The start of a new book, maybe.
Introduction: what is the need?
To be a Catholic in our time is a difficult task, perhaps more difficult than in any other time in history. For whereas in the past good Catholics have been besought by persecutions, war, poverty and a host of other ills which modernity has swept away the Catholics of the past always had the Bulwark of the Church, the shining city on the hill where was found truth. Now we are surrounded by lies and the Church is eclipsed. All around us we are surrounded by the Devil’s smoke, phantoms, shadows, and deceivers. A cacophony of rotten ideas and bad philosophy which drowns out the sweet melody of Truth, a twisting path with no straight end.
I am writing this book to provide we who are left of the faithful a guide and a vision for a better future. Though I am wholly unworthy to produce such a work, I have undertaken this endeavor because it is not enough to document and to refute lies. We must have a vision for a better future for which we strive for. Just as a sailor may brave the rough seas, what use is his sailing if he doesn’t have a map, a compass, or the stars? To where does he go?
Just like the sailor we as Catholics have no map. We no longer have the Church to address the errors of modernity and so we are stuck in the past without a way to navigate through this time of great apostacy.
“Then Jesus said to them: All you shall be scandalized in me this night. For it is written: I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be dispersed.” Mathew 26:31
So many of us who are faithful Catholics have fallen into bad ideas because we have become pieces in our enemy’s game of dialectics.
This book is meant to apply Catholic teaching and sound reason to our times so that we may have our map. The benefits being two-fold: that with a guiding star, me may navigate the shadow which surrounds us and refute the errors of our time, and secondly that we may take real steps towards building a better future. In this task I ask you the reader to please share with me your ideas, and please to correct me if I make any error in the faith or otherwise. I view this project as a collaborative work with our community.
What is the purpose of this book?
When beginning any new project it is ideal to begin with a vision of the end in mind. So what does an ideal Catholic Country look like? Fortunately for us we have 1,000 years of Christendom to look back to. Times were far from perfect back then, but the idyllic state was imagined in Merry England, German Heimat, every country had its version. The Characteristics of these places were they had a love for God, the people lived in strong communities rooted in the land. Authority was respected and expected to govern like a father would. The people had rights and a say in their governance, freedoms, rights, and ownership in the economy. There existed strong institutions, many traditions, and festivals. The people were happy, the places were full of color, the music serene, and life was vibrant and energetic.(1) If you would like to read more the best literary description may be found in the Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien in the chapters which deal with the Shire.
This Idyllic state is not just nostalgia or something else but developed in social conscious of a the Western Christian mind, nurtured through centuries of Christianity of the way things ought to be. Following the principles of Westernism(2) we look to tradition to adapt the transcendental truths to apply them for the future. So what are the Truths that shine through from our idyllic past?
A love for God. This is the archetype of the good priest, friar tuck, a thousand monasteries which dotted the land, wedding bells and rice. Easter when the flowers bloom, Christmas goose and presents when the snow falls. England was said to be founded by Saint George who slew the dragon, Germany by Boniface who cut down Thor’s oak, France by Saint Dennis who lost his head in Martyrdom. In fact all Christian Countries have their origin with a patron saint who through great love for God performed acts of heroic virtue which laid the foundation of their future patron country. From this we see a great love for our Lord is inherent in the Idyllic Catholic country because by its very nature it is our inheritance. We may even say it is the countries oldest tradition, because there was no country before its saint?
Thus we can glean the truth that a love for God is foundational in our idyllic country for the Christianization of the country is the genesis that creates it. There was no Germany before St. Boniface, only warring Germanic tribes, England was leftovers of the Romans, Britain and the newcoming Angles and Saxons. Ireland was an isle of petty pagan kings, raiders and chieftains before St. Patrick. The love for God is what bound these loose tribal societies together and provided the fertile ground for their societies and cultures to flourish. The love for God is what makes those same societies and cultures good, for it tamed the wild pagan fierceness than existed beforehand and put it to good use.
