law asks me about this feast because some unintended turn of events has made him aware of its existence and he's the type that enjoys making conversation, I can't tell him that we're celebrating the fact that Christ is king of every person, place and thing! Don't you understand how that will start a war in the family?! I'm surely not going to say it at work, or admit I'm voting for political candidates who most closely agree with that truth! Do t you understand I need to interact with non-catholic every day?!