The Sunday Sermon Archive

Dear Friends,

Jesus tells us that His Kingdom is not of this world. It is not from here but rather, from Heaven. This is not to say that His Kingdom is not in this world. The kingdoms of this world (Nations/States/Governments) and the Kingdom of Heaven are very different, but they are not necessarily incompatible. They are designed to work together and complement one another. The kingdoms of this world are principally to aid us in entering the eternal Kingdom of Heaven. The Catholic Church which is the visible representative of Jesus Christ and His Kingdom exists and works with just about any form of government in this world.

To our knowledge, the only form of government declared by the Church to be evil in itself is atheistic communism. This form of government denies God and His Kingdom and seeks to eliminate Him from the hearts and minds of men. It imposes a brutal materialistic "equality" — reducing all to the least common denominator. It denies the free will of men and uses and treats them as dispensable parts to a machine. All that is noble or spiritual in man is denied and destroyed. The essential element in our spiritual life is the will and so this is the target of this evil form of government. It is with our free wills that we love. It is with our free wills that we obey the first and greatest commandment of loving God. It is through this act of loving with our free wills that we gain merit and grace. It is through the grace of Charity that we come to know God and become like Him — as we become one with Him. Any form of government that hinders and discourages us from living our spiritual lives in knowing, loving, and serving God is evil.

The destruction of the free will, likewise, reduces us to nothing more than material objects, no one better than the other — hence, Communistic material "equality." Ownership is not something that objects can have. Ownership is something that belongs to persons, not objects. We, therefore, see that communism "outlaws" ownership. The ignorant poor are often deluded by the idea that if they have nothing, then no one else should have anything either. Rather than labor and obtain something for themselves, it is easier to take away the things others may have. It is truly like the devils in Hell. They have absolutely nothing because they do not have God, Who is Everything. The devils are, therefore, envious and jealous of men who can still love God. Their every endeavor is to take this away from men and reduce all men to "equality" with themselves. It is Charity that they wish to rob us of. They do not care what material things we may temporarily have in this life. What will reduce us to equality with them is the destruction of Charity in the hearts (free wills) of men.

Another trap of these devils that we should be on our guard against is anarchy. We need some form of government in this world. To completely destroy or remove this from the lives of men renders men even closer to demons. To follow our perverted wills to do as we please, or to make the will of the strongest the law of the land, undermines and destroys Charity.

It is when charity grows cold that we should become concerned. This is a sign of the demonic. It is a turning away from God and His Kingdom. Whatever form of government we find ourselves subject to, we must honor, respect and obey it as our own parents. Yet, as with our parents, we must obey them in everything except sin. It is easy for our fallen nature to find faults, and to form deep-seated hatred for others and even for our governments. We must resist this temptation and never let our souls be robbed of Charity.

Just as no one took the life of Jesus Christ from Him — He laid it down freely Himself; so, in a similar manner, no one can take our free wills from us or rob us of the virtue of charity — we must lay these down ourselves. The demons and their agents can tempt us, they can take away material things, they can inflict all manner of pain and suffering, but they cannot touch the soul — they cannot take away our free wills — they cannot take love away from us. If they can succeed in getting us to put aside or renounce charity, they have won the war against the Kingdom of God. We may find it convenient or advantageous, for our lives in the various kingdoms of this world, but it is completely detrimental to our lives in the Kingdom of Heaven.

The kingdoms of this world are material and readily visible, and the Kingdom of Heaven is less so — unless we see with the eyes of our soul. It is our wish and prayer that all of us keep our spiritual eyes open and resist the suggestions and temptations of the devils, the world, and our fallen natures to trade the eternal Kingdom for a temporal one. No one can take the love out of our hearts, only we can allow true charity to grow cold and die in our hearts and souls. May we always keep love alive within us — and thus, always remain, citizens of Christ's Kingdom, whatever worldly kingdom we may find ourselves subject to.

email: father@friarsminor.org Franciscan Benefactor Seraph Subscription Vocations Have you remembered God?