I have been recently thinking about how almost everyone on earth is in some sense a slave and how we should be glad of this slavery and fearful of the "liberty" that most of mankind in these fallen times embraces.

Most people begin their lives as slaves of their parents, because in some sense we are obliged to obey our parents as slaves obey their masters, unless of course our parents command us to sin. To disobey our parents in those things we are obliged to obey them is not only disobedience to our parents, but disobedience to God himself who has commanded us to honor or parents.

In a similar way, wives are meant to obey their husbands who are their masters and always follow them even if there is disagreement, except of course if they order their wives to sin. And again, when a woman disobeys her husband in those things in which she is bound to obey, she is also disobeying God himself who commands wives to be obedient to their husbands.

Even the father, who is the head and master of the family, is a slave to his lawful government. Whatever his lawful government commands him to do, he must do (if it is in the area of those things which the government has a lawful authority to command) and if he disobeys his lawful government he is also disobeying the good God who wants us to obey the lawful commands of our government which he gave power over us (unless of course the government is declared unlawful by the Church).

Even those with power over the government are themselves slaves, because they, as are all men, are commanded to be obedient to the Church and the laws of God and if they refuse to be obedient to the Church they are refusing to be obedient to God himself and are no less the slaves of God, but are merely disobedient and will be punished when the time comes for all to be punished or rewarded according to their works.

You can say that there is only one man on earth who is not a slave of another living man, and this is the Pope, who I think bears to title "Ruler of the World." He is the one man who is truly sovereign and is not a slave of another man on earth, though indeed he is the slave of Jesus Christ whose vicar he is, and is bound to obey the laws of God and to feed His sheep and feed His lambs and if he refuses to do so he will be punished with the greatest of punishments, because he was given the greatest place on earth with the greatest responsibility.

All those who call themselves "free" are no less slaves than the obedient; they are merely bad slaves who flee from their duties. Their "liberty" is the most dangerous of mirages because it hides the truth from their heart and from their minds. And the Master is at home tallying all of their bad deeds (though these disobedient slaves foolishly think He is away and knows nothing of their doings) and they will receive their reward when the time is come for the just to feast and the wicked to mourn and gnash their teeth on the last day when judgment comes.

How happy it is to be a slave! If we were free, how would we ever know what God desires us to do? But as slaves to our parents, husbands, government, and Church, we know exactly what God desires us to do at all times because the good God has set them up as powers over us and we know that by obeying them we are obeying God himself and will be greatly rewarded for our obedience.