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Show I pope Eeo.cn the eiessca Bicftarist Co f r Conclusion of the Famous Encyclical with Quotations from the Early Fathers of the Church. I - m. 1 a Ji I ("Concluded.) I Very beautiful and joyful, too. is the , I Fportaclp of Christian brotherhood and I ijal fO.ua lity which is afforded when men of all conditions, gentle and.sim- jjj, I ji rich and poor, learned and un- ner"" ! lfa'-nd, gather round the holy altar, . ' I all sharing alike in this heavenly bar t I And in the records of the church it ' I j.. deservedly reckoned to the special ' M r? riit of its first ages that "the mul- j 'j tiiude of the believers had but one j I If-art and one ronl" (Acts iv, S2), and ; there -an be no shadow of doubt that j j- Jf tln immense blessing was due to their f fi-f-fjuent meetings at the - Divine table; j we find it recorded of them: "They I I v persevering in the doctrine of the I ap"-''tl"s and In the communion of the f 4 lurking of bread." tActs ii, 42.) if Fffides all this, the grace of mutual M , -hflrity anif-ng the living, which derives : If ;:om the Sacrament of the Eucharist so 1 fpi-'Jtt an increase of strength, is further ,i-m1M by virtue of the sacrifice to Ii ; ;t :hnsf who are numbered in the 5 1 I mmunion of Paints. For the Ccm- ipuninn of Saints, as everyone knows, 1 jv pnthine but the mutual communica- 1 ti.in of hHp. expiation, prayers, blss- rX ff ires, among all the faithful, who, . u hr-thi tliy have already attained to 7 If Hi.- havoniy country, or are dtain'-d f, i:i th purgatorial tire,- or are yet exiles 'I "it earth, all enjoy the common If jraiichise of that city whereof Christ It u ihc head, and the constitution is I ft rli.iiity. For faith teaches us that al- ! tiiough the venerable sacrifice may be !, lawfully offered to God alone, yet it if ;;ia'- be celebrated in honor of the J paints reigning in heaven with God j who has crowned them, in order that i Vr niay gain for ourselves their pat- j ronpe. And it may also be offered a . in accordance with an apostolic tradi- li-ui for the purpose of expiating the I fins of those of the brethren who, hav- 1 jug died in the Lord, have not yet fully i pai.l the penalty of their transgres- ri That genuine charity, therefore, which I Knows how to do and to suffer all things for the salvation and the benefit 1 I ui all. leaps forth with all the heat and I I energy of a flame from that most holy s- I Kueharist in which Christ himself, is '5 I present and lives, in which he indulges j w the utmost his love towards us, and I under the impulse of that divine love j ceaselessly renews his sacrifice. And I thus it is not difficult to see whence the k S arduous labors of apostolic men, and 1 I whence those innumerable designs of jf I (Aery kind for the welfare of the hu- I man. race which have been set on foot 1 among Catholics, derive their origin, I their strength, their permanence, their I sucess. These few words on a subject so vast 11 will, we doubt not, prove most helpful f to the Christian flock, if you in your j y.oal. venerable brethren, will cause them to be expounded and enforced as I time and occasion may serve. But ' indeed a sacrament so great and so rich in all manner of blessings can f never be extolled as it deserves by human hu-man eloquence, nor adequately vener- ated by the worship of man. This i, siicrament. wnetnor as tne tneme or ae- vout mditation; or as the -object of public adoration, or best of all as a food to be received in the utmost purity of conscience, is to be regarded as the center cen-ter towards which the spiritual life of a Christian in all its ambit gravitates; ' lor all other forms of devotion, what soever they may be, lead up to it, and Mi it find thejr point of .rest. In this mystery more- Ihau in any other that cracious invitation and still more gra-) gra-) ious promise of Christ is realized and finds its daily fulfillment: "Come to me all ye that labor and are heavily ji burdened, and I will refresh you." (St. I Matt, xi., 28). Jk In a word, this sacrament is, as it : were, the very soul of the church: and i to It the grace of the priesthood is or- I dried and directed in all its" fullness I and in each of its successive grades. From the same source the church draws and has all her strength, all her glory, her every supernatural endow- ? nient and adornment, every good thing i, that is hers; wherefore she makes it ''' the chiefest of all her cares to prepare the hearts of the faithful for an inti- ; mate union with Christ through the sacrament of his body and blood, and i u draw them thereto. And to this end ! she strives to promote the veneration of this august mystery by surrounding it wiUi holy ceremonies. To this cease-It cease-It .-ss and ever watchful care of the church our mother, our attention is 'irawn by that exportation which was uttered by the holy Council of Trent. nr-i whi-'h is so much to the purpose that for the. benefit of the Christian p'nrle we here reproduce it in its cn- ti'-cty: ' The holy synod admonishes, exhorts. Jks and implores by the tender mercy of our God, that all and each of those v ho bear the name of Christian should t last unite and find pea.ee in this sign "'- unity, in this bond of charity, in tiii symbol of concord; and that, mind- ! fai .jf the great majesty and singular i '"ve of Jesus Christ our Lord, who gave 1 precious life as the price of our sal- i ;ii ion, and his flesh for our food, they j sli.i'ild believe and revere these sacred 1 n ysu-rics of his body and fchod with I Mnh ccnstaixv of unwavering faith. G with such interior devotion and wor- I -'.ipful piety, th-it they may be in con- S : i i .ii to revive frequently that super- 1 ih.