And now we come to his teachings. They
have the remarkable freshness of living things which are never
sufficiently
understood nor meditated. In them exhortations and counsels, full of a
long and wise experience, are given abundantly in simple, clear words,
humble, fatherly and sometimes moving, giving to the figure and mission
of the priest that proper relief which raises him to transcendent
powers
and transforms him into a father and master, an apostle and shepherd, a
friend in whom one can confide, a pitying servant who, as long as he
can
take souls and bring them to Christ, adapts himself to the needs of
all,
to all times, to all ambients and to all social classes in order to
give
souls who are weary and sorrowful a profoundly Christian way of
thinking,
feeling and acting and the sense of hope and life to the insensible and
hostile world surrounding them.
Holiness of
Life
1
Who is the priest? He is the man of God who
brings to souls enlightening truth, conquering love, edifying sanctity.
He must show forth in himself the beauty of the God-Man Whom he
represents.
His mere duty is not sufficient for a true
priest. He needs something higher: sanctity. Jesus Christ requires a
simple
Christian life of the faithful but of the priest He asks a life of
heroism.
And, therefore, if Christian perfection is an ornament, a glory and a
halo
for any member of the faithful, for the priest it must be his normal
way
of life: a life of faith which helps him to discern the dark arms of
the
enemy, a life of hope which sustains and strengthens him in his daily
struggles,
a life of burning and inflaming charity, a life of angelic purity, of
sacrifice,
of a spirit of poverty, of meekness and of a patience which remains
unmoved
and unperturbed under the blows of the most atrocious injuries. It must
be all this because the priest, raised aloft, must by the light of his
example enlighten God's people and warm them with his fervor.
2
Of what use is knowledge if one's behavior
is not what it should be? For this reason, young levites, venerable
priests,
tread sure-footedly on the path of ecclesiastical perfection, ordering
your life and behavior in such a way that in your bearing, your
gestures,
your walk, your conversation and in all other things you show forth
nothing
that is not holy and which does not waft the odor of sanctity.
3
The priestly ministry which is not corroborated
by authority and by a holy life is a complete failure.
4
The priests are the representatives of Jesus
Christ. But in order to represent Jesus Christ one must have His
sentiments
in oneself and have-----as might be said-----His
very words on one's lips. As the stars are visible after the sun has
gone
down so priests must be so many stars to illuminate the firmament of
the
world in the absence of the Sun of Justice, Jesus Christ.
Those who have had the priesthood conferred
on them should know that they have the same mission in the midst of
their
people as St. Paul acknowledged that he had received and which he
expressed
with those tender words: "My little children with whom I am in labor
again,
until Christ is formed in you!" [Gal. 4, 19]. Now
how can they carry out a duty like this if they themselves have not
previously
put on Christ and put Him on in a way which entitles them to say with
the
Apostle: "It is now no longer I that live but Christ lives in me."
[Gal.
2, 20]? Hence, though the exhortation to "attain to perfect manhood"
[Eph.
4, 13] is addressed to all, it is addressed first of all to those
who exercise the priestly ministry, and who are called another Christ
not
only because they have received Divine powers but still more because
they
imitate the works of Christ and on account of these must bear in
themselves
His likeness.
6
The priest must be a man of such irreproachable
habits that the world may believe him to be a "Divine man," a man whose
virtue is superior to that of every other good Christian.
7
To make Jesus Christ reign in the world,
nothing is so necessary as the holiness of the clergy, because the
faithful
are impressed more by the example than by the word or by the learning
and-----as
the old proverb says-----they will always be as their
priests are: "sicut sac erdos,
sic populus."
8
As we must be the light of the world by our
doctrine, so by the example of our life we must be the salt of the
earth
[Matt.
5, 13-14]. Only on this condition will we be loved by good people
and respected even by our enemies.
9
As the priesthood is a reflection of Christ's
priesthood, priests must reproduce His virtues. They must be one with
Jesus
in affection, in feeling and in thought.
10
Priests are Christ's friends, the ambassadors
and ministers of God. But how can they be so if they have not holiness
of life? If we desire to be Jesus Christ's friends, we must have His
Will.
If we wish to be ambassadors of God, we must have not only His word but
the sense and the love of Him Who sends us. If we want to be ministers
of God, we must show forth in ourselves His holiness.
11
In his every action the priest must show
himself a man of God, as the Apostle desires [Tim. 6, 11],
and remember that on his example depends the destiny of his people.
Jesus
Christ Himself compares him to light and salt, to indicate [Matt.
5, 13-14] where his actions must lead him. But if he fail to confirm
by the example of his life what he teaches by word of mouth, his
ministry
is useless.
Jesus Christ, Who made Himself the model of
priests, first taught by deed and only later by word. For this reason,
if the priest neglects holiness of life he cannot be the light of the
world
nor the salt of the earth, because where holiness is lacking there we
find
corruption.
