To the Venerable Brethren, the Patriarchs, Primates,
Archbishops, Bishops and other Ordinaries in Peace and Communion with the
Apostolic See.
Venerable Brethren, Health and Apostolic Benediction.
Mediator between God and men[1] and High Priest who has gone
before us into heaven, Jesus the Son of God[2] quite clearly had one aim in
view when He undertook the mission of mercy which was to endow mankind with
the rich blessings of supernatural grace. Sin had disturbed the right
relationship between man and his Creator; the Son of God would restore it. The
children of Adam were wretched heirs to the infection of original sin; He
would bring them back to their heavenly Father, the primal source and final
destiny of all things. For this reason He was not content, while He dwelt with
us on earth, merely to give notice that redemption had begun, and to proclaim
the long-awaited Kingdom of God, but gave Himself besides in prayer and
sacrifice to the task of saving souls, even to the point of offering Himself,
as He hung from the cross, a Victim unspotted unto God, to purify our
conscience of dead works, to serve the living God.[3] Thus happily were all
men summoned back from the byways leading them down to ruin and disaster, to
be set squarely once again upon the path that leads to God. Thanks to the
shedding of the blood of the Immaculate Lamb, now each might set about the
personal task of achieving his own sanctification, so rendering to God the
glory due to Him.
2. But what is more, the divine Redeemer has so willed it
that the priestly life begun with the supplication and sacrifice of His mortal
body should continue without intermission down the ages in His Mystical Body
which is the Church. That is why He established a visible priesthood to offer
everywhere the clean oblation[4] which would enable men from East to West,
freed from the shackles of sin, to offer God that unconstrained and voluntary
homage which their conscience dictates.
3. In obedience, therefore, to her Founder's behest, the
Church prolongs the priestly mission of Jesus Christ mainly by means of the
sacred liturgy. She does this in the first place at the altar, where
constantly the sacrifice of the cross is represented[5] and with a single
difference in the manner of its offering, renewed.[6] She does it next by
means of the sacraments, those special channels through which men are made
partakers in the supernatural life. She does it, finally, by offering to God,
all Good and Great, the daily tribute of her prayer of praise. "What a
spectacle for heaven and earth," observes Our predecessor of happy memory,
Pius XI, "is not the Church at prayer! For centuries without interruption,
from midnight to midnight, the divine psalmody of the inspired canticles is
repeated on earth; there is no hour of the day that is not hallowed by its
special liturgy; there is no state of human life that has not its part in the
thanksgiving, praise, supplication and reparation of this common prayer of the
Mystical Body of Christ which is His Church!"[7]
4. You are of course familiar with the fact, Venerable
Brethren, that a remarkably widespread revival of scholarly interest in the
sacred liturgy took place towards the end of the last century and has
continued through the early years of this one. The movement owed its rise to
commendable private initiative and more particularly to the zealous and
persistent labor of several monasteries within the distinguished Order of
Saint Benedict. Thus there developed in this field among many European
nations, and in lands beyond the seas as well, a rivalry as welcome as it was
productive of results. Indeed, the salutary fruits of this rivalry among the
scholars were plain for all to see, both in the sphere of the sacred sciences,
where the liturgical rites of the Western and Eastern Church were made the
object of extensive research and profound study, and in the spiritual life of
considerable numbers of individual Christians.
5. The majestic ceremonies of the sacrifice of the altar
became better known, understood and appreciated. With more widespread and more
frequent reception of the sacraments, with the beauty of the liturgical
prayers more fully savored, the worship of the Eucharist came to be regarded
for what it really is: the fountain-head of genuine Christian devotion. Bolder
relief was given likewise to the fact that all the faithful make up a single
and very compact body with Christ for its Head, and that the Christian
community is in duty bound to participate in the liturgical rites according to
their station.
6. You are surely well aware that this Apostolic See has
always made careful provision for the schooling of the people committed to its
charge in the correct spirit and practice of the liturgy; and that it has been
no less careful to insist that the sacred rites should be performed with due
external dignity. In this connection We ourselves, in the course of our
traditional address to the Lenten preachers of this gracious city of Rome in
1943, urged them warmly to exhort their respective hearers to more faithful
participation in the eucharistic sacrifice. Only a short while previously,
with the design of rendering the prayers of the liturgy more correctly
understood and their truth and unction more easy to perceive, We arranged to
have the Book of Psalms, which forms such an important part of these prayers
in the Catholic Church, translated again into Latin from their original
text.[8]
7. But while We derive no little satisfaction from the
wholesome results of the movement just described, duty obliges Us to give
serious attention to this "revival" as it is advocated in some quarters, and
to take proper steps to preserve it at the outset from excess or outright
perversion.
8. Indeed, though we are sorely grieved to note, on the one
hand, that there are places where the spirit, understanding or practice of the
sacred liturgy is defective, or all but inexistent, We observe with
considerable anxiety and some misgiving, that elsewhere certain enthusiasts,
over-eager in their search for novelty, are straying beyond the path of sound
doctrine and prudence. Not seldom, in fact, they interlard their plans and
hopes for a revival of the sacred liturgy with principles which compromise
this holiest of causes in theory or practice, and sometimes even taint it with
errors touching Catholic faith and ascetical doctrine.
9. Yet the integrity of faith and morals ought to be the
special criterion of this sacred science, which must conform exactly to what
the Church out of the abundance of her wisdom teaches and prescribes. It is,
consequently, Our prerogative to commend and approve whatever is done
properly, and to check or censure any aberration from the path of truth and
rectitude.
10. Let not the apathetic or half-hearted imagine, however,
that We agree with them when We reprove the erring and restrain the overbold.
No more must the imprudent think that we are commending them when We correct
the faults of those who are negligent and sluggish.
11. If in this encyclical letter We treat chiefly of the
Latin liturgy, it is not because We esteem less highly the venerable liturgies
of the Eastern Church, whose ancient and honorable ritual traditions are just
as dear to Us. The reason lies rather in a special situation prevailing in the
Western Church, of sufficient importance, it would seem, to require this
exercise of Our authority.
12. With docile hearts, then, let all Christians hearken to
the voice of their Common Father, who would have them, each and every one,
intimately united with him as they approach the altar of God, professing the
same faith, obedient to the same law, sharing in the same Sacrifice with a
single intention and one sole desire. This is a duty imposed, of course, by
the honor due to God. But the needs of our day and age demand it as well.
After a long and cruel war which has rent whole peoples asunder with it
rivalry and slaughter, men of good will are spending themselves in the effort
to find the best possible way to restore peace to the world. It is,
notwithstanding, Our belief that no plan or initiative can offer better
prospect of success than that fervent religious spirit and zeal by which
Christians must be formed and guided; in this way their common and
whole-hearted acceptance of the same truth, along with their united obedience
and loyalty to their appointed pastors, while rendering to God the worship due
to Him, makes of them one brotherhood: "for we, being many, are one body: all
that partake of one bread."[9]
13. It is unquestionably the fundamental duty of man to
orientate his person and his life towards God. "For He it is to whom we must
first be bound, as to an unfailing principle; to whom even our free choice
must be directed as to an ultimate objective. It is He, too, whom we lose when
carelessly we sin. It is He whom we must recover by our faith and trust."[10]
But man turns properly to God when he acknowledges His Supreme majesty and
supreme authority; when he accepts divinely revealed truths with a submissive
mind; when he scrupulously obeys divine law, centering in God his every act
and aspiration; when he accords, in short, due worship to the One True God by
practicing the virtue of religion.
14. This duty is incumbent, first of all, on men as
individuals. But it also binds the whole community of human beings, grouped
together by mutual social ties: mankind, too, depends on the sovereign
authority of God.
15. It should be noted, moreover, that men are bound by his
obligation in a special way in virtue of the fact that God has raised them to
the supernatural order.
16. Thus we observe that when God institutes the Old Law, He
makes provision besides for sacred rites, and determines in exact detail the
rules to be observed by His people in rendering Him the worship He ordains. To
this end He established various kinds of sacrifice and designated the
ceremonies with which they were to be offered to Him. His enactments on all
matters relating to the Ark of the Covenant, the Temple and the holy days are
minute and clear. He established a sacerdotal tribe with its high priest,
selected and described the vestments with which the sacred ministers were to
be clothed, and every function in any way pertaining to divine worship.[11]
Yet this was nothing more than a faint foreshadowing[12] of the worship which
the High Priest of the New Testament was to render to the Father in heaven.
17. No sooner, in fact, "is the Word made flesh"[13] than he
shows Himself to the world vested with a priestly office, making to the
Eternal Father an act of submission which will continue uninterruptedly as
long as He lives: "When He cometh into the world he saith. . . 'behold I come
. . . to do Thy Will."[14] This act He was to consummate admirably in the
bloody Sacrifice of the Cross: "It is in this will we are sanctified by the
oblation of the Body of Jesus Christ once."[15] He plans His active life among
men with no other purpose in view. As a child He is presented to the Lord in
the Temple. To the Temple He returns as a grown boy, and often afterwards to
instruct the people and to pray. He fasts for forty days before beginning His
public ministry. His counsel and example summon all to prayer, daily and at
night as well. As Teacher of the truth He "enlighteneth every man"[16] to the
end that mortals may duly acknowledge the immortal God, "not withdrawing unto
perdition, but faithful to the saving of the soul."[17] As Shepherd He watches
over His flock, leads it to life-giving pasture, lays down a law that none
shall wander from His side, off the straight path He has pointed out, and that
all shall lead holy lives imbued with His spirit and moved by His active aid.
At the Last Supper He celebrates a new Pasch with solemn rite and ceremonial,
and provides for its continuance through the divine institution of the
Eucharist. On the morrow, lifted up between heaven and earth, He offers the
saving sacrifice of His life, and pours forth, as it were, from His pierced
Heart the sacraments destined to impart the treasures of redemption to the
souls of men. All this He does with but a single aim: the glory of His Father
and man's ever greater sanctification.
18. But it is His will, besides, that the worship He
instituted and practiced during His life on earth shall continue ever
afterwards without intermission. For he has not left mankind an orphan. He
still offers us the support of His powerful, unfailing intercession, acting as
our "advocate with the Father."[18] He aids us likewise through His Church,
where He is present indefectibly as the ages run their course: through the
Church which He constituted "the pillar of truth"[19] and dispenser of grace,
and which by His sacrifice on the cross, He founded, consecrated and confirmed
forever.[20]
19. The Church has, therefore, in common with the Word
Incarnate the aim, the obligation and the function of teaching all men the
truth, of governing and directing them aright, of offering to God the pleasing
and acceptable sacrifice; in this way the Church re-establishes between the
Creator and His creatures that unity and harmony to which the Apostle of the
Gentiles alludes in these words: "Now, therefore, you are no more strangers
and foreigners; but you are fellow citizens with the saints and domestics of
God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ
Himself being the chief corner-stone; in whom all the building, being framed
together, groweth up into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are
built together in a habitation of God in the Spirit."[21] Thus the society
founded by the divine Redeemer, whether in her doctrine and government, or in
the sacrifice and sacraments instituted by Him, or finally, in the ministry,
which He has confided to her charge with the outpouring of His prayer and the
shedding of His blood, has no other goal or purpose than to increase ever in
strength and unity.
20. This result is, in fact, achieved when Christ lives and
thrives, as it were, in the hearts of men, and when men's hearts in turn are
fashioned and expanded as though by Christ. This makes it possible for the
sacred temple, where the Divine Majesty receives the acceptable worship which
His law prescribes, to increase and prosper day by day in this land of exile
of earth. Along with the Church, therefore, her Divine Founder is present at
every liturgical function: Christ is present at the august sacrifice of the
altar both in the person of His minister and above all under the eucharistic
species. He is present in the sacraments, infusing into them the power which
makes them ready instruments of sanctification. He is present, finally, in
prayer of praise and petition we direct to God, as it is written: "Where there
are two or three gathered together in My Name, there am I in the midst of
them."[22] The sacred liturgy is, consequently, the public worship which our
Redeemer as Head of the Church renders to the Father, as well as the worship
which the community of the faithful renders to its Founder, and through Him to
the heavenly Father. It is, in short, the worship rendered by the Mystical
Body of Christ in the entirety of its Head and members.
21. Liturgical practice begins with the very founding of the
Church. The first Christians, in fact, "were persevering in the doctrine of
the apostles and in the communication of the breaking of bread and in
prayers."[23] Whenever their pastors can summon a little group of the faithful
together, they set up an altar on which they proceed to offer the sacrifice,
and around which are ranged all the other rites appropriate for the saving of
souls and for the honor due to God. Among these latter rites, the first place
is reserved for the sacraments, namely, the seven principal founts of
salvation. There follows the celebration of the divine praises in which the
faithful also join, obeying the behest of the Apostle Paul, "In all wisdom,
teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual canticles,
singing in grace in your hearts to God."[24] Next comes the reading of the
Law, the prophets, the gospel and the apostolic epistles; and last of all the
homily or sermon in which the official head of the congregation recalls and
explains the practical bearing of the commandments of the divine Master and
the chief events of His life, combining instruction with appropriate
exhortation and illustration of the benefit of all his listeners.
22. As circumstances and the needs of Christians warrant,
public worship is organized, developed and enriched by new rites, ceremonies
and regulations, always with the single end in view, "that we may use these
external signs to keep us alert, learn from them what distance we have come
along the road, and by them be heartened to go on further with more eager
step; for the effect will be more precious the warmer the affection which
precedes it."[25] Here then is a better and more suitable way to raise the
heart to God. Thenceforth the priesthood of Jesus Christ is a living and
continuous reality through all the ages to the end of time, since the liturgy
is nothing more nor less than the exercise of this priestly function. Like her
divine Head, the Church is forever present in the midst of her children. She
aids and exhorts them to holiness, so that they may one day return to the
Father in heaven clothed in that beauteous raiment of the supernatural. To all
who are born to life on earth she gives a second, supernatural kind of birth.
She arms them with the Holy Spirit for the struggle against the implacable
enemy. She gathers all Christians about her altars, inviting and urging them
repeatedly to take part in the celebration of the Mass, feeding them with the
Bread of angels to make them ever stronger. She purifies and consoles the
hearts that sin has wounded and soiled. Solemnly she consecrates those whom
God has called to the priestly ministry. She fortifies with new gifts of grace
the chaste nupitals of those who are destined to found and bring up a
Christian family. When as last she has soothed and refreshed the closing hours
of this earthly life by holy Viaticum and extreme unction, with the utmost
affection she accompanies the mortal remains of her children to the grave,
lays them reverently to rest, and confides them to the protection of the
cross, against the day when they will triumph over death and rise again. She
has a further solemn blessing and invocation for those of her children who
dedicate themselves to the service of God in the life of religious perfection.
Finally, she extends to the souls in purgatory, who implore her intercession
and her prayers, the helping hand which may lead them happily at last to
eternal blessedness in heaven.
