“The rulers sneered at Jesus… Even the soldiers jeered at him”
Throughout history many leaders have “sneered at Jesus” and sneered at the power and authority that His Church has been given. The two thieves are examples the two ways people respond to Christ the King. We can sneer and jeer like the bad thief or we can say to Jesus, “remember me when you come into your kingdom”. To gaze at the cross, one must make a decision to sneer and jeer or to acknowledge and accept the mercy of God. “This cross is only a transition. A door into glory, royal glory! And so he says, ‘Remember me when you come into the kingdom.’”[i] Saint Dismas, the good thief gives us the outline of walking through this “door into glory”
Step One, he rebuked a sinner, “Don’t you fear God…this man has done nothing wrong.” Avoiding evil and pursuing good is one of the basic tenants of the Gospel Do we stand up for Christ in our world? Do we renounce our sin and the sin of others? If we are afraid to stand up for Christ, to speak out against and renounce sin, what is it that we fear?
Step Two, he accepted responsibility for his own sin, “we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes”. Do we take responsibility for our sin? What is the main why as Catholic that we take responsibility of our sin?
Step Three, “in front of all these people, in the midst of horrible agony, he not only rebukes this sinner, and confesses the justice of his own suffering, he turns to Jesus in front of all these accusers, his enemies, he says what? ‘Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ He confessed Jesus Christ as king.”[ii] We must confess Jesus Christ as King no matter what the circumstance. What are ways that we confess Christ as King, to profess our faith in Him, each day, even in the midst of His enemies?
What are the three steps to enter the door into the kingdom?
1. Renounce Sin. Avoid sin and pursue good.
2. Take responsibility for our own sin.
3. Confess Jesus Christ as King.
Are these three steps enough, is this the end? No! This is the beginning to living in the Kingdom, living with Christ. The cross is the door and these three steps are like the combination to open the door.
Just as each individual must make a choice, so to does each individual state. In relation to the Church and the State, the State has two choices in response to Christ and His Church. They can “sneer and jeer” or they can ask Christ and the Church to remember them, to remember the people, the leaders, the whole State. It is the second response, a response of charity and humility that allows harmony between Church and State, the first response, to sneer and jeer creates nothing but disharmony.
Examples in History of Harmony (and disharmony) with the Church and State
Nero and Saints Peter and Paul – Nero, the emperor of Rome, was so threatened by the rising power of the Christians, that he burned a section of Rome down to blame, and then persecute the Christians. In this persecution both Saints Peter and Paul were martyred. Rather than working with the Church, Nero persecuted the Church and in doing so, only made the Church grow in size and in zeal.
Constantine and Saint Athanasus – The Emperor Constantine was the first Christian Emperor, with his conversion many in the Roman Empire converted as well. Constantine knew that to have a strong empire the people of the empire must be united. Constantine worked hand in hand with the Church, especially Saint Athanasus, to untie the people and the Church. At the time a heresy called Arianism (the belief that Jesus was not fully divine) was infecting the Church and State. Constantine called the council of Nicaea, the council which affirmed the nature of Christ and gave us the Nicene Creed which we profess at Mass.
Theodosius I and Saint Ambrose, Bishop of Milan – Theodosius I was the Roman emperor and his relationship with the Church shows an example of harmony and respect. Theodosius I committed a grave crime. He had ordered the slaughter of thousands in retaliation of the murder of one of his officials. Saint Ambrose, a bishop, corrected the Emperor and threatened excommunication if he did not show public repentance. Theodosius I, the emperor and most powerful person in empire, came to the Church, walked to the altar, and in front of a packed Church, knelt down in front of Bishop Ambrose asking for absolution. This is a case in which the State submits to Church authority and the Church set the moral absolutes.