12
There must be as big a gap between the life
of the priest and the life of an average honest Christian, as there is
between Heaven and earth. Hence the priest must avoid not only serious
sins but even the slightest sin, in conformity with the viewpoint of
the
venerable Fathers of the Holy Council of Trent [Twenty-second:
De Reform., C.I. Session] who warn clerics and priests to avoid
even slight faults because in them such faults would be serious-----not
serious in themselves but taking into consideration the priests and
clerics
who commit them, who are holy in an even more strict sense than the
holy
temples:
" Domum tuam decet sanctitudo" [Psalm
92, 5].
13
If the priest is lacking in Christly knowledge
which is summed up in holiness of life and purity of habits, he is
lacking
in everything. Even learning and practical ability, although they may
be
advantageous to the Church and to others, are very often the cause of
harm
to the priests. On the other hand a priest who is rich in sanctity
can-----even
though he have the lowest place-----work wonders for
the salvation of God's people, as examples in every age prove to us and
in an especially striking manner in recent times John Baptist Vianney
[Beatified
by Pius X on September 8th, 1904], a pastor of souls whom we should
imitate. Only holiness makes the priest what he should be according to
his Divine vocation: a man crucified to the world, living the newness
of
life directed towards heavenly things in order to lead Christian people
to them.
14
As the priest is called alter Christus, and
is so because he shares in the Divine powers which he has had conferred
on him, he must be so also in imitating the life of Jesus Christ.
15
May unblemished living habits, which are
the greatest glory of Christ's priesthood and the ornament which makes
it honored in the eyes of the world, thrive and shine forth among the
clergy.
16
If you are holy you will have all the qualities
necessary for the good of your soul and of those souls entrusted to
your
care. God will be the consolation of your Archbishop and will have the
most sweet rewards. Be holy, and convince yourselves that it is
impossible
to be good priests if you do not desire to be holy.
17
Ignorance or poverty of doctrine is something
unworthy of a priest who must instruct the people in the law of God,
but
it is still more unworthy that a priest should exercise his ministry
without
having a care for holiness of life.
18
Everybody knows from experience that good
living habits in the people. are a consequence of holiness of life in
the
priests.
19
If the priest has at all times need of a
decorous store of virtues and of virtues of a high order, in our times
very much more is required because unfortunately the corruption of good
habits has increased and become widespread out of all proportion. For
this
reason it is proper that a singular preeminence of virtue and strength
should shine forth in the priest. Actually priests cannot live in
solitude
but, because of the very offices of their ministry, must come into
contact
with the people and this in the centers of the city where every passion
is not only permitted but licentiously borne in triumph. And from this
it is clear that in our day a priest's virtue must be so strong that he
can defend himself courageously and emerge unharmed just as much from
alluring
enticements as from the danger of bad example.
20
The terrible times in which we live require
in the clergy as never before not merely ordinary virtue but a full and
willing one prepared to work and to carry out and suffer great things
for
the love of Christ.
Means to
Holiness
1
The priest must set apart every day a certain
time for meditating eternal truth because, as he is in the midst of the
world's seductions, he must be wary lest the snares of the infernal
enemy
be hidden even in the exercise of his ministry.
He must meditate so that with
renewed vigor his mind and heart may resist the enticements of evil and
draw from eternal truth those lights which are necessary in the
exercise
of his extremely difficult ministry in the care of souls.
2
The priest must follow
up his meditation by reading books of devotion and above all the
Divinely-inspired
Books of Holy Scripture which are necessary if he is to preach the word
of God in a worthy manner.
Nowadays many go astray because,
instead of works of piety and the Divine Books, they prefer very
different
writings and papers which are sometimes full of poison because they
contain
hidden errors even though these may not be of a very serious nature.
3
Besides Mental Prayer
and Spiritual Reading, the Examination of Conscience so much counseled
by masters of the spiritual life is of considerable help in acquiring
Christian
virtues. For this reason every priest at the end of his day should
recollect
himself and ask judgment of his conscience. He should be a diligent
self-examiner
in order to know himself and see how and in what manner he has carried
out his duties. He should present himself before his conscience as he
would
before a tribunal and weep over his sins.
4
We can preach it without
fear of being contradicted, that the good priests of a Diocese, the
priests
who are exemplary and zealous in their duties, are those who withdraw
from
time to time in Spiritual Exercises in order to dedicate themselves to
their sanctification and nourish themselves with words of life.
5
For us priests there is always
the danger that, being in the world for the purpose of reminding it of
its depravation, we may become corrupted by its poison while we are
trying
to heal its wounds.
There is the risk that
the spiritual infirmities which we see in others may diminish our idea
of our own, and weaken the view which faith gives us of their enormity.
