In our culture, we generally don’t have a great love of royalty. Some of this may come from learning about the origins of our nation, because we may see every king the way we see King George III. We may also simply have a love for democracy, so monarchies don’t make much sense to us. While this part of our national identity is a big part of who we are, we must also acknowledge that being a king or queen doesn’t make the person evil.
There have been 82 kings and queens canonized as saints in the Catholic Church, and another 54 who were members of the royal family in their countries. When we consider that most of these are saints because of their care for the poor, we can see that our cultural view of monarchies isn’t always true. The power a king or queen holds is enough to do a lot of good or a lot of bad. If the person with that much power uses it according to God’s plan, everyone is better off. This is what we see in many of them, because they realized they didn’t have the wisdom or vision they needed, so they let God lead them.
On this Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, let us all remember the example of so many who wielded great power, and did so with justice and mercy. They are an example to us of the truest humility we can aspire to. This is because they allowed God to lead them, and took on the responsibility which their position called them to embrace. They both recognized that Christ is their King, and that they must be His Body in the world. Let us not think that this is an example just for our leaders, but an example for all of us who must allow God to direct our lives.
St. Anthony Catholic Church 