In Merrie England the people were a people of blood and soil. This is the archetype of the good peasant, little John, Samwise Gamgee. The man with soil in is fingertips and callouses on his hand. He can cite his lineage to ten generations of men who have worked the land before him, their deeds both great and small. He is a man of uncommonly good practical sense, a strong belief in what is right and true. He was married at the local church and spent his youth wandering the woods. He looks loves the fields, the streams and the hills during the day, and at night he stares at the sky in wonder and the embers of the hearth amidst the retelling of folk tales. He does his duty for the love of his family and his people. His fathers friends are the fathers of his friends and they both work and sing folk songs over ale at the village inn.
From this we can gather that the transcendental truth is that a country is made of people who are of like mind, body and spirit. The country belongs to the land as much as its people and the land has shaped them. The people are made up of families and the families go so far back together that the hamlets and manors have become like a great family so much so that the whole of the nation may be thought of as an extension of the family. -needs a couple sources
Authority comes from God. This is the archetype of the good king: King Richard returning from Crusade to right the wrongs of Bad King John. Best personified in St. King Louis IX who spent every morning observing mass and would sit under an oak tree and dispense his justice and charity for the peasants of the land. (3)
“Every day, Louis had 13 special guests from among the poor to eat with him, and a large number of poor were served meals near his palace. During Advent and Lent, all who presented themselves were given a meal, and Louis often served them in person. He kept lists of needy people, whom he regularly relieved, in every province of his dominion.” (4)
We may not expect to be so fortunate to be ruled by a saint, but our leaders should aspire to be one. From the idyllic good king we can understand the truth of that Authority comes form God. This means twofold: that authority must be respected and that a ruler must govern to the best of his ability as the Lord would.
1 Let every soul be subject to higher powers: for there is no power but from God: and those that are, are ordained of God. 2 Therefore he that resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God. And they that resist, purchase to themselves damnation. 3 For princes are not a terror to the good work, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good: and thou shalt have praise from the same. (Romans 13:1-4)
From the above passage we can see the foundation of rights, though this only pertains in this case to authority, authority is given the right to execute justice, but incumbent in that right is the responsibility to use it for the good. Thus from scripture we can derive that Authority is not to be tyrannical, but constrained.
We have God given rights. This is the archetype of Robin Hood, King Arthur, the Crusader knight. But, what are rights? In the words of Bishop Pivarunas “Rights are positive moral imperatives. King Arthur was the hero of the middle ages because as king he had ownership over Camelot and as King he therefore had the duty to protect it, and he exercised his kingly right in the face of oppression from a great evil.
In Idyllic Christendom this is found in the manorial court, the village miller who hands his mill down generation to generation, and the yeoman farmer who owns his plot. Here we see the pre-enlightenment concept of rights which is that they are given to us from God so that we may pursue the good. Thus rights come with obligations, we are given property to own so that we may bring forth good things from it. Parents have the right to raise their children, and also the duty to educate them. We are given the right to use our mind and body, and we are commanded to love God with all our being.
29 And Jesus answered him: The first commandment of all is, Hear, O Israel: the Lord thy God is one God. 30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength. This is the first commandment.
31 And the second is like to it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is no other commandment greater than these. Mark 12:29-31.
The concept of abstract rights, which are the rights inherent to man without God that we know as rights today, was developed after the protestant revolt. In Christendom Rights existed informally, though they were beginning to be formalized in documents such as the Magna Carta, The fourth Lateran Council(5), Common Law(6), and the feudal contracts between Lords, yeomen, and serfs(6). However incumbent in these developments was always the truth that rights come from God and that they are both an ability to exercise prerogatives and an obligatory duty. In fact, we may look at the entire feudal system as nothing, but rights and duties granted between Kings and vassals whereby the King who formally owned the kingdom granted the rights to fiefs to his vassals in exchange for service. Likewise, ownership or incorporation into citizenry will always carry certain social obligations.
Society should be organized to elevate our virtue, character and make us happy. This is the archetype of Merrie England itself, the Shire, and Idyllic Christendom. It is the idea that a goodly ordered society is an emergent property of morality and as Pope Pius the XI would later write in Quas Primas, the Social Kingship of Christ.
So, first turning to Quas Primas itself, we have seen that Pius XI makes it clear that Christ’s kingship extends to all creatures. Pius XI emphasizes that this subjugation extends throughout the entire hierarchy of society. He does so by referring to the summit and the basic unit of society: “Nor is there any difference in this matter between the individual and the family or the state; for all men, whether collectively or individually, are under the dominion of Christ. In him is the salvation of the individual, in him is the salvation of society.”