23. The worship rendered by the Church to God must be, in its
entirety, interior as well as exterior. It is exterior because the nature of
man as a composite of body and soul requires it to be so. Likewise, because
divine Providence has disposed that "while we recognize God visibly, we may be
drawn by Him to love of things unseen."[26] Every impulse of the human heart,
besides, expresses itself naturally through the senses; and the worship of
God, being the concern not merely of individuals but of the whole community of
mankind, must therefore be social as well. This obviously it cannot be unless
religious activity is also organized and manifested outwardly. Exterior
worship, finally, reveals and emphasizes the unity of the mystical Body, feeds
new fuel to its holy zeal, fortifies its energy, intensifies its action day by
day: "for although the ceremonies themselves can claim no perfection or
sanctity in their won right, they are, nevertheless, the outward acts of
religion, designed to rouse the heart, like signals of a sort, to veneration
of the sacred realities, and to raise the mind to meditation on the
supernatural. They serve to foster piety, to kindle the flame of charity, to
increase our faith and deepen our devotion. They provide instruction for
simple folk, decoration for divine worship, continuity of religious practice.
They make it possible to tell genuine Christians from their false or heretical
counterparts."[27]
24. But the chief element of divine worship must be interior.
For we must always live in Christ and give ourselves to Him completely, so
that in Him, with Him and through Him the heavenly Father may be duly
glorified. The sacred liturgy requires, however, that both of these elements
be intimately linked with each another. This recommendation the liturgy itself
is careful to repeat, as often as it prescribes an exterior act of worship.
Thus we are urged, when there is question of fasting, for example, "to give
interior effect to our outward observance."[28] Otherwise religion clearly
amounts to mere formalism, without meaning and without content. You recall,
Venerable Brethren, how the divine Master expels from the sacred temple, as
unworthily to worship there, people who pretend to honor God with nothing but
neat and wellturned phrases, like actors in a theater, and think themselves
perfectly capable of working out their eternal salvation without plucking
their inveterate vices from their hearts.[29] It is, therefore, the keen
desire of the Church that all of the faithful kneel at the feet of the
Redeemer to tell Him how much they venerate and love Him. She wants them
present in crowds--like the children whose joyous cries accompanied His entry
into Jerusalem--to sing their hymns and chant their song of praise and
thanksgiving to Him who is King of Kings and Source of every blessing. She
would have them move their lips in prayer, sometimes in petition, sometimes in
joy and gratitude, and in this way experience His merciful aid and power like
the apostles at the lakeside of Tiberias, or abandon themselves totally, like
Peter on Mount Tabor, to mystic union with the eternal God in contemplation.
25. It is an error, consequently, and a mistake to think of
the sacred liturgy as merely the outward or visible part of divine worship or
as an ornamental ceremonial. No less erroneous is the notion that it consists
solely in a list of laws and prescriptions according to which the
ecclesiastical hierarchy orders the sacred rites to be performed.
26. It should be clear to all, then, that God cannot be
honored worthily unless the mind and heart turn to Him in quest of the perfect
life, and that the worship rendered to God by the Church in union with her
divine Head is the most efficacious means of achieving sanctity.
27. This efficacy, where there is question of the eucharistic
sacrifice and the sacraments, derives first of all and principally from the
act itself (ex opere operato). But if one considers the part which the
Immaculate Spouse of Jesus Christ takes in the action, embellishing the
sacrifice and sacraments with prayer and sacred ceremonies, or if one refers
to the "sacramentals" and the other rites instituted by the hierarchy of the
Church, then its effectiveness is due rather to the action of the church (ex
opere operantis Ecclesiae), inasmuch as she is holy and acts always in closest
union with her Head.
28. In this connection, Venerable Brethren, We desire to
direct your attention to certain recent theories touching a so-called
"objective" piety. While these theories attempt, it is true, to throw light on
the mystery of the Mystical Body, on the effective reality of sanctifying
grace, on the action of God in the sacraments and in the Mass, it is
nonetheless apparent that they tend to belittle, or pass over in silence, what
they call "subjective," or "personal" piety.
29. It is an unquestionable fact that the work of our
redemption is continued, and that its fruits are imparted to us, during the
celebration of the liturgy, notable in the august sacrifice of the altar.
Christ acts each day to save us, in the sacraments and in His holy sacrifice.
By means of them He is constantly atoning for the sins of mankind, constantly
consecrating it to God. Sacraments and sacrifice do, then, possess that
"objective" power to make us really and personally sharers in the divine life
of Jesus Christ. Not from any ability of our own, but by the power of God, are
they endowed with the capacity to unite the piety of members with that of the
head, and to make this, in a sense, the action of the whole community. From
these profund considerations some are led to conclude that all Christian piety
must be centered in the mystery of the Mystical Body of Christ, with no regard
for what is "personal" or "subjective, as they would have it. As a result they
feel that all other religious exercises not directly connected with the sacred
liturgy, and performed outside public worship should be omitted.
30. But though the principles set forth above are excellent,
it must be plain to everyone that the conclusions drawn from them respecting
two sorts of piety are false, insidious and quite pernicious.
31. Very truly, the sacraments and the sacrifice of the
altar, being Christ's own actions, must be held to be capable in themselves of
conveying and dispensing grace from the divine Head to the members of the
Mystical Body. But if they are to produce their proper effect, it is
absolutely necessary that our hearts be properly disposed to receive them.
Hence the warning of Paul the Apostle with reference to holy communion, "But
let a man first prove himself; and then let him eat of this bread and drink of
the chalice."[30] This explains why the Church in a brief and significant
phrase calls the various acts of mortification, especially those practiced
during the season of Lent, "the Christian army's defenses."[31] They
represent, in fact, the personal effort and activity of members who desire, as
grace urges and aids them, to join forces with their Captain--"that we may
discover . . . in our Captain," to borrow St. Augustine's words, "the fountain
of grace itself."[32] But observe that these members are alive, endowed and
equipped with an intelligence and will of their own. It follows that they are
strictly required to put their own lips to the fountain, imbibe and absorb for
themselves the life-giving water, and rid themselves personally of anything
that might hinder its nutritive effect in their souls. Emphatically,
therefore, the work of redemption, which in itself is independent of our will,
requires a serious interior effort on our part if we are to achieve eternal
salvation.
32. If the private and interior devotion of individuals were
to neglect the august sacrifice of the altar and the sacraments, and to
withdraw them from the stream of vital energy that flows from Head to members,
it would indeed be sterile, and deserve to be condemned. But when devotional
exercises, and pious practices in general, not strictly connected with the
sacred liturgy, confine themselves to merely human acts, with the express
purpose of directing these latter to the Father in heaven, of rousing people
to repentance and holy fear of God, of weaning them from the seductions of the
world and its vice, and leading them back to the difficult path of perfection,
then certainly such practices are not only highly praiseworthy but absolutely
indispensable, because they expose the dangers threatening the spiritual life;
because they promote the acquisition of virtue; and because they increase the
fervor and generosity with which we are bound to dedicate all that we are and
all that we have to the service of Jesus Christ. Genuine and real piety, which
the Angelic Doctor calls "devotion," and which is the principal act of the
virtue of religion--that act which correctly relates and fitly directs men to
God; and by which they freely and spontaneously give themselves to the worship
of God in its fullest sense[33]--piety of this authentic sort needs meditation
on the supernatural realities and spiritual exercises, if it is to be
nurtured, stimulated and sustained, and if it is to prompt us to lead a more
perfect life. For the Christian religion, practiced as it should be, demands
that the will especially be consecrated to God and exert its influence on all
the other spiritual faculties. But every act of the will presupposes an act of
the intelligence, and before one can express the desire and the intention of
offering oneself in sacrifice to the eternal Godhead, a knowledge of the facts
and truths which make religion a duty is altogether necessary. One must first
know, for instance, man's last end and the supremacy of the Divine Majesty;
after that, our common duty of submission to our Creator; and, finally, the
inexhaustible treasures of love with which God yearns to enrich us, as well as
the necessity of supernatural grace for the achievement of our destiny, and
that special path marked out for us by divine Providence in virtue of the fact
that we have been united, one and all, like members of a body, to Jesus Christ
the Head. But further, since our hearts, disturbed as they are at times by the
lower appetites, do not always respond to motives of love, it is also
extremely helpful to let consideration and contemplation of the justice of God
provoke us on occasion to salutary fear, and guide us thence to Christian
humility, repentance and amendment.
33. But it will not do to possess these facts and truths
after the fashion of an abstract memory lesson or lifeless commentary. They
must lead to practical results. They must impel us to subject our senses and
their faculties to reason, as illuminated by the Catholic faith. They must
help to cleanse and purify the heart, uniting it to Christ more intimately
every day, growing ever more to His likeness, and drawing from Him the divine
inspiration and strength of which it stands in need. They must serve as
increasingly effective incentives to action: urging men to produce good fruit,
to perform their individual duties faithfully, to give themselves eagerly to
the regular practice of their religion and the energetic exercise of virtue.
"You are Christ's, and Christ is God's."[34] Let everything, therefore, have
its proper place and arrangement; let everything be "theocentric," so to
speak, if we really wish to direct everything to the glory of God through the
life and power which flow from the divine Head into our hearts: "Having
therefore, brethren, a confidence in the entering into the holies by the blood
of Christ, a new and living way which He both dedicated for us through the
veil, that is to say, His flesh, and a high priest over the house of God; let
us draw near with a true heart, in fullness of faith, having our hearts
sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with clean water, let
us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering . . . and let us
consider one another, to provoke unto charity and to good works."[35]
34. Here is the source of the harmony and equilibrium which
prevails among the members of the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ. When the
Church teaches us our Catholic faith and exhorts us to obey the commandments
of Christ, she is paving a way for her priestly, sanctifying action in its
highest sense; she disposes us likewise for more serious meditation on the
life of the divine Redeemer and guides us to profounder knowledge of the
mysteries of faith where we may draw the supernatural sustenance, strength and
vitality that enable us to progress safely, through Christ, towards a more
perfect life. Not only through her ministers but with the help of the faithful
individually, who have imbibed in this fashion the spirit of Christ, the
Church endeavors to permeate with this same spirit the life and labors of
men--their private and family life, their social, even economic and political
life--that all who are called God's children may reach more readily the end He
has proposed for them.
35. Such action on the part of individual Christians, then,
along with the ascetic effort promoting them to purify their hearts, actually
stimulates in the faithful those energies which enable them to participate in
the august sacrifice of the altar with better dispositions. They now can
receive the sacraments with more abundant fruit, and come from the celebration
of the sacred rites more eager, more firmly resolved to pray and deny
themselves like Christians, to answer the inspirations and invitation of
divine grace and to imitate daily more closely the virtues of our Redeemer.
And all of this not simply for their own advantage, but for that of the whole
Church, where whatever good is accomplished proceeds from the power of her
Head and redounds to the advancement of all her members.
36. In the spiritual life, consequently, there can be no
opposition between the action of God, who pours forth His grace into men's
hearts so that the work of the redemption may always abide, and the tireless
collaboration of man, who must not render vain the gift of God.[36] No more
can the efficacy of the external administration of the sacraments, which comes
from the rite itself (ex opere operato), be opposed to the meritorious action
of their ministers of recipients, which we call the agent's action (opus
operantis). Similarly, no conflict exists between public prayer and prayers in
private, between morality and contemplation, between the ascetical life and
devotion to the liturgy. Finally, there is no opposition between the
jurisdiction and teaching office of the ecclesiastical hierarchy, and the
specifically priestly power exercised in the sacred ministry.
37. Considering their special designation to perform the
liturgical functions of the holy sacrifice and divine office, the Church has
serious reason for prescribing that the ministers she assigns to the service
of the sanctuary and members of religious institutes betake themselves at
stated times to mental prayer, to examination of conscience, and to various
other spiritual exercises.[37] Unquestionably, liturgical prayer, being the
public supplication of the illustrious Spouse of Jesus Christ, is superior in
excellence to private prayers. But this superior worth does not at all imply
contrast or incompatibility between these two kinds of prayer. For both merge
harmoniously in the single spirit which animates them, "Christ is all and in
all."[38] Both tend to the same objective: until Christ be formed in us.[39]
38. For a better and more accurate understanding of the
sacred liturgy another of its characteristic features, no less important,
needs to be considered.
39. The Church is a society, and as such requires an
authority and hierarchy of her own. Though it is true that all the members of
the Mystical Body partake of the same blessings and pursue the same objective,
they do not all enjoy the same powers, nor are they all qualified to perform
the same acts. The divine Redeemer has willed, as a matter of fact, that His
Kingdom should be built and solidly supported, as it were, on a holy order,
which resembles in some sort the heavenly hierarchy.
40. Only to the apostles, and thenceforth to those on whom
their successors have imposed hands, is granted the power of the priesthood,
in virtue of which they represent the person of Jesus Christ before their
people, acting at the same time as representatives of their people before God.
This priesthood is not transmitted by heredity or human descent. It does not
emanate from the Christian community. It is not a delegation from the people.
Prior to acting as representative of the community before the throne of God,
the priest is the ambassador of the divine Redeemer. He is God's vice-gerent
in the midst of his flock precisely because Jesus Christ is Head of that body
of which Christians are the members. The power entrusted to him, therefore,
bears no natural resemblance to anything human. It is entirely supernatural.
It comes from God. "As the Father hath sent me, I also send you[40]. . . he
that heareth you heareth me[41]. . . go ye into the whole world and preach the
gospel to every creature; he that believeth and is baptized shall be
saved."[42]
41. That is why the visible, external priesthood of Jesus
Christ is not handed down indiscriminately to all members of the Church in
general, but is conferred on designated men, through what may be called the
spiritual generation of holy orders.
42. This latter, one of the seven sacraments, not only
imparts the grace appropriate to the clerical function and state of life, but
imparts an indelible "character" besides, indicating the sacred ministers'
conformity to Jesus Christ the Priest and qualifying them to perform those
official acts of religion by which men are sanctified and God is duly
glorified in keeping with the divine laws and regulations.
43. In the same way, actually that baptism is the distinctive
mark of all Christians, and serves to differentiate them from those who have
not been cleansed in this purifying stream and consequently are not members of
Christ, the sacrament of holy orders sets the priest apart from the rest of
the faithful who have not received this consecration. For they alone, in
answer to an inward supernatural call, have entered the august ministry, where
they are assigned to service in the sanctuary and become, as it were, the
instruments God uses to communicate supernatural life from on high to the
Mystical Body of Jesus Christ. Add to this, as We have noted above, the fact
that they alone have been marked with the indelible sign "conforming" them to
Christ the Priest, and that their hands alone have been consecrated "in order
that whatever they bless may be blessed, whatever they consecrate may become
sacred and holy, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ"[43] Let all, then, who
would live in Christ flock to their priests. By them they will be supplied
with the comforts and food of the spiritual life. From them they will procure
the medicine of salvation assuring their cure and happy recovery from the
fatal sickness of their sins. The priest, finally, will bless their homes,
consecrate their families and help them, as they breathe their last, across
the threshold of eternal happiness.
44. Since, therefore, it is the priest chiefly who performs
the sacred liturgy in the name of the Church, its organization, regulation and
details cannot but be subject to Church authority. This conclusion, based on
the nature of Christian worship itself, is further confirmed by the testimony
of history.
45. Additional proof of this indefeasible right of the
ecclesiastical hierarchy lies in the circumstances that the sacred liturgy is
intimately bound up with doctrinal propositions which the Church proposes to
be perfectly true and certain, and must as a consequence conform to the
decrees respecting Catholic faith issued by the supreme teaching authority of
the Church with a view to safeguarding the integrity of the religion revealed
by God.
46. On this subject We judge it Our duty to rectify an
attitude with which you are doubtless familiar, Venerable Brethren. We refer
to the error and fallacious reasoning of those who have claimed that the
sacred liturgy is a kind of proving ground for the truths to be held of faith,
meaning by this that the Church is obliged to declare such a doctrine sound
when it is found to have produced fruits of piety and sanctity through the
sacred rites of the liturgy, and to reject it otherwise. Hence the epigram, "Lex
orandi, lex credendi"--the law for prayer is the law for faith.
