- Feb 5, 2002
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Today, many Americans, including many faithful Catholics, will look in the ballot box for solutions to our nation’s ills.
“Put not your trust in princes; in the children of men in whom there is no salvation.”
When King David penned these lines 3,000 years ago, a man might have been excused for looking to his ruler to see to it that his lot in life was not too severe; that justice prevailed in the kingdom; and, perhaps, that some form of higher civilization might be cultivated by royal example or even decree.
Throughout antiquity there have been Herods, Neros, and Caligulas, who exploited their offices for gain or pleasure or both, but there were also Octavians, Trajans, and Aurelians, whose actions were—in the main—motivated by a desire to serve the common good. As Christian Europe took shape, monarchs on the order of Charlemagne, Ferdinand and Isabella, and Phillip II of Spain aimed to unite their governments with the government of God. Some even achieved sanctity along the way: Alfred the Great, who translated Boethius into English; Edward the Confessor, who built the first Westminster Abbey; and Louis IX, the heroic crusader king who also labored to create a just economy for the people of France.
Alas, our own age does not produce the likes of a Charlemagne or a St. Louis and has not for some time. And yet, at the moment in history when we should most be heeding the psalmist’s words not to put our trust in princes, Americans seem to invest no end of hope in today’s version of a prince: the politician.
G.K. Chesterton recognized this trap a more than century ago when he wrote,
Continued below.
‘Put Not Your Trust in Princes’
On this day, many Americans will look in the ballot box for solutions to our nation’s ills. But that's not quite right, as every Catholic should know.