Having the benefit of a thousand years of Christendom we see the Christianizing effect that elevated medieval societies. From the: great Cathedrals, the development of art, literature, the flourishing of divers languages and cultures, the vibrant colorfulness, the progression made from agrarianism to market economies, and the hundred or so Church holidays in the calendar year, the effects of Christ the King are abundant and unmistakable. Through these effects we can ascertain the Truth that a properly ordered country has a certain sense of brotherhood amongst its citizens. That if we can elevate the condition of our souls through Christ we may elevate our society. As Saint Augustine said:
“And so, Brethren, we say, pray as much as you are able. Evils abound, and God has willed that evils should abound. Would that evil men did not abound, and then evils would not abound. Bad times! Troublesome times! This men are saying. Let our lives be good; and the times are good. We make our times; such as we are, such are the times.” (8)
The word politics is derived from the Greek word polis, meaning city state. Politics has always meant to be the practical application of philosophy for the good of the city. In our case we no longer are confined to city-states, but to nations, and as this is so we should still interpret politics as being the union of philosophy to action for the good of our countries. From these truths, and many others we may begin to construct our map which will uses our Catholic philosophy and to guide us to the practical application of it for the betterment of our Western nations.
This introduction will certainly need a rewrite by the time, if it ever comes, that I complete this work, but I think it is important to get the ideas out there and developed. Please let me know what you think and any help in the process is much appreciated.
Citations:
- https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100151694
- https://fitzinfo.net/2024/11/12/what-does-it-mean-to-be-western/
- https://www.heritage-history.com/index.php?c=read&author=guerber&book=oldfrance&story=louis9
- https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-louis-of-france/
- https://www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/ecum12-2.htm#8
- https://users.ssc.wisc.edu/~rkeyser/?page_id=625
- https://distributistreview.com/archive/the-social-kingship-of-christ
- http://newadvent.org/fathers/160330.htm
The start of a new book, maybe.
Introduction: what is the need?
To be a Catholic in our time is a difficult task, perhaps more difficult than in any other time in history. For whereas in the past good Catholics have been besought by persecutions, war, poverty and a host of other ills which modernity has swept away the Catholics of the past always had the Bulwark of the Church, the shining city on the hill where was found truth. Now we are surrounded by lies and the Church is eclipsed. All around us we are surrounded by the Devil’s smoke, phantoms, shadows, and deceivers. A cacophony of rotten ideas and bad philosophy which drowns out the sweet melody of Truth, a twisting path with no straight end.
I am writing this book to provide we who are left of the faithful a guide and a vision for a better future. Though I am wholly unworthy to produce such a work, I have undertaken this endeavor because it is not enough to document and to refute lies. We must have a vision for a better future for which we strive for. Just as a sailor may brave the rough seas, what use is his sailing if he doesn’t have a map, a compass, or the stars? To where does he go?
Just like the sailor we as Catholics have no map. We no longer have the Church to address the errors of modernity and so we are stuck in the past without a way to navigate through this time of great apostacy.
“Then Jesus said to them: All you shall be scandalized in me this night. For it is written: I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be dispersed.” Mathew 26:31
So many of us who are faithful Catholics have fallen into bad ideas because we have become pieces in our enemy’s game of dialectics.
This book is meant to apply Catholic teaching and sound reason to our times so that we may have our map. The benefits being two-fold: that with a guiding star, me may navigate the shadow which surrounds us and refute the errors of our time, and secondly that we may take real steps towards building a better future. In this task I ask you the reader to please share with me your ideas, and please to correct me if I make any error in the faith or otherwise. I view this project as a collaborative work with our community.
What is the purpose of this book?