47. But this is not what the Church teaches and enjoins. The
worship she offers to God, all good and great, is a continuous profession of
Catholic faith and a continuous exercise of hope and charity, as Augustine
puts it tersely. "God is to be worshipped," he says, "by faith, hope and
charity."[44] In the sacred liturgy we profess the Catholic faith explicitly
and openly, not only by the celebration of the mysteries, and by offering the
holy sacrifice and administering the sacraments, but also by saying or singing
the credo or Symbol of the faith--it is indeed the sign and badge, as it were,
of the Christian--along with other texts, and likewise by the reading of holy
scripture, written under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. The entire
liturgy, therefore, has the Catholic faith for its content, inasmuch as it
bears public witness to the faith of the Church.
48. For this reason, whenever there was question of defining
a truth revealed by God, the Sovereign Pontiff and the Councils in their
recourse to the "theological sources," as they are called, have not seldom
drawn many an argument from this sacred science of the liturgy. For an example
in point, Our predecessor of immortal memory, Pius IX, so argued when he
proclaimed the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. Similarly during the
discussion of a doubtful or controversial truth, the Church and the Holy
Fathers have not failed to look to the age-old and age-honored sacred rites
for enlightenment. Hence the well-known and venerable maxim, "Legem credendi
lex statuat supplicandi"--let the rule for prayer determine the rule of
belief.[45] The sacred liturgy, consequently, does not decide or determine
independently and of itself what is of Catholic faith. More properly, since
the liturgy is also a profession of eternal truths, and subject, as such, to
the supreme teaching authority of the Church, it can supply proofs and
testimony, quite clearly, of no little value, towards the determination of a
particular point of Christian doctrine. But if one desires to differentiate
and describe the relationship between faith and the sacred liturgy in absolute
and general terms, it is perfectly correct to say, "Lex credendi legem statuat
supplicandi"--let the rule of belief determine the rule of prayer. The same
holds true for the other theological virtues also, "In . . . fide, spe,
caritate continuato desiderio semper oramus"--we pray always, with constant
yearning in faith, hope and charity.[46]
49. From time immemorial the ecclesiastical hierarchy has
exercised this right in matters liturgical. It has organized and regulated
divine worship, enriching it constantly with new splendor and beauty, to the
glory of God and the spiritual profit of Christians. What is more, it has not
been slow--keeping the substance of the Mass and sacraments carefully
intact--to modify what it deemed not altogether fitting, and to add what
appeared more likely to increase the honor paid to Jesus Christ and the august
Trinity, and to instruct and stimulate the Christian people to greater
advantage.[47]
50. The sacred liturgy does, in fact, include divine as well
as human elements. The former, instituted as they have been by God, cannot be
changed in any way by men. But the human components admit of various
modifications, as the needs of the age, circumstance and the good of souls may
require, and as the ecclesiastical hierarchy, under guidance of the Holy
Spirit, may have authorized. This will explain the marvelous variety of
Eastern and Western rites. Here is the reason for the gradual addition,
through successive development, of particular religious customs and practices
of piety only faintly discernible in earlier times. Hence likewise it happens
from time to time that certain devotions long since forgotten are revived and
practiced anew. All these developments attest the abiding life of the
immaculate Spouse of Jesus Christ through these many centuries. They are the
sacred language she uses, as the ages run their course, to profess to her
divine Spouse her own faith along with that of the nations committed to her
charge, and her own unfailing love. They furnish proof, besides, of the wisdom
of the teaching method she employs to arouse and nourish constantly the
"Christian instinct."
51. Several causes, really have been instrumental in the
progress and development of the sacred liturgy during the long and glorious
life of the Church.
52. Thus, for example, as Catholic doctrine on the Incarnate
Word of God, the eucharistic sacrament and sacrifice, and Mary the Virgin
Mother of God came to be determined with greater certitude and clarity, new
ritual forms were introduced through which the acts of the liturgy proceeded
to reproduce this brighter light issuing from the decrees of the teaching
authority of the Church, and to reflect it, in a sense so that it might reach
the minds and hearts of Christ's people more readily.
53. The subsequent advances in ecclesiastical discipline for
the administering of the sacraments, that of penance for example; the
institution and later suppression of the catechumenate; and again, the
practice of eucharistic communion under a single species, adopted in the Latin
Church; these developments were assuredly responsible in no little measure for
the modification of the ancient ritual in the course of time, and for the
gradual introduction of new rites considered more in accord with prevailing
discipline in these matters.
54. Just as notable a contribution to this progressive
transformation was made by devotional trends and practices not directly
related to the sacred liturgy, which began to appear, by God's wonderful
design, in later periods, and grew to be so popular. We may instance the
spread and ever mounting ardor of devotion to the Blessed Eucharist, devotion
to the most bitter passion of our Redeemer, devotion to the most Sacred Heart
of Jesus, to the Virgin Mother of God and to her most chaste spouse.
55. Other manifestations of piety have also played their
circumstantial part in this same liturgical development. Among them may be
cited the public pilgrimages to the tombs of the martyrs prompted by motives
of devotion, the special periods of fasting instituted for the same reason,
and lastly, in this gracious city of Rome, the penitential recitation of the
litanies during the "station" processions, in which even the Sovereign Pontiff
frequently joined.
56. It is likewise easy to understand that the progress of
the fine arts, those of architecture, painting and music above all, has
exerted considerable influence on the choice and disposition of the various
external features of the sacred liturgy.
57. The Church has further used her right of control over
liturgical observance to protect the purity of divine worship against abuse
from dangerous and imprudent innovations introduced by private individuals and
particular churches. Thus it came about--during the 16th century, when usages
and customs of this sort had become increasingly prevalent and exaggerated,
and when private initiative in matters liturgical threatened to compromise the
integrity of faith and devotion, to the great advantage of heretics and
further spread of their errors--that in the year 1588, Our predecessor Sixtus
V of immortal memory established the Sacred Congregation of Rites, charged
with the defense of the legitimate rites of the Church and with the
prohibition of any spurious innovation.[48] This body fulfills even today the
official function of supervision and legislation with regard to all matters
touching the sacred liturgy.[49]
58. It follows from this that the Sovereign Pontiff alone
enjoys the right to recognize and establish any practice touching the worship
of God, to introduce and approve new rites, as also to modify those he judges
to require modification.[50] Bishops, for their part, have the right and duty
carefully to watch over the exact observance of the prescriptions of the
sacred canons respecting divine worship.[51] Private individuals, therefore,
even though they be clerics, may not be left to decide for themselves in these
holy and venerable matters, involving as they do the religious life of
Christian society along with the exercise of the priesthood of Jesus Christ
and worship of God; concerned as they are with the honor due to the Blessed
Trinity, the Word Incarnate and His august mother and the other saints, and
with the salvation of souls as well. For the same reason no private person has
any authority to regulate external practices of this kind, which are
intimately bound up with Church discipline and with the order, unity and
concord of the Mystical Body and frequently even with the integrity of
Catholic faith itself.
59. The Church is without question a living organism, and as
an organism, in respect of the sacred liturgy also, she grows, matures,
develops, adapts and accommodates herself to temporal needs and circumstances,
provided only that the integrity of her doctrine be safeguarded. This
notwithstanding, the temerity and daring of those who introduce novel
liturgical practices, or call for the revival of obsolete rites out of harmony
with prevailing laws and rubrics, deserve severe reproof. It has pained Us
grievously to note, Venerable Brethren, that such innovations are actually
being introduced, not merely in minor details but in matters of major
importance as well. We instance, in point of fact, those who make use of the
vernacular in the celebration of the august eucharistic sacrifice; those who
transfer certain feast-days--which have been appointed and established after
mature deliberation--to other dates; those, finally, who delete from the
prayerbooks approved for public use the sacred texts of the Old Testament,
deeming them little suited and inopportune for modern times.
60. The use of the Latin language, customary in a
considerable portion of the Church, is a manifest and beautiful sign of unity,
as well as an effective antidote for any corruption of doctrinal truth. In
spite of this, the use of the mother tongue in connection with several of the
rites may be of much advantage to the people. But the Apostolic See alone is
empowered to grant this permission. It is forbidden, therefore, to take any
action whatever of this nature without having requested and obtained such
consent, since the sacred liturgy, as We have said, is entirely subject to the
discretion and approval of the Holy See.
61. The same reasoning holds in the case of some persons who
are bent on the restoration of all the ancient rites and ceremonies
indiscriminately. The liturgy of the early ages is most certainly worthy of
all veneration. But ancient usage must not be esteemed more suitable and
proper, either in its own right or in its significance for later times and new
situations, on the simple ground that it carries the savor and aroma of
antiquity. The more recent liturgical rites likewise deserve reverence and
respect. They, too, owe their inspiration to the Holy Spirit, who assists the
Church in every age even to the consummation of the world.[52] They are
equally the resources used by the majestic Spouse of Jesus Christ to promote
and procure the sanctity of man.
62. Assuredly it is a wise and most laudable thing to return
in spirit and affection to the sources of the sacred liturgy. For research in
this field of study, by tracing it back to its origins, contributes valuable
assistance towards a more thorough and careful investigation of the
significance of feast-days, and of the meaning of the texts and sacred
ceremonies employed on their occasion. But it is neither wise nor laudable to
reduce everything to antiquity by every possible device. Thus, to cite some
instances, one would be straying from the straight path were he to wish the
altar restored to its primitive tableform; were he to want black excluded as a
color for the liturgical vestments; were he to forbid the use of sacred images
and statues in Churches; were he to order the crucifix so designed that the
divine Redeemer's body shows no trace of His cruel sufferings; and lastly were
he to disdain and reject polyphonic music or singing in parts, even where it
conforms to regulations issued by the Holy See.
63. Clearly no sincere Catholic can refuse to accept the
formulation of Christian doctrine more recently elaborated and proclaimed as
dogmas by the Church, under the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit
with abundant fruit for souls, because it pleases him to hark back to the old
formulas. No more can any Catholic in his right senses repudiate existing
legislation of the Church to revert to prescriptions based on the earliest
sources of canon law. Just as obviously unwise and mistaken is the zeal of one
who in matters liturgical would go back to the rites and usage of antiquity,
discarding the new patterns introduced by disposition of divine Providence to
meet the changes of circumstances and situation.
64. This way of acting bids fair to revive the exaggerated
and senseless antiquarianism to which the illegal Council of Pistoia gave
rise. It likewise attempts to reinstate a series of errors which were
responsible for the calling of that meeting as well as for those resulting
from it, with grievous harm to souls, and which the Church, the ever watchful
guardian of the "deposit of faith" committed to her charge by her divine
Founder, had every right and reason to condemn.[53] For perverse designs and
ventures of this sort tend to paralyze and weaken that process of
sanctification by which the sacred liturgy directs the sons of adoption to
their Heavenly Father of their souls' salvation.
65. In every measure taken, then, let proper contact with the
ecclesiastical hierarchy be maintained. Let no one arrogate to himself the
right to make regulations and impose them on others at will. Only the
Sovereign Pontiff, as the successor of Saint Peter, charged by the divine
Redeemer with the feeding of His entire flock,[54] and with him, in obedience
to the Apostolic See, the bishops "whom the Holy Ghost has placed . . . to
rule the Church of God,"[55] have the right and the duty to govern the
Christian people. Consequently, Venerable Brethren, whenever you assert your
authority--even on occasion with wholesome severity--you are not merely
acquitting yourselves of your duty; you are defending the very will of the
Founder of the Church.
66. The mystery of the most Holy Eucharist which Christ, the
High Priest instituted, and which He commands to be continually renewed in the
Church by His ministers, is the culmination and center, as it were, of the
Christian religion. We consider it opportune in speaking about the crowning
act of the sacred liturgy, to delay for a little while and call your
attention, Venerable Brethren, to this most important subject.
67. Christ the Lord, "Eternal Priest according to the order
of Melchisedech,"[56] "loving His own who were of the world,"[57] "at the last
supper, on the night He was betrayed, wishing to leave His beloved Spouse, the
Church, a visible sacrifice such as the nature of men requires, that would
re-present the bloody sacrifice offered once on the cross, and perpetuate its
memory to the end of time, and whose salutary virtue might be applied in
remitting those sins which we daily commit, . . . offered His body and blood
under the species of bread and wine to God the Father, and under the same
species allowed the apostles, whom he at that time constituted the priests of
the New Testament, to partake thereof; commanding them and their successors in
the priesthood to make the same offering."[58]
68. The august sacrifice of the altar, then, is no mere empty
commemoration of the passion and death of Jesus Christ, but a true and proper
act of sacrifice, whereby the High Priest by an unbloody immolation offers
Himself a most acceptable victim to the Eternal Father, as He did upon the
cross. "It is one and the same victim; the same person now offers it by the
ministry of His priests, who then offered Himself on the cross, the manner of
offering alone being different."[59]
69. The priest is the same, Jesus Christ, whose sacred Person
His minister represents. Now the minister, by reason of the sacerdotal
consecration which he has received, is made like to the High Priest and
possesses the power of performing actions in virtue of Christ's very
person.[60] Wherefore in his priestly activity he in a certain manner "lends
his tongue, and gives his hand" to Christ.[61]
70. Likewise the victim is the same, namely, our divine
Redeemer in His human nature with His true body and blood. The manner,
however, in which Christ is offered is different. On the cross He completely
offered Himself and all His sufferings to God, and the immolation of the
victim was brought about by the bloody death, which He underwent of His free
will. But on the altar, by reason of the glorified state of His human nature,
"death shall have no more dominion over Him,"[62] and so the shedding of His
blood is impossible; still, according to the plan of divine wisdom, the
sacrifice of our Redeemer is shown forth in an admirable manner by external
signs which are the symbols of His death. For by the "transubstantiation" of
bread into the body of Christ and of wine into His blood, His body and blood
are both really present: now the eucharistic species under which He is present
symbolize the actual separation of His body and blood. Thus the commemorative
representation of His death, which actually took place on Calvary, is repeated
in every sacrifice of the altar, seeing that Jesus Christ is symbolically
shown by separate symbols to be in a state of victimhood.
71. Moreover, the appointed ends are the same. The first of
these is to give glory to the Heavenly Father. From His birth to His death
Jesus Christ burned with zeal for the divine glory; and the offering of His
blood upon the cross rose to heaven in an odor of sweetness. To perpetuate
this praise, the members of the Mystical Body are united with their divine
Head in the eucharistic sacrifice, and with Him, together with the Angels and
Archangels, they sing immortal praise to God[63] and give all honor and glory
to the Father Almighty.[64]
72. The second end is duly to give thanks to God. Only the
divine Redeemer, as the eternal Father's most beloved Son whose immense love
He knew, could offer Him a worthy return of gratitude. This was His intention
and desire at the Last Supper when He "gave thanks."[65] He did not cease to
do so when hanging upon the cross, nor does He fail to do so in the august
sacrifice of the altar, which is an act of thanksgiving or a "eucharistic"
act; since this "is truly meet and just, right and availing unto
salvation."[66]
74. The fourth end, finally, is that of impetration. Man,
being the prodigal son, has made bad use of and dissipated the goods which he
received from his heavenly Father. Accordingly, he has been reduced to the
utmost poverty and to extreme degradation. However, Christ on the cross
"offering prayers and supplications with a loud cry and tears, has been heard
for His reverence."[70] Likewise upon the altar He is our mediator with God in
the same efficacious manner, so that we may be filled with every blessing and
grace.