There is the danger that we may compare ourselves with men of the world
and think we are holy because we are less guilty, or perfect because we
have less defects. We must listen, however, to the exhortation of the
Apostle:
"Rogamus vos, fratres, ut abundetis magis et operam detis ut quieti
sitis et ut vestrum negotium agatis et honeste ambuletis ad eos qui
foris
sunt."
[1 Thes. IV, 10-11]
From this follows
the necessity of recollection, a necessity which is all the more
pressing
the more external the work we do. In the midst of so many distractions
fervor must inevitably grow cold, the zest for piety must as a matter
of
course be diminished, the consequent languor must of necessity
penetrate
the soul a little at a time like a slow fever and destroy every
principle
of priestly life. To avoid all these disorders we have a powerful help
in recollection and retreat: "magnum in secessu subsidium." [1 Cor.
III, 7]
Finally, we very often grumble
about the unfruitfulness of the field which has been given us to
cultivate,
and complain of our fruitless labors and the religious indifferentism
which
spreads out and surrounds us. But are we instruments of God worthy of
meriting
the helps of grace? "Neque qui plantat est aliquid, neque qui rigat,
sed qui incrementum dat Deus est." [1 Cor. III, 7] Hence just as the
Baptist withdrew into a desert place in order to carry out his mission,
just as Jesus remained for forty days in the desert and the Apostles
gathered
for ten days in the Supper Room, just as the Church herself withdraws
in
prayer to invoke help from on high before assembling in Councilor
Synod,
so we must be recollected "quoadusque induamur virtute ex alto."
[Luke XXIV, 49] This is all the more true considering that recollection
and retreat are the only means of getting away from the miseries of
life
and making us grow in those virtues which must form the ecclesiastic's
patrimony.
6
Even if we feel no need of freeing
ourselves of the imperfections acquired while living in the midst of
the
dangers of the world, the holy and pure life which is required in a
priest
is a sufficient proof of the need of a spiritual retreat. The retreat
is
absolutely necessary for progress in perfection, for renewing in us the
flame of zeal for God's service and the good of souls, and for
developing
in ourselves more and more what is called in ascetic language
illuminative
and unitive life.
7
Man is so naturally fickle-----as
alas we know by experience-----that even the best
intentioned person little by little grows cold in virtue and, after a
period
of weakness, falls into vice if he is not stimulated in the right way.
Now as even priests are not exempted
from this, they must have recourse to those means which will enable
them
to restore their spiritual strength spent by work in the ministry and
thus
regain their early fervor. They must therefore withdraw for some days
into
some place of retreat for the purpose of giving a tranquil glance at
their
lives and thus following the invitation of Jesus Christ to His
disciples
when they had come back from the labors endured in preaching the Gospel
through the villages of Juda and Galilee: "Venite seorsum in desertum
locum et requiescite pusillum." [Mark VI, 31]
In fact, though the ornament
of those virtues proper to a priest is the study of sacred things, we
must
also admit that such a study-----due to that inconstancy
to which we have already referred-----in many cases
wanes with the passing of time and in not a few dies out altogether.
The
very habit of dealing each day with the same situations is the reason
why
the priest little by little becomes lukewarm and forgets his duties.
To this must be added the various serious
dangers to which he is often exposed during the exercise of his
ministry
in the midst of worldly allurements.
It is clear, therefore, that if we wish to
reinforce our spirit, correcting in us what must be corrected, and to
form
firmer resolutions for good, we must leave aside every earthly care and
cut ourselves off for a time from the clamor of our usual life,
withdrawing
into solitude in order to give docile ear to that intimate voice which
warns us of our duties, reproves us in the interests of our salvation
and
exhorts and urges us to higher things: "Ducam eam in solitudinem et
loquar ad cor eius" [Osee II, 14]
We are unable to understand how
a priest, living in the midst of so many difficulties, distractions and
not a few dangers, would not feel from time to time the need of that
defense
which is called Spiritual Exercises.
What merchant really interested
in his business does not every year take a diligent stock of what he
has
gained, spent and lost? Will the priest who administers God's business,
and who will one day have to render Him a very strict account of his
administration,
be the only one not to worry about reflecting severely on his duties
and
actions or about asking himself what is proper to his vocation and what
is not?
May the Divine mercy convince
all priests and clerics of the necessity of attending Spiritual
Exercises
at least every three years [Acta Ap. Sedis, I, p. 228]
considering them the defense which offers many helps to make themselves
worthy ministers and dispensers of God's mysteries [Cfr. I Cor., IV,
1]
and thus cooperators by their personal example in that restoration of
all
things in Christ to which We have dedicated Our work in order to have
an
answer to the needs of the times.
8
Spiritual Exercises----as
experience teaches-----are wonderfully effective in
reawakening one's conscience and exciting one's mind to those virtues
which
should be the ornament of a minister of God, because the divine fire is
enkindled while we meditate on Heavenly things and in recollection and
solitude the Lord makes His voice heard.