When beginning any new project it is ideal to begin with a vision of the end in mind. So what does an ideal Catholic Country look like? Fortunately for us we have 1,000 years of Christendom to look back to. Times were far from perfect back then, but the idyllic state was imagined in Merry England, German Heimat, every country had its version. The Characteristics of these places were they had a love for God, the people lived in strong communities rooted in the land. Authority was respected and expected to govern like a father would. The people had rights and a say in their governance, freedoms, rights, and ownership in the economy. There existed strong institutions, many traditions, and festivals. The people were happy, the places were full of color, the music serene, and life was vibrant and energetic.(1) If you would like to read more the best literary description may be found in the Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien in the chapters which deal with the Shire.
This Idyllic state is not just nostalgia or something else but developed in social conscious of a the Western Christian mind, nurtured through centuries of Christianity of the way things ought to be. Following the principles of Westernism(2) we look to tradition to adapt the transcendental truths to apply them for the future. So what are the Truths that shine through from our idyllic past?
A love for God. This is the archetype of the good priest, friar tuck, a thousand monasteries which dotted the land, wedding bells and rice. Easter when the flowers bloom, Christmas goose and presents when the snow falls. England was said to be founded by Saint George who slew the dragon, Germany by Boniface who cut down Thor’s oak, France by Saint Dennis who lost his head in Martyrdom. In fact all Christian Countries have their origin with a patron saint who through great love for God performed acts of heroic virtue which laid the foundation of their future patron country. From this we see a great love for our Lord is inherent in the Idyllic Catholic country because by its very nature it is our inheritance. We may even say it is the countries oldest tradition, because there was no country before its saint?
Thus we can glean the truth that a love for God is foundational in our idyllic country for the Christianization of the country is the genesis that creates it. There was no Germany before St. Boniface, only warring Germanic tribes, England was leftovers of the Romans, Britain and the newcoming Angles and Saxons. Ireland was an isle of petty pagan kings, raiders and chieftains before St. Patrick. The love for God is what bound these loose tribal societies together and provided the fertile ground for their societies and cultures to flourish. The love for God is what makes those same societies and cultures good, for it tamed the wild pagan fierceness than existed beforehand and put it to good use.
In Merrie England the people were a people of blood and soil. This is the archetype of the good peasant, little John, Samwise Gamgee. The man with soil in is fingertips and callouses on his hand. He can cite his lineage to ten generations of men who have worked the land before him, their deeds both great and small. He is a man of uncommonly good practical sense, a strong belief in what is right and true. He was married at the local church and spent his youth wandering the woods. He looks loves the fields, the streams and the hills during the day, and at night he stares at the sky in wonder and the embers of the hearth amidst the retelling of folk tales. He does his duty for the love of his family and his people. His fathers friends are the fathers of his friends and they both work and sing folk songs over ale at the village inn.
From this we can gather that the transcendental truth is that a country is made of people who are of like mind, body and spirit. The country belongs to the land as much as its people and the land has shaped them. The people are made up of families and the families go so far back together that the hamlets and manors have become like a great family so much so that the whole of the nation may be thought of as an extension of the family. -needs a couple sources
Authority comes from God. This is the archetype of the good king: King Richard returning from Crusade to right the wrongs of Bad King John. Best personified in St. King Louis IX who spent every morning observing mass and would sit under an oak tree and dispense his justice and charity for the peasants of the land. (3)
“Every day, Louis had 13 special guests from among the poor to eat with him, and a large number of poor were served meals near his palace. During Advent and Lent, all who presented themselves were given a meal, and Louis often served them in person. He kept lists of needy people, whom he regularly relieved, in every province of his dominion.” (4)
We may not expect to be so fortunate to be ruled by a saint, but our leaders should aspire to be one. From the idyllic good king we can understand the truth of that Authority comes form God. This means twofold: that authority must be respected and that a ruler must govern to the best of his ability as the Lord would.
1 Let every soul be subject to higher powers: for there is no power but from God: and those that are, are ordained of God. 2 Therefore he that resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God. And they that resist, purchase to themselves damnation. 3 For princes are not a terror to the good work, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good: and thou shalt have praise from the same. (Romans 13:1-4)
From the above passage we can see the foundation of rights, though this only pertains in this case to authority, authority is given the right to execute justice, but incumbent in that right is the responsibility to use it for the good. Thus from scripture we can derive that Authority is not to be tyrannical, but constrained.