75. It is easy, therefore, to understand why the holy Council
of Trent lays down that by means of the eucharistic sacrifice the saving
virtue of the cross is imparted to us for the remission of the sins we daily
commit.[71]
76. Now the Apostle of the Gentiles proclaims the copious
plenitude and the perfection of the sacrifice of the cross, when he says that
Christ by one oblation has perfected for ever them that are sanctified.[72]
For the merits of this sacrifice, since they are altogether boundless and
immeasurable, know no limits; for they are meant for all men of every time and
place. This follows from the fact that in this sacrifice the God-Man is the
priest and victim; that His immolation was entirely perfect, as was His
obedience to the will of His eternal Father; and also that He suffered death
as the Head of the human race: "See how we were bought: Christ hangs upon the
cross, see at what a price He makes His purchase . . . He sheds His blood, He
buys with His blood, He buys with the blood of the Spotless Lamb, He buys with
the blood of God's only Son. He who buys is Christ; the price is His blood;
the possession bought is the world."[73]
77. This purchase, however, does not immediately have its
full effect; since Christ, after redeeming the world at the lavish cost of His
own blood, still must come into complete possession of the souls of men.
Wherefore, that the redemption and salvation of each person and of future
generations unto the end of time may be effectively accomplished, and be
acceptable to God, it is necessary that-men should individually come into
vital contact with the sacrifice of the cross, so that the merits, which flow
from it, should be imparted to them. In a certain sense it can be said that on
Calvary Christ built a font of purification and salvation which He filled with
the blood He shed; but if men do not bathe in it and there wash away the
stains of their iniquities, they can never be purified and saved.
79. The august sacrifice of the altar is, as it were, the
supreme instrument whereby the merits won by the divine Redeemer upon the
cross are distributed to the faithful: "as often as this commemorative
sacrifice is offered, there is wrought the work of our Redemption."[76] This,
however, so far from lessening the dignity of the actual sacrifice on Calvary,
rather proclaims and renders more manifest its greatness and its necessity, as
the Council of Trent declares.[77] Its daily immolation reminds us that there
is no salvation except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ[78] and that God
Himself wishes that there should be a continuation of this sacrifice "from the
rising of the sun till the going down thereof,"[79] so that there may be no
cessation of the hymn of praise and thanksgiving which man owes to God, seeing
that he required His help continually and has need of the blood of the
Redeemer to remit sin which challenges God's justice.
80. It is, therefore, desirable, Venerable Brethren, that all
the faithful should be aware that to participate in the eucharistic sacrifice
is their chief duty and supreme dignity, and that not in an inert and
negligent fashion, giving way to distractions and day-dreaming, but with such
earnestness and concentration that they may be united as closely as possible
with the High Priest, according to the Apostle, "Let this mind be in you which
was also in Christ Jesus."[80] And together with Him and through Him let them
make their oblation, and in union with Him let them offer up themselves.
81. It is quite true that Christ is a priest; but He is a
priest not for Himself but for us, when in the name of the whole human race He
offers our prayers and religious homage to the eternal Father; He is also a
victim and for us since He substitutes Himself for sinful man. Now the
exhortation of the Apostle, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ
Jesus," requires that all Christians should possess, as far as is humanly
possible, the same dispositions as those which the divine Redeemer had when He
offered Himself in sacrifice: that is to say, they should in a humble attitude
of mind, pay adoration, honor, praise and thanksgiving to the supreme majesty
of God. Moreover, it means that they must assume to some extent the character
of a victim, that they deny themselves as the Gospel commands, that freely and
of their own accord they do penance and that each detests and satisfies for
his sins. It means, in a word, that we must all undergo with Christ a mystical
death on the cross so that we can apply to ourselves the words of St. Paul,
"With Christ I am nailed to the cross."[81]
84. It is superfluous to explain how captious errors of this
sort completely contradict the truths which we have just stated above, when
treating of the place of the priest in the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ. But
we deem it necessary to recall that the priest acts for the people only
because he represents Jesus Christ, who is Head of all His members and offers
Himself in their stead. Hence, he goes to the altar as the minister of Christ,
inferior to Christ but superior to the people.[83] The people, on the other
hand, since they in no sense represent the divine Redeemer and are not
mediator between themselves and God, can in no way possess the sacerdotal
power.
85. All this has the certitude of faith. However, it must
also be said that the faithful do offer the divine Victim, though in a
different sense.
86. This has already been stated in the clearest terms by
some of Our predecessors and some Doctors of the Church. "Not only," says
Innocent III of immortal memory, "do the priests offer the sacrifice, but also
all the faithful: for what the priest does personally by virtue of his
ministry, the faithful do collectively by virtue of their intention."[84] We
are happy to recall one of St. Robert Bellarmine's many statements on this
subject. "The sacrifice," he says "is principally offered in the person of
Christ. Thus the oblation that follows the consecration is a sort of
attestation that the whole Church consents in the oblation made by Christ, and
offers it along with Him."[85]
87. Moreover, the rites and prayers of the eucharistic
sacrifice signify and show no less clearly that the oblation of the Victim is
made by the priests in company with the people. For not only does the sacred
minister, after the oblation of the bread and wine when he turns to the
people, say the significant prayer: "Pray brethren, that my sacrifice and
yours may be acceptable to God the Father Almighty;"[86] but also the prayers
by which the divine Victim is offered to God are generally expressed in the
plural number: and in these it is indicated more than once that the people
also participate in this august sacrifice inasmuch as they offer the same. The
following words, for example, are used: "For whom we offer, or who offer up to
Thee . . . We therefore beseech thee, O Lord, to be appeased and to receive
this offering of our bounded duty, as also of thy whole household. . . We thy
servants, as also thy whole people . . . do offer unto thy most excellent
majesty, of thine own gifts bestowed upon us, a pure victim, a holy victim, a
spotless victim."[87]
88. Nor is it to be wondered at, that the faithful should be
raised to this dignity. By the waters of baptism, as by common right,
Christians are made members of the Mystical Body of Christ the Priest, and by
the "character" which is imprinted on their souls, they are appointed to give
worship to God. Thus they participate, according to their condition, in the
priesthood of Christ.
89. In every age of the Church's history, the mind of man,
enlightened by faith, has aimed at the greatest possible knowledge of things
divine. It is fitting, then, that the Christian people should also desire to
know in what sense they are said in the canon of the Mass to offer up the
sacrifice. To satisfy such a pious desire, then, We shall here explain the
matter briefly and concisely.
90. First of all the more extrinsic explanations are these:
it frequently happens that the faithful assisting at Mass join their prayers
alternately with those of the priest, and sometimes--a more frequent
occurrence in ancient times--they offer to the ministers at the altar bread
and wine to be changed into the body and blood of Christ, and, finally, by
their alms they get the priest to offer the divine victim for their
intentions.
93. Now it is clear that the faithful offer the sacrifice by
the hands of the priest from the fact that the minister at the altar, in
offering a sacrifice in the name of all His members, represents Christ, the
Head of the Mystical Body. Hence the whole Church can rightly be said to offer
up the victim through Christ. But the conclusion that the people offer the
sacrifice with the priest himself is not based on the fact that, being members
of the Church no less than the priest himself, they perform a visible
liturgical rite; for this is the privilege only of the minister who has been
divinely appointed to this office: rather it is based on the fact that the
people unite their hearts in praise, impetration, expiation and thanksgiving
with prayers or intention of the priest, even of the High Priest himself, so
that in the one and same offering of the victim and according to a visible
sacerdotal rite, they may be presented to God the Father. It is obviously
necessary that the external sacrificial rite should, of its very nature,
signify the internal worship of the heart. Now the sacrifice of the New Law
signifies that supreme worship by which the principal Offerer himself, who is
Christ, and, in union with Him and through Him, all the members of the
Mystical Body pay God the honor and reverence that are due to Him.
94. We are very pleased to learn that this teaching, thanks
to a more intense study of the liturgy on the part of many, especially in
recent years, has been given full recognition. We must, however, deeply
deplore certain exaggerations and over-statements which are not in agreement
with the true teaching of the Church.
95. Some in fact disapprove altogether of those Masses which
are offered privately and without any congregation, on the ground that they
are a departure from the ancient way of offering the sacrifice; moreover,
there are some who assert that priests cannot offer Mass at different altars
at the same time, because, by doing so, they separate the community of the
faithful and imperil its unity; while some go so far as to hold that the
people must confirm and ratify the sacrifice if it is to have its proper force
and value.
96. They are mistaken in appealing in this matter to the
social character of the eucharistic sacrifice, for as often as a priest
repeats what the divine Redeemer did at the Last Supper, the sacrifice is
really completed. Moreover, this sacrifice, necessarily and of its very
nature, has always and everywhere the character of a public and social act,
inasmuch as he who offers it acts in the name of Christ and of the faithful,
whose Head is the divine Redeemer, and he offers it to God for the holy
Catholic Church, and for the living and the dead.[88] This is undoubtedly so,
whether the faithful are present--as we desire and commend them to be in great
numbers and with devotion--or are not present, since it is in no wise required
that the people ratify what the sacred minister has done.
97. Still, though it is clear from what We have said that the
Mass is offered in the name of Christ and of the Church and that it is not
robbed of its social effects though it be celebrated by a priest without a
server, nonetheless, on account of the dignity of such an august mystery, it
is our earnest desire--as Mother Church has always commanded--that no priest
should say Mass unless a server is at hand to answer the prayers, as canon 813
prescribes.
98. In order that the oblation by which the faithful offer
the divine Victim in this sacrifice to the heavenly Father may have its full
effect, it is necessary that the people add something else, namely, the
offering of themselves as a victim.
99. This offering in fact is not confined merely to the
liturgical sacrifice. For the Prince of the Apostles wishes us, as living
stones built upon Christ, the cornerstone, to be able as "a holy priesthood,
to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ."[89] St.
Paul the Apostle addresses the following words of exhortation to Christians,
without distinction of time, "I beseech you therefore, . . . that you present
your bodies, a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing unto God, your reasonable
service."[90] But at that time especially when the faithful take part in the
liturgical service with such piety and recollection that it can truly be said
of them: "whose faith and devotion is known to Thee,"[91] it is then, with the
High Priest and through Him they offer themselves as a spiritual sacrifice,
that each one's faith ought to become more ready to work through charity, his
piety more real and fervent, and each one should consecrate himself to the
furthering of the divine glory, desiring to become as like as possible to
Christ in His most grievous sufferings.
100. This we are also taught by those exhortations which the
Bishop, in the Church's name, addresses to priests on the day of their
ordination, "Understand what you do, imitate what you handle, and since you
celebrate the mystery of the Lord's death, take good care to mortify your
members with their vices and concupiscences."[92] In almost the same manner
the sacred books of the liturgy advise Christians who come to Mass to
participate in the sacrifice: "At this . . . altar let innocence be in honor,
let pride be sacrificed, anger slain, impurity and every evil desire laid low,
let the sacrifice of chastity be offered in place of doves and instead of the
young pigeons the sacrifice of innocence."[93] While we stand before the
altar, then, it is our duty so to transform our hearts, that every trace of
sin may be completely blotted out, while whatever promotes supernatural life
through Christ may be zealously fostered and strengthened even to the extent
that, in union with the immaculate Victim, we become a victim acceptable to
the eternal Father.
101. The prescriptions in fact of the sacred liturgy aim, by
every means at their disposal, at helping the Church to bring about this most
holy purpose in the most suitable manner possible. This is the object not only
of readings, homilies and other sermons given by priests, as also the whole
cycle of mysteries which are proposed for our commemoration in the course of
the year, but it is also the purpose of vestments, of sacred rites and their
external splendor. All these things aim at "enhancing the majesty of this
great Sacrifice, and raising the minds of the faithful by means of these
visible signs of religion and piety, to the contemplation of the sublime
truths contained in this sacrifice."[94]
102. All the elements of the liturgy, then, would have us
reproduce in our hearts the likeness of the divine Redeemer through the
mystery of the cross, according to the words of the Apostle of the Gentiles,
"With Christ I am nailed to the cross. I live, now not 1, but Christ liveth in
me."[95] Thus we become a victim, as it were, along with Christ to increase
the glory of the eternal Father.
103. Let this, then, be the intention and aspiration of the
faithful, when they offer up the divine Victim in the Mass. For if, as St.
Augustine writes, our mystery is enacted on the Lord's table, that is Christ
our Lord Himself,[96] who is the Head and symbol of that union through which
we are the body of Christ[97] and members of His Body;[98] if St. Robert
Bellarmine teaches, according to the mind of the Doctor of Hippo, that in the
sacrifice of the altar there is signified the general sacrifice by which the
whole Mystical Body of Christ, that is, all the city of redeemed, is offered
up to God through Christ, the High Priest:[99] nothing can be conceived more
just or fitting than that all of us in union with our Head, who suffered for
our sake, should also sacrifice ourselves to the eternal Father. For in the
sacrament of the altar, as the same St. Augustine has it, the Church is made
to see that in what she offers she herself is offered.[100]
104. Let the faithful, therefore, consider to what a high
dignity they are raised by the sacrament of baptism. They should not think it
enough to participate in the eucharistic sacrifice with that general intention
which befits members of Christ and children of the Church, but let them
further, in keeping with the spirit of the sacred liturgy, be most closely
united with the High Priest and His earthly minister, at the time the
consecration of the divine Victim is enacted, and at that time especially when
those solemn words are pronounced, "By Him and with Him and in Him is to Thee,
God the Father almighty, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, all honor and glory
for ever and ever";[101] to these words in fact the people answer, "Amen." Nor
should Christians forget to offer themselves, their cares, their sorrows,
their distress and their necessities in union with their divine Savior upon
the cross.
105. Therefore, they are to be praised who, with the idea of
getting the Christian people to take part more easily and more fruitfully in
the Mass, strive to make them familiar with the "Roman Missal," so that the
faithful, united with the priest, may pray together in the very words and
sentiments of the Church. They also are to be commended who strive to make the
liturgy even in an external way a sacred act in which all who are present may
share. This can be done in more than one way, when, for instance, the whole
congregation, in accordance with the rules of the liturgy, either answer the
priest in an orderly and fitting manner, or sing hymns suitable to the
different parts of the Mass, or do both, or finally in high Masses when they
answer the prayers of the minister of Jesus Christ and also sing the
liturgical chant.
100. These methods of participation in the Mass are to be
approved and recommended when they are in complete agreement with the precepts
of the Church and the rubrics of the liturgy. Their chief aim is to foster and
promote the people's piety and intimate union with Christ and His visible
minister and to arouse those internal sentiments and dispositions which should
make our hearts become like to that of the High Priest of the New Testament.
However, though they show also in an outward manner that the very nature of
the sacrifice, as offered by the Mediator between God and men,[102] must be
regarded as the act of the whole Mystical Body of Christ, still they are by no
means necessary to constitute it a public act or to give it a social
character. And besides, a "dialogue" Mass of this kind cannot replace the high
Mass, which, as a matter of fact, though it should be offered with only the
sacred ministers present, possesses its own special dignity due to the
impressive character of its ritual and the magnificence of its ceremonies. The
splendor and grandeur of a high Mass, however, are very much increased if, as
the Church desires, the people are present in great numbers and with devotion.
