Be Subject to Every Human Creature for God's Sake - SSPX Sermons

Added: 2026-05-07

[00:00:01][music] >> Be subject to every human creature for God's sake.

[00:00:10]These words from today's epistle sound a bit strange.

[00:00:14]The modern world praises power and independence, not subjection.

[00:00:19]We live in a free country. We are adults. We make our own decisions. We have rights.

[00:00:26]So, in spite of our reverence for the Bible, we find it difficult to understand this passage.

[00:00:32]Consider one extreme.

[00:00:34]The rebels who ridicule every suggestion of restraint and refuse to submit to any form of authority.

[00:00:44]If they are philosophers, they assert that the subjection of one man to another is incompatible with human dignity.

[00:00:54]If they are not so eloquent, they will affirm their freedom to do whatever they want and no one can tell them what to do.

[00:01:04]These extreme rebels delude themselves.

[00:01:08]In fact, no one is completely free from all authority. Everyone has some kind of superior. This is the natural order of society. A child must obey his parents and an adult must obey his boss at work and the representatives of the government such as the police officers.

[00:01:29]Obedience is the natural virtue of carrying out the orders of a superior with the intention of fulfilling his commands.

[00:01:39]Saint Thomas Aquinas answered the rebel philosophers by explaining that obedience does not destroy freedom but perfects it.

[00:01:50]For example, the good order of society depends on the obedience of the majority of the citizens. If there's too much disobedience, the family, the school, the business, or the government will collapse.

[00:02:06]And that will harm everyone who's involved.

[00:02:10]In the order of nature, we do not choose our parents and we have limited choices about who will be our superiors at school, at work, and in the city.

[00:02:22]We are subject to these people regardless of their personal virtues, intelligence, or goodness.

[00:02:30]We often end up working for people whom we do not like or people who are corrupt.

[00:02:37]Saint Peter emphasized this point at the end of today's epistle. Servants, be subject to your masters not only to the good and gentle masters but also to the forward.

[00:02:52]Forward is an old English word which means perverse, stubborn, and acting contrary to righteousness.

[00:02:59]The word is derived from fromward or turning away from and is contrasted with being upright.

[00:03:07]Even when these forward people are in charge, we're told to obey.

[00:03:15]Listen again to the words of Saint Peter. Be ye subject to every human creature for God's sake.

[00:03:22]Does this mean we must obey every man, woman, or child who gives us a command?

[00:03:30]Yes.

[00:03:32]That is the meaning.

[00:03:34]If we receive a real command from a real superior, we must obey.

[00:03:41]Now, children will very rarely have authority to command.

[00:03:46]But women will often be in positions of authority and we must not refuse to accept commands from anyone who has real authority. We must not allow bias or racism or chauvinism to determine our obedience.

[00:04:01]Instead, we should have a spirit of subjection and humility, not of superiority and pride.

[00:04:09]However, Saint Peter is not telling us to take orders from everyone who chooses to give a command. That would lead to to anarchy.

[00:04:20]The true meaning of the text includes the words for God's sake.

[00:04:25]So, we have a duty to submit to the commands of those who certainly speak with God's authority.

[00:04:33]Remember what Jesus told Pontius Pilate.

[00:04:36]Thou should not have any power over me unless it were given thee from above.

[00:04:44]All power and authority comes from God.

[00:04:48]And therefore, we must obey legitimate legitimate superiors. And the only exception is that we cannot obey a command from a superior who tells us to commit a sin, to act against the higher authority of God.

[00:05:07]Obedience is difficult both for the superior and the one who must obey.

[00:05:14]The superior may be excellent in his personal life and yet be condemned for the sins of his subjects when he neglects his duty to correct them.

[00:05:27]Take the example of a father who does an honest day's work for his money and provides for the necessities of his family.

[00:05:34]He is personally virtuous.

[00:05:38]His son wants more money and so he steals things of great value.

[00:05:44]The son is guilty of a mortal sin.

[00:05:47]If the father knows that his son is a thief, he has to fix the problem.

[00:05:54]He can counsel his son in private to return the stolen property or even pay his son's debts as restitution while giving his son a strong warning to sin no more.

[00:06:08]If necessary, he can report his son to the police.

[00:06:13]There are several good ways of dealing with the situation.

[00:06:17]But if the father, with misguided love, hides his son from the police and feigns ignorance of the crime, then he also becomes guilty of the theft.

[00:06:31]And notice that the father has not stolen anything himself and may not even share in the use of the stolen property, but because he is the superior, he is required to act.

[00:06:42]And thus, a superior may have the difficult duty to correct the faults of people he loves.

[00:06:52]Now, reverse the example to show a bad superior who issues a command to do something sinful.

[00:07:00]Say the father needs money and he is willing to steal, but he commands his son to commit the theft and share the profits.

[00:07:11]A good son must refuse this command to commit a theft.

[00:07:15]And he should counsel his father and reveal the situation to someone who would help to prevent the theft such as a friend of his father.

[00:07:28]A real-life example is the behavior of Archbishop Lefebvre in response to Pope John Paul II's ecumenical prayer ceremony at Assisi in 1986.

[00:07:41]The Pope did something scandalous by appearing as an equal among the leaders of world religions and asking them to pray to their false gods.

[00:07:53]Archbishop Lefebvre first wrote a letter to the cardinals asking them to protest against this meeting.

[00:08:01]The cardinals did nothing to stop it.

[00:08:04]Then Archbishop Lefebvre publicly condemned this sin against the worship of the true God.

[00:08:12]And this ecumenical sin of the Pope was one of the main points which motivated Archbishop Lefebvre to consecrate bishops in 1988.

[00:08:23]The Pope forbade this consecration of traditional bishops. The Pope wanted modern bishops who agree with the changes made at Vatican II.

[00:08:35]But we have a serious spiritual need for traditional bishops who ordain traditional priests.

[00:08:43]And you recognize that if you attend mass here because you want to keep your faith.

[00:08:48]You know that the modern bishops are corrupting the faith.

[00:08:52]Our situation today is even worse than in the time of Archbishop Lefebvre.

[00:08:58]Pope Francis signed the Abu Dhabi Declaration with the Muslims promoting ecumenism.

[00:09:04]The Pachamama idol idol has been worshipped at the Vatican.

[00:09:09]Homosexual unions are now blessed by Catholic priests.

[00:09:14]The celebration of the traditional Latin Mass in many dioceses is being restricted.

[00:09:21]Clearly, our faith is being attacked.

[00:09:24]And now, we have asked Pope Leo the 14th for permission to consecrate traditional bishops and he has refused.

[00:09:36]The Pope has authority to choose the candidates who will become bishops. We do not deny his authority, but we cannot obey him on this issue.

[00:09:48]We are in a state of necessity, a spiritual necessity, to keep our faith through the traditional Mass and the sacraments.

[00:09:57]We cannot rely on the modern bishops who are actively corrupting the faith.

[00:10:04]I want you to understand this issue of disobeying the Pope. It is a serious matter and it is not just something being done by the superiors of the Society of Saint Pius the 10th.

[00:10:17]When you attend mass here, you are part of this decision in as much as you are supporting it.

[00:10:26]So study the issue.

[00:10:28]We are publishing articles and videos about the consecration of bishops. My superior general recently gave an interview about this which I recommend for you to read. Uh there are printed copies near the entrance of the church and it is on our website.

[00:10:45]Remember that this is a question of obedience and legitimate disobedience.

[00:10:53]Please pray for the Pope and the Society of Saint Pius the 10th.

[00:10:58]In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, amen.