We have God given rights. This is the archetype of Robin Hood, King Arthur, the Crusader knight. But, what are rights? In the words of Bishop Pivarunas “Rights are positive moral imperatives. King Arthur was the hero of the middle ages because as king he had ownership over Camelot and as King he therefore had the duty to protect it, and he exercised his kingly right in the face of oppression from a great evil.
In Idyllic Christendom this is found in the manorial court, the village miller who hands his mill down generation to generation, and the yeoman farmer who owns his plot. Here we see the pre-enlightenment concept of rights which is that they are given to us from God so that we may pursue the good. Thus rights come with obligations, we are given property to own so that we may bring forth good things from it. Parents have the right to raise their children, and also the duty to educate them. We are given the right to use our mind and body, and we are commanded to love God with all our being.
29 And Jesus answered him: The first commandment of all is, Hear, O Israel: the Lord thy God is one God. 30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength. This is the first commandment.
31 And the second is like to it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is no other commandment greater than these. Mark 12:29-31.
The concept of abstract rights, which are the rights inherent to man without God that we know as rights today, was developed after the protestant revolt. In Christendom Rights existed informally, though they were beginning to be formalized in documents such as the Magna Carta, The fourth Lateran Council(5), Common Law(6), and the feudal contracts between Lords, yeomen, and serfs(6). However incumbent in these developments was always the truth that rights come from God and that they are both an ability to exercise prerogatives and an obligatory duty. In fact, we may look at the entire feudal system as nothing, but rights and duties granted between Kings and vassals whereby the King who formally owned the kingdom granted the rights to fiefs to his vassals in exchange for service. Likewise, ownership or incorporation into citizenry will always carry certain social obligations.
Society should be organized to elevate our virtue, character and make us happy. This is the archetype of Merrie England itself, the Shire, and Idyllic Christendom. It is the idea that a goodly ordered society is an emergent property of morality and as Pope Pius the XI would later write in Quas Primas, the Social Kingship of Christ.
So, first turning to Quas Primas itself, we have seen that Pius XI makes it clear that Christ’s kingship extends to all creatures. Pius XI emphasizes that this subjugation extends throughout the entire hierarchy of society. He does so by referring to the summit and the basic unit of society: “Nor is there any difference in this matter between the individual and the family or the state; for all men, whether collectively or individually, are under the dominion of Christ. In him is the salvation of the individual, in him is the salvation of society.”
Having the benefit of a thousand years of Christendom we see the Christianizing effect that elevated medieval societies. From the: great Cathedrals, the development of art, literature, the flourishing of divers languages and cultures, the vibrant colorfulness, the progression made from agrarianism to market economies, and the hundred or so Church holidays in the calendar year, the effects of Christ the King are abundant and unmistakable. Through these effects we can ascertain the Truth that a properly ordered country has a certain sense of brotherhood amongst its citizens. That if we can elevate the condition of our souls through Christ we may elevate our society. As Saint Augustine said:
“And so, Brethren, we say, pray as much as you are able. Evils abound, and God has willed that evils should abound. Would that evil men did not abound, and then evils would not abound. Bad times! Troublesome times! This men are saying. Let our lives be good; and the times are good. We make our times; such as we are, such are the times.” (8)
The word politics is derived from the Greek word polis, meaning city state. Politics has always meant to be the practical application of philosophy for the good of the city. In our case we no longer are confined to city-states, but to nations, and as this is so we should still interpret politics as being the union of philosophy to action for the good of our countries. From these truths, and many others we may begin to construct our map which will uses our Catholic philosophy and to guide us to the practical application of it for the betterment of our Western nations.
This introduction will certainly need a rewrite by the time, if it ever comes, that I complete this work, but I think it is important to get the ideas out there and developed. Please let me know what you think and any help in the process is much appreciated.
Citations:
- https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100151694
- https://fitzinfo.net/2024/11/12/what-does-it-mean-to-be-western/
- https://www.heritage-history.com/index.php?c=read&author=guerber&book=oldfrance&story=louis9
- https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-louis-of-france/
- https://www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/ecum12-2.htm#8
- https://users.ssc.wisc.edu/~rkeyser/?page_id=625
- https://distributistreview.com/archive/the-social-kingship-of-christ
- http://newadvent.org/fathers/160330.htm