Saint Leo and Attila the Hun – When the Roman Empire collapsed, the barbarians sacked Rome, attacking the great city that had led the world for hundreds of years. Rome was a weak and abandoned city, but it was the Pope, Saint Leo, that stayed to protect the people and the Church. Saint Leo met Attila the Hun, one of the most fierce warriors in history, at the gates of the city. This meeting happened twice. The first meeting, Attila the Hun turned away not attacking the city. The legend is that Attila saw two large men on either side of St. Leo, one was Saint Paul, the other Saint Peter, and both Saints are the protectors of the city of Rome. At the second meeting, it was inevitable that Attila and his men would attack and destroy the city. St. Leo, in protection of Church and the people, made an agreement with Attila that he could enter the city and take the city, but that he could not kill or rape the people and he could not burn and destroy the Churches. Attila agreed.
Gregory the Great and a fallen city – Gregory was a monk, a mayor and a Pope. His beloved city of Rome was at its height, the busy city of 1 million people and the center of the world. After Rome was sacked in 410AD, over the next 120 years the population went from 1 million to 40,000. It was the Pope, the head of the Church that also served as the mayor of Rome who began to rebuild and restore Rome, taking on a task that not only seemed impossible, but a task that no one else wanted.
Theodoric and Boethius - The Emperor Theodoric was of pagan origins and supported the Arians, those who did not believe Jesus was Divine. Although pagan and Arian, Theodoric depended on Boethius, a faithful Catholic as his advisor. It was the Church that directed Theodoric in areas of morals and culture. It was the Church that depended on the State for protection.
Charlemagne and Alcuin – The State continued to turn toward the Church as advisor and allowing the Church to lead in the area of morals and culture. The Church continued to depend on State for protection. Charlemagne was a great supporter of the Church, building monasteries, seminaries, churches, etc.
Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII – Gregory VII was a great reformer. One reform was to make sure that all bishops were appointed by the Church and not the State. The Holy Roman emperor, Henry IV refuses to obey the Popes decision and continues to appoint his own bishops. In 1076 Gregory VII excommunicates the emperor. With the excommunication, all the Lords and subjects of Henry are legally free of their obligation to him. Henry decided to repent walking to Rome and waiting outside in the snow (in January) for three days before the Pope receives him and brings him back into the Church. Later, Henry goes against his word and penance and is excommunicated again and then in anger against the Pope, moves his army to seize Rome and imprison the Pope.
Henry II and Saint Thomas Becket – Saint Thomas was not only a close friend to the King, but was his chief advisor and Lord Chancellor of England. King Henry desired to control both the Church and the State so when the Archbishop of Canterbury died, the King appointed his friend Thomas Becket as Archbishop. Saint Thomas Becket offended the King when he took his role as Archbishop seriously and obeyed the authority of the Church over the authority of the King. He remained silent, refusing to take an oath stating that Henry was the Head of the Church of England. He was exiled to France, imprisoned and eventually assassinated because he served the King of Kings rather than the King of England.
MOVIE – “A Execution of Thomas More”
Saint Thomas More lived in the 1500’s and would follow in the footsteps of Saint Thomas Beckett. In this clip he states that he dies a servant of the King, but a servant of Christ and His Church first.
Napoleon and Pope Pius VI – Napoleon heavily persecuted the Church and even shut down Churches in the empire. He closed Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, turning it into a government museum. He attacked the Church in France and beyond even seizing Rome. During the seize of Rome, General Berthier, who was under Napoleon Bonaparte, captured Rome, took Pope Pius VI prisoner and seized items in the Vatican. Pius VI died of illness while in captivity.
