Note
by the Most Reverend Markus Ramolla concerning his own Episcopal
Consecration and its circumstances
 |
| Saint Paul ordains Timothy as Bishop of Ephesus |
“Manus
cito nemini imposueris,...”
[Do
not impose
hands lightly upon any man...] (1
Timothy 5:22)
I
write these lines not in the spirit of judging others, and in
particular, not judging other bishops or questioning their
well-intentioned motives. The purpose of this declaration is to
clarify certain facts concerning my own episcopal consecration and
involvement with His Excellency Bishop Francis Slupski C.Ss.R.
It
is my hope that Traditional Catholics, especially in the United
States of America, will understand my position regarding some of the
issues surrounding His Excellency's actions and decisions. It is with
much regret and sorrow that I feel compelled to write these lines.
It was on March 24, 2011, that I
received a phone call from His Excellency Bishop Francis Slupski
offering to promote me to the episcopacy. Although there were a
number of people urging me to get consecrated, especially in November
2011, I did not accept this offer in a rush. I took my time--over a
year in fact--to contemplate whether or not I should accept his
offer, the reason being that I had my reservations concerning him. In
particular, the fact that he ordained married men in the past made me
very uneasy to receive consecration from him or his lineage. Despite
this and despite his ordaining of unfit and untrained men to the Holy
Priesthood, and despite the fact that I was warned of the mistakes
and wrong decisions of Bishop Slupksi, I very reluctantly accepted
Bishop Slupski's offer. I finally accepted because I wanted to be
able to ordain the young men who entrusted their priestly vocation to
my care. The consecration took place on May 23, 2012 in Rock Falls,
Illinois, not by Bishop Slupski himself, although present, but by a
bishop he had previously consecrated, namely Bishop Robert Dymek.
I now state that I bitterly
regret having been involved with Bishop Slupski (even though I
believe he has good intentions). And I regret having accepted to be
promoted to the episcopacy through Bishop Slupski. However I do not
regret receiving the episcopacy in itself, but I regret my
involvement because of the aforementioned issues regarding certain
acts and decisions of His Excellency. Furthermore, I have had no
direct contact with Bishop Slupski since I was consecrated and I now
disassociate even publicly from any involvement, or perceived
involvement, with Bishop Francis Slupski, because of these three main
concerns:
Ordaining
unfit and untrained men to the Holy priesthood: It
was my hope when I accepted Episcopal Consecration that His
Excellency would cease ordaining young men who are unfit or
untrained, or insufficiently trained. It is my opinion based on the
teaching and practice of the Roman Catholic Church that it is fatal
and catastrophic for the Church in these times, without a Hierarchy,
to ordain young men to the Holy Priesthood who have none or
insufficient or incomplete formation. The fact that some of the
traditional catholic seminaries do not give a formation equal to
pre-Vatican II standards does not dispense from the principle of
training and formation for the reception of Holy Orders. It is
simply unacceptable that clergy, who have not been trained and
formed either in a seminary or under the guidance of another priest
and have not even studied the basics of Philosophy and Sacred
Theology, begin the priestly administration for the salvation of
immortal souls. Furthermore, the formation and preparation to the
holy priesthood serves also the purpose that the candidate has the
opportunity to examine his vocation and motives for pursuing this
sublime vocation; and it gives the seminary or priest who guides the
candidate time to examine his fitness for the priesthood. [See also: Untrained and Un-Tridentine: Holy Orders and the Canonically Unfit
Ordaining
married men to the Holy Priesthood: I
had even greater hope that His Excellency would cease to offer
married men ordination to the Holy Priesthood. Bishop Slupski, at a
meeting between him and myself in Spring 2012, promised me that he
would no longer ordain married men to the Holy Priesthood, otherwise
I would have never accepted episcopal consecration from him. Very
sadly I had to learn shortly before my scheduled consecration of one
case, (although some say that there is another recent case) of a man
who told me that Bishop Slupski offered to ordain him. This man is
married and has no priestly training whatsoever. I advised him not
to accept and he did not.
Secrecy
of Episcopal Consecrations & Priestly Ordinations: Many
of those consecrations and ordinations are done in secret, i. e.,
without sufficient public announcement of the fact of the ceremony.
Unfortunately in my case it was done the same way and I bitterly
regret that I accepted it in such a way. It is of great importance
for the faithful that they receive information concerning a
consecration or ordination, since they have a right to know that
someone is consecrated a bishop or ordained a priest, and since they
need to know that a traditional priest, who just appears in one of
the traditional chapels, is properly formed either in a seminary or
with the assistance of a priest and is validly ordained. The
secrecy of these consecrations and ordinations make the faithful
uneasy and suspicious.
I hope with this declaration and
explanation that I have clarified some of the concerns regarding the
circumstances of my episcopal consecration and my involvement with
His Excellency Bishop Francis Slupski.
February 26, 2013, Tuesday after the Second Sunday of Lent
+Bp. Markus Ramolla
Note:
In
the light of the aforesaid Note by the Most Reverend Markus Ramolla,
see as it follows the Encyclical 'Ad
Catholici Sacerdotii' on
the Holy Priesthood by Pope Pius XI.
AD
CATHOLICI SACERDOTII
ENCYCLICAL
OF POPE PIUS XI
ON THE CATHOLIC PRIESTHOOD
TO OUR VENERABLE
BRETHREN THE PATRIARCHS, PRIMATES,
ARCHBISHOPS, BISHOPS, AND OTHER
ORDINARIES
IN PEACE AND COMMUNION WITH THE APOSTOLIC SEE.
 |
| Pope Pius XI |
1.
By the inscrutable design of Divine Providence We were raised to this
summit of the Catholic priesthood. From that moment Our thoughts were
turned to all the innumerable children whom God entrusted to Us. Yet,
in a special way, We have felt an affectionate and earnest solicitude
towards those who have the commission to be "the salt of the
earth and the light of the world," for those who have been
signaled out and adorned by the priestly character. In a still more
special way Our thoughts have turned towards those dearly beloved
young students who are being educated in the shadow of the sanctuary
and are preparing themselves for this most noble charge, the
priesthood.
2. Even in
the first months of Our Pontificate, before We had addressed Our
solemn word to the whole Catholic world, We hastened to lay stress
upon the principles and ideals which ought to guide and inspire the
education of future priests. This we did by Our Apostolic Letter
Officiorum omnium written on the first of August, 1922, to Our
beloved son, the Cardinal Prefect of the sacred Congregation for
Seminaries and Universities. And whenever Our pastoral watchfulness
prompts Us to consider more in particular the good estate and the
needs of the Church, Our attention is directed always, and before all
things else, to priests and clergy.
3. Nor is
there lacking witness to this Our special interest in the priesthood.
For We have erected many new seminaries; and others We have, at great
expense, provided with new and befitting buildings, or endowed more
liberally with revenues or staff, that they may the more worthily
attain their high aim.
4. Upon
the occasion of Our Sacerdotal Jubilee, We allowed that event, so
blessed in its memories, to be celebrated with some solemnity, and We
even encouraged with fatherly gratification the marks of filial
affection which came to Us from every part of the globe. Our reason
was that We regarded this celebration not so much as a homage to Our
Person, as a dutiful tribute of honor to the dignity of the priestly
character.
5.
Similarly, We decreed a reform of studies in ecclesiastical
faculties, by the Apostolic Constitution Deus scientiarum Dominus,
of the twenty-fourth of May, 1931. Our special purpose in this decree
was to make even broader and higher the culture and learning of
priests.
6. This
matter, indeed, is of so great and universal importance that We think
fitting to devote to it a special Encyclical; since it is Our desire
that the faithful, who already possess the priceless gift of Faith,
may appreciate the sublimity of the Catholic Priesthood and its
providential mission in the world; that those, too, who do not yet
possess the Faith, but with uprightness and sincerity are in search
of Truth, may share this appreciation with the faithful; above all,
that those who are themselves called may have still deeper
understanding and esteem of their vocation. This subject is
particularly opportune at the present moment, for it is the end of
the year which has seen extended, beyond the Eternal City to the
whole Catholic world, the Jubilee of the Redemption. This
Extraordinary Jubilee, at Lourdes, came, like a sunset, to a splendid
close. There, under the mantle of the Immaculate, for a fervent and
uninterrupted Eucharistic Triduum, gathered together Catholic clergy
of every tongue and rite. Our beloved and venerated priests, never
more energetic in well-doing than during this special Holy Year, are
the ministers of the Redemption of which this year was the Jubilee.
Moreover, this year, as We said in the Apostolic Constitution Quod
nuper, commemorated, likewise, the nineteenth centenary of the
institution of the priesthood.
7. Our
previous Encyclicals were directed to throwing the light of Catholic
doctrine upon the gravest of the problems peculiar to modern life.
Our present Encyclical finds a natural place among these others,
opportunely supplementing them. The priest is, indeed, both by
vocation and divine commission, the chief apostle and tireless
furtherer of the Christian education of youth; in the name of God,
the priest blesses Christian marriage, and defends its sanctity and
indissolubility against the attacks and evasions suggested by
cupidity and sensuality; the priest contributes more effectively to
the solution, or at least the mitigation, of social conflicts, since
he preaches Christian brotherhood, declares to all their mutual
obligations of justice and charity, brings peace to hearts embittered
by moral and economic hardship, and alike to rich and poor points out
the only true riches to which all men both can and should aspire.
Finally, the priest is the most valorous leader in that crusade of
expiation and penance to which We have invited all men of good will.
For there is need of reparation for the blasphemies, wickedness and
crimes which dishonor humanity today, an age perhaps unparalleled in
its need for the mercy and pardon of God. The enemies of the Church
themselves well know the vital importance of the priesthood; for
against the priesthood in particular, as We have already had to
lament in the case of Our dear Mexico, they direct the point of their
attacks. It is the priesthood they desire to be rid of; that they may
clear the way for that destruction of the Church, which has been so
often attempted yet never achieved.