- ta ntial bread, and that it may be them the life of their souls and keep a -'ir mind in soundness of faith; so ' at strengthened with its strength I y niay be enabled after the journey 1 this sorrowful pilgrimage to reach a thr- heavenly ouniry. there to see and 1 ' r'l upon that bread of angels which 9 ! ' ihcv eat under the sa-rament;ii I ;': tCon. Tnd., Sess. XXII, C. vi.)- i History bears witness that the vir- f. s nf the Christian life have flour- i-'H best wherever and whenever the -qucnt reception of the Eucharist has : 'St. prevailed. And on the other hand : is no less certain that in days when f n have ceased to care for this heav- i y bread, and have lost their appetite ' ; ii it, the practice of Christian religion ! s gradually lost its force and vigor, -'.hd indeed it -was as a needful meas-;: meas-;: of a complete falling away that ii.tiocent III, in the Council of the Lat-' Lat-' an, most strictly enjoined that no ' iiristiau should abstain from receiv-'! receiv-'! :g the communion of the I.-ord s body i!t leant in the solemn paschal season. l:ut it-is clear that this precept was imposed with regret, and only as a last i -source: for it has always been the i '! -sire of the church that at every mass j .:ne of the faithful should be present! should 'communicate. "The holy nod would wish that in every cele-hiation cele-hiation of the mass some of the faith- j ful should take part, not only by de-'-'U11v assisting thereat, but also by 'he sacramental reception of the Lu--iiarist. in order that they might more ii.unda.ntlv partake of the fruits of this ..v sacrifice." (Con. Trid.. bess., X, I Euchar. c. viii). THE SACRIFICE OF THE MASh. Most abundant, assuredly, are the It .-alutary benefits which. are stored up in this most venerable mystery, .e-arded .e-arded as a sacrifice: a sacrifice hjch the (.hurch is accordingly wont to offer daily -for the salvation of the whole '' "Tnrt'it is fitting .indeed, in. this age it fHn?nlIi important of the united, effort s of -the aout. the outward honor and he inward reer rnee paid to this ?aer fic should ft . !ike increased.-Accordingly. Jt..i5r0.ur( wish that its manifold excellence may be both more widely known and more attentively considered. There are certain general principles the truth of which can be plainly per- ! ceived by the light of reason; for instance, in-stance, that the domination of God our Creator and Preserver over all men, , whether in their private or in their public life, is supreme and absolute; : that our whole being and all that we possess, whether individually or as members of society, comes from the divine di-vine bounty; that, we on our part are bound to show to God. as our Lord, the highest reverence, and. as he is our j greatest benefactor, the deepest grati- I tude. Eut how many are there who, at the present day. acknowledge and : discharge these duties with full and exact observance? In no age -has the spirit of contumacy and an attitude of defiance toward God been more prevalent preva-lent than in our own; an ag.? in which that unholy cry of the enemies of CUil . IT- . ... v.. u 1.-51. e win uc'i nave ims man to rule over us "(Luke xix, 14). makes itself it-self more and more loudly heard, together to-gether with the utterance of that wicked purpose: "Let us make away with him" (Jcr. xi.. U); nor. is there ny motive by which many are hurried on with more passionate fury than the desire utterly to banish God not only from the civil government, but from every form of human society. And although al-though men do not everywhere proceed to this extreniity of criminal madness, . it is a lamentable thing that so many j are sunk in oblivion of the divine maj-I maj-I esty and of his. favors, and in particular particu-lar of the salvation wrought for us by Christ. Xow a remedy must be found for this wickedness on the one hand, and this sloth on the other, in a general gen-eral increase among the faithful of fervent fer-vent devotion toward the Euehuristic sacrifice, than which nothing can give greater honor, nothing be more pleasing pleas-ing to God." For it is a divine victim which is here immolated; and accordingly accord-ingly through this victim we offer to the most blessed trinity all that honor which the infinite dignity of the Godhead God-head demands: infinite in value and infinitely in-finitely acceptable is the gift which we present to the Father in his only-begotten Son; so that for his benefits to us we not only signify our gratitude, but actually make an adequate return. Moreover, there is another two-fold fruit which we may and must derive from this great sacrifice. The heart is saddened when it considers what a flood of wickedness, the result as we have said of forgetfulness and contempt con-tempt of the divine majesty, has inundated inun-dated the world. It is not too much to say that a great part of the human race seems to be calling down upon itself it-self the anger of heaven; though indeed in-deed the crop of evils