Ronald Regan and Venerable Pope John Paul II – Many attribute the downfall of the Communist empire and the end of the Cold War to the President of the United States, Ronald Regan and the Pope, John Paul II. This is a perfect example of Church and State working in harmony for the good of the world. “Both the Pope and the President were convinced that Poland could be broken out of the Soviet orbit if the Vatican and the U.S. committed their resources to destabilizing the Polish government and keeping the outlawed Solidarity movement alive… In that meeting [at the Vatican, June 1982], Reagan and the Pope agreed to undertake a clandestine campaign to hasten the dissolution of the communist empire.”[iii]
VIDEO – Ronald Reagan Tribute
Some words from Ronald Regan regarding religion
American Catholics and “Obamacare” and the HHS Mandate – The law that was passed in 2010 called the Affordable Health Care Act was to help many Americans. There are some things in the law that are good. For example a person cannot be denied health care even if they have a pre-existing condition, and health insurances must have plans that provide coverage for women who are pregnant and for maternity. There are however many items in the act that Catholics cannot and will not support. There are many parts of the law that tramples on the first amendment rights of freedom of religion. In the law and the mandates the government is forcing schools, hospitals, businesses, and organizations to provide birth control, abortifacients, sterilizations, and other abortion inducing drugs. This goes against our very Catholic moral beliefs. Yet, the government forces us to comply with the law or face a penalty. Many companies and organizations have spoken, and said they will have to close down before they will sin against their conscience. Even some Catholic Dioceses who provide health insurance for all their employers may have to stop giving health insurance due to the fact that all health insurances are mandated to provide these, and cannot opt out. In 2013 Bishop Zubik, the bishop of Pittsburgh, has reiterated what many of the bishops of the United States have said. They will refuse to sign any documents allowing its health plan to provide birth control and abortion coverage for employees. Some may argue that people who work for Catholic schools, churches, organizations may not be Catholic and therefore because they are not Catholic they should not be keep from so called services such as abortion, contraception, etc. The Church herself should not be forced to go against her very conscience because of these individuals. These individuals can freely choose to be employed by another organization.
VIDEO – The HHS Mandate: Anti-Catholic and Un-American, Fr. Barron
This video goes into a greater detail about the threat this bill and government has against the Catholic Church and religion as a whole.
TV AD – “Stop the HHS Mandate”
The following ad was produced by Catholic Vote and is based on a famous quote by Saint Augustine that has become a maxim. I would agree with St. Augustine that “an unjust law is no law at all”[iv]
VIDEO – We Hold These Truths Spoken Word
This spoken word hits the nail on the head with what is going on with this problem, and why the Church is standing up against this mandate.
VIDEO – Fr. Agustino Torres at Catholic Underground 2012
This spoken word from Fr. Agustino speaks about what he sees with the culture of our time and specifically this pressure from the government and our Catholic faith.
We live in a time in which the voice of the Church, especially the voice of the bishops and pope, is rarely considered and many times ignored completely. The times of Church leaders working directly in cooperation with State leaders may be gone. The Vatican Council has said that in the modern culture in which the world does not listen to Church leadership it is extremely important that the “lives of the faithful” be the voice of truth in the world. “In our own time, however, it is most urgent that this distinction and also this harmony should shine forth more clearly than ever in the lives of the faithful, so that the mission of the Church may correspond more fully to the special conditions of the world today.”[v]
VIDEO “Epic: 120” Catholics Come Home
Make a list of how the Church in its 2000 years history has shaped and formed the world. This video gives many examples. The list can be made before or after watching the video.
What are ways that our life, the “lives of the faithful” can be the voice of truth the light in the darkness? “By our baptism we're joined to a visible and public faith community -- the apostolic Church created by Jesus himself to carry on his mission in history.”[vi] It is our job to make history and to make Christ and His Church a part of that History.
[i] Scott Hahn; Magnificat; Vol. 12, No. 9, page 299
[ii] Scott Hahn; Magnificat; Vol. 12, No. 9, page 299
[iii] The Holy Alliance: Ronald Reagan and John Paul II by Carl Bernstein; Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,974931,00.html#ixzz14zZCn0N5
[iv] Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail (1963)
[v] Lumen Gentium; Section 36
[vi] The First Freedom: Religious Liberty as the Foundation of Human Liberty; Most Rev. Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap.