“These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you,” says the LORD… “He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants. He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. He will take your menservants and maidservants, and the best of your cattle and your asses, and put them to his work. He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but the LORD will not answer you in that day.”
For the last three plus years, the United States has been reaping the just rewards, not of a nation that has forgotten the principles of its Founding Fathers, but of a Church that has gone astray by turning its collective back on Christ the King.
- When 54% of self-identified “Catholics” (some of them priests and bishops, no doubt) vote for a candidate who aggressively promotes intrinsic evil, the Church has gone astray.
- When Catholic prelates speak of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution as though it was inscribed by the finger of God on a tablet of stone, the Church has gone astray.
- When the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops produces a 13,000+ word voting guide so ambiguous as to provide succor to those who insist upon promoting the “seamless garment” deception, the Church has gone astray.
- When a pastor can cause public scandal by preaching in favor of objective immorality without fear of meaningful discipline, the Church has gone astray.
I could go on, but presumably you get the point. The single greatest underlying cause of the nation’s most serious challenges, both economic and social, is really no different than it was for the people Israel some 3,000 years ago: far too many of us have forgotten who our King is.