Piety and Prayer
1
Priests, if you do not wish
to be deceived and if you wish to keep an integral faith and doctrine,
you must cultivate piety. The devout man keeps his passions under
control,
does not boast, does not become proud, and cultivates all the virtues
which
are the sources and masters of doctrine because, besides knowing that
he
cannot convince anyone with his teaching if this latter is not
confirmed
by the authority and innocence of his life, he receives the Divine word
with such reverence that he considers even the slightest alteration of
it a horrible crime. We should be able to say of every priest what St.
Gregory of Nazianzen said of his father: "Although second in learning,
in piety he was the leader of the learned."
[Grat. XVIII]
2
Everyone knows that holiness
is the fruit of our will. But it is equally true that our will needs to
be strengthened by God's grace, and only by prayer can this grace be
obtained.
"Arbitror cunctis esse manifestum"-----John
Chrysostom observes-----"quod simpliciter impossibile
sit absque precationis praesidia cum virtute degere" [De Predicatione:
Orat. I], and Saint Augustine acutely notes: "vere novit recte vivere,
qui recte novit orare."
[Horn. IV, ex. 50]
3
The person who is not
accustomed to speaking with God in the intimacy of prayer will never be
able to speak efficaciously of the things which have to do with eternal
life. No matter how learned and eloquent his words may be, if they lack
the breath of prayer they cannot have the power of convincing and
persuading.
The word of God is dead on the lips of such a person because the sense
of Christ is lacking in him.
4
When we are perplexed
by certain situations and do not know what to do, we must raise our
eyes
to God from Whom alone we can hope for enlightenment, inspiration and
help:
"Cum ignoramus quid agere debeamus, hoc solum habemus residue, ut
oculos
nostros dirigamus ad Dominum". [2 Par. XX, 12]
5
Hence, let all priests pray with that
confident perseverance which the Book of Tobias teaches, because no
matter
what power God gives to men, it will never have the upper hand over His
decrees and counsels, and everybody can be sure that if God is trying
us
with tribulations and punishments He is doing so in order to bring us
to
mercy and allow us to enjoy calm after the storm, to give us joy after
sorrow and happiness after our weeping.
Sacrifice
1
The priest's life is one
of sacrifice. We are living in times in which it is the priest's lot to
be despised, hated and persecuted. But a comforting thought is that
from
the spirit of sacrifice derives a virtue which frightens those who do
not
know the secret of it and strikes even ourselves with amazement.
2
We did not enter the priesthood
to have an easy life. We must work: that is our first duty.
To put it more clearly: to be
priests is the same as to be men obliged to labor. The Apostles taught
it by their examples: all priests full of the spirit of God have taught
it: the Church teaches it and, according to her spirit, the Fourth
Provincial
Council of Milan celebrated by St. Charles Borromeo in 1576 thus
declares:
"Unusquisque clericus saepe repetat se non ad inertiam neque ignaviam,
sed ad spiritualis et ecclesiasticae militae laborem vocatum esse."
[Monsignor A. Ratti, Acta
Ecclesiae Mediolanensis, V, II, Col. 429, Mediolani 1892]
Do you know what an Apostle replied
when they told him that he would fall ill from excessive work? He said:
"Quorsum mihi valetudo nisi ut laborem?"
We may suppose that in order
to procure the salvation of souls we run the risk of losing our health
and shortening our life. But is it not a glory to die of labor or while
we are laboring when Jesus Christ with so much suffering died for us on
the Cross?
3
Some think that the glory of
a priest should be made up entirely of outward activity. Overlooking
almost
entirely those virutes by which man is made perfect and which We call
passive,
they say that all his activity and study would contribute to the growth
and exercise of the active virtues. It is really amazing how much
falsehood
and ruin this doctrine contains.
Our Predecessor of venerable
memory, Leo XIII, in keeping with his wisdom, spoke of it when he wrote
as follows:
"That Christian virtues should
be accommodated to the times is the desire only of the person who does
not recall the words of the Apostle: 'Quos praescivit et praedestinavit
conformes fieri imaginis Filii sui' [Romans VIII, 29]. Christ is the
master and type of all holiness and all those who wish to enter the
kingdom
of God must adapt themselves to His rule. Christ does not change as
centuries
pass but is always the same: 'Heri et hodie: ipse et in saecula'
[Hebrews XIII, 8]. Thus that phrase: 'Discite a me, quia mitis sum et
humilis corde' [Matt. XI, 29] can be applied to men at all times and
Christ always shows Himself 'factus obediens usque ad mortem' [Philip.
II, 8]. In every age the Apostle's remark is true: 'Qui sunt Christi
carnem crucifixerunt cum uitiis et concupiscentiis' [Galat. V, 24]."
If these texts have in
some cases an application to the faithful, in a particular manner they
refer to priests who, more than any others, must take as said to
themselves
what Our Predecessor with Apostolic ardor added:
"Would to God that many more
present-day people practiced these virtues as the holiest people of
past
ages practiced them, people who in humility of soul, in obedience
and mortification, were powerful in word and work and of the greatest
assistance not only to religious but to civil and public society".
