Caesar Subicit: Imperial Militia of Blessed Charlemagne

Emperor Charlemagne and his Army Fighting the Saracens in Spain,
778 - from 'The Story of Ogier'

A few days ago I posted an article on the NSIR Facebook Page. I mentioned that a blog article would be forthcoming concerning it; this is that article.

The Coronation of Charlemagne
by Assistants of Raphael

Blessed Charlemagne has always held a special place in the NSIR. If he were ever fully canonized, I don't think I would hesitate to make him our patron. In truth, the discovery of Charlemagne had a lot to do with starting a conversion to Catholicism that wouldn't be complete for another several years. He's ever served as a role model and unofficial patron for the NSIR. Because, in a way, we're trying to do what his empire and the successor-state, the Holy Roman Empire, were meant to do: the temporal arm of the Church. To preserve it and protect it while it carried out its mission.

Statue of Charlemagne

This FEMEN protestor is just another incident in a series of events which amount to this: people don't respect the Catholic Church. They don't respect religion in general. A disagreement is one thing, ladies and gentleman; it is something else entirely to storm into a gathering of that group and disrupt the proceedings. It amounts to an act of war. She stormed a cathedral, climbed the altar, faced the tabernacle with the words, "I AM GOD" written across her naked chest. She challenged God Himself, in his Temple. Another person to do that was Lucifer, and he and his co-conspirators became Hell's first residents.

Fitting.

This isn't the worst of it. Churches in Syria have been burned out and destroyed, religious have been killed and had their monasteries razed, and priests have been executed in the streets (all with the silent consent of the US Government, given they're funding the Al Qaeda forces who are engaging in such acts of violence). In South America, a churches have been vandalized by a whole mess of groups. Whenever such things happen to mosques, synagogues, or practically any other place of worship, it seems there are a whole host of people waiting to sue and/or fight for their religion. Catholicism is alone in the fact no one comes to its aid. You'd think we were the barbarian death-cult that nearly consumed Western Civilization or some other great evil that had nearly caused the doom of humanity, rather than the exact opposite. The world almost seems to act like we deserve it, somehow.

Apparently, tolerance only applies to people who will break things if they don't get it.

Clearly, no one is going to come to our aid any time soon. If they could justify it in their warped consciences and by their defective moral compasses, they would join in and wipe us off the planet since we function as the last remnant of humanity's conscience and conscience is something the world wants desperately to be rid of. Something has to be done; I've never wanted the NSIR to exist solely in blog and website form. We've got to materialize in the physical world if we're going to accomplish what we want. I read another article that said how conservatives are doomed to lose because, by default, they don't change or adapt. I disagree; we're doomed to fail because we have a tendency to fold in and not lash out. But the fact is we've got to do that. We've got to face the enemy head-on and we can't keep ducking into our internet groups if we expect to win against the forces arrayed against us.

15th Century Tapestry Depicting The Battle of Roncevaux

Which is why I'm going to suggest something: a militia. An international group of militias attached to dioceses and other religious shrines with one purpose: to protect the holy places of the Church from vandalism. A fraternal organization like the Knights of Columbus who exist to assist the Church and protect it from the acts of vandalism and desecration so prominent in our modern world. Think of it as a Security Company of sorts, like large corporations use, except it doesn't exactly work for profit. It raises money via donations and other programs.

Is it extreme? Yes. Will it be unpopular? I imagine so, unless I am a poor judge of the character of modern man. But we have to do something, and the IMBC seems like a good start. It will get us working together and out of the page to do a bit more for our local parishes. It's going to be a rough climb to get started, undoubtedly. Those interested should seek to contact me personally via the Blog or the Facebook page. We'll have to start small, and unofficial. But as time goes by and if this picks up traction, we can get ourselves out there finally and do something positive for our local parishes.

How do we start? My first suggestion is to be vigilant in your own parish in your prayer life. Second - as I've already said - if you're interested in helping to formulate this or get started, all advice is welcome. I'm not exactly an expert with things like this, and I'm going to need men who are if this is going to work. I know most of us around here aren't very vocal on most blog or page posts, but if you never are again I need you to be now. I need to know what you all think, and if you know a way for us to get started.

War flag of the Holy Roman Empire (1200-1350)

Uniforms, a badge, colors, and other such ideas are forth coming. I know some talented artists who would be willing to draw some stuff out just to get the mind going. In the end, I mean for this to function as a fraternal militia that will stretch everywhere the Catholic Church is. It will protect her monasteries, her shrines, her clergy, her churches, and her laity from assault and harm from all threats - foreign and domestic. They will be pious, militant men in good standing with the Church. They will keep watch of the holy places and spend their watches in prayer. They will be a wall to the faithful, and a flail to the malcontents.

For too long, Catholicism has been unjustly scornful of its past. These men must serve as a reminder of the power and glory of the Faith, given and sanctified by the grace and goodness of our Blessed Lord.

"Take this holy sword, a gift from God, in whom thou shalt overthrow the adversary of my people Israel."

Caesar Alloquitur: Germany

Remember when Germania was this awesome? The Kaiser remembers.

Germany was once the heartland of the Holy Roman Empire, the successor-state of the Carolingian Empire that laid the foundation for what would become Christendom.

I posted an article on the Facebook page recently. After going through and reading it thoroughly, the closing remarks are what interested me most.

The bishops have repeatedly complained of the loss of membership and blame the Church’s refusal to change teachings such as that on divorce, the reservation of priestly ordination to men and clerical celibacy. The German media, however, has pointed to the clerical sex abuse scandals as a major motivator for the refusal of Catholics to continue paying the tax levy. In 2011, 126,488 Catholics asked to be removed from registers.

What is this tax levy they're talking about, you ask? Well, the German Church has a rather efficient way of obtaining tithes from members. On their tax forms, German citizens identify with a certain church. They pay a tax of sorts that goes to that church. It's a rather effective system, if you ask me. How on earth the Catholic Church got that kind of voice after the Kulturkampf of Bismarck which effectively De-Catholicized the country, I don't know, aside from a miracle of God.

"Between Berlin and Rome", with Bismarck on the left and the Pope on the right Kladderadatsch, 1875

In any case, this highlights something very interesting for me. I'm a very, "read between the lines" sort of individual. I don't take things at face value, and I don't automatically assume that any action is completely isolated from affecting things other than what it was originally aimed at. For example, one can note simply from meditation and observation the temporal benefits of a society which abides by the teaching of the Church, even if some of those temporal benefits were not expressly spoken of when the teaching was proclaimed.

In other words, Cardinal Walter Kaspar - a very big proponent of this change - isn't suggesting we re-instate divorced and re-married Catholics into the Church and allow them to participate in the Sacraments simply because he's all magnanimous and an enemy of those meany-head Authentic Catholics and all their rules. He's concerned about his bottom line.

Doubtless, every church needs to function, and it's a big problem if they don't have the funds to keep churches open. But this isn't the way to solve the problem. Are we so quick to forget the story of how Christ always provided for the Apostles? He obtained them money to pay taxes, food to feed themselves, even when any pencil-pushing accountant would've said their books were all out of whack and they needed to seriously re-asses themselves. But the Apostles kept the faith, and as long as they did when they were with Christ, everything was taken care of. It was hardly glamorous, but hey, they lived. They saved souls. That's about all that matters, right?

The Apostles could make one sermon and with that one sermon three thousand converts. We can preach three thousand sermons and not make a single convert. Why do you suppose that is? I think it's got something to do with how we go about it. I saw a video recently of a poet speaking one of his poems at a poetry club. In essence, the whole point of it was that we as a society have lost our eloquence and conviction when we speak. We don't say anything with certainty; we avoid declarative statements. I think that's a problem a lot of Church men have; they are afraid of being labeled this or that or the other. The Apostles didn't fear that. The Prophets didn't fear that. Christ didn't fear that. I will beg the Churchmen of today to stop dishonoring your fore-bearers. Stand for truth. I'm sure there are millions around the world who would donate to the German Church, if it's struggling that much to make ends meet to where you'd be willing to do your job poorly in order to get it.

I beseech the Imperials to say a prayer for the German Church, that it might return to tradition and strive to be authentic in its Catholic Faith. I know at times for men like us we're used to being told, "Shut up and go pray about it, why don't you?" It riles the blood, because we want to do more than pray. I too struggle sometimes with the very action of prayer, as my soul and heart is imbued with the desire to do more than be on my knees. But as soldiers in the foxholes eager to shoot back at the enemy, we must wait for the word from On High before we let them have it. Say your rosaries, go to Mass, pray for the Church. Donate to your local parish, and keep the Faith alive.


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Methniks Germania is in need of a Saint Boniface right now. It might be a wise idea to say a prayer to him for Germany.

Iudicium Caesaris: Philip IV of Spain

Not to be confused with this douche-canoe. Don't worry, Philip, I'll get to you someday; you'll wish I hadn't.

That's better.

Philip IV was one of those monarchs who's reign was neither an abysmal failure or a complete success. At the time he did a lot of good things, but unfortunately outside influences and the propaganda engines of his enemies did more to influence perception of him for the next few centuries after his death rather than honest critique.

Philip IV was an enthusiastic patron of the arts and theater (his affairs with actresses aside); a well-learned man with a particularly strong attraction to astronomy. In fact he regularly frequented parlors and salons with several other nobility to discuss contemporary literature of the day. If the accounts are to be believed, their commentary was rather satirical. A precursor to modern-day internet critics?

He was a good father by the standards of his day, and very pious in spite of his personal faults when it came to sexual morality. His policies reflect his conservative beliefs: he saw Europe as destined to be ruled by family-based Hapsburg hegemony in the fashion of his ancestors. He passed laws closing down the legal brothels in Spain, taxed luxury items heavily, and worked closely with the papacy to keep Spain's proud record of having the most upright and orthodox clergy in Europe, something that was in jeopardy due to a few decades of neglect.

Perhaps where he most desperately needed to shine was in the Thirty Years' War, a conflict that would have long-lasting ramifications for Catholic Europe, and not good ones. The Spanish Military performed well, but quickly modifying strategies and economic issues ultimately brought Spain to the short end of the stick. Philip was not a warrior at heart, and wanted peace more than anything. Arguably Spain could've benefited much more from a warrior-king, and those arguments would be right, but things have unfolded as they should, and by the grace of God the NSIR will right the terrible wrongs done by the Thirty Years' War to Europe regardless.

Not a perfect man, but a good man. Not a perfect monarch, but a good one, or in the least far better than what they could've gotten. He implemented a lot of good policies and had great ideas, but unfortunately outside forces often stopped these plans from being realized.

For more general information on Philip IV of Spain, check here. I know Wikipedia isn't the most reliable source, but it's a good starting point and sometimes even the reference section for articles serves as a nice little reading list for the more dedicated student of history.

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