Talking about Royal Saints on Morning Air
Laura DeMaria
Friends, this week I joined the Morning Air program to discuss saints who just so happened to be royalty in their lifetimes. What I appreciated about the conversation was that I got to sprinkle in a little civics information. For example, John asked me, after we talked about Good King Wenceslaus, why does it seem so weird to us that a King would try to bring peace through Christianity to his kingdom? That he would be public and bold with his faith, and see it as the central force guiding his monarchy? And I said - yes! It does seem weird to us, because our country in its founding chose to create safeguards to prevent the establishment of a state religion. However! That does not mean separation of church and state, a made-up concept that is nowhere in the Constitution. Today’s critics of religious freedom have it backwards: they believe the government should be protected from faith. Not so! It is the other way around: the first amendment guarantees freedom of conscience, and the protection of government, or any authority, from infringing on the free expression of that faith. So, the more you know. Anyway, although I am not necessarily of the thought that a literal Catholic monarch would make the best ruler (though I know people who do - seriously), I do believe, as I told John, that our country would benefit from a leader guided by Christian principles - in deed, and not just in word. So, tune in for some fun facts about a handful of royal saints.
You can listen to the conversation here, starting around minute 29.
Happy second week of Easter!