8. The
human race has always felt the need of a priesthood: of men, that is,
who have the official charge to be mediators between God and
humanity, men who should consecrate themselves entirely to this
mediation, as to the very purpose of their lives, men set aside to
offer to God public prayers and sacrifices in the name of human
society. For human society as such is bound to offer to God public
and social worship. It is bound to acknowledge in Him its Supreme
Lord and first beginning, and to strive toward Him as to its last
end, to give Him thanks and offer Him propitiation. In fact, priests
are to be found among all peoples whose customs are known, except
those compelled by violence to act against the most sacred laws of
human nature. They may, indeed, be in the service of false
divinities; but wherever religion is professed, wherever altars are
built, there also is a priesthood surrounded by particular marks of
honor and veneration.
9. Yet in
the splendor of Divine Revelation the priest is seen invested with a
dignity far greater still. This dignity was foreshadowed of old by
the venerable and mysterious figure of Melchisedech, Priest and King,
whom St. Paul recalls as prefiguring the Person and Priesthood of
Christ Our Lord Himself.
10. The
priest, according to the magnificent definition given by St. Paul is
indeed a man Ex hominibus assumptus, "taken from amongst
men," yet pro hominibus constituitur in his quae sunt ad
Deum, "ordained for men in the things that appertain to
God": his office is not for human things, and things that pass
away, however lofty and valuable these may seem; but for things
divine and enduring. These eternal things may, perhaps, through
ignorance, be scorned and contemned, or even attacked with diabolical
fury and malice, as sad experience has often proved, and proves even
today; but they always continue to hold the first place in the
aspirations, individual and social, of humanity, because the human
heart feels irresistibly it is made for God and is restless till it
rests in Him.
11. The
Old Law, inspired by God and promulgated by Moses, set up a
priesthood, which was, in this manner, of divine institution; and
determined for it every detail of its duty, residence and rite. It
would seem that God, in His great care for them, wished to impress
upon the still primitive mind of the Jewish people one great central
idea. This idea throughout the history of the chosen people, was to
shed its light over all events, laws, ranks and offices: the idea of
sacrifice and priesthood. These were to become, through faith in the
future Messias, a source of hope, glory, power and spiritual
liberation. The temple of Solomon, astonishing in richness and
splendor, was still more wonderful in its rites and ordinances.
Erected to the one true God as a tabernacle of the divine Majesty
upon earth, it was also a sublime poem sung to that sacrifice and
that priesthood, which, though type and symbol, was still so august,
that the sacred figure of its High Priest moved the conqueror
Alexander the Great, to bow in reverence; and God Himself visited His
wrath upon the impious king Balthasar because he made revel with the
sacred vessels of the temple. Yet that ancient priesthood derived its
greatest majesty and glory from being a foretype of the Christian
priesthood; the priesthood of the New and eternal Covenant sealed
with the Blood of the Redeemer of the world, Jesus Christ, true God
and true Man.
12. The
Apostle of the Gentiles thus perfectly sums up what may be said of
the greatness, the dignity and the duty of the Christian priesthood:
Sic nos existimet homo Ut ministros Christi et dispensatores
mysteriorum Dei - "Let a man so account of us as of the
ministers of Christ and the dispensers of the mysteries of God."
The priest is the minister of Christ, an instrument, that is to say,
in the hands of the Divine Redeemer. He continues the work of the
redemption in all its world-embracing universality and divine
efficacy, that work that wrought so marvelous a transformation in the
world. Thus the priest, as is said with good reason, is indeed
"another Christ"; for, in some way, he is himself a
continuation of Christ. "As the Father hath sent Me, I also send
you," is spoken to the priest, and hence the priest, like
Christ, continues to give "glory to God in the highest and on
earth peace to men of good will."
13. For,
in the first place, as the Council of Trent teaches, Jesus Christ at
the Last Supper instituted the sacrifice and the priesthood of the
New Covenant: "our Lord and God, although once and for all, by
means of His death on the altar of the cross, He was to offer Himself
to God the Father, that thereon He might accomplish eternal
Redemption; yet because death was not to put an end to his
priesthood, at the Last Supper, the same night in which He was
betrayed in order to leave to His beloved spouse the Church, a
sacrifice which should be visible (as the nature of man requires),
which should represent that bloody sacrifice, once and for all to be
completed on the cross, which should perpetuate His memory to the end
of time, and which should apply its saving power unto the remission
of sins we daily commit, showing Himself made a priest forever
according to the order of Melchisedech, offered to God the Father,
under the appearance of bread and wine, His Body and Blood, giving
them to the apostles (whom He was then making priests of the New
Covenant) to be consumed under the signs of these same things, and
commanded the Apostles and their successors in the priesthood to
offer them, by the words 'Do this in commemoration of Me.' "
14. And
thenceforth, the Apostles, and their successors in the priesthood,
began to lift to heaven that "clean oblation" foretold by
Malachy, through which the name of God is great among the gentiles.
And now, that same oblation in every part of the world and at every
hour of the day and night, is offered and will continue to be offered
without interruption till the end of time: a true sacrificial act,
not merely symbolical, which has a real efficacy unto the
reconciliation of sinners with the Divine Majesty.
15.
"Appeased by this oblation, the Lord grants grace and the gift
of repentance, and forgives iniquities and sins, however great."
The reason of this is given by the same Council in these words: "For
there is one and the same Victim, there is present the same Christ
who once offered Himself upon the Cross, who now offers Himself by
the ministry of priests, only the manner of the offering being
different."
16. And
thus the ineffable greatness of the human priest stands forth in all
its splendor; for he has power over the very Body of Jesus Christ,
and makes It present upon our altars. In the name of Christ Himself
he offers It a victim infinitely pleasing to the Divine Majesty.
"Wondrous things are these," justly exclaims St. John
Chrysostom, "so wonderful, they surpass wonder."
17.
Besides this power over the real Body of Christ, the priest has
received other powers, august and sublime, over His Mystical Body of
Christ, a doctrine so dear to St. Paul; this beautiful doctrine that
shows us the Person of the Word-made-Flesh in union with all His
brethren. For from Him to them comes a supernatural influence, so
that they, with Him as Head, form a single Body of which they are the
members. Now a priest is the appointed "dispenser of the
mysteries of God," for the benefit of the members of the
mystical Body of Christ; since he is the ordinary minister of nearly
all the Sacraments, - those channels through which the grace of the
Savior flows for the good of humanity. The Christian, at almost every
important stage of his mortal career, finds at his side the priest
with power received from God, in the act of communicating or
increasing that grace which is the supernatural life of his soul.
18.
Scarcely is he born before the priest baptizing him, brings him by a
new birth to a more noble and precious life, a supernatural life, and
makes him a son of God and of the Church of Jesus Christ. To
strengthen him to fight bravely in spiritual combats, a priest
invested with special dignity makes him a soldier of Christ by holy
chrism. Then, as soon as he is able to recognize and value the Bread
of Angels, the priest gives It to him, the living and life-giving
Food come down from Heaven. If he fall, the priest raises him up
again in the name of God, and reconciles him to God with the
Sacrament of Penance. Again, if he is called by God to found a family
and to collaborate with Him in the transmission of human life
throughout the world, thus increasing the number of the faithful on
earth and, thereafter, the ranks of the elect in Heaven, the priest
is there to bless his espousals and unblemished love; and when,
finally, arrived at the portals of eternity, the Christian feels the
need of strength and courage before presenting himself at the
tribunal of the Divine Judge, the priest with the holy oils anoints
the failing members of the sick or dying Christian, and reconsecrates
and comforts him.
19. Thus
the priest accompanies the Christian throughout the pilgrimage of
this life to the gates of Heaven. He accompanies the body to its
resting place in the grave with rites and prayers of immortal hope.
And even beyond the threshold of eternity he follows the soul to aid
it with Christian suffrages, if need there be of further purification
and alleviation. Thus, from the cradle to the grave the priest is
ever beside the faithful, a guide, a solace, a minister of salvation
and dispenser of grace and blessing.
20. But
among all these powers of the priest over the Mystical Body of Christ
for the benefit of the faithful, there is one of which the simple
mention made above will not content Us. This is that power which, as
St. John Chrysostom says: "God gave neither to Angels nor
Archangels" - the power to remit sins. "Whose sins you
shall forgive they are forgiven them: and whose sins you shall retain
they are retained"; a tremendous power, so peculiar to God that
even human pride could not make the mind conceive that it could be
given to man. "Who can forgive sins but God alone?" And,
when we see it exercised by a mere man there is reason to ask
ourselves, not, indeed, with pharisaical scandal, but with reverent
surprise at such a dignity: "Who is this that forgiveth sins
also?" But it is so: the God-Man who possessed the "power
on earth to forgive sins" willed to hand it on to His priests;
to relieve, in His divine generosity and mercy, the need of moral
purification which is rooted in the human heart.
21. What a
comfort to the guilty, when, stung with remorse and repenting of his
sins, he hears the word of the priest who says to him in God's name:
"I absolve thee from thy sins!" These words fall, it is
true, from the lips of one who, in his turn, must needs beg the same
absolution from another priest. This does not debase the merciful
gift; but makes it, rather, appear greater; since beyond the weak
creature is seen more clearly the hand of God through whose power is
wrought this wonder. As an illustrious layman has written, treating
with rare competence of spiritual things: ". . . when a priest,
groaning in spirit at his own unworthiness and at the loftiness of
his office, places his consecrated hands upon our heads; when,
humiliated at finding himself the dispenser of the Blood of the
Covenant; each time amazed as he pronounces the words that give life;
when a sinner has absolved a sinner; we, who rise from our knees
before him, feel we have done nothing debasing. . . We have been at
the feet of a man who represented Jesus Christ, . . . we have been
there to receive the dignity of free men and of sons of God."