which has grown up here on earth is already ripening to a just judgment. Here then is a motive mo-tive whereby the faithful may be stirred to a devout and earnest endeavor to appease God, the avtnger of sin, and to win from him the help which is so needful in these calamitous times. And they should see that such blessings are to be sought principally by means of this sacrifice. For it is only in virtue of the death which Christ suffered that men can testify, and that most abundantly, abun-dantly, the demands of God's justice, and can obtain the plenteous gifts of his clemency. And Christ has willed that the whole virtue of his death, alike foiv expiation and impetration, should abide in the Eucharist, which is no mere empty commemoration thereof, but a true and wonderful though bloodless blood-less and mystical renewal of it. To conclude, we gladiy acknowledge that it has been a cause of no small joy to us that during these last years a renewal of love and devotion toward the Sacrament of the Eucharist has, as it seems, begun to show itself in the heartft of the faithful; a fact which encourages en-courages us to hope for better times and a more favorable state of affairs. Many and varied, as we said at the commencement, are the expedients which an inventive piety has devised; and worthy of special mention are the confraternities instituted either with the object of carrying out the Euchar-istrc Euchar-istrc ritual with greater splendor, or for the perpetual adoration of the venerable vener-able sacrament by day and night, or for the purpose of making reparation for the blasphemies and insults of which it is the object. But neither we nor you. venerable brethren, can allow ourselves to rest satisfied with what has hitherto been done; for there remain re-main many things 'which must be further fur-ther developed or begun anew, to the end that this most divine of gifts, this greatest of mysteries, may be better understood and more worthily honored and revered, even by those who already al-ready take their part in the religious services of the church. AVherefore, works of this kind which have been already set on foot must be evermore zealously promoted; old undertakings undertak-ings must be revived wherever perchance per-chance they may have fallen into decay; for instance, confraternities of the holy Eucharist, intercessory prayers before the Blessed Sacrament exposed for the veneration of the faithful, faith-ful, solemn processions, devout visits to God's tabernacle, and other holy and salutary practices of the same kind; nothing must be omitted which a prudent pru-dent piety may suggest as suitable. But the chief aim 'of our efforts must be that the frequent reception of the Eucharist Eu-charist may be everywhere revived among- Catholic peoples. For this is the lesson which is taught us by the example, exam-ple, already referred to, of the primitive church, by the decrees of councils, by the authority of the fathers and ef the holy men in all ages. For the soul, like the body, needs frequent nourishment: nourish-ment: -and the holy Eucharist provides that food which is best adapted to the support of its life. Accordingly all hostile hos-tile prejudices, those vain fears to which so many yield, and their specious excuses from abstaining from the Eucharist, Eu-charist, must be resolutely put aside; for there is question here of a gift than which none other can be more serviceable service-able to the faithful people, either for the redeeming of time from the tyranny tyran-ny of anxious cares concerning perishable perish-able things, or for the renewal of (he Christian spirit and. perseverance therein. there-in. To this end the exhortations and example of all those who occupy a prjminent position will powerfully contribute, con-tribute, but most especially the resourceful re-sourceful and diligent zeal of the clergy. For priests, to whom Christ our Redeemer Re-deemer entrusted the office of consecrating conse-crating and dispensing the mystery of his body and blood, can assuredly mak no better return for the honor which has been conferred upon them, than by promoting with all their might the glory of his Eucharist, and by inviting and drawing the hearts of men to the health-giving springs of this great sacrament sac-rament and sacrifice, seconding thereby the longings of his most sacred heart. May God grant that thus, in accordance accord-ance with our earnest desire, the excellent excel-lent fruits of the Eucharist may daily manifest themselves in greater abundance, abun-dance, to the. happy increase of faith, hope and charity, and of all Christian virtues; and may this turn to the recovery re-covery and advantage of the whole body politic: and may the wisdom of God's most provident charity, who instituted in-stituted this mystery for all time "for the life of the. world," shine forth..with an ever brighter -light. Encouraged- -by such hopes -as these, venerable brethren, we.' as a presage of the dnlne-fiberality arid as a pledge of our . -own. .'charity,! most, lovingly be-sto be-sto -on"Pach of you, and on 'the. clergy and flovk committed to the care of each, our apostolic benediction. , Given. at Rome. St Peter's, on -the 28th day of May, being the Vigil of the Solemnity of Corpus ' Christi, in the year, 1902, of our pontiftcite the five and twentieth. LEO XIII, POPE. |