[Pope
Leo XIII, Letter of Jan. 22nd 1899 to Card. Gibbons, Archbishop of
Baltimore]
It will not be out of place to
consider that the exceptionally prudent Pontiff with good reason made
mention
of mortification which, in the words of the Gospel, we call
denial
of self, because in this maxim is contained the fortitude, the virtue
and all the fruit of priestly ministry; whereas if this be neglected
the
priest's habits may offend the eyes and minds of the faithful. For, if
the priest strive for illegal gains, if he become involved in worldly
affairs,
if he give rein to flesh and blood, if he try to please men and trust
in
the persuasive ways of human wisdom, all this is the fruit of
neglecting
Christ's commandments and of refusing to accept the conditions laid
down
by Him: "Si quis vult post me venire, abneget semetipsum" [Matt.
XVI, 24].
Charity
1
Vain is our hope of attracting
souls to God by unwise zeal. Rough correction of vices often does more
harm than good. Charity is called for: a patient and benign charity
which
will have to reach out, too, to those who are against us or are our
persecutors.
Perhaps they seem worse than they really are. Living with others,
prejudice,
bad example, counsel from others and an ill-advised shame have dragged
them on the side of the wicked, but their will is not depraved as they
themselves try to make us believe.
Why should we not
hope that the flame of Christian charity will drive away the darkness
from
their minds and bring to them the light and peace of God? Sometimes the
fruit of our labors may well be slow in coming, but charity never tires
of waiting, remembering that God has prepared His reward not according
to the results of our exertions but according to our good intentions.
But, even though we have to enter into the
fight for truth, we should embrace the enemies and adversaries of truth
lovingly, feel a great compassion for them and recommend them to the
Divine
mercy because, although it is a most holy law to approve and defend
what
is true, just and right, and to detest what is false unjust and evil,
it
is none the less a duty to abound in mercy and pardon towards the
depraved,
in imitation of Jesus Christ Who prayed for His transgressors.
3
In all his duties the priest
must never lack the charity of Christ, raising up the fallen one,
consoling
those who weep, helping all those who ask his help. Our own affairs
must
always give way before this charity, and our personal interests and
comforts
take second place where it is concerned. It must make us "all things
to all men" [1 Cor. IX, 22] in order to win all to Christ and should
bring us to give up even our life in imitation of Christ Who imposes on
the Pastors of His Church the duty of laying down their lives for their
sheep. [John X, 11]
4
Priests, let that charity which
seeks only the increase of God's glory, shine forth always in you.
A multitude of miserable and
unhappy ones together with legions of adolescents-----dearest
hope of the Church and of the country-----surrounded
by evil on all sides await the gift of your charity. Continue
industriously
not only to teach Catechism, which We wish once again to recommend
warmly
to you, but to make yourselves ever better deserving of society by word
and work, comforting, healing, defending and purifying in order to win
souls to Christ or bring them ever closer to Him.
As often happens, your charity will
be met by hate, injury and calumny, but continue fearlessly in it
remembering
those numerous and meritorious legions who, following the example of
the
Apostles, in the midst of the roughest treatment, "ibant gaudentes et
maledicti benedicebant". We are the children of the Saints whose names
shine in the book of eternity and whose praises resound gloriously in
Christ's
Church: "Non inferamus crimen gloriae nostrae." [1 Macch. IX, 10]
Zeal
1
The priest's life calls for work, faith and
sacrifice. All the terms which are applied to the priest in Sacred
Scripture
show him as a man dedicated to continuous work.
For this reason,
he is called now a soldier because he must combat continually in
order to win souls to Christ: "Labora sicut miles Christi Jesu"
[2 Timothy II, 3]; now a workman because he must bear the burden
of the day and the heat in order to cultivate the field and gather the
harvest: "Messis quidem multa, operarii autem pauci" [Matthew IX,
37]; now a steward who must render an account of his stewardship;
now a shepherd because he must feed the sheep and go in search of the
lost
ones to bring them back to the fold; and now debtor as the Apostle
says: "Graecis ac Barbaris, sapientibus et insipientibus debit or sum"
[Romans I, 14]. Hence St. John Chrysostom warns us that we have not
been
called to the priesthood to look after our own affairs but to promote
the
glory of God: "Non ideo vocati sumus ut operemur quae ad nostrum
pertinent
usum, sed quae ad gloriam Dei" [Homily 34], and St. Paul speaks
warningly
of himself: "For even if I preach the gospel, I have therein no ground
for boasting, since I am under constraint. For woe to me if I do not
preach
the gospel!" [1 Cor. IX, 16]
We must work continuously like
the Eternal Priest, Jesus Christ Who said these memorable words: "My
Father works even until now, and I work" [John V, 17], or like the
omnipotent God Who is not potency but continuous act.