107. It is to be observed, also, that they have strayed from
the path of truth and right reason who, led away by false opinions, make so
much of these accidentals as to presume to assert that without them the Mass
cannot fulfill its appointed end.
108. Many of the faithful are unable to use the Roman missal
even though it is written in the vernacular; nor are all capable of
understanding correctly the liturgical rites and formulas. So varied and
diverse are men's talents and characters that it is impossible for all to be
moved and attracted to the same extent by community prayers, hymns and
liturgical services. Moreover, the needs and inclinations of all are not the
same, nor are they always constant in the same individual. Who, then, would
say, on account of such a prejudice, that all these Christians cannot
participate in the Mass nor share its fruits? On the contrary, they can adopt
some other method which proves easier for certain people; for instance, they
can lovingly meditate on the mysteries of Jesus Christ or perform other
exercises of piety or recite prayers which, though they differ from the sacred
rites, are still essentially in harmony with them.
109. Wherefore We exhort you, Venerable Brethren, that each
in his diocese or ecclesiastical jurisdiction supervise and regulate the
manner and method in which the people take part in the liturgy, according to
the rubrics of the missal and in keeping with the injunctions which the Sacred
Congregation of Rites and the Code of canon law have published. Let everything
be done with due order and dignity, and let no one, not even a priest, make
use of the sacred edifices according to his whim to try out experiments. It is
also Our wish that in each diocese an advisory committee to promote the
liturgical apostolate should be established, similar to that which cares for
sacred music and art, so that with your watchful guidance everything may be
carefully carried out in accordance with the prescriptions of the Apostolic
See.
110. In religious communities let all those regulations be
accurately observed which are laid down in their respective constitutions, nor
let any innovations be made which the superiors of these communities have not
previously approved.
111. But however much variety and disparity there may be in
the exterior manner and circumstances in which the Christian laity participate
in the Mass and other liturgical functions, constant and earnest effort must
be made to unite the congregation in spirit as much as possible with the
divine Redeemer, so that their lives may be daily enriched with more abundant
sanctity, and greater glory be given to the heaven Father.
112. The august sacrifice of the altar is concluded with
communion or the partaking of the divine feast. But, as all know, the
integrity of the sacrifice only requires that the priest partake of the
heavenly food. Although it is most desirable that the people should also
approach the holy table, this is not required for the integrity of the
sacrifice.
113. We wish in this matter to repeat the remarks which Our
predecessor Benedict XIV makes with regard to the definitions of the Council
of Trent: "First We must state that none of the faithful can hold that private
Masses, in which the priest alone receives holy communion, are therefore
unlawful and do not fulfill the idea of the true, perfect and complete
unbloody sacrifice instituted by Christ our Lord. For the faithful know quite
well, or at least can easily be taught, that the Council of Trent, supported
by the doctrine which the uninterrupted tradition of the Church has preserved,
condemned the new and false opinion of Luther as opposed to this
tradition."[103] "If anyone shall say that Masses in which the priest only
receives communion, are unlawful, and therefore should be abolished, let him
be anathema."[104]
114. They, therefore, err from the path of truth who do not
want to have Masses celebrated unless the faithful communicate; and those are
still more in error who, in holding that it is altogether necessary for the
faithful to receive holy communion as well as the priest, put forward the
captious argument that here there is question not of a sacrifice merely, but
of a sacrifice and a supper of brotherly union, and consider the general
communion of all present as the culminating point of the whole celebration.
115. Now it cannot be over-emphasized that the eucharistic
sacrifice of its very nature is the unbloody immolation of the divine Victim,
which is made manifest in a mystical manner by the separation of the sacred
species and by their oblation to the eternal Father. Holy communion pertains
to the integrity of the Mass and to the partaking of the august sacrament; but
while it is obligatory for the priest who says the Mass, it is only something
earnestly recommended to the faithful.
116. The Church, as the teacher of truth, strives by every
means in her power to safeguard the integrity of the Catholic faith, and like
a mother solicitous for the welfare of her children, she exhorts them most
earnestly to partake fervently and frequently of the richest treasure of our
religion.
117. She wishes in the first place that
Christians--especially when they cannot easily receive holy communion should
do so at least by desire, so that with renewed faith, reverence, humility and
complete trust in the goodness of the divine Redeemer, they may be united to
Him in the spirit of the most ardent charity.
118. But the desire of Mother Church does not stop here. For
since by feasting upon the bread of angels we can by a "sacramental"
communion, as we have already said, also become partakers of the sacrifice,
she repeats the invitation to all her children individually, "Take and eat. .
. Do this in memory of Me"[105] so that "we may continually experience within
us the fruit of our redemption"[106] in a more efficacious manner. For this
reason the Council of Trent, reechoing, as it were, the invitation of Christ
and His immaculate Spouse, has earnestly exhorted "the faithful when they
attend Mass to communicate not only by a spiritual communion but also by a
sacramental one, so that they may obtain more abundant fruit from this most
holy sacrifice."[107] Moreover, our predecessor of immortal memory, Benedict
XIV, wishing to emphasize and throw fuller light upon the truth that the
faithful by receiving the Holy Eucharist become partakers of the divine
sacrifice itself, praises the devotion of those who, when attending Mass, not
only elicit a desire to receive holy communion but also want to be nourished
by hosts consecrated during the Mass, even though, as he himself states, they
really and truly take part in the sacrifice should they receive a host which
has been duly consecrated at a previous Mass. He writes as follows: "And
although in addition to those to whom the celebrant gives a portion of the
Victim he himself has offered in the Mass, they also participate in the same
sacrifice to whom a priest distributes the Blessed Sacrament that has been
reserved; however, the Church has not for this reason ever forbidden, nor does
she now forbid, a celebrant to satisfy the piety and just request of those
who, when present at Mass, want to become partakers of the same sacrifice,
because they likewise offer it after their own manner, nay more, she approves
of it and desires that it should not be omitted and would reprehend those
priests through whose fault and negligence this participation would be denied
to the faithful."[108]
119. May God grant that all accept these invitations of the
Church freely and with spontaneity. May He grant that they participate even
every day, if possible, in the divine sacrifice, not only in a spiritual
manner, but also by reception of the august sacrament, receiving the body of
Jesus Christ which has been offered for all to the eternal Father. Arouse
Venerable Brethren, in the hearts of those committed to your care, a great and
insatiable hunger for Jesus Christ. Under your guidance let the children and
youth crowd to the altar rails to offer themselves, their innocence and their
works of zeal to the divine Redeemer. Let husbands and wives approach the holy
table so that nourished on this food they may learn to make the children
entrusted to them conformed to the mind and heart of Jesus Christ.
120. Let the workers be invited to partake of this sustaining
and never failing nourishment that it may renew their strength and obtain for
their labors an everlasting recompense in heaven; in a word, invite all men of
whatever class and compel them to come in;[109] since this is the bread of
life which all require. The Church of Jesus Christ needs no other bread than
this to satisfy fully our souls' wants and desires, and to unite us in the
most intimate union with Jesus Christ, to make us "one body,"[110] to get us
to live together as brothers who, breaking the same bread, sit down to the
same heavenly table, to partake of the elixir of immortality.[111]
121. Now it is very fitting, as the liturgy otherwise lays
down, that the people receive holy communion after the priest has partaken of
the divine repast upon the altar; and, as we have written above, they should
be commended who, when present at Mass, receive hosts consecrated at the same
Mass, so that it is actually verified, "that as many of us, as, at this altar,
shall partake of and receive the most holy body and blood of thy Son, may be
filled with every heavenly blessing and grace."[112]
122. Still sometimes there may be a reason, and that not
infrequently, why holy communion should be distributed before or after Mass
and even immediately after the priest receives the sacred species--and even
though hosts consecrated at a previous Mass should be used. In these
circumstances--as we have stated above-- the people duly take part in the
eucharistic sacrifice and not seldom they can in this way more conveniently
receive holy communion. Still, though the Church with the kind heart of a
mother strives to meet the spiritual needs of her children, they, for their
part, should not readily neglect the directions of the liturgy and, as often
as there is no reasonable difficulty, should aim that all their actions at the
altar manifest more clearly the living unity of the Mystical Body.
123. When the Mass, which is subject to special rules of the
liturgy, is over, the person who has received holy communion is not thereby
freed from his duty of thanksgiving; rather, it is most becoming that, when
the Mass is finished, the person who has received the Eucharist should
recollect himself, and in intimate union with the divine Master hold loving
and fruitful converse with Him. Hence they have departed from the straight way
of truth, who, adhering to the letter rather than the sense, assert and teach
that, when Mass has ended, no such thanksgiving should be added, not only
because the Mass is itself a thanksgiving, but also because this pertains to a
private and personal act of piety and not to the good of the community.
124. But, on the contrary, the very nature of the sacrament
demands that its reception should produce rich fruits of Christian sanctity.
Admittedly the congregation has been officially dismissed, but each
individual, since he is united with Christ, should not interrupt the hymn of
praise in his own soul, "always returning thanks for all in the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father."[113] The sacred liturgy of the Mass also
exhorts us to do this when it bids us pray in these words, "Grant, we beseech
thee, that we may always continue to offer thanks[114] . . . and may never
cease from praising thee."[115] Wherefore, if there is no time when we must
not offer God thanks, and if we must never cease from praising Him, who would
dare to reprehend or find fault with the Church, because she advises her
priests[116] and faithful to converse with the divine Redeemer for at least a
short while after holy communion, and inserts in her liturgical books, fitting
prayers, enriched with indulgences, by which the sacred ministers may make
suitable preparation before Mass and holy communion or may return thanks
afterwards? So far is the sacred liturgy from restricting the interior
devotion of individual Christians, that it actually fosters and promotes it so
that they may be rendered like to Jesus Christ and through Him be brought to
the heavenly Father; wherefore this same discipline of the liturgy demands
that whoever has partaken of the sacrifice of the altar should return fitting
thanks to God. For it is the good pleasure of the divine Redeemer to hearken
to us when we pray, to converse with us intimately and to offer us a refuge in
His loving Heart.
125. Moreover, such personal colloquies are very necessary
that we may all enjoy more fully the supernatural treasures that are contained
in the Eucharist and according to our means, share them with others, so that
Christ our Lord may exert the greatest possible influence on the souls of all.
126. Why then, Venerable Brethren, should we not approve of
those who, when they receive holy communion, remain on in closest familiarity
with their divine Redeemer even after the congregation has been officially
dismissed, and that not only for the consolation of conversing with Him, but
also to render Him due thanks and praise and especially to ask help to defend
their souls against anything that may lessen the efficacy of the sacrament and
to do everything in their power to cooperate with the action of Christ who is
so intimately present. We exhort them to do so in a special manner by carrying
out their resolutions, by exercising the Christian virtues, as also by
applying to their own necessities the riches they have received with royal
Liberality. The author of that golden book The Imitation of Christ certainly
speaks in accordance with the letter and the spirit of the liturgy, when he
gives the following advice to the person who approaches the altar, "Remain on
in secret and take delight in your God; for He is yours whom the whole world
cannot take away from you."[117]
127. Therefore, let us all enter into closest union with
Christ and strive to lose ourselves, as it were, in His most holy soul and so
be united to Him that we may have a share in those acts with which He adores
the Blessed Trinity with a homage that is most acceptable, and by which He
offers to the eternal Father supreme praise and thanks which find an
harmonious echo throughout the heavens and the earth, according to the words
of the prophet, "All ye works of the Lord, bless the Lord."[118] Finally, in
union with these sentiments of Christ, let us ask for heavenly aid at that
moment in which it is supremely fitting to pray for and obtain help in His
name.[119] For it is especially in virtue of these sentiments that we offer
and immolate ourselves as a victim, saying, "make of us thy eternal
offering."[120]
128. The divine Redeemer is ever repeating His pressing
invitation, "Abide in Me."[121] Now by the sacrament of the Eucharist, Christ
remains in us and we in Him, and just as Christ, remaining in us, lives and
works, so should we remain in Christ and live and work through Him.
129. The Eucharistic Food contains, as all are aware, "truly,
really and substantially the Body and Blood together with soul and divinity of
our Lord Jesus Christ."[122] It is no wonder, then, that the Church, even from
the beginning, adored the body of Christ under the appearance of bread; this
is evident from the very rites of the august sacrifice, which prescribe that
the sacred ministers should adore the most holy sacrament by genuflecting or
by profoundly bowing their heads.
130. The Sacred Councils teach that it is the Church's
tradition right from the beginning, to worship "with the same adoration the
Word Incarnate as well as His own flesh,"[123] and St. Augustine asserts that,
"No one eats that flesh, without first adoring it," while he adds that "not
only do we not commit a sin by adoring it, but that we do sin by not adoring
it."[124]
131. It is on this doctrinal basis that the cult of adoring
the Eucharist was founded and gradually developed as something distinct from
the sacrifice of the Mass. The reservation of the sacred species for the sick
and those in danger of death introduced the praiseworthy custom of adoring the
blessed Sacrament which is reserved in our churches. This practice of
adoration, in fact, is based on strong and solid reasons. For the Eucharist is
at once a sacrifice and a sacrament; but it differs from the other sacraments
in this that it not only produces grace, but contains in a permanent manner
the Author of grace Himself. When, therefore, the Church bids us adore Christ
hidden behind the eucharistic veils and pray to Him for spiritual and temporal
favors, of which we ever stand in need, she manifests living faith in her
divine Spouse who is present beneath these veils, she professes her gratitude
to Him and she enjoys the intimacy of His friendship.
132. Now, the Church in the course of centuries has
introduced various forms of this worship which are ever increasing in beauty
and helpfulness: as, for example, visits of devotion to the tabernacles, even
every day; benediction of the Blessed Sacrament; solemn processions,
especially at the time of Eucharistic Congress, which pass through cities and
villages; and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament publicly exposed. Sometimes
these public acts of adoration are of short duration. Sometimes they last for
one, several and even for forty hours. In certain places they continue in turn
in different churches throughout the year, while elsewhere adoration is
perpetual day and night, under the care of religious communities, and the
faithful quite often take part in them.
133. These exercises of piety have brought a wonderful
increase in faith and supernatural life to the Church militant upon earth and
they are reechoed to a certain extent by the Church triumphant in heaven which
sings continually a hymn of praise to God and to the Lamb "who was
slain."[125] Wherefore, the Church not merely approves these pious practices,
which in the course of centuries have spread everywhere throughout the world,
but makes them her own, as it were, and by her authority commends them.[126]
They spring from the inspiration of the liturgy and if they are performed with
due propriety and with faith and piety, as the liturgical rules of the Church
require, they are undoubtedly of the very greatest assistance in living the
life of the liturgy.
134. Nor is it to be admitted that by this Eucharistic cult
men falsely confound the historical Christ, as they say, who once lived on
earth, with the Christ who is present in the august Sacrament of the altar,
and who reigns glorious and triumphant in heaven and bestows supernatural
favors. On the contrary, it can be claimed that by this devotion the faithful
bear witness to and solemnly avow the faith of the Church that the Word of God
is identical with the Son of the Virgin Mary, who suffered on the cross, who
is present in a hidden manner in the Eucharist and who reigns upon His
heavenly throne. Thus, St. John Chrysostom states: "When you see It [the Body
of Christ] exposed, say to yourself: Thanks to this body, I am no longer dust
and ashes, I am no more a captive but a freeman: hence I hope to obtain heaven
and the good things that are there in store for me, eternal life, the heritage
of the angels, companionship with Christ; death has not destroyed this body
which was pierced by nails and scourged, . . . this is that body which was
once covered with blood, pierced by a lance, from which issued saving
fountains upon the world, one of blood and the other of water. . . This body
He gave to us to keep and eat, as a mark of His intense love."[127]
135. That practice in a special manner is to be highly
praised according to which many exercises of piety, customary among the
faithful, and with benediction of the blessed sacrament. For excellent and of
great benefit is that custom which makes the priest raise aloft the Bread of
Angels before congregations with heads bowed down in adoration, and forming
with It the sign of the cross implores the heavenly Father to deign to look
upon His Son who for love of us was nailed to the cross, and for His sake and
through Him who willed to be our Redeemer and our brother, be pleased to
shower down heavenly favors upon those whom the immaculate blood of the Lamb
has redeemed.[128]
136. Strive then, Venerable Brethren, with your customary
devoted care so the churches, which the faith and piety of Christian peoples
have built in the course of centuries for the purpose of singing a perpetual
hymn of glory to God almighty and of providing a worthy abode for our Redeemer
concealed beneath the eucharistic species, may be entirely at the disposal of
greater numbers of the faithful who, called to the feet of their Savior,
hearken to His most consoling invitation, "Come to Me all you who labor and
are heavily burdened, and I will refresh you."[129] Let your churches be the
house of God where all who enter to implore blessings rejoice in obtaining
whatever they ask[130] and find there heavenly consolation.
137. Only thus can it be brought about that the whole human
family settling their differences may find peace, and united in mind and heart
may sing this song of hope and charity, "Good Pastor, truly bread--Jesus have
mercy on us--feed us, protect us--bestow on us the vision of all good things
in the land of the living."[131]
138. The ideal of Christian life is that each one be united
to God in the closest and most intimate manner. For this reason, the worship
that the Church renders to God, and which is based especially on the
eucharistic sacrifice and the use of the sacraments, is directed and arranged
in such a way that it embraces by means of the divine office, the hours of the
day, the weeks and the whole cycle of the year, and reaches all the aspects
and phases of human life.
139. Since the divine Master commanded "that we ought always
to pray and not to faint,"[132] the Church faithfully fulfills this injunction
and never ceases to pray: she urges us in the words of the Apostle of the
Gentiles, "by him Jesus let us offer the sacrifice of praise always to God
"[133]
140. Public and common prayer offered to God by all at the
same time was customary in antiquity only on certain days and at certain
times. Indeed, people prayed to God not only in groups but in private houses
and occasionally with neighbors and friends. But soon in different parts of
the Christian world the practice arose of setting aside special times for
praying, as for example, the last hour of the day when evening set in and the
lamps were lighted; or the first, heralded, when the night was coming to an
end, by the crowing of the cock and the rising of the morning star. Other
times of the day, as being more suitable for prayer are indicated in Sacred
Scripture, in Hebrew customs or in keeping with the practice of every-day
life. According to the acts of the Apostles, the disciples of Jesus Christ all
came together to pray at the third hour, when they were all filled with the
Holy Ghost;[134] and before eating, the Prince of the Apostles went up to the
higher parts of the house to pray, about the sixth hour;[135] Peter and John
"went up into the Temple at the ninth hour of prayer"[136] and at "midnight
Paul and Silas praying . . . praised God."[137]
141. Thanks to the work of the monks and those who practice
asceticism, these various prayers in the course of time become ever more
perfected and by the authority of the Church are gradually incorporated into
the sacred liturgy.
142. The divine office is the prayer of the Mystical Body of
Jesus Christ, offered to God in the name and on behalf of all Christians, when
recited by priests and other ministers of the Church and by religious who are
deputed by the Church for this.
143. The character and value of the divine office may be
gathered from the words recommended by the Church to be said before starting
the prayers of the office, namely, that they be said "worthily, with attention
and devotion."
144. By assuming human nature, the Divine Word introduced
into this earthly exile a hymn which is sung in heaven for all eternity. He
unites to Himself the whole human race and with it sings this hymn to the
praise of God. As we must humbly recognize that "we know not what we should
pray for, as we ought, the Spirit Himself asketh for us with unspeakable
groanings."[138] Moreover, through His Spirit in us, Christ entreats the
Father, "God could not give a greater gift to men . . . Jesus prays for us, as
our Priest; He prays in us as our Head; we pray to Him as our God . . . we
recognize in Him our voice and His voice in us . . . He is prayed to as God,
He prays under the appearance of a servant; in heaven He is Creator; here,
created though not changed, He assumes a created nature which is to be changed
and makes us with Him one complete man, head and body."[139]
145. To this lofty dignity of the Church's prayer, there
should correspond earnest devotion in our souls. For when in prayer the voice
repeats those hymns written under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost and extols
God's infinite perfections, it is necessary that the interior sentiment of our
souls should accompany the voice so as to make those sentiments our own in
which we are elevated to heaven, adoring and giving due praise and thanks to
the Blessed Trinity; "so let us chant in choir that mind and voice may accord
together."[140] It is not merely a question of recitation or of singing which,
however perfect according to norms of music and the sacred rites, only reaches
the ear, but it is especially a question of the ascent of the mind and heart
to God so that, united with Christ, we may completely dedicate ourselves and
all our actions to Him.
146. On this depends in no small way the efficacy of our
prayers. These prayers in fact, when they are not addressed directly to the
Word made man, conclude with the phrase "though Jesus Christ our Lord." As our
Mediator with God, He shows to the heavenly Father His glorified wounds,
"always living to make intercessions for us."[141]
147. The Psalms, as all know, form the chief part of the
divine office. They encompass the full round of the day and sanctify it.
Cassiodorus speaks beautifully about the Psalms as distributed in his day
throughout the divine office: "With the celebration of matins they bring a
blessing on the coming day, they set aside for us the first hour and
consecrate the third hour of the day, they gladden the sixth hour with the
breaking of bread, at the ninth they terminate our fast, they bring the
evening to a close and at nightfall they shield our minds from darkness."[142]
148. The Psalms recall to mind the truths revealed by God to
the chosen people, which were at one time frightening and at another filled
with wonderful tenderness; they keep repeating and fostering the hope of the
promised Liberator which in ancient times was kept alive with song, either
around the hearth or in the stately temple; they show forth in splendid light
the prophesied glory of Jesus Christ: first, His supreme and eternal power,
then His lowly coming to this terrestrial exile, His kingly dignity and
priestly power and, finally, His beneficent labors, and the shedding of His
blood for our redemption. In a similar way they express the joy, the
bitterness, the hope and fear of our hearts and our desire of loving God and
hoping in Him alone, and our mystic ascent to divine tabernacles.
149. "The psalm is . . . a blessing for the people, it is the
praise of God, the tribute of the nation, the common language and acclamation
of all, it is the voice of the Church, the harmonious confession of faith,
signifying deep attachment to authority; it is the joy of freedom, the
expression of happiness, an echo of bliss."[143]
150. In an earlier age, these canonical prayers were attended
by many of the faithful. But this gradually ceased, and, as We have already
said, their recitation at present is the duty only of the clergy and of
religious. The laity have no obligation in this matter. Still, it is greatly
to be desired that they participate in reciting or chanting vespers sung in
their own parish on feast days. We earnestly exhort you, Venerable Brethren,
to see that this pious practice is kept up, and that wherever it has ceased
you restore it if possible. This, without doubt, will produce salutary results
when vespers are conducted in a worthy and fitting manner and with such helps
as foster the piety of the faithful. Let the public and private observance of
the feasts of the Church, which are in a special way dedicated and consecrated
to God, be kept inviolable; and especially the Lord's day which the Apostles,
under the guidance of the Holy Ghost, substituted for the sabbath. Now, if the
order was given to the Jews: "Six days shall you do work; in the seventh day
is the sabbath, the rest holy to the Lord. Every one that shall do any work on
this day, shall die;"[144] how will these Christians not fear spiritual death
who perform servile work on feast-days, and whose rest on these days is not
devoted to religion and piety but given over to the allurements of the world?
Sundays and holydays, then, must be made holy by divine worship, which gives
homage to God and heavenly food to the soul. Although the Church only commands
the faithful to abstain from servile work and attend Mass and does not make it
obligatory to attend evening devotions, still she desires this and recommends
it repeatedly. Moreover, the needs of each one demand it, seeing that all are
bound to win the favor of God if they are to obtain His benefits. Our soul is
filled with the greatest grief when We see how the Christian people of today
profane the afternoon of feast days; public places of amusement and public
games are frequented in great numbers while the churches are not as full as
they should be. All should come to our churches and there be taught the truth
of the Catholic faith, sing the praises of God, be enriched with benediction
of the blessed sacrament given by the priest and be strengthened with help
from heaven against the adversities of this life. Let all try to learn those
prayers which are recited at vespers and fill their souls with their meaning.
When deeply penetrated by these prayers, they will experience what St.
Augustine said about himself: "How much did I weep during hymns and verses,
greatly moved at the sweet singing of thy Church. Their sound would penetrate
my ears and their truth melt my heart, sentiments of piety would well up,
tears would flow and that was good for me."[145]
151. Throughout the entire year, the Mass and the divine
office center especially around the person of Jesus Christ. This arrangement
is so suitably disposed that our Savior dominates the scene in the mysteries
of His humiliation, of His redemption and triumph.
152. While the sacred liturgy calls to mind the mysteries of
Jesus Christ, it strives to make all believers take their part in them so that
the divine Head of the mystical Body may live in all the members with the
fullness of His holiness. Let the souls of Christians be like altars on each
one of which a different phase of the sacrifice, offered by the High priest,
comes to life again, as it were: pains and tears which wipe away and expiate
sin; supplication to God which pierces heaven; dedication and even immolation
of oneself made promptly, generously and earnestly; and, finally, that
intimate union by which we commit ourselves and all we have to God, in whom we
find our rest. "The perfection of religion is to imitate whom you adore."[146]
153. By these suitable ways and methods in which the liturgy
at stated times proposes the life of Jesus Christ for our meditation, the
Church gives us examples to imitate, points out treasures of sanctity for us
to make our own, since it is fitting that the mind believes what the lips
sing, and that what the mind believes should be practiced in public and
private life.
154. In the period of Advent, for instance, the Church
arouses in us the consciousness of the sins we have had the misfortune to
commit, and urges us, by restraining our desires and practicing voluntary
mortification of the body, to recollect ourselves in meditation, and
experience a longing desire to return to God who alone can free us by His
grace from the stain of sin and from its evil consequences.
155. With the coming of the birthday of the Redeemer, she
would bring us to the cave of Bethlehem and there teach that we must be born
again and undergo a complete reformation; that will only happen when we are
intimately and vitally united to the Word of God made man and participate in
His divine nature, to which we have been elevated.
156. At the solemnity of the Epiphany, in putting before us
the call of the Gentiles to the Christian faith, she wishes us daily to give
thanks to the Lord for such a blessing; she wishes us to seek with lively
faith the living and true God, to penetrate deeply and religiously the things
of heaven, to love silence and meditation in order to perceive and grasp more
easily heavenly gifts.
157. During the days of Septuagesima and Lent, our Holy
Mother the Church over and over again strives to make each of us seriously
consider our misery, so that we may be urged to a practical emendation of our
lives, detest our sins heartily and expiate them by prayer and penance. For
constant prayer and penance done for past sins obtain for us divine help,
without which every work of ours is useless and unavailing.
158. In Holy Week, when the most bitter sufferings of Jesus
Christ are put before us by the liturgy, the Church invites us to come to
Calvary and follow in the blood-stained footsteps of the divine Redeemer, to
carry the cross willingly with Him, to reproduce in our own hearts His spirit
of expiation and atonement, and to die together with Him.
159. At the Paschal season, which commemorates the triumph of
Christ, our souls are filled with deep interior joy: we, accordingly, should
also consider that we must rise, in union with the Redeemer, from our cold and
slothful life to one of greater fervor and holiness by giving ourselves
completely and generously to God, and by forgetting this wretched world in
order to aspire only to the things of heaven: "If you be risen with Christ,
seek the things that are above . . . mind the things that are above."[147]
160. Finally, during the time of Pentecost, the Church by her
precept and practice urges us to be more docile to the action of the Holy
Spirit who wishes us to be on fire with divine love so that we may daily
strive to advance more in virtue and thus become holy as Christ our Lord and
His Father are holy.
161. Thus, the liturgical year should be considered as a
splendid hymn of praise offered to the heavenly Father by the Christian family
through Jesus, their perpetual Mediator. Nevertheless, it requires a diligent
and well ordered study on our part to be able to know and praise our Redeemer
ever more and more. It requires a serious effort and constant practice to
imitate His mysteries, to enter willingly upon His path of sorrow and thus
finally share His glory and eternal happiness.
162. From what We have already explained, Venerable Brethren,
it is perfectly clear how much modern writers are wanting in the genuine and
true liturgical spirit who, deceived by the illusion of a higher mysticism,
dare to assert that attention should be paid not to the historic Christ but to
a "pneumatic" or glorified Christ. They do not hesitate to assert that a
change has taken place in the piety of the faithful by dethroning, as it were,
Christ from His position; since they say that the glorified Christ, who liveth
and reigneth forever and sitteth at the right hand of the Father, has been
overshadowed and in His place has been substituted that Christ who lived on
earth. For this reason, some have gone so far as to want to remove from the
churches images of the divine Redeemer suffering on the cross.
163. But these false statements are completely opposed to the
solid doctrine handed down by tradition. "You believe in Christ born in the
flesh," says St. Augustine, "and you will come to Christ begotten of
God."[148] In the sacred liturgy, the whole Christ is proposed to us in all
the circumstances of His life, as the Word of the eternal Father, as born of
the Virgin Mother of God, as He who teaches us truth, heals the sick, consoles
the afflicted, who endures suffering and who dies; finally, as He who rose
triumphantly from the dead and who, reigning in the glory of heaven, sends us
the Holy Paraclete and who abides in His Church forever; "Jesus Christ,
yesterday and today, and the same forever."[149] Besides, the liturgy shows us
Christ not only as a model to be imitated but as a master to whom we should
listen readily, a Shepherd whom we should follow, Author of our salvation, the
Source of our holiness and the Head of the Mystical Body whose members we are,
living by His very life.
164. Since His bitter sufferings constitute the principal
mystery of our redemption, it is only fitting that the Catholic faith should
give it the greatest prominence. This mystery is the very center of divine
worship since the Mass represents and renews it every day and since all the
sacraments are most closely united with the cross.[150]
165. Hence, the liturgical year, devotedly fostered and
accompanied by the Church, is not a cold and lifeless representation of the
events of the past, or a simple and bare record of a former age. It is rather
Christ Himself who is ever living in His Church. Here He continues that
journey of immense mercy which He lovingly began in His mortal life, going
about doing good,[151] with the design of bringing men to know His mysteries
and in a way live by them. These mysteries are ever present and active not in
a vague and uncertain way as some modern writers hold, but in the way that
Catholic doctrine teaches us. According to the Doctors of the Church, they are
shining examples of Christian perfection, as well as sources of divine grace,
due to the merit and prayers of Christ; they still influence us because each
mystery brings its own special grace for our salvation. Moreover, our holy
Mother the Church, while proposing for our contemplation the mysteries of our
Redeemer, asks in her prayers for those gifts which would give her children
the greatest possible share in the spirit of these mysteries through the
merits of Christ. By means of His inspiration and help and through the
cooperation of our wills we can receive from Him living vitality as branches
do from the tree and members from the head; thus slowly and laboriously we can
transform ourselves "unto the measure of the age of the fullness of
Christ."[152]
166. In the course of the liturgical year, besides the
mysteries of Jesus Christ, the feasts of the saints are celebrated. Even
though these feasts are of a lower and subordinate order, the Church always
strives to put before the faithful examples of sanctity in order to move them
to cultivate in themselves the virtues of the divine Redeemer.
167. We should imitate the virtues of the saints just as they
imitated Christ, for in their virtues there shines forth under different
aspects the splendor of Jesus Christ. Among some of these saints the zeal of
the apostolate stood out, in others courage prevailed even to the shedding of
blood, constant vigilance marked others out as they kept watch for the divine
Redeemer, while in others the virginal purity of soul was resplendent and
their modesty revealed the beauty of Christian humility; there burned in all
of them the fire of charity towards God and their neighbor. The sacred liturgy
puts all these gems of sanctity before us so that we may consider them for our
salvation, and "rejoicing at their merits, we may be inflamed by their
example."[153] It is necessary, then, to practice "in simplicity innocence, in
charity concord, in humility modesty, diligence in government, readiness in
helping those who labor, mercy in serving the poor, in defending truth,
constancy, in the strict maintenance of discipline justice, so that nothing
may be wanting in us of the virtues which have been proposed for our
imitation. These are the footprints left by the saints in their journey
homeward, that guided by them we might follow them into glory."[154] In order
that we may be helped by our senses, also, the Church wishes that images of
the saints be displayed in our churches, always, however, with the same
intention "that we imitate the virtues of those whose images we
venerate."[155]
168. But there is another reason why the Christian people
should honor the saints in heaven, namely, to implore their help and "that we
be aided by the pleadings of those whose praise is our delight."[156] Hence,
it is easy to understand why the sacred liturgy provides us with many
different prayers to invoke the intercession of the saints.
169. Among the saints in heaven the Virgin Mary Mother of God
is venerated in a special way. Because of the mission she received from God,
her life is most closely linked with the mysteries of Jesus Christ, and there
is no one who has followed in the footsteps of the Incarnate Word more closely
and with more merit than she: and no one has more grace and power over the
most Sacred Heart of the Son of God and through Him with the Heavenly Father.
Holier than the Cherubim and Seraphim, she enjoys unquestionably greater glory
than all the other saints, for she is "full of grace,"[157] she is the Mother
of God, who happily gave birth to the Redeemer for us. Since she is therefore,
"Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope," let us all cry to her
"mourning and weeping in this vale of tears,"[158] and confidently place
ourselves and all we have under her patronage. She became our Mother also when
the divine Redeemer offered the sacrifice of Himself; and hence by this title
also, we are her children. She teaches us all the virtues; she gives us her
Son and with Him all the help we need, for God "wished us to have everything
through Mary."[159]
170. Throughout this liturgical journey which begins anew for
us each year under the sanctifying action of the Church, and strengthened by
the help and example of the saints, especially of the Immaculate Virgin Mary,
"let us draw near with a true heart, in fullness of faith having our hearts
sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with clean
water,"[160] let us draw near to the "High Priest"[161] that with Him we may
share His life and sentiments and by Him penetrate "even within the
veil,"[162] and there honor the heavenly Father for ever and ever.
171. Such is the nature and the object of the sacred liturgy:
it treats of the Mass, the sacraments, the divine office; it aims at uniting
our souls with Christ and sanctifying them through the divine Redeemer in
order that Christ be honored and, through Him and in Him, the most Holy
Trinity, Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost.
172. In order that the errors and inaccuracies, mentioned
above, may be more easily removed from the Church, and that the faithful
following safer norms may be able to use more fruitfully the liturgical
apostolate, We have deemed it opportune, Venerable Brethren, to add some
practical applications of the doctrine which We have explained.
173. When dealing with genuine and solid piety We stated that
there could be no real opposition between the sacred liturgy and other
religious practices, provided they be kept within legitimate bounds and
performed for a legitimate purpose. In fact, there are certain exercises of
piety which the Church recommends very much to clergy and religious.
174. It is Our wish also that the faithful, as well, should
take part in these practices. The chief of these are: meditation on spiritual
things, diligent examination of conscience, enclosed retreats, visits to the
blessed sacrament, and those special prayers in honor of the Blessed Virgin
Mary among which the rosary, as all know, has pride of place.[163]
175. From these multiple forms of piety, the inspiration and
action of the Holy Spirit cannot be absent. Their purpose is, in various ways,
to attract and direct our souls to God, purifying them from their sins,
encouraging them to practice virtue and, finally, stimulating them to advance
along the path of sincere piety by accustoming them to meditate on the eternal
truths and disposing them better to contemplate the mysteries of the human and
divine natures of Christ. Besides, since they develop a deeper spiritual life
of the faithful, they prepare them to take part in sacred public functions
with greater fruit, and they lessen the danger of liturgical prayers becoming
an empty ritualism.
176. In keeping with your pastoral solicitude, Venerable
Brethren, do not cease to recommend and encourage these exercises of piety
from which the faithful, entrusted to your care, cannot but derive salutary
fruit. Above all, do not allow--as some do, who are deceived under the pretext
of restoring the liturgy or who idly claim that only liturgical rites are of
any real value and dignity--that churches be closed during the hours not
appointed for public functions, as has already happened in some places: where
the adoration of the august sacrament and visits to our Lord in the
tabernacles are neglected; where confession of devotion is discouraged; and
devotion to the Virgin Mother of God, a sign of "predestination" according to
the opinion of holy men, is so neglected, especially among the young, as to
fade away and gradually vanish. Such conduct most harmful to Christian piety
is like poisonous fruit, growing on the infected branches of a healthy tree,
which must be cut off so that the life-giving sap of the tree may bring forth
only the best fruit.
177. Since the opinions expressed by some about frequent
confession are completely foreign to the spirit of Christ and His Immaculate
Spouse and are also most dangerous to the spiritual life, let Us call to mind
what with sorrow We wrote about this point in the encyclical on the Mystical
Body. We urgently insist once more that what We expounded in very serious
words be proposed by you for the serious consideration and dutiful obedience
of your flock, especially to students for the priesthood and young clergy.
178. Take special care that as many as possible, not only of
the clergy but of the laity and especially those in religious organizations
and in the ranks of Catholic Action, take part in monthly days of recollection
and in retreats of longer duration made with a view to growing in virtue. As
We have previously stated, such spiritual exercises are most useful and even
necessary to instill into souls solid virtue, and to strengthen them in
sanctity so as to be able to derive from the sacred liturgy more efficacious
and abundant benefits.
179. As regards the different methods employed in these
exercises, it is perfectly clear to all that in the Church on earth, no less
in the Church in heaven, there are many mansions,[164] and that asceticism
cannot be the monopoly of anyone. It is the same spirit who breatheth where He
will,[165] and who with differing gifts and in different ways enlightens and
guides souls to sanctity. Let their freedom and the supernatural action of the
Holy Spirit be so sacrosanct that no one presume to disturb or stifle them for
any reason whatsoever.
180. However, it is well known that the spiritual exercise
according to the method and norms of St. Ignatius have been fully approved and
earnestly recommended by Our predecessors on account of their admirable
efficacy. We, too, for the same reason have approved and commended them and
willingly do We repeat this now.
181. Any inspiration to follow and practice extraordinary
exercises of piety must most certainly come from the Father of Lights, from
whom every good and perfect gift descends;[166] and, of course, the criterion
of this will be the effectiveness of these exercises in making the divine cult
loved and spread daily ever more widely, and in making the faithful approach
the sacraments with more longing desire, and in obtaining for all things holy
due respect and honor. If on the contrary, they are an obstacle to principles
and norms of divine worship, or if they oppose or hinder them, one must surely
conclude that they are not in keeping with prudence and enlightened zeal.
182. There are, besides, other exercises of piety which,
although not strictly belonging to the sacred liturgy, are, nevertheless, of
special import and dignity, and may be considered in a certain way to be an
addition to the liturgical cult; they have been approved and praised over and
over again by the Apostolic See and by the bishops. Among these are the
prayers usually said during the month of May in honor of the Blessed Virgin
Mother of God, or during the month of June to the most Sacred Heart of Jesus:
also novenas and triduums, stations of the cross and other similar practices.
183. These devotions make us partakers in a salutary manner
of the liturgical cult, because they urge the faithful to go frequently to the
sacrament of penance, to attend Mass and receive communion with devotion, and,
as well, encourage them to meditate on the mysteries of our redemption and
imitate the example of the saints.
184. Hence, he would do something very wrong and dangerous
who would dare to take on himself to reform all these exercises of piety and
reduce them completely to the methods and norms of liturgical rites. However,
it is necessary that the spirit of the sacred liturgy and its directives
should exercise such a salutary influence on them that nothing improper be
introduced nor anything unworthy of the dignity of the house of God or
detrimental to the sacred functions or opposed to solid piety.
185. Take care then, Venerable Brethren, that this true and
solid piety increases daily and more under your guidance and bears more
abundant fruit. Above all, do not cease to inculcate into the minds of all
that progress in the Christian life does not consist in the multiplicity and
variety of prayers and exercises of piety, but rather in their helpfulness
towards spiritual progress of the faithful and constant growth of the Church
universal. For the eternal Father "chose us in Him [Christ] before the
foundation of the world that we should be holy and unspotted in His
sight."[167] All our prayers, then, and all our religious practices should aim
at directing our spiritual energies towards attaining this most noble and
lofty end.
186. We earnestly exhort you, Venerable Brethren, that after
errors and falsehoods have been removed, and anything that is contrary to
truth or moderation has been condemned, you promote a deeper knowledge among
the people of the sacred liturgy so that they more readily and easily follow
the sacred rites and take part in them with true Christian dispositions.
187. First of all, you must strive that with due reverence
and faith all obey the decrees of the Council of Trent, of the Roman Pontiffs,
and the Sacred Congregation of Rites, and what the liturgical books ordain
concerning external public worship.
188. Three characteristics of which Our predecessor Pius X
spoke should adorn all liturgical services: sacredness, which abhors any
profane influence; nobility, which true and genuine arts should serve and
foster; and universality, which, while safeguarding local and legitimate
custom, reveals the catholic unity of the Church.[168]
189. We desire to commend and urge the adornment of churches
and altars. Let each one feel moved by the inspired word, "the zeal of thy
house hath eaten me up";[169] and strive as much as in him lies that
everything in the church, including vestments and liturgical furnishings, even
though not rich nor lavish, be perfectly clean and appropriate, since all is
consecrated to the Divine Majesty. If we have previously disapproved of the
error of those who would wish to outlaw images from churches on the plea of
reviving an ancient tradition, We now deem it Our duty to censure the
inconsiderate zeal of those who propose for veneration in the Churches and on
the altars, without any just reason, a multitude of sacred images and statues,
and also those who display unauthorized relics, those who emphasize special
and insignificant practices, neglecting essential and necessary things. They
thus bring religion into derision and lessen the dignity of worship.
190. Let us recall, as well, the decree about "not
introducing new forms of worship and devotion."[170] We commend the exact
observance of this decree to your vigilance.
191. As regards music, let the clear and guiding norms of the
Apostolic See be scrupulously observed. Gregorian chant, which the Roman
Church considers her own as handed down from antiquity and kept under her
close tutelage, is proposed to the faithful as belonging to them also. In
certain parts of the liturgy the Church definitely prescribes it;[171] it
makes the celebration of the sacred mysteries not only more dignified and
solemn but helps very much to increase the faith and devotion of the
congregation. For this reason, Our predecessors of immortal memory, Pius X and
Pius XI, decree--and We are happy to confirm with Our authority the norms laid
down by them--that in seminaries and religious institutes, Gregorian chant be
diligently and zealously promoted, and moreover that the old Scholae Cantorum
be restored, at least in the principal churches. This has already been done
with happy results in not a few places.[172]
192. Besides, "so that the faithful take a more active part
in divine worship, let Gregorian chant be restored to popular use in the parts
proper to the people. Indeed it is very necessary that the faithful attend the
sacred ceremonies not as if they were outsiders or mute onlookers, but let
them fully appreciate the beauty of the liturgy and take part in the sacred
ceremonies, alternating their voices with the priest and the choir, according
to the prescribed norms. If, please God, this is done, it will not happen that
the congregation hardly ever or only in a low murmur answer the prayers in
Latin or in the vernacular."[173] A congregation that is devoutly present at
the sacrifice, in which our Savior together with His children redeemed with
His sacred blood sings the nuptial hymn of His immense love, cannot keep
silent, for "song befits the lover"[174] and, as the ancient saying has it,
"he who sings well prays twice." Thus the Church militant, faithful as well as
clergy, joins in the hymns of the Church triumphant and with the choirs of
angels, and, all together, sing a wondrous and eternal hymn of praise to the
most Holy Trinity in keeping with words of the preface, "with whom our voices,
too, thou wouldst bid to be admitted."[175]
193. It cannot be said that modem music and singing should be
entirely excluded from Catholic worship. For, if they are not profane nor
unbecoming to the sacredness of the place and function, and do not spring from
a desire of achieving extraordinary and unusual effects, then our churches
must admit them since they can contribute in no small way to the splendor of
the sacred ceremonies, can lift the mind to higher things and foster true
devotion of soul.
194. We also exhort you, Venerable Brethren, to promote with
care congregational singing, and to see to its accurate execution with all due
dignity, since it easily stirs up and arouses the faith and piety of large
gatherings of the faithful. Let the full harmonious singing of our people rise
to heaven like the bursting of a thunderous sea[176] and let them testify by
the melody of their song to the unity of their hearts and minds[177], as
becomes brothers and the children of the same Father.
195. What We have said about music, applies to the other fine
arts, especially to architecture, sculpture and painting. Recent works of art
which lend themselves to the materials of modern composition, should not be
universally despised and rejected through prejudice. Modern art should be
given free scope in the due and reverent service of the church and the sacred
rites, provided that they preserve a correct balance between styles tending
neither to extreme realism nor to excessive "symbolism," and that the needs of
the Christian community are taken into consideration rather than the
particular taste or talent of the individual artist. Thus modern art will be
able to join its voice to that wonderful choir of praise to which have
contributed, in honor of the Catholic faith, the greatest artists throughout
the centuries. Nevertheless, in keeping with the duty of Our office, We cannot
help deploring and condemning those works of art, recently introduced by some,
which seem to be a distortion and perversion of true art and which at times
openly shock Christian taste, modesty and devotion, and shamefully offend the
true religious sense. These must be entirely excluded and banished from our
churches, like "anything else that is not in keeping with the sanctity of the
place."[178]
196. Keeping in mind, Venerable Brethren, pontifical norms
and decrees, take great care to enlighten and direct the minds and hearts of
the artists to whom is given the task today of restoring or rebuilding the
many churches which have been ruined or completely destroyed by war. Let them
be capable and willing to draw their inspiration from religion to express what
is suitable and more in keeping with the requirements of worship. Thus the
human arts will shine forth with a wondrous heavenly splendor, and contribute
greatly to human civilization, to the salvation of souls and the glory of God.