22. These
august powers are conferred upon the priest in a special Sacrament
designed to this end: they are not merely passing or temporary in the
priest, but are stable and perpetual, united as they are with the
indelible character imprinted on his soul whereby he becomes "a
priest forever"; whereby he becomes like unto Him in whose
eternal priesthood he has been made a sharer. Even the most
lamentable downfall, which, through human frailty, is possible to a
priest, can never blot out from his soul the priestly character. But
along with this character and these powers, the priest through the
Sacrament of Orders receives new and special grace with special
helps. Thereby, if only he will loyally further, by his free and
personal cooperation, the divinely powerful action of the grace
itself, he will be able worthily to fulfill all the duties, however
arduous, of his lofty calling. He will not be overborne, but will be
able to bear the tremendous responsibilities inherent to his priestly
duty; responsibilities which have made fearful even the stoutest
champions of the Christian priesthood, men like St. John Chrysostom,
St. Ambose, St. Gregory the Great, St. Charles and many others.
23. The
Catholic priest is minister of Christ and dispenser of the mysteries
of God in another way, that is, by his words. The "ministry of
the word" is a right which is inalienable; it is a duty which
cannot be disallowed; for it is imposed by Jesus Christ Himself:
"Going, therefore, teach ye all nations . . . teaching them to
observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you." The Church
of Christ, depository and infallible guardian of divine revelation,
by means of her priests, pours out the treasures of heavenly truth;
she preaches Him who is "the true Light which enlighteneth every
man that cometh into this world"; she sows with divine bounty
that seed which is small and worthless to the profane eyes of the
world, but which is like the mustard seed of the Gospel. For it has
within itself power to strike strong deep roots in souls which are
sincere and thirsting for the truth, and make them like sturdy trees
able to withstand the wildest storms.
24. Amidst
all the aberrations of human thought, infatuated by a false
emancipation from every law and curb; and amidst the awful
corruptions of human malice, the Church rises up like a bright
lighthouse warning by the clearness of its beam every deviation to
right or left from the way of truth, and pointing out to one and all
the right course that they should follow. Woe if ever this beacon
should be - We do not say extinguished, for that is impossible owing
to the unfailing promises on which it is founded - but if it should
be hindered from shedding far and wide its beneficent light! We see
already with Our own eyes whither the world has been brought by its
arrogant rejection of divine revelation, and its pursuit of false
philosophical and moral theories that bear the specious name of
"science." That it has not fallen still lower down the
slope of error and vice is due to the guidance of the light of
Christian truth that always shines in the world. Now the Church
exercises her "ministry of the word" through her priests of
every grade of the Hierarchy, in which each has his wisely allotted
place. These she sends everywhere as unwearied heralds of the good
tidings which alone can save and advance true civilization and
culture, or help them to rise again. The word of the priest enters
the soul and brings light and power; the voice of the priest rises
calmly above the storms of passion, fearlessly to proclaim the truth,
and exhort to the good; that truth which elucidates and solves the
gravest problems of human life; that good which no misfortune can
take from us, which death but secures and renders immortal.
25.
Consider the truths themselves which the priest if faithful to his
ministry, must frequently inculcate. Ponder them one by one and dwell
upon their inner power; for they make plain the influence of the
priest, and how strong and beneficent it can be for the moral
education, social concord and peaceful development of peoples. He
brings home to young and old the fleeting nature of the present life;
the perishableness of earthly goods; the value of spiritual goods and
of the immortal soul; the severity of divine judgment; the spotless
holiness of the divine gaze that reads the hearts of all; the justice
of God, which "will render to every man according to his works."
These and similar lessons the priest teaches; a teaching fitted
indeed to moderate the feverish search for pleasure, and the
uncontrolled greed for worldly goods, that debase so much of modern
life, and spur on the different classes of society to fight one
another like enemies, instead of helping one another like friends. In
this clash of selfish interest, and unleashed hate, and dark plans of
revenge, nothing could be better or more powerful to help, than
loudly to proclaim the "new commandment" of Christ. That
commandment enjoins a love which extends to all, knows no barriers
nor national boundaries, excludes no race, excepts not even its own
enemies.
26. The
experience of twenty centuries fully and gloriously reveals the power
for good of the word of the priest. Being the faithful echo and
reecho of the "word of God," which "is living and
effectual and more piercing than any two-edged sword,' it too reaches
"unto the division of the soul and spirit"; it awakens
heroism of every kind, in every class and place, and inspires the
self forgetting deeds of the most generous hearts. All the good that
Christian civilization has brought into the world is due, at least
radically, to the word and works of the Catholic priesthood. Such a
past might, to itself, serve as sufficient guarantee for the future;
but we have a still more secure guarantee, "a more firm
prophetical word" in the infallible promises of Christ.
27. The
work, too, of the Missions manifests most vividly the power of
expansion given by divine grace to the Church. This work is advanced
and carried on principally by priests. Pioneers of faith and love, at
the cost of innumerable sacrifices, they extend and widen the Kingdom
of God upon earth.
28.
Finally, the priest, in another way, follows the example of Christ.
Of Him it is written that He "passed the whole night in the
prayer of God" and "ever lives to make intercession for
us"; and like Him, the priest, is public and official
intercessor of humanity before God; he has the duty and commission of
offering to God in the name of the Church, over and above sacrifice
strictly so-called, the "sacrifice of praise," in public
and official prayer; for several times each day with psalms, prayers
and hymns taken in great part from the inspired books, he pays to God
this dutiful tribute of adoration and thus performs his necessary
office of interceding for humanity. And never did humanity, in its
afflictions, stand more in need of intercession and of the divine
help which it brings. Who can tell how many chastisements priestly
prayer wards off from sinful mankind, how many blessings it brings
down and secures?
29. If Our
Lord made such magnificent and solemn promises even to private
prayers, how much more powerful must be that prayer which is said ex
officio in the name of the Church, the beloved Spouse of the
Savior? The Christian, though in prosperity so often forgetful of
God, yet in the depth of his heart keeps his confidence in prayer,
feels that prayer is all powerful, and as by a holy instinct, in
every distress, in every peril whether private or public, has
recourse with special trust to the prayer of the priest. To it the
unfortunate of every sort look for comfort; to it they have recourse,
seeking divine aid in all the vicissitudes of this exile here on
earth. Truly does the "priest occupy a place midway between God
and human nature: from Him bringing to us absolving beneficence,
offering our prayers to Him and appeasing the wrathful Lord."
30. A last
tribute to the priesthood is given by the enemies of the Church. For
as We have said on a previous page, they show that they fully
appreciate the dignity and importance of the Catholic priesthood, by
directing against it their first and fiercest blows; since they know
well how close is the tie that binds the Church to her priests. The
most rabid enemies of the Catholic priesthood are today the very
enemies of God; a homage indeed to the priesthood, showing it the
more worthy of honor and veneration.
31. Most
sublime, then, Venerable Brethren, is the dignity of the priesthood.
Even the falling away of the few unworthy in the priesthood, however
deplorable and distressing it may be, cannot dim the splendor of so
lofty a dignity. Much less can the unworthiness of a few cause the
worth and merit of so many to be overlooked; and how many have been,
and are, in the priesthood, preeminent in holiness, in learning, in
works of zeal, nay, even in martyrdom.
32. Nor
must it be forgotten that personal unworthiness does not hinder the
efficacy of a priest's ministry. For the unworthiness of the minister
does not make void the Sacraments he administers; since the
Sacraments derive their efficacy from the Blood of Christ,
independently of the sanctity of the instrument, or, as scholastic
language expresses it, the Sacraments work their effect ex opere
operato.
33.
Nevertheless, it is quite true that so holy an office demands
holiness in him who holds it. A priest should have a loftiness of
spirit, a purity of heart and a sanctity of life befitting the
solemnity and holiness of the office he holds. For this, as We have
said, makes the priest a mediator between God and man; a mediator in
the place, and by the command of Him who is "the one mediator of
God and men, the man Jesus Christ." The priest must, therefore,
approach as close as possible to the perfection of Him whose vicar he
is, and render himself ever more and more pleasing to God, by the
sanctity of his life and of his deeds; because more than the scent of
incense, or the beauty of churches and altars, God loves and accepts
holiness. "They who are the intermediaries between God and His
people," says St. Thomas, "must bear a good conscience
before God, and a good name among men." On the contrary,
whosoever handles and administers holy things, while blameworthy in
his life, profanes them and is guilty of sacrilege: "They who
are not holy ought not to handle holy things."
34. For
this reason even in the Old Testament God commanded His priests and
levites: "Let them therefore be holy because I am also holy: the
Lord who sanctify them." In his canticle for the dedication of
the temple, Solomon the Wise made this same request to the Lord in
favor of the sons of Aaron: "Let Thy priests be clothed with
justice: and let Thy saints rejoice." So, Venerable Brethren,
may we not ask with St. Robert Bellarmine: "If so great
uprightness, holiness and lively devotion was required of priests who
offered sheep and oxen, and praised God for the moral blessings;
what, I ask, is required of those priests who sacrifice the Divine
Lamb and give thanks for eternal blessings?" "A great
dignity," exclaims St. Lawrence Justinian, "but great too
is the responsibility; placed high in the eyes of men they must also
be lifted up to the peak of virtue before the eye of Him who seeth
all; otherwise their elevation will be not to their merit but to
their damnation."
35. And
surely every reason We have urged in showing the dignity of the
Catholic priesthood does but reinforce its obligation of singular
holiness; for as the Angelic Doctor teaches: "To fulfill the
duties of Holy Orders, common goodness does not suffice; but
excelling goodness is required; that they who receive Orders and are
thereby higher in rank than the people, may also be higher in
holiness." The Eucharistic Sacrifice in which the Immaculate
Victim who taketh away the sins of the world is immolated, requires
in a special way that the priest, by a holy and spotless life, should
make himself as far as he can, less unworthy of God, to whom he daily
offers that adorable Victim, the very Word of God incarnate for love
of us. Agnoscite quod agitis, imitamini quod tractatis,
"realize what you are doing, and imitate what you handle,"
says the Church through the Bishop to the deacons as they are about
to be consecrated priests. The priest is also the almoner of God's
graces of which the Sacraments are the channels; how grave a reproach
would it be, for one who dispenses these most precious graces were he
himself without them, or were he even to esteem them lightly and
guard them with little care.
36.
Moreover, the priest must teach the truths of faith; but the truths
of religion are never so worthily and effectively taught as when
taught by virtue; because in the common saying: "Deeds speak
louder than words." The priest must preach the law of the
Gospel; but for that preaching to be effective, the most obvious and,
by the Grace of God, the most persuasive argument, is to see the
actual practice of the law in him who preaches it. St. Gregory the
Great gives the reason: "The voice which penetrates the hearts
of the hearers, is the voice commended by the speaker's own life;
because what his word enjoins, his example helps to bring about."
This exactly is what Holy Scripture says of our Divine Savior: He
"began to do and to teach." And the crowds hailed Him, not
so much because "never did man speak like this man," but
rather because "He hath done all things well." On the other
hand, they who "say and do not," practicing not what they
preach, become like the scribes and Pharisees. And Our Lord's rebuke
to the other hand, they who "say and do not," practicing
not what they preach, the word of God, was yet administered publicly,
in the presence of the listening crowd: "The Scribes and
Pharisees have sitten on the chair of Moses. All things therefore
whatsoever they shall say to you observe and do: but according to
their work do ye not." A preacher who does not try to ratify by
his life's example the truth he preaches, only pulls down with one
hand what he builds up with the other. On the contrary, God greatly
blesses the labor of those heralds of the gospel who attend first to
their own holiness; they see their apostolate flourishing and
fruitful, and in the day of the harvest, "coming they shall come
with joyfulness carrying in their sheaves."
37. It
would be a grave error fraught with many dangers should the priest,
carried away by false zeal, neglect his own sanctification, and
become over immersed in the external works, however holy, of the
priestly ministry. Thereby, he would run a double risk. In the first
place he endangers his own salvation, as the great Apostle of the
Gentiles feared for himself: "But I chastise my body, and bring
it into subjection: lest perhaps, when I have preached to others, I
myself should become a castaway." In the second place he might
lose, if not divine grace, certainly that unction of the Holy Spirit
which gives such a marvelous force and efficacy to the external
apostolate.
38. Now to
all Christians in general it has been said: "Be ye perfect as
your Heavenly Father is perfect"; how much more then should the
priest consider these words of the Divine Master as spoken to
himself, called as he is by a special vocation to follow Christ more
closely. Hence the Church publicly urges on all her clerics this most
grave duty, placing it in the code of her laws: "Clerics must
lead a life, both interior and exterior, more holy than the laity,
and be an example to them by excelling in virtue and good works."
And since the priest is an ambassador for Christ, he should so live
as to be able with truth to make his own the words of the Apostle:
"Be ye followers of me, as I also am of Christ"; he ought
to live as another Christ who by the splendor of His virtue
enlightened and still enlightens the world.
39. It is
plain, then, that all Christian virtues should flourish in the soul
of the priest. Yet there are some virtues which in a very particular
manner attach themselves to the priest as most befitting and
necessary to him. Of these the first is piety, or godliness,
according to the exhortation of the Apostle to his beloved Timothy:
Exerce . . .teipsum ad pietatem, "exercise thyself unto
godliness." Indeed the priest's relations with God are so
intimate, so delicate and so frequent, that clearly they should ever
be graced by the sweet odor of piety; if "godliness is
profitable to all things," it is especially profitable to a
right exercise of the priestly charge. Without piety the holiest
practices, the most solemn rites of the sacred ministry, will be
performed mechanically and out of habit; they will be devoid of
spirit, unction and life. But remark, Venerable Brethren, the piety
of which We speak is not that shallow and superficial piety which
attracts but does not nourish, is busy but does not sanctify. We mean
that solid piety which is not dependent upon changing mood or
feeling. It is based upon principles of sound doctrine; it is ruled
by staunch convictions; and so it resists the assaults and the
illusions of temptation. This piety should primarily be directed
towards God our Father in Heaven; yet it should be extended also to
the Mother of God. The priest even more than the faithful should have
devotion to Our Lady, for the relation of the priest to Christ is
more deeply and truly like that which Mary bears to her Divine Son.
40. It is
impossible to treat of the piety of a Catholic priest without being
drawn on to speak, too, of another most precious treasure of the
Catholic priesthood, that is, of chastity; for from piety springs the
meaning and the beauty of chastity. Clerics of the Latin Church in
higher Orders are bound by a grave obligation of chastity; so grave
is the obligation in them of its perfect and total observance that a
transgression involves the added guilt of sacrilege.
41. Though
this law does not bind, in all its amplitude, clerics of the Oriental
Churches, yet among them also, ecclesiastical celibacy is revered;
indeed in some cases, especially in the higher Orders of the
Hierarchy, it is a necessary and obligatory requisite.
42. A
certain connection between this virtue and the sacerdotal ministry
can be seen even by the light of reason alone: since "God is a
Spirit," it is only fitting that he who dedicates and
consecrates himself to God's service should in some way "divest
himself of the body." The ancient Romans perceived this fitness;
one of their laws which ran Ad divos adeunto caste, "approach
the gods chastely," is quoted by one of their greatest orators
with the following comment: "The law orders us to present
ourselves to the gods in chastity - of spirit, that is, in which are
all things, or does this exclude chastity of the body, which is to be
understood, since the spirit is so far superior to the body; for it
should be remembered that bodily chastity cannot be preserved, unless
spiritual chastity be maintained." In the Old Law, Moses in the
name of God commanded Aaron and his sons to remain within the
Tabernacle, and so to keep continent, during the seven days in which
they were exercising their sacred functions.
43. But
the Christian priesthood, being much superior to that of the Old Law,
demanded a still greater purity. The law of ecclesiastical celibacy,
whose first written traces pre-suppose a still earlier unwritten
practice, dates back to a canon of the Council of Elvira, at the
beginning of the fourth century, when persecution still raged. This
law only makes obligatory what might in any case almost be termed a
moral exigency that springs from the Gospel and the Apostolic
preaching. For the Divine Master showed such high esteem for
chastity, and exalted it as something beyond the common power; He
Himself was the Son of a Virgin Mother, Florem Matris Virginis,
and was brought up in the virgin family of Joseph and Mary; He showed
special love for pure souls such as the two Johns - the Baptist and
the Evangelist. The great Apostle Paul, faithful interpreter of the
New Law and of the mind of Christ, preached the inestimable value of
virginity, in view of a more fervent service of God, and gave the
reason when he said: "He that is without a wife is solicitous
for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please God."
All this had almost inevitable consequences: the priests of the New
Law felt the heavenly attraction of this chosen virtue; they sought
to be of the number of those "to whom it is given to take this
word," and they spontaneously bound themselves to its
observance. Soon it came about that the practice, in the Latin
Church, received the sanction of ecclesiastical law. The Second
Council of Carthage at the end of the fourth century declared: "What
the Apostles taught, and the early Church preserved, let us too,
observe."
44. In the
Oriental Church, too, most illustrious Fathers bear witness to the
excellence of Catholic celibacy. In this matter as in others there
was harmony between the Latin and Oriental Churches where accurate
discipline flourished. St. Epiphanius at the end of the fourth
century tells us that celibacy applied even to the subdiaconate: "The
Church does not on any account admit a man living in the wedded state
and having children, even though he have only one wife, to the orders
of deacon, priest, bishop or subdeacon; but only him whose wife be
dead or who should abstain from the use of marriage; this is done in
those places especially where the ecclesiastical canons are
accurately followed." The Deacon of Edessa and Doctor of the
Universal Church, well called the Harp of the Holy Spirit, St.
Ephraem, the Syrian, is particularly eloquent on this matter. In one
of his poems, addressed to his friend, the bishop Abraham, he says:
"Thou art true to thy name, Abraham, for thou also art the
father of many: but because thou hast no wife as Abraham had Sara,
behold thy flock is thy spouse. Bring up its children in thy truth;
may they become to thee children of the spirit and sons of the
promise that makes them heirs to Eden. O sweet fruit of chastity, in
which the priesthood finds its delights . . . the horn of plenty
flowed over and anointed thee, a hand rested on thee and chose thee
out, the Church desired thee and held thee dear." And in another
place: "It is not enough for the priest and the name of the
priesthood, it is not enough, I say, for him who offers up the living
body, to cleanse his soul and tongue and hand and make spotless his
whole body; but he must at all times be absolutely and preeminently
pure, because he is established as a mediator between God and the
human race. May He be praised who made His servants clean!" St.
John Chrysostom affirms: "The priest must be so pure that, if he
were to be lifted up and placed in the heavens themselves, he might
take a place in the midst of the Angels."
45. In
short the very height, or, to use St. Epiphanius' phrase, "the
incredible honor and dignity" of the Christian priesthood, which
We have briefly described, shows how becoming is clerical celibacy
and the law which enjoins it. Priests have a duty which, in a certain
way, is higher than that of the most pure spirits "who stand
before the Lord." Is it not right, then, that he live an all but
angelic life? A priest is one who should be totally dedicated to the
things of the Lord. Is it not right, then, that he be entirely
detached from the things of the world, and have his conversation in
Heaven? A priest's charge is to be solicitous for the eternal
salvation of souls, continuing in their regard the work of the
Redeemer. Is it not, then, fitting that he keep himself free from the
cares of a family, which would absorb a great part of his energies?
46. And
truly an ordination ceremony, frequent though it be in the Catholic
Church, never fails to touch the hearts of those present: how
admirable a sight, these young ordinands, who before receiving the
subdiaconate, before, that is, consecrating themselves utterly to the
service and the worship of God, freely renounce the joys and the
pleasures which might rightfully be theirs in another walk of life.
We say "freely," for though, after ordination, they are no
longer free to contract earthly marriage, nevertheless they advance
to ordination itself unconstrained by any law or person, and of their
own spontaneous choice!
47.
Notwithstanding all this, We do not wish that what We said in
commendation of clerical celibacy should be interpreted as though it
were Our mind in any way to blame, or, as it were, disapprove the
different discipline legitimately prevailing in the Oriental Church.
What We have said has been meant solely to exalt in the Lord
something We consider one of the purest glories of the Catholic
priesthood; something which seems to us to correspond better to the
desires of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to His purposes in regard to
priestly souls.
48. Not
less than by his chastity, the Catholic priest ought to be
distinguished by his detachment. Surrounded by the corruptions of a
world in which everything can be bought and sold, he must pass
through them utterly free of selfishness. He must holily spurn all
vile greed of earthly gains, since he is in search of souls, not of
money, of the glory of God, not his own. He is no mercenary working
for a temporal recompense, nor yet an employee who, whilst attending
conscientiously to duties of his office, at the same time is looking
to his career and personal promotion; he is the "good soldier of
Christ" who "entangleth not himself with secular business:
that he may please Him to whom he hath engaged himself."
49. The
minister of God is a father of souls; and he knows that his toils and
his cares cannot adequately be repaid with wealth and honors of
earth. He is not indeed forbidden to receive fitting sustenance,
according to the teaching of the Apostle: "They that serve the
altar may partake with the altar . . . so also the Lord ordained that
they who preach the Gospel should live by the Gospel." But once
"called to the inheritance of the Lord," as his very title
"cleric" declares, a priest must expect no other recompense
than that promised by Christ to His Apostles: "Your reward is
very great in Heaven." Woe to the priest who, forgetful of these
divine promises should become "greedy of filthy lucre." Woe
if he join the herd of the worldly over whom the Church like the
Apostle grieves: "All seek the things that are their own: not
the things that are Jesus Christ's." Such a priest, besides
failing in his vocation, would earn the contempt even of his own
people. They would perceive in him the deplorable contradiction
between his conduct and the doctrine so clearly expounded by Christ,
which the priest is bound to teach: "Lay not up to yourselves
treasures on earth: where the rust and moth consume and where thieves
break through and steal. But lay up to yourselves treasures in
Heaven." Judas, an Apostle of Christ, "one of the twelve,"
as the Evangelists sadly observe, was led down to the abyss of
iniquity precisely through the spirit of greed for earthly things.
Remembering him, it is easy to grasp how this same spirit could have
brought such harm upon the Church throughout the centuries: greed,
called by the Holy Spirit the "root of all evil," can
incite to any crime; and a priest who is poisoned by this vice, even
though he stop short of crime, will nevertheless, consciously or
unconsciously, make common cause with the enemies of God and of the
Church, and cooperate in their evil designs.
50. On the
other hand, by sincere disinterestedness the priest can hope to win
the hearts of all. For detachment from earthly goods, if inspired by
lively faith, is always accompanied by tender compassion towards the
unfortunate of every kind. Thus the priest becomes a veritable father
of the poor. Mindful of the touching words of his Savior, "As
long as you did it to one of these My least brethren, you did it to
Me," he sees in them, and, with particular affection, venerates
and loves Jesus Christ Himself.
51. Thus
the Catholic priest is freed from the bonds of a family and of
self-interest, - the chief bonds which could bind him too closely to
earth. Thus freed, his heart will more readily take flame from that
heavenly fire that burns in the Heart of Jesus; that fire that seeks
only to inflame apostolic hearts and through them "cast fire on
all the earth." This is the fire of zeal. Like the zeal of Jesus
described in Holy Scripture, the zeal of the priest for the glory of
God and the salvation of souls sought to consume him. It should make
him forget himself and all earthly things. It should powerfully urge
him to dedicate himself utterly to his sublime work, and to search
out means ever more effective for an apostolate ever wider and ever
better.
52. The
Good Shepherd said: "And other sheep I have that are not of this
fold; them also I must bring;" and again, "See the
countries for they are white already to the harvest." How can a
priest meditate upon these words and not feel his heart enkindled
with yearning to lead souls to the Heart of the Good Shepherd? How
can he fail to offer himself to the Lord of the harvest for
unremitting toil? Our Lord saw the multitudes "Iying like sheep
that have no shepherd." Such multitudes are to be seen today not
only in the far distant lands of the missions, but also, alas! in
countries which have been Christian for centuries. How can a priest
see such multitudes and not feel deeply within himself an echo of
that divine pity which so often moved the Heart of the Son of God? -
a priest, we say, who is conscious of possessing the words of life
and of having in his hands the God-given means of regeneration and
salvation?
53. But
thanks be to God, it is just this flame of apostolic zeal which is
one of the brightest jewels in the crown of the Catholic priesthood.
Our heart fills with fatherly consolation at the sight of Our
Brothers and Our beloved Sons, Bishops and Priests, who like chosen
troops ever prompt to the call of their chief hasten to all outposts
of this vast field. There they engage in the peaceful but bitter
warfare of truth against error, of light against darkness, of the
Kingdom of God against the kingdom of Satan.
54. But,
by its very nature as an active and courageous company, the Catholic
priesthood must have the spirit of discipline, or, to use a more
deeply Christian word, obedience. It is obedience which binds
together all ranks into the harmony of the Church's Hierarchy.
55. The
Bishop, in his admonition to the ordinands, says: "With certain
wonderful variety Holy Church is clothed, made comely and is ruled;
since in her some are consecrated Pontiffs, and other priests of
lesser degree, and from many members of differing dignity there is
formed one Body of Christ." This obedience priests promised to
the Bishop after Ordination, the holy oil still fresh on their hands.
On the day of his consecration the Bishop, in his turn, swore
obedience to the supreme visible Head of the Church, the successor of
St. Peter, the Vicar of Jesus Christ. Let then obedience bind ever
closer together these various members of the Hierarchy, one with
another, and all with the Head; and thus make the Church Militant a
foe truly terrible to the enemies of God, ut castrorum aciem
ordinatam, "as an army set in array." Let obedience
temper excessive zeal on the one hand, and put the spur to weakness
and slackness on the other. Let it assign to each his place and
station. These each should accept without resistance; for otherwise
the magnificent work of the Church in the world would be sadly
hindered. Let each one see in the arrangement of his hierarchical
Superiors the arrangements of the only true Head, whom all obey:
Jesus Christ, Our Lord, who became for us "obedient unto death,
even to the death of the cross . "
56. The
divine High Priest wished us to have abundant witness to His own most
perfect obedience to the Eternal Father; for this reason both the
Prophecies and the Gospels often testify to the entire submission of
the Son of God to the will of the Father. "When He cometh into
the world He saith; sacrifice and oblation Thou wouldst not: but a
body Thou has fitted to Me. . .Then said I: Behold I come. In the
head of the book it is written of Me that I should do Thy will, O
God. . ." "My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me."
On His very cross He consecrated obedience. He did not wish to commit
His soul into the hands of His Father before having declared that all
was fulfilled in Him that the Sacred Scriptures had foretold; He had
accomplished the entire charge entrusted to Him by the Father, even
to the last deeply mysterious "I thirst," which He
pronounced "that the Scripture might be fulfilled." By
these words He wished to show that zeal even the most ardent ought
always to be completely subjected to the will of the Father; that our
zeal should always be controlled by obedience to those who for us,
have the place of the Father, and convey to us His will, in other
words our lawful Superiors in the Hierarchy.
57. But
the portrait of the Catholic priest which we intend to exhibit to the
world would be unfinished were We to omit another most important
feature,--learning. This the Church requires of him; for the Catholic
priest is set up as a "Master in Israel"; he has received
from Jesus Christ the office and commission of teaching truth: "Teach
. . . all nations." He must teach the truth that heals and
saves; and because of this teaching, like the Apostle of the
Gentiles, he has a duty towards "the learned and the unlearned."
But how can he teach unless he himself possess knowledge? "The
lips of the priest shall keep knowledge, and they shall seek the law
at his mouth," said the Holy Spirit in the Prophecy of Malachy.
Who could ever utter a word in praise of sacerdotal learning more
weighty than that which divine Wisdom itself once spoke by the mouth
of Osee: "Because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will reject
thee that thou shalt not do the office of priesthood to Me." The
priest should have full grasp of the Catholic teaching on faith and
morals; he should know how to present it to others; and he should be
able to give the reasons for the dogmas, laws and observances of the
Church of which he is minister. Profane sciences have indeed made
much progress; but in religious questions there is much ignorance
still darkening the mind of our contemporaries. This ignorance the
priest must dispel. Never was more pointed than today the warning of
Tertullian, "Hoc unum gestit interdum (veritas), ne ignorata
damnetur," "This alone truth sometime craves, that it
be not condemned unheard." It is the priest's task to clear away
from men's minds the mass of prejudices and misunderstandings which
hostile adversaries have piled up; the modern mind is eager for the
truth, and the priest should be able to point it out with serene
frankness; there are souls still hesitating, distressed by doubts,
and the priest should inspire courage and trust, and guide them with
calm security to the safe port of faith, faith accepted by both head
and heart; error makes its onslaughts, arrogant and persistent, and
the priest should know how to meet them with a defense vigorous and
active, yet solid and unruffled.
58.
Therefore, Venerable Brethren, it is necessary that the priest, even
among the absorbing tasks of his charge, and ever with a view to it,
should continue his theological studies with unremitting zeal. The
knowledge acquired at the seminary is indeed a sufficient foundation
with which to begin; but it must be grasped more thoroughly, and
perfected by an ever-increasing knowledge and understanding of the
sacred sciences. Herein is the source of effective preaching and of
influence over the souls of others. Yet even more is required. The
dignity of the office he holds and the maintenance of a becoming
respect and esteem among the people, which helps so much in his
pastoral work, demand more than purely ecclesiastical learning. The
priest must be graced by no less knowledge and culture than is usual
among well-bred and well-educated people of his day. This is to say
that he must be healthily modern, as is the Church, which is at home
in all times and all places, and adapts itself to all; which blesses
and furthers all healthy initiative and has no fear of the progress,
even the most daring progress, of science; if only it be true
science.
59.
Indeed, in all ages the Catholic clergy has distinguished itself in
every field of human knowledge; in fact, in certain centuries it so
took the lead in the field of learning that the word "cleric"
became synonymous with "learned." The Church preserved and
saved the treasures of ancient culture, which without her and her
monasteries would have been almost entirely lost; and her most
illustrious Doctors show that all human knowledge can help to throw
light upon and to defend the Catholic faith. An illustrious example
of this We Ourselves have recently called to the world's attention.
For We crowned with the halo of sanctity and the glorious title of
Doctor of the Church that great teacher of the incomparable Aquinas:
Albert of Cologne, whom his contemporaries had already honored with
the titles of Great and of Universal Doctor.
60. Today
it could hardly be hoped that the clergy could hold a similar primacy
in every branch of knowledge; the range of human science has become
so vast that no man can comprehend it all, much less become
distinguished in each of its numberless branches. Nevertheless wise
encouragement and help should be given to those members of the
clergy, who, by taste and special gifts, feel a call to devote
themselves to study and research, in this or that branch of science,
in this or that art; they do not thereby deny their clerical
profession; for all this, undertaken within just limits and under the
guidance of the Church, redounds to the good estate of the Church and
to the glory of her divine Head, Jesus Christ. And among the rest of
the clergy, none should remain content with a standard of learning
and culture which sufficed, perhaps, in other times; they must try to
attain - or, rather, they must actually attain - a higher standard of
general education and of learning. It must be broader and more
complete; and it must correspond to the generally higher level and
wider scope of modern education as compared with the past.
61.
Sometimes, it is true, and even in modern times, Our Lord makes the
world, as it were, His plaything; for He has been pleased to elect to
the priestly state men almost devoid of that learning of which We
have been speaking; and through them He has worked wonders. But He
did this that all might learn, if there be a choice, to prize
holiness more than learning; not to place more trust in human than in
divine means. He did this because the world has need, from time to
time, to hear repeated that wholesome, practical lesson: "The
foolish things of the world hath God chosen to confound the wise . .
. that no flesh should glory in His sight."
62. In the
natural order, divine miracles suspend for a moment the effect of
physical laws, but do not revoke them. So, too, the case of these
Saints, real living miracles in whom high sanctity made up for all
the rest, does not make the lesson We have been teaching any the less
true or any the less necessary.
63. It is
clear, then, that virtue and learning are required, that there is
need of example and of edification, need for the priest to spread on
all sides, and to all who draw near him "the good odor of
Christ." This need is today more keenly felt, and has become
more evident and urgent. This is because of Catholic Action, that
movement so consoling, which has within it the power to spur on to
the very highest ideals of perfection. Through Catholic Action the
relations of the laity with priests are becoming more frequent and
more intimate. And in this collaboration, the laity quite naturally
look upon the priest not merely as a guide, but as a model also of
Christian life and of apostolic virtue.
64. The
state of the priesthood is thus most sublime, and the gifts it calls
for very lofty. Hence, Venerable Brethren, the inescapable necessity
of giving candidates for the sanctuary a training correspondingly
superior.
65.
Conscious of this necessity, the Church down the ages has shown for
nothing a more tender solicitude and motherly care than for the
training of her priests. She is not unaware that, as the religious
and moral conditions of peoples depend in great measure upon their
priests, so too, the future of the priest depends on the training he
has received. The words of the Holy Spirit apply no less truly to him
than to others: "A young man according to his way, even when he
is old, he will not depart from it." Hence, the Church, moved by
the Holy Spirit, has willed that everywhere seminaries should be
erected, where candidates for the priesthood may be trained and
educated with singular care.
66. The
seminary is and should be the apple of your eye, Venerable Brethren,
who share with Us the heavy weight of the government of the Church;
it is, and should be, the chief object of your solicitude. Careful
above all should be the choice of superiors and professors; and, in a
most special manner, of the spiritual father, who has so delicate and
so important a part in the nurture of the priestly spirit. Give the
best of your clergy to your seminaries; do not fear to take them from
other positions. These positions may seem of greater moment, but in
reality their importance is not to be compared with that of the
seminaries, which is capital and indispensable. Seek also from
elsewhere, wherever you can find them, men really fitted for this
noble task. Let them be such as teach priestly virtues, rather by
example than by words, men who are capable of imparting, together
with learning, a solid, manly and apostolic spirit. Make piety,
purity, discipline and study flourish in the seminary. With prudent
foresight, arm and fortify the immature minds of students both
against the temptations of the present, and against the far more
serious perils of the future. For they will be exposed to all the
temptations of the world, in the midst of which they must live, "that
they save all."
67. Now it
is of great importance, as We have said, that priests should have a
learning adequate to the requirements of the age. For the attainment
of this, in addition to a solid classical education, there is
required both instruction and training in scholastic philosophy
"according to the method, and the mind and the principles of St.
Thomas Aquinas" - ad Angelicl Doctoris rationem,
doctrinam et principia. This Our Illustrious Predecessor, Leo
XIII, has called the philosophia perennis. It is essential to
the future priest. It will help him to a thorough understanding of
dogma. It will effectively forearm him against modern errors of
whatever sort. It will sharpen his mind to distinguish truth from
falsehood. It will form him to habits of intellectual clearness, so
necessary in any studies or problems of the future. It will give him
a great superiority over others, whose mere erudition, perhaps, is
wider but who lack philosophical training.
68. There
are some regions, where the dioceses are small, or students unhappily
few, or where there is a shortage of means and suitable men. Hence it
is impossible for every diocese to have its own seminary, equipped
according to all the regulations of Canon Law and other prescriptions
of the Church. Where this happens, it is most proper that the Bishops
of the district should help one another in brotherly charity, should
concentrate and unite their forces in a common seminary, fully worthy
of its high purpose. The great advantages of such concentration amply
repay the sacrifices entailed in obtaining it. It is indeed a
sacrifice, grievous to the fatherly heart of a Bishop, to see his
clerics, even for a time, taken away from their shepherd, who wishes
himself to give his future co-workers his own apostolic spirit; and
to see them taken away from the diocese which is to be the field of
their ministry. But these sacrifices will all be repaid with interest
when these clerics return as priests. They will be better formed, and
more richly endowed with spiritual wealth, which they will spend with
greater generosity and with greater profit to their diocese.
Therefore, We have never let pass an opportunity to favor, and
encourage and foster such efforts. Often, in fact, We have suggested
and recommended them. On Our part, also, wherever We thought it
necessary, We have Ourselves, as is well known, erected or improved
or enlarged several such regional seminaries, not without heavy
expense and trouble; and We will continue in the future, by the help
of God, to apply Ourselves with all zeal to this work; for We hold it
to be the most conducive to the good of the Church.
69. This
achievement in the erection and management of Seminaries for the
education of future priests deserves all praise. But it would be of
little avail, were there any lack of care in the selecting and
approving of candidates. In this selection and approval, all who are
in charge of the clergy should have some part: superiors, spiritual
directors and confessors, each in the manner and within the limits
proper to his office. They must indeed foster and strengthen
vocations with sedulous care; but with no less zeal they must
discourage unsuitable candidates, and in good time send them away
from a path not meant for them. Such are all youths who show a lack
of necessary fitness, and who are, therefore, unlikely to persevere
in the priestly ministry both worthily and becomingly. In these
matters hesitation and delay is a serious mistake and may do serious
harm. It is far better to dismiss an unfit student in the early
stages; but if, for any reason, such dismissal has been delayed, the
mistake should be corrected as soon as it is known. There should be
no human consideration or false mercy. Such false mercy would be a
real cruelty, not only towards the Church, to whom would be given an
unfitted or unworthy minister, but also towards the youth himself;
for, thus embarked upon a false course, he would find himself exposed
to the risk of becoming a stumbling block to himself and to others
with peril of eternal ruin.
70. The
Head of the seminary lovingly follows the youths entrusted to his
care and studies the inclinations of each. His watchful and
experienced eye will perceive, without difficulty, whether one or
other have, or have not, a true priestly vocation. This, as you well
know, Venerable Brethren, is not established so much by some inner
feeling or devout attraction, which may sometimes be absent or hardly
perceptible; but rather by a right intention in the aspirant together
with a combination of physical, intellectual and moral qualities
which make him fitted for such a state of life. He must look to the
priesthood solely from the noble motive of consecrating himself to
the service of God and the salvation of souls; he must likewise have,
or at least strive earnestly to acquire, solid piety, perfect purity
of life and sufficient knowledge such as We have explained on a
previous page. Thus he shows that he is called by God to the priestly
state. Whoever, on the other hand, urged on, perhaps, by ill-advised
parents, looks to this state as a means to temporal and earthly gains
which he imagines and desires in the priesthood, as happened more
often in the past; whoever is intractable, unruly or undisciplined,
has small taste for piety, is not industrious, and shows little zeal
for souls; whoever has a special tendency to sensuality, and after
long trial has not proved he can conquer it; whoever has no aptitude
for study and who will be unable to follow the prescribed courses
with due satisfaction; all such cases show that they are not intended
for the priesthood. By letting them go on almost to the threshold of
the sanctuary, superiors only make it ever more difficult for them to
draw back; and, perhaps, even cause them to accept ordination through
human respect, without vocation and without the priestly spirit.
71. Let
Superiors of seminaries, together with the spiritual directors and
confessors, reflect how weighty a responsibility they assume before
God, before the Church, and before the youths themselves, if they do
not take all means at their disposal to avoid a false step . We
declare too, that confessors and spiritual directors could also be
responsible for such a grave error; and not indeed because they can
take any outward action, since that is severely forbidden them by
their most delicate office itself, and often also by the inviolable
sacramental seal; but because they can have a great influence on the
souls of the individual students, and with paternal firmness they
should guide each according to his spiritual needs. Should the
superiors, for whatever reason, not take steps or show themselves
weak, then especially should confessors and spiritual directors
admonish the unsuited and unworthy, without any regard to human
consideration, of their obligation to retire while yet there is time;
in this they should keep to the most secure opinion, which in this
case is the one most in favor of the penitent, for it saves him from
a step which could be for him eternally fatal. If somethimes they
should not see so clearly that an obligation is to be imposed, let
them, at least, use all the authority which springs from their office
and the paternal affection they have for their spiritual sons, and so
induce those who have not the necessary fitness to retire of their
own free will. Let confessors remember the words of St. Alphonsus
Liguori on a similar matter: "In general . . . in such cases the
more severity the confessor uses with his penitents, the more will he
help them towards their salvation; and on the contrary, the more
cruel will he be the more he is benign." St. Thomas of Villanova
called such over-kind confessors: Impie pios - "wickedly
kind"; "such charity is contrary to charity."
72. The
chief responsibility, however, rests with the Bishop, who according
to the severe law of the Church "should not confer holy orders
on anyone, unless from positive signs he is morally certain of
canonical fitness; otherwise he not only sins grievously, but also
places himself in danger of sharing in the sins of others." This
canon is a clear echo of the warning of the Apostle to Timothy:
"Impose not hands lightly on any man, neither be partaker of
other men's sins." "To impose hands lightly," Our
Predecessor St. Leo the Great expounds, "is to confer the
sacerdotal dignity on persons not sufficiently approved: before
maturity in age, before merit of obedience, before a time of testing,
before trail of knowledge; and to be a partaker of other men's sins
is for the ordainer to become as unworthy as the unworthy man whom he
ordains"; for as St. John Chrysostom says, "You who have
conferred the dignity upon him must take the responsibility of both
his past and his future sins."
73. These
are severe words, Venerable Brethren, yet still more dreadful is the
responsibility which they declare, a responsibility which justified
the great Bishop of Milan, St. Charles Borromeo in saying: "In
this matter, my slightest neglect can involve me in very great sin."
Listen to the warning of Chrysostom whom We have just quoted: "Impose
not hands after the first trial nor after the second, nor yet the
third; but only after frequent and careful observation and searching
examination"; a warning which applies in an especial way to the
question of the uprightness of life in candidates to the priesthood:
"It is not enough," says the holy Bishop and Doctor St.
Alphonsus de Liguori, "that the Bishop know nothing evil of the
ordinand, but he must have positive evidence of his uprightness."
Hence, do not fear to seem harsh if, in virtue of your rights and
fulfilling your duty, you require such positive proofs of worthiness
before ordination; or if you defer an ordination in case of doubt;
because, as St. Gregory the Great eloquently teaches: place the
weight of the building upon them at once. Delay many days, until they
are dried and made fit for the purpose; because if this precaution be
omitted, very soon they will break under the weight"; or, to use
the short but clear expression of the Angelic Doctor: "Holiness
must come before holy orders . . . hence the burden of orders should
be placed only on walls seasoned with sanctity, freed of the damp of
sins."
74. In
short, let all canonic prescriptions be carefully obeyed, and let
everyone put into practice the wise rules on this subject, which We
caused to be promulgated a few years ago by the Sacred Congregation
of the Sacraments. Thus will the Church be saved much grief, and the
faithful much scandal.
75. We
have also had similar regulations sent to Religious; and while We
urge upon all concerned their faithful observance, We now recall them
to the attention of all heads of religious institutes, who have
youths destined for the priesthood. They should consider as addressed
also to them what We have recommended above concerning the formation
of the clergy; since it is they who present their students for
ordination, and the Bishop usually relies upon their judgment.
76.
Bishops and religious superiors should not be deterred from this
needful severity by fear of diminishing the number of priests for the
diocese or institute. The Angelic Doctor St. Thomas long ago proposed
this difficulty, and answers it with his usual lucidity and wisdom:
"God never abandons His Church; and so the number of priests
will be always sufficient for the needs of the faithful, provided the
worthy are advanced and the unworthy sent away." The same Doctor
and Saint, basing himself upon the severe words quoted by the fourth
Ecumenical Council of the Lateran, observes to Our purpose: "Should
it ever become impossible to maintain the present number, it is
better to have a few good priests than a multitude of bad ones."
It was in this sense that We Ourselves, on the solemn occasion of the
international pilgrimage of seminarists during the year of Our
priestly jubilee, addressing an imposing group of Italian Archbishops
and Bishops, reaffirmed that one well trained priest is worth more
than many trained badly or scarcely at all. For such would be not
merely unreliable but a likely source of sorrow to the Church. What a
terrifying account, Venerable Brethren, We shall have to give to the
Prince of Shepherds, to the Supreme Bishop of souls, if we have
handed over these souls to incompetent guides and incapable leaders.
77. Yet
although it remains unquestionably true that mere numbers should not
be the chief concern of those engaged in the education of the clergy,
yet at the same time, all should do their utmost to increase the
ranks of strong and zealous workers in the vineyard of the Lord; the
more so, as the moral needs of society are growing greater instead of
less. Of all the means to this noble end, the easiest and the most
effective is prayer. This is, moreover, a means within the power of
everyone. It should be assiduously used by all, as it was enjoined by
Jesus Christ Himself: "The harvest, indeed, is great but the
laborers are few. Pray ye, therefore, the Lord of the harvest, that
He send forth laborers into His harvest." What prayer could be
more acceptable to the Sacred Heart of our Savior? What prayer is
more likely to be answered as promptly and bounteously as this, which
meets so nearly the burning desire of that Divine Heart?" "Ask
therefore, and it will be given unto you"; ask for good and holy
priests and Our Lord will not refuse to send them to His Church, as
ever He has done throughout the centuries. It has been, in fact,
precisely in times which seemed least propitious, that the number of
priestly vocations increased. This is clear from Catholic hagiography
of the nineteenth century a century rich in splendid names on the
rolls both of secular and regular clergy. One has only to think of
those three splendid saints whom We Ourselves had the consolation of
canonizing - St. John Mary Vianney, St. Joseph Benedict Cottolengo
and St. John Bosco, men of truly lofty holiness, each in his special
way.
78. Now
God Himself liberally sows in the generous hearts of many young men
this precious seed of vocation; but human means of cultivating this
seed must not be neglected. There are innumerable ways and countless
holy means suggested by the Holy Spirit; and all such salutary works
which strive to preserve, promote and help priestly vocations, We
praise and bless with all Our heart. "No matter how we seek,"
says the lovable Saint of charity, Vincent de Paul, "we shall
always discover ourselves unable to contribute to anything more great
than to the making of good priests." In truth nothing is more
acceptable to God, of more honor to the church, and more profitable
to souls than the precious gift of a holy priest. If he who offers
even a cup of water to one of the least of the disciples of Christ
"shall not lose his reward," what reward will he receive
who places, so to speak, into the pure hands of a young priest the
sacred chalice, in which is contained the Blood of Redemption; who
helps him to lift it up to heaven, a pledge of peace and of blessing
for mankind?
79. And
here Our thoughts turn gladly to that Catholic Action, so much
desired and promoted and defended by Us. For by Catholic Action the
laity share in the hierarchical apostolate of the Church, and hence
it cannot neglect this vital problem of priestly vocations. Comfort
has filled Our heart to see the associates of Catholic Action
everywhere distinguishing themselves in all fields of Christian
activity, but especially in this. Certainly the richest reward of
such activity is that really wonderful number of priestly and
religious vocations which continue to flourish in their organizations
for the young. This shows that these organizations are both a
fruitful ground of virtue, and also a well-guarded and well
cultivated nursery, where the most beautiful and delicate flowers may
develop without danger. May all members of Catholic Action feel the
honor which thus falls on their association. Let them be persuaded
that, in no better way than by this work for an increase in the ranks
of the secular and regular clergy, can the Catholic laity really
participate in the high dignity of the "kingly priesthood"
which the Prince of the Apostles attributes to the whole body of the
redeemed.
80. But
the first and most natural place where the flowers of the sanctuary
should almost spontaneously grow and bloom, remains always the truly
and deeply Christian family. Most of the saintly bishops and priests
whose "praise the Church declares," owe the beginning of
their vocation and their holiness to example and teaching of a father
strong in faith and manly virtues, of a pure and devoted mother, and
of a family in which the love of God and neighbor, joined with
simplicity of life, has reigned supreme. To this ordinary rule of
divine Providence exceptions are rare and only serve to prove the
rule.
81. In an
ideal home the parents, like Tobias and Sara, beg of God a numerous
posterity "in which Thy name may be blessed forever," and
receive it as a gift from heaven and a precious trust; they strive to
instill into their children from their early years a holy fear of
God, and true Christian piety; they foster a tender devotion to
Jesus, the Blessed Sacrament and the Immaculate Virgin; they teach
respect and veneration for holy places and persons. In such a home
the children see in their parents a model of an upright, industrious
and pious life; they see their parents holily loving each other in
Our Lord, see them approach the Holy Sacraments frequently and not
only obey the laws of the Church concerning abstinence and fasting,
but also observe the spirit of voluntary Christian mortification;
they see them pray at home, gathering around them all the family,
that common prayer may rise more acceptably to heaven; they find them
compassionate towards the distress of others and see them divide with
the poor the much or the little they possess.