The priest must be like Phinees
who was filled with zeal for the Divine glory on seeing the law of God
violated; [Numbers XXV, 7-8] like Moses who with the sword of justice
exacts
reparation for the injury done to God; like Elias who in solitude
prepares
himself to announce the commands of Heaven; like the Baptist who
preaches
just as loudly and strongly in the desert as in the royal palace; like
Paul who yearns to be anathema for love of his brethren, who becomes
sick
with the sick and spends himself for all that all may be saved.
The priest who is moved by the
spirit of zeal for the glory of God and the salvation of souls is not
afraid
of weariness, is not fearful of danger, does not consider sacrifices,
does
not indulge himself in comforts, knows no rest, does not trouble about
repose. Though contradicted and persecuted he does not lose heart,
because
he knows that the heritage of the Church Militant is the hatred of the
gloomy, and the greater obstacles he encounters the more there
increases
in him a burning desire to show himself a true Minister of God in
everything,
"in tribulations, in hardships, in distresses . . . in labors, in
sleepless
nights . . . in honor and dishonor, in evil report and good report . .
." [2 Cor. VI, 4-8].
Our times require courage and
call for sacrifice and work. Be strong in the war against the eternal
enemy
of good and let us all imitate not by word but by example the leader of
the Israelites who, while his people continued to prevaricate, never
ceased
to cry out: "Whoever is for the Lord, let him come to me!" [Exodus
XXXIII,
26]
2
What is the duty of those
who have been placed by God to rule His Church? What is the obligation
of all those who have received from Heaven and accepted the sublime
mission
of saving souls? If in time of war every citizen is a soldier, while
the
fray is at its most desperate, will the captains remain inert and
slothful?
If God has commanded everyone to have care
of the eternal salvation of his brethren how much more He has commanded
us priests.
The priests must announce
truth. Hence those priests who think they are rendering a service to
the
Church and who with human prudence allow large concessions to false
science
under the fatal illusion of being able the more easily to win over
erring
ones, are making a serious mistake.
Such people run the risk of losing their souls.
Truth is one and indivisible, lasts for all eternity and is not subject
to the vicissitudes of time. Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday today
and down the centuries [Hebrews XIII, 8].
If there was a time in which
human prudence seemed the only way of obtaining anything in a world
which
was unprepared to receive the doctrine of Jesus Christ, so repugnant to
human passions and so opposed to the flourishing Roman and Greek
civilization,
that time was most certainly that in which the first preaching of the
Christian
faith took place.
The Apostles scorned that prudence
because they knew the designs of God Whom "it pleased to save, by the
foolishness
of our preaching, those who believed" [1 Cor. I, 21]. As always, so
also
today this foolishness is the virtue of God. The scandal of the Cross
has
furnished and always will furnish the most powerful and unconquerable
weapon
and, as has already happened, by this scandal and by this foolishness
we
shall gain the victory.
Dignity
and Propriety
1
In order never to be guilty of any
disedifying act, the priest must regulate his actions, his movements
and
his habits in harmony with the sublimity of his vocation. He who on the
altar almost ceases to be mortal and takes on a Divine form, remains
always
the same even when he
comes down from the holy
hill and leaves the temple of the Lord. Wherever he is,
wherever he goes, he never
ceases to be a priest and the serious reasons which compel him always
to
be grave and becoming accompany him with his dignity everywhere.
Hence he must
have that gravity which will ensure that his words, his bearing and his
way of working arouse love, win authority and excite reverence, because
the very reasons which oblige him to be holy make it a duty for him to
show it by his outward acts in order to edify all those with whom he is
obliged to come into contact. A composed and dignified exterior is a
sort
of powerful eloquence which wins souls in a much more efficacious
manner
than persuasive sermons. Nothing inspires greater confidence than an
ecclesiastic
who, never forgetting the dignity of his state, demonstrates in every
situation
that gravity which attracts and wins universal homage. If on the
contrary
he forgets, the holiness of the sacred character which he bears
indelibly
impressed and engraved on his soul, and if he fail to show in his
outward
conduct a gravity superior to that of certain men of the world, he
causes
his ministry and religion itself to be despised, because when gravity
is
wanting in the leaders the people lose respect and veneration for them.
If the faithless modern world
has stripped the priest of that halo of veneration with which he was
formerly
crowned, it is more than necessary that in our times he should by his
bearing
win once again the people's respect for his high dignity and propriety.
The more so because experience teaches us that the world, always unjust
and full of malice, is shocked not only by the slightest failings it
discerns
in ecclesiastics but even by their most innocent actions whenever these
do not bear the seal of that gravity which it has a right to expect of
them.
Priests, do not, therefore, give
ear to worldly innovations whose profane maxims influence minds with
arguments
at variance with the teaching of the Church, and lead some boldly to
accuse
of ignorance those Fathers and Teachers whose sound and well-founded
wisdom
can never be replaced by the presumptuous pedantry of certain modern
minds.
We recommend to you priestly
gravity which condemns fickleness of thought, that fickleness by which
certain persons are led to refuse contemptuously to listen to the
teaching
and experience of wise men, and are induced to allow themselves to be
guided
by foolish arguments, and the school of modern teachings which bring
them
to ruin. With St. Ambrose I say to you: "Nihil in sacerdote commune
cum multitudine." [VI Epist. ad Irenaeum]
We recommend to you that gravity which makes
you love the yoke of discipline: that yoke whose dispositions are
censured
by some who yearn after an unlimited liberty free from subjection, who
refuse to realize that discipline is the only means of avoiding the
evil
of rebellion against authority, and who thus deceive themselves because
they have not a firm and resolute love of good.
Priests, do not forget that priestly
gravity and propriety must characterize your ministry, whereas
everything
which tends towards secular habits, shows up the priest as vain and
flighty
in the eyes of the world which is perfectly able to discern the more
respectable
priests even from their outward bearing.
If these are the facts, will
it ever be lawful-----We ask you-----for
clerics and priests to take from worldly people the example of certain
habits which lead them to abandon their dignity and propriety?
2
Great is the priestly dignity,
but great also is his ruin if he is not faithful to his duties, because
unfortunately it is true that the corruption of the very good is a
frightful
thing. "Optimorum corruptio, teterrimum".
Preaching
1
The preacher must have as his
mainstay the spirit of piety and the study of his subject: "Without
piety,"
notes the Angelic Doctor, "even if the doctrine is good it becomes an
occasion
of offense against the word of God" [Comm. on Matthew 5], because it is
clear-----and experience confirms this-----that
we cannot expect wise, moderate and useful teaching from those who are
not rich in devotion and knowledge and above all in sacred knowledge,
and
who, trusting in their natural eloquence, go rashly to the pulpit with
scarcely any preparation. Such people beat the air, expose the word of
God to contempt and merit the condemnation: "Because thou has rejected
knowledge, I will reject thee, that thou shalt not do the office of
priesthood
to Me" [Osee 4, 5].
If the preachers
of Catholic doctrine do not possess true piety towards God and love for
Jesus Christ Our Lord, no matter what great oratorical talents they may
have, they will not be any more efficacious than sounding brass or
tinkling
cymbal [1 Cor. XIII, 1] and they will lack that power which renders the
preaching of the Gospel powerful and efficacious: zeal for the glory of
God and the salvation of souls.
This devotion
which is especially necessary for sacred preachers must shine forth
equally
in their outward conduct. The Divine Commandments and the Christian
rules
which they praise in their preaching must not be contradicted by their
life if they wish to avoid destroying by their actions what they have
built
up with their words.
Hence the preacher must
flee that unapostolic, unholy, profane eloquence suitable to the law
court
which deprives the word of God of every sacred character and every
supernatural
efficacy and from which the faithful derive no profit because, even
though
they fill the church, their souls remain empty. They applaud but do not
weep and leave the temple just as they entered it. "Mirabantur sed non
convertebantur" as St. Augustine would put it.
[Treat. 29 on John]
2
The subject of our preaching
should be that indicated by the Divine Redeemer when He said:
"Praedicate
Evangelium, docentes eos servare omnia quaecumque mandavi vobis" [Mark
XVI, 15; Matthew XXVIII, 19], or as the Council of Trent comments:
"Annunciantes
illis vitia, quae declinare et virtutes quas sectare oportet ut poenam
aeternam evadere et coelestem gloriam consequi valeant" [V Sess. c.
2, De Reform.]. Hence discussions which are more suitable for the
journalists'
forum and for the academy hall than for the Church should be excluded
absolutely
from the pulpit. The preaching of morals should take precedence over
conferences
which are, to say the least of them, unfruitful. We must speak: "non
in persuasibilibus humanae sapientiae sed in ostensione spiritus et
virtutis'"
[1 Cor. II, 4].
For this reason the principal source of our
preaching must be Sacred Scripture, not interpreted, however, according
to the private judgment of minds which in most cases are clouded by
passion,
but according to Church tradition and to the interpretation of the
Fathers
and Councils.
The Creed, the Ten Commandments,
the Precepts of the Church, the Sacraments, the virtues and vices,
man's
last end, the duties proper to each state and condition, should be the
matters to which the preacher devotes his special attention.
Some preachers praise the benefits
which the Christian religion procures for Society, but are silent about
the duties to which men are bound. They praise only the charity of Our
Lord and say nothing about His justice. Thus it happens that worldly
people
hear this sort of preaching and become convinced that, without changing
anything in their lives, they can be Christians merely by saying: "I
believe
in Jesus Christ!"
Such preachers do not seek the
salvation of souls but rather what does not offend the ears of their
listeners,
and as long as the churches are full they are little concerned about
the
spiritual void in souls. Their only worry is to say what pleases and
their
eloquence is not sacred and apostolic but redolent of the law courts.
What
they seek is applause. Against such as they St. Jerome has these words:
"When you teach in church you must not seek
for the applause of the crowd but that they should weep: the tears of
your
listeners should be your praise."
The faithful are much better
catered for by a simple homily and by the Parish Priest's explanation
of
the Catechism than by sermons which are not penetrated by the spirit of
Christ.
3
The success of our preaching
of God's word is linked to the eloquence and example of our lives.
4
Listeners are not fond
of long descriptions or flowery rhetoric such as were used occasionally
in past times, but wish to be reminded of their duties and to meditate
on the truths of faith. You need a good argument with a logical
connection,
not to long, well-ordered and suitably phrased.
5
The faithful should not be fed
with wind but nourished by living food dispensed by priests who are
commendable
before God and men for the manifestation of truth.
Their minds must be enlightened
by the continuous preaching of truth, contradicting errors
efficaciously
with true and sound theological and philosophical principles and in
addition
with all those means which are furnished by true progress in historical
research. It is still more necessary to inculcate in their minds the
moral
teachings of Jesus Christ so that each one may learn to restrain his
passions,
to repress pride, to live in subjection to authority, to love justice,
to exercise charity towards all, to lessen bitter social inequalities
by
Christian love, to detach his heart from worldly goods, to live happily
in the circumstances arranged by Providence [even though he seek
to improve these circumstances by carrying out his duties] and, by
reorganizing
his life according to the laws of Christianity, to aspire to a future
life
in the hope of eternal reward.
Social
Apostolate
1
The true apostle must
become all things to all men in order to save all and, like his Divine
Redeemer, must feel his heart moved to pity on seeing the wandering
crowds,
like sheep without a shepherd. By efficacious written propaganda, by
the
exhortation of the spoken word, by helping directly, he should dedicate
himself to bettering the economic condition of his people within the
limits
of justice and truth. He should favor and promote those institutions
which
tend to this end, especially those which have the scope of properly
disciplining
the people against the encroaching predominance of Socialism and which
save them simultaneously from economic ruin and from moral and
religious
disaster. Seen in this light, the co-operation of the clergy in
Catholic
Action has a highly religious purpose and will never become an obstacle
to his spiritual ministry but rather a help, widening its field and
multiplying
its fruits.
We cannot, however, conceal the danger to
which the clergy on account of modern conditions is today exposed: the
attributing of excessive importance to the material interests of the
people,
neglecting the far more serious interests of his sacred calling.
The priest, raised above other
men in order to carry out the mission which he holds from God, must
equally
maintain himself above all human interests, above all conflicts, above
all social classes. The field proper to him is the Church where, as
God's
ambassador, he preaches truth and, by respecting the rights of God,
inculcates
respect for the rights of all creatures.
Working in this fashion he is
not subject to any opposition, does not appear as a party man,
supporter
of one group and adversary of another. He does not put himself in
danger
of dissimulating truth or of being silent about it in order to avoid
hurting
certain tendencies and irritating embittered minds, and hence avoids
the
risk of failing in his duty in both cases and, seeing that he has often
to deal with material things, of finding himself a partner in
obligations
damaging to his person and to the dignity of his ministry. He will not,
therefore, take part in this type of association except after mature
consideration
and in agreement with his Bishop and only in those cases in which his
help
is immune from every danger and is evidently profitable.
2
The priest must keep himself
aloof from every lay association even the most useful ones and even
if he is moved by the best of intentions.
3
We very much desire that the
clergy, whose duty it is to form the people's conscience, should take
an
interest in social problems and charitable works but without losing
themselves
in the maze of varying viewpoints or letting themselves be deceived by
the mirage of a false democracy and avoiding completely the emphatic
rhetoric
of the worst enemies of the Church and the people whose speeches are
full
of promises as impracticable as they are alluring.
<> They should know how to adapt
the Christian spirit to the new needs created by the material evolution
of contemporary society, but should remember that the Church has never
betrayed the interests of the people with compromising alliances, that
the true friends of the people are neither revolutionists nor
innovators
but traditionalists and that Jesus Christ never tolerated mistaken
convictions
in those who were misled no matter how sincere they seemed. [Emphasis
added.] Never has He inspired the humble with rebellious sentiments,
never
enticed the suffering with the vision of an illusory equality nor ever
promised a kingdom in which suffering would be banished. He came into
this
world so that all men, united to Him in charity, might have peace and
happiness
in time and eternity but on condition that they accepted His teaching,
practiced virtue and listened to the teachings of His Church.
Contact Us
HOME-----------CHRIST
THE KING
www.catholictradition.org/Priests/priesthood2-1.htm