The fine arts are really in conformity with religion when "as noblest
handmaids they are at the service of divine worship."[179]
197. But there is something else of even greater importance,
Venerable Brethren, which We commend to your apostolic zeal, in a very special
manner. Whatever pertains to the external worship has assuredly its
importance; however, the most pressing duty of Christians is to live the
liturgical life, and increase and cherish its supernatural spirit.
198. Readily provide the young clerical student with
facilities to understand the sacred ceremonies, to appreciate their majesty
and beauty and to learn the rubrics with care, just as you do when he is
trained in ascetics, in dogma and in a canon law and pastoral theology. This
should not be done merely for cultural reasons and to fit the student to
perform religious rites in the future, correctly and with due dignity, but
especially to lead him into closest union with Christ, the Priest, so that he
may become a holy minister of sanctity.
199. Try in every way, with the means and helps that your
prudence deems best, that the clergy and people become one in mind and heart,
and that the Christian people take such an active part in the liturgy that it
becomes a truly sacred action of due worship tO the eternal Lord in which the
priest, chiefly responsible for the souls of his parish, and the ordinary
faithful are united together.
200. To attain this purpose, it will greatly help to select
carefully good and upright young boys from all classes of citizens who will
come generously and spontaneously to serve at the altar with careful zeal and
exactness. Parents of higher social standing and culture should greatly esteem
this office for their children. If these youths, under the watchful guidance
of the priests, are properly trained and encouraged to fulfill the task
committed to them punctually, reverently and constantly, then from their
number will readily come fresh candidates for the priesthood. The clergy will
not then complain--as, alas, sometimes happens even in Catholic places--that
in the celebration of the august sacrifice they find no one to answer or serve
them.
201. Above all, try with your constant zeal to have all the
faithful attend the eucharistic sacrifice from which they may obtain abundant
and salutary fruit; and carefully instruct them in all the legitimate ways we
have described above so that they may devoutly participate in it. The Mass is
the chief act of divine worship; it should also be the source and center of
Christian piety. Never think that you have satisfied your apostolic zeal until
you see your faithful approach in great numbers the celestial banquet which is
a sacrament of devotion, a sign of unity and a bond of love.[180]
202. By means of suitable sermons and particularly by
periodic conferences and lectures, by special study weeks and the like, teach
the Christian people carefully about the treasures of piety contained in the
sacred liturgy so that they may be able to profit more abundantly by these
supernatural gifts. In this matter, those who are active in the ranks of
Catholic Action will certainly be a help to you, since they are ever at the
service of the hierarchy in the work of promoting the kingdom of Jesus Christ.
203. But in all these matters, it is essential that you watch
vigilantly lest the enemy come into the field of the Lord and sow cockle among
the wheat;[181] in other words, do not let your flocks be deceived by the
subtle and dangerous errors of false mysticism or quietism--as you know We
have already condemned these errors;[182] also do not let a certain dangerous
"humanism" lead them astray, nor let there be introduced a false doctrine
destroying the notion of Catholic faith, nor finally an exaggerated zeal for
antiquity in matters liturgical. Watch with like diligence lest the false
teaching of those be propagated who wrongly think and teach that the glorified
human nature of Christ really and continually dwells in the "just" by His
presence and that one and numerically the same grace, as they say, unites
Christ with the members of His Mystical Body.
204. Never be discouraged by the difficulties that arise, and
never let your pastoral zeal grow cold. "Blow the trumpet in Sion . . . call
an assembly, gather together the people, sanctify the Church, assemble the
ancients, gather together the little ones, and them that suck at the
breasts,"[183] and use every help to get the faithful everywhere to fill the
churches and crowd around the altars so that they may be restored by the
graces of the sacraments and joined as living members to their divine Head,
and with Him and through Him celebrate together the august sacrifice that
gives due tribute of praise to the Eternal Father.
205. These, Venerable Brethren, are the subjects We desired
to write to you about. We are moved to write that your children, who are also
Ours, may more fully understand and appreciate the most precious treasures
which are contained in the sacred liturgy: namely, the eucharistic sacrifice,
representing and renewing the sacrifice of the cross, the sacraments which are
the streams of divine grace and of divine life, and the hymn of praise, which
heaven and earth daily offer to God.
206. We cherish the hope that these Our exhortations will not
only arouse the sluggish and recalcitrant to a deeper and more correct study
of the liturgy, but also instill into their daily lives its supernatural
spirit according to the words of the Apostle, "extinguish not the
spirit."[184]
207. To those whom an excessive zeal occasionally led to say
and do certain things which saddened Us and which We could not approve, we
repeat the warning of St. Paul, "But prove all things, hold fast that which is
good."[185] Let Us paternally warn them to imitate in their thoughts and
actions the Christian doctrine which is in harmony with the precepts of the
immaculate Spouse of Jesus Christ, the mother of saints.
208. Let Us remind all that they must generously and
faithfully obey their holy pastors who possess the right and duty of
regulating the whole life, especially the spiritual life, of the Church. "Obey
your prelates and be subject to them. For they watch as being to render an
account of your souls; that they may do this with joy and not with
grief."[186]
209. May God, whom we worship, and who is "not the God of
dissension but of peace,"[187] graciously grant to us all that during our
earthly exile we may with one mind and one heart participate in the sacred
liturgy which is, as it were, a preparation and a token of that heavenly
liturgy in which we hope one day to sing together with the most glorious
Mother of God and our most loving Mother, "To Him that sitteth on the throne,
and to the Lamb, benediction and honor, and glory and power for ever and
ever."[188]
210. In this joyous hope, We most lovingly impart to each and
every one of you, Venerable Brethren, and to the flocks confided to your care,
as a pledge of divine gifts and as a witness of Our special love, the
apostolic benediction.
211. Given at Castel Gandolfo, near Rome, on the 20th day of
November in the year 1947, the 9th of Our Pontificate.
REFERENCES:
1. 1 Tim. 2:5.
2. Cf. Heb.4:14.
3. Cf. Heb.9:14.
4. Cf. Mal.1:11.
5. Cf. Council of Trent Sess. 22, c. 1.
6. Cf. ibid., c. 2.
7. Encyclical Letter Caritate Christi, May 3, 1932.
8. Cf. Apostolic Letter (Motu Proprio) In cotidianis precibus, March 24, 1945.
9. 1 Cor. 10:17.
10. Saint Thomas, Summa Theologica, lla llae .q. 81, art. 1.
11. Cf. Book; of Leviticus.
12. Cf. Heb.10:1.
13. John, 1:14.
14. Heb.10:5-7.
15. Ibid. 10: 10.
16. John, 1:9.
17. Heb.10:39.
18. Cf. I John, 2:1.
19. Cf. I Tim. 3:15.
20. Cf. Boniface IX, Ab origine mundi, October 7, 1391; Callistus III, Summus
Pontifex, January 1, 1456; Pius II, Triumphans Pastor, April 22, 1459;
Innocent XI, Triumphans Pastor, October 3, 1678.
21. Eph. 2:19-22.
22. Matt. 18:20.
23. Acts, 2:42.
24. Col.3:16.
25 Saint Augustine, Epist. 130, ad Probam, 18.
26 Roman Missal, Preface for Christmas.
27. Giovanni Cardinal Bona, De divina psalmodia, c. 19, par. 3, 1.
28. Roman Missal, Secret for Thursday after the Second Sunday of Lent.
29. Cf Mark, 7:6 and Isaias, 29:13.
30. 1 Cor.II:28.
31. Roman Missal, Ash Wednesday; Prayer after the imposition of ashes.
32. De praedestinatione sanctorum, 31.
33. Cf. Saint Thomas, Summa Theologica, lla llae, q. 82, art. 1.
34. Cf. I Cor. 3:23.
35. Heb. 10:19-24.
36. Cf. 2 Cor. 6:1.
37. Cf. Code of Canon Law, can. 125, 126, 565, 571,595,1367.
38. Col.3:II.
39. Cf. Gal. 4:19.
40. John, 20:21.
41. Luke, 10:16.
42. Mark, 16:15-16.
43. Roman Pontifical, Ordination of a priest: anointing of hands.
44. Enchiridion, c. 3.
45. De gratia Dei "Indiculus."
46. Saint Augustine, Epist. 130, ad Probam, 18.
47. Cf. Constitution Divini cultus, December 20, 1928.
48. Constitution Immensa, January 22, 1588.
49. Code of Canon Law, can. 253.
50. Cf. Code of Canon Law, can. 1257.
51. Cf. Code of Canon Law, can. 1261.
52. Cf. Matt. 28:20.
53. Cf. Pius Vl, Constitution Auctorem fidei, August 28, 1794, nn. 31-34, 39,
62, 66, 69-74.
54. Cf. John, 2 1 : 1 5-1 7.
55. Acts, 20:28.
56. Ps.109:4.
57. John, 13:1.
58. Council of Trent, Sess. 22, c. 1.
59. Ibid., c. 2.
60. Cf. Saint Thomas, Summa Theologica, Illa, q. 22, art. 4.
61. Saint John Chrysostom, In Joann. Hom., 86:4.
62. Rom. 6:9.
63. Cf. Roman Missal, Preface.
64. Cf. Ibid., Canon.
65. Mark, 14:23.
66. Roman Missal, Preface.
67. I John, 2:2.
68. Roman Missal, Canon of the Mass.
69. Saint Augustine, De Trinit., Book Xlll, c. 19.
70. Heb. 5:7.
71. Cf. Sess. 22, c. 1.
72. Cf. Heb. 10:14.
73. Saint Augustine, Enarr. in Ps. 147, n. 16.
74. Gal. 2:19-20.
75. Encyclical Letter, Mystici Corporis, June 29, 1943.
76. Roman Missal, Secret of the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost.
77. Cf. Sess. 22, c. 2. and can. 4.
78. Cf. Gal. 6:14.
79. Mal. 1:II.
80. Phil. 2:5.
81. Gal. 2:19.
82. Cf. Council of Trent, Sess. 23. c. 4.
83. Cf. Saint Robert Bellarmine, De Missa, 2, c.4.
84. De Sacro Altaris Mysterio, 3:6.
85. De Missa, 1, c. 27.
86. Roman Missal, Ordinary of the Mass.
87. Ibid., Canon of the Mass.
88. Roman Missal, Canon of the Mass.
89. I Peter, 2:5.
90. Rom . 1 2 : 1.
91. Roman Missal, Canon of the Mass.
92. Roman Pontifical, Ordination of a priest.
93. Ibid., Consecration of an altar, Preface.
94. Cf. Council of Trent, Sess. 22, c. 5.
95. Gal. 2:19-20.
96. Cf. Serm. 272.
97. Cf. I Cor. 12:_7.
98. Cf. Eph. 5:30.
99. Cf. Saint Robert Bellarmine, De Missa, 2, c. 8.
100. Cf. De Civitate Dei, Book 10, c. 6.
101. Roman Missal, Canon of the Mass.
102. Cf. I Tim. 2:5.
103. Encyclical Letter Certiores effecti, November 13, 1742, par. 1.
104. Council of Trent, Sess. 22, can. 8.
105. I Cor. II:24.
106. Roman Missal, Collect for Feast of Corpus Christi.
107. Sess. 22, c. 6.
108. Encyclical Letter Certiores effecti, par. 3.
109. Cf. Luke, 14:23.
110. I Cor. 10:17.
111. Cf. Saint Ignatius Martyr, Ad Eph 20.
112. Roman Missal, Canon of the Mass.
113. Eph. 5:20.
114. Roman Missal, Postcommunion for Sunday within the Octave of Ascension.
115. Ibid., Postcommunion for First Sunday after Pentecost.
116. Code of Canon Law, can. 810.
117. Book IV, c. 12.
118. Dan. 3:57.
119. Cf. John 16: 3.
120. Roman Missal, Secret for Mass of the Most Blessed Trinity .
121. John, 15:4. 122. Council of Trent, Sess. 13, can. 1.
123. Second Council of Constantinople, Anath, de trib. Capit., can. 9; compare
Council of Ephesus, Anath. Cyrill, can 8. Cf. Council of Trent, Sess. 13, can.
6; Pius Vl Constitution Auctorem fidei, n. 61.
124. Cf. Enarr in Ps. 98:9.
125. Apoc. 5:12, cp. 7:10.
126. Cf. Council of Trent, Sess. 13, c. 5 and can. 6.
127. In I ad Cor., 24:4.
128. Cf. I Peter, 1:19.
129. Matt. II:28.
130. Cf. Roman Missal, Collect for Mass for the Dedication of a Church.
131. Roman Missal, Sequence Lauda Sion in Mass for Feast of Corpus Christi.
132. Luke, 18:1.
133. Heb. 13:15.
134. Cf. Acts, 2:1-15.
135. Ibid., 10:9.
136. Ibid., 3:1.
137. Ibid., 16:25.
138. Rom. 8:26.
139. Saint Augustine, Enarr. in Ps. 85, n. 1.
140. Saint Benedict, Regula Monachorum, c. 19.
141. Heb. 7:25.
142. Explicatio in Psalterium, Preface. Text as found in Migne, Parres Larini,
70:10. But some are of the opinion that part of this passage should not be
attributed to Cassiodorus.
143. Saint Ambrose, Enarr in Ps. 1, n. 9.
144. Exod. 31:15.
145. Confessions, Book 9, c. 6.
146. Saint Augustine, De Civitate Dei, Book 8, c. 17.
147. Col.3:1-2.
148. Saint Augustine, Enarr. in Ps. 123, n. 2.
149. Heb. 13:8.
150. Saint Thomas, Summa Theologica Illa, q. 49 and q. 62, art. 5.
151. Cf. Acts, 10:38.
152. Eph. 4:13.
153. Roman Missal, Collect for Third Mass of Several Martyrs outside
Paschaltide.
154. Saint Bede the Venerable, Hom. subd. 70 for Feast of All Saints.
155. Roman Missal, Collect for Mass of Saint John Damascene .
156. Saint Bernard, Sermon 2 for Feast of All Saints.
157. Luke, I:28.
158. "Salve Regina."
159. Saint Bernard, In Nativ. B.M.V., 7.
160. Heb. 10:22.
161. Ibid., 10:_1.
162. Ibid., 6:19.
163. Cf. Code of Canon Law, Can. 125.
164. Cf. John, 14:2.
165. John, 3:8.
166. Cf. James, 1:17.
167. Eph. 1:4.
168. Cf. Apostolic Letter (Motu Proprio) Tra le sollecitudini, November 22,
1903.
169. Ps. 68:9; John, 2:17.
170. Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office, Decree of May 26, 1937.
171. Cf. Pius X, Apostolic Letter (Motu Proprio) Tra le sollectitudini .
172. Cf. Pius X, loc. cit.; Pius XI, Constitution Divini cultus, 2,5.
173. Pius XI, Constitution Divini cultus, 9.
174. Saint Augustine, Serm. 336, n. 1.
175. Roman Missal, Preface.
176. Saint Ambrose, Hexameron, 3:5, 23.
177. Cf. Acts, 4:32.
178. Code of Canon Law, can. 1178.
179. Pius XI, Constitution Divini cultus.
180. Cf. Saint Augustine, Tract. 26 in John 13.
181. Cf. Matt. 13:24-25.
182. Encyclical letter Mystici Corporis.
183. Joel, 2:15-16.
184. I Thess. 5:19.
185. lbid., 5:21.
186. Heb. 13: 7
187. I Cor.14:33.
188. Apoc. 5:13.