82. In
such a home it is scarcely possible that, while all seek to copy
their parents, example, none of the sons should listen to and accept
the invitation of the Divine Master: "Come ye after Me, and I
will make you to be fishers of men." Blessed are those Christian
parents who are able to accept without fear the vocations of their
sons, and see in them a signal honor for their family and a mark of
the special love and providence of Our Lord. Still more blessed, if,
as was often the case in ages of greater faith, they make such divine
visitations the object of their earnest prayer.
83. Yet it
must be confessed with sadness that only too often parents seem to be
unable to resign themselves to the priestly or religious vocations of
their children. Such parents have no scruple in opposing the divine
call with objections of all kinds; they even have recourse to means
which can imperil not only the vocation to a more perfect state, but
also the very conscience and the eternal salvation of those souls
they ought to hold so dear. This happens all too often in the case
even of parents who glory in being sincerely Christian and Catholic,
especially in the higher and more cultured classes. This is a
deplorable abuse, like that unfortunately prevalent in centuries
past, of forcing children into the ecclesiastical career without the
fitness of a vocation. It hardly does honor to those higher classes
of society, which are on the whole so scantily represented in the
ranks of the clergy. The lack of vocations in families of the middle
and upper classes may be partly explained by the dissipations of
modern life, the seductions, which especially in the larger cities,
prematurely awaken the passions of youth; the schools in many places
which scarcely conduce to the development of vocations. Nevertheless,
it must be admitted that such a scarcity reveals a deplorable falling
off of faith in the families themselves. Did they indeed look at
things in the light of faith, what greater dignity could Christian
parents desire for their sons, what ministry more noble, than that
which, as We have said, is worthy of the veneration of men and
angels? A long and sad experience has shown that a vocation betrayed
- the word is not to be thought too strong - is a source of tears not
only for the sons but also for the ill-advised parents; and God grant
that such tears be not so long delayed as to become eternal tears.
84. And
now, finally, to you, dear Children. Priests of the Most High, both
secular and regular, the world over, We address Our words. You are
"Our glory and joy," you, who with such generosity bear the
"burden of the day and the heats," you, who so powerfully
help Us and Our Brethren of the Episcopate in fulfilling the duty of
feeding the flock of Christ. To you We send Our Paternal thanks and
Our warmest encouragement. We know and fully appreciate your
admirable zeal; and to it, in the needs of the present, We make this
heartfelt appeal. These needs are becoming daily graver. All the more
must your redeeming work grow and intensify; for "you are the
salt of the earth, and the light of the world."
85. If,
however, your work is to be blessed by God and produce abundant
fruit, it must be rooted in holiness of life. Sanctity, as We said
above, is the chief and most important endowment of the Catholic
priest. Without it other gifts will not go far; with it, even
supposing other gifts be meager, the priest can work marvels. We have
the example of St. Joseph of Cupertino, and in times nearer to our
own of that humble Cure d'Ars, St. John Mary Vianney, of whom We have
already spoken; whom We have willed to set up before all parish
priests as their model and heavenly Patron. Therefore with the
Apostle of the Gentiles, We say to you: "Behold your vocation";
and beholding it, you cannot fail to value ever more highly the grace
given to you in ordination and to strive to "walk worthily of
the vocation in which you are called."
86. In
this striving you will be most wonderfully helped by a practice
commended by Our Predecessor of holy memory Pius X. This commendation
is contained in that "Exhortation to the Catholic Clergy,"
which he wrote with such unction and affection. This We warmly
recommend you to read. In it, among all the means to preserve and
increase the grace of the priesthood, he placed first the use of the
Spiritual Exercises. This means We Ourselves have also frequently
recommended; and particularly in Our Encyclical Letter Mens Nostra,
We have paternally and solemnly urged it upon all Our sons, but more
especially upon Our Priests. As the year of Our priestly Jubilee drew
to a close, We could find no better and more salutary reminder of
that happy anniversary, than to give to Our sons an invitation,
through the above-mentioned letter, to draw more copiously from the
waters of life springing up into life everlasting, this inexhaustible
fountain providentially opened by God to His Church. Again now, to
you, Our Dear Brethren, who are all the closer to us because you work
more directly with Us to establish the kingdom of Christ upon earth,
We believe We cannot give better proof of Our Fatherly affection than
by exhorting you most fervently to make use of this means of
sanctification, to the best of your abilities. Take for your guide
those principles and norms laid down by Us in the above-mentioned
Encyclical. It is not enough to withdraw to the sacred seclusion of
the Spiritual Exercises only at the intervals and in the exact
measure prescribed by ecclesiastical law but you should enter into
retreat more often and for longer periods, as far as possible to you,
and you should consecrate, in addition, a day of each month to more
fervent prayer and greater recollection, according to the practice of
priests of great zeal.
87. In
such retreats and recollection even one who may have entered in
sortem Domini, not by the straight way of a true vocation, but
for earthly or less noble motives, will be able to "stir up the
grace of God." For he, too, is now indissolubly bound to God and
the Church, and so nothing remains for him but to follow the advice
of St. Bernard: "If sanctity of life did not precede, let it at
least follow . . . for the future make good your ways and ambitions
and make holy your ministry." The grace of God, and specifically
that grace proper to the sacrament of Holy Orders, will not fail to
lend aid, if he sincerely wishes to correct whatever was originally
amiss in his purpose or conduct. However it may have come about that
he undertook the obligations of the priesthood, the abiding grace of
this divine sacrament will not be wanting in power to enable him to
fulfill them.
88. Each
and all of you, then, from the recollection and prayer of a retreat
will come out fortified against the snares of the world, quickened by
lively zeal for the salvation of souls, and enkindled with the love
of God, as befits priests in times like the present. For together
with so much corruption and diabolical malice, there is everywhere
felt a powerful religious and spiritual awakening, a breath of the
Holy Spirit, sent forth over the world to sanctify it, and to renew
with its creative force the face of the earth. Filled with the Holy
Ghost you will communicate this love of God like a holy fire to all
who approach you, becoming in a true sense bearers of Christ in a
disordered society, which can hope for salvation from Jesus Christ
alone, since He, and He alone, is ever "the true Savior of the
world."
89. Before
concluding, we turn Our thoughts and Our words, with very special
tenderness to you who are still in your studies for the priesthood;
and urge you from the depth of Our heart to prepare yourselves with
all seriousness for the great task to which God calls you. You are
the hope of the Church and of the people, who look for so much, or
rather everything, to you. For to you they look for that living and
life-giving knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ, in which is eternal
life. In piety, purity, humility, obedience, discipline and study
strive then to make yourselves priests after the Heart of God. We
assure you that in the task of fitting yourselves for the priesthood
by solid virtue and learning, no care, no diligence, no energy can be
too great; because upon it so largely depend all your future
apostolic labors. See to it that on the day of your ordination to the
priesthood, the Church find you in fact such as she wishes you to be,
that is "replenished with heavenly wisdom, irreproachable in
life and established in the ways of grace," so that "the
sweet odor of your life may be a delight to the Church of Christ,
that both by word and good example you may build the house, that is,
the family of God."
90. Only
thus can you continue the glorious traditions of the Catholic
priesthood and hasten that most auspicious hour when it will be given
to all humanity to enjoy the fruits of the peace of Christ in the
kingdom of Christ.
91. And
before concluding Our letter, to you, Venerable Brethren in the
Episcopate, and through you to all Our beloved sons of both clergy,
We are happy to add a solemn proof of Our gratitude for the holy
cooperation by which, under your guidance and example, this Holy Year
of Redemption has been made so fruitful to souls. We wish to
perpetuate the memory and the glory of that Priesthood, of which Ours
and yours, Venerable Brethren, and that of all priests of Christ, is
but a participation and continuation. We have thought it opportune,
after consulting the Sacred Congregation of Rites, to prepare a
special votive Mass, for Thursdays, according to liturgical rules: De
summo et aeterno Iesu Christi Sacerdotio, to honor "Jesus
Christ, Supreme and Eternal Priest." It is Our pleasure and
consolation to publish this Mass together with this, Our Encyclical
Letter.
92. There
only remains for Us, Venerable Brethren, to impart to all the
Apostolic and paternal Benediction, which all expect and desire from
their common Father. May it be a blessing of thanksgiving for all the
benefits poured out by Divine Providence in these extraordinary Holy
Years of the Redemption; may it be a blessing of good augury for the
new year which is about to begin.
Given
at Rome, at St. Peter's, the twentieth day of December, 1935, in the
fifty-sixth anniversary of Our priesthood, the fourteenth of Our
Pontificate. Pius XI
GOSPEL:
(Matt. XXI. 1-9.) At that time, when Jesus drew nigh to Jerusalem,
and was come to Bethphage, unto Mount Olivet; then he sent two
disciples, saying to them: Go ye into the village that is over
against you, and immediately ye will find an ass tied, and a colt
with her; loose them, and bring them to me; and if any man shall say
any thing to you, say ye that the Lord bath need of them, and
forthwith he will let them go. Now all this was done, that the word
might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophet, saying: Tell ye
the daughter of Sion, behold thy king cometh to thee, meek, and
sitting upon an ass, and a colt, the foal of her that is used to the
yoke. And the disciples going, did as Jesus commanded them. And they
brought the ass and the colt, and laid their garments upon them, and
made him sit thereon. And a very great multitude spread their
garments in the way; and others cut down boughs from the trees, and
strewed them in the way; and the multitudes that went before and that
followed, cried, saying: Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he
that cometh in the name of the Lord.
