The 150 Points of the Phalange, Catholic, Royal, and Communitarian - Point 16

Point 16. Jesus Christ, Saviour of the World.

If the Son of God came to dwell in this world it was in order to save it. Did He, Who is Eternal Wisdom, have in mind a greater beauty for His creation and a greater manifestation of the divine goodness through His Incarnation? What is certain is that a pressing reason directed this glorious work and determined the means to be taken: it was our Redemption through the Cross that the Divine Word had at heart. He came to expiate the sins of the world and thus free us from the powers of Hell which, before Him, apart from Him and against Him, aspire to world domination.

The event of the Sacrifice of the Cross cuts human history in two: before it, reigned darkness, slavery to sin, corruption and death; after it, reigns light, peace, joy, freedom, and even now eternal life. The Cross divides the world into two cities, one of which must be repudiated if we wish to belong to the other: the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Satan, one day to be eternal Heaven and eternal Hell.

1. The Phalangist’s vision of a world without God is sombre indeed, but perhaps not so pessimistic as that of our ancestors, marked as it was by the Augustinian tradition. He, however, will never be optimistic about man; he will not marvel at his natural goodness or at the naive simplicity of primitive peoples not yet corrupted by power, as Jean-Jacques Rousseau would have it. The Phalangist is wary of all that has not been touched or sanctified by Christ; he pities the wretchedness of infidels and combats them in their arrogance and aggressiveness.

2. On Christian peoples, on the inhabitants of the City of God, and on himself, the Phalangist casts a confident but lucid regard. He knows that God’s grace and strength are with them, but only through the application of the merits of Christ and the continuous gift of the fruits of Redemption. They are thus raised above themselves by the virtue of the Sacraments and owe the constancy of their fidelity to Christ, to the benefit of His prayer, His life, and His example. Only thus can they hope to vanquish the Evil One and progress in their vocation as sons of God.

3. In the Christian combat, the Mass occupies the central place. Christ’s sacrifice ceaselessly renewed for His Church is not an optional rite but the Phalangist’s daily nourishment at the heart of the Catholic community. It is in this sacrifice that Christ Himself gives His pardon, grace, strength and joy to those who are His own and cements their fraternal charity in the bond of His Body and Blood.