Feast of Christ the King - Do As You Will

Homily for Christ the King

November 23, 2025

Not As I Will, But As You Will

 

            You may never have heard the name Aleister Crowley, but he is one of the more influential people in history. He was expelled from Italy, and the British press called him the “wickedest man in the world” in the 1930s. But he wasn’t a murderer or a thief, he was a philosopher – what did he do that was so bad?

            The answer: he founded a religion known as Thelema. It drew on the occult and Eastern mysticism, even bringing in some elements of Satanism. There was only one Commandment of Thelema: “Do what you will.” This was his great imparting gift to Western Civilization: do as you wish.

            One might want to consign Aleister Crowley to a dusty footnote of history, but his influence lives on. His face was featured in the famous montage of the Beatles’ “Seargent Pepper” album…Led Zeppelin wrote his famous commandment into the vinyl of their third album…David Bowie wrote a song about him, as did Ozzy Osbourne…and Timothy Leary, architect of the countercultural hippie movement in the ‘60s, called Crowley the “forerunner” of the cultural revolution that happened during that tumultuous decade.

            And the effect of this commandment, “Do what you will”, continues today. How many times have you heard: “Live your truth…you do you…be true to yourself…follow your heart”? We see this commandment of “do what you will” lived out so much in our culture – spiritual-but-not-religious people who seek God but on their own terms…transgenderism, where you can do what you will to your own body…relationships, priorities, choices about the future – most of our daily lives are lived by “doing what we will,” rather than obeying what God commands.

            “Do what you will” is not atheism. Most people believe in God, but many people want to pick and choose what to believe about God, which is called relativism – or sometimes, more bluntly, called “Cafeteria Catholicism”. Of course, we will only pick those aspects of God that already fit our lives and don’t force us to repent or sacrifice anything.

            Recently I visited a woman who was still very spry but had just been diagnosed with cancer and was very afraid. She insisted she was very devout and was a strong believer in God. So I said, “Well, to give you peace, would you like to go to Confession?” And she said, “No, I don’t believe in that.” “Well, perhaps you should at least go to Mass at your local parish.” “I think I can pray to God just as well at home.” She was wearing a Miraculous Medal, and had the sayings of Confucious on the wall above a Buddha statue. Syncretism – “do what you will” applied to religion.

            The truth is that a King demands obedience. When Pope St. Pius IX in 1925 established the Feast of Christ the King, he wrote the following words: “Jesus Christ was given to man, not only as a redeemer, but as a law-giver, to whom obedience is due.” As King, Christ has the authority to pass laws that must be obeyed. Jesus didn’t come to make us feel good about ourselves; He came with very specific laws we must obey for our own happiness, laws that demand even more than the 10 Commandments required: it’s not enough to avoid murder, now we cannot even harbor anger in our hearts. It’s not enough to avoid adultery, we cannot even look at a woman with lust. It’s not enough to avoid false oaths, we shouldn’t lie at all. And He added new laws: “Do this in remembrance of Me” – the command to worship Him weekly at Mass… “If something in your life causes you to sin, cut it off” – the command to rid our lives of anything that causes sin…and so forth.

            Yes, it is hard to obey these. But there is good news: First, we don’t have to rely on our own strength to obey Jesus Christ as King – He will give us grace to do so. So if we’re having trouble following the Lord, a good prayer might be, “Lord, help me to want to do your will, and give me the grace to carry it out.” Just be honest with Him about the difficulty – He will come to your aid, and use the aids He has already given – Confession, the Scriptures, the Rosary, daily prayer. Second, we must remember that His commands actually lead to happiness! It’s much like when we look at a sweatshirt or a suit-coat and see the tag. “Do not dry clean, wash with warm water, do not use bleach.” All of these instructions were given by the manufacturer so we know how best to care for our clothing, so it will look great for years. Likewise, our “manufacturer” (the Lord) has given us instructions so that we will flourish, both here and in eternity.

            Back in France in the early 1700s, a skilled shopkeeper named Jeanne Delanou was a Catholic – but of her own making. She kept her shop open on Sundays, in part so that she’d have an excuse to skip Mass, but partly just out of greed. She was very vain, and had many superficial friends just so she could be “popular” among the townspeople. She even had the reputation of being quite flirtatious with the young lads! She thought she was a good Catholic, a reputable woman, but in reality she just wanted to do whatever she wanted.

            One day a poor but holy beggar named Francoise stopped by the shop and asked her for shelter for the night. Ordinarily she would refuse, but something told her to offer hospitality. She allowed the holy woman into her home, and Francoise told Jeanne that she needed to consecrate her life to the service of the poor. Jeanne initially dismissed the idea – she had too many responsibilities at the shop! But long after the holy beggar left, the idea plagued her – could she actually stop making excuses and follow what God is asking? She finally asked a priest, who confirmed that this was indeed an inspiration from God – and that she had to leave behind her lukewarm, half-hearted Catholicism and actually get serious about following Him. She began to do just that – dedicate all of her free time to serve the poor and to prayer, eventually inspiring a whole movement of professional French women to do the same. She is now St. Jeanne Delanou, who had to stop “doing as she willed” in order to do as God willed.

            My friends, even many churchgoing Catholics are infected with the religion of Aleister Crowley – “do what you will.” But instead, we ought to take as our inspiration Our Blessed Mother, whose motto leads to Heaven: “Not my will, but Yours be done.”