VENERABLE BRETHREN, HEALTH AND APOSTOLIC BENEDICTION:
Prefatory remarks.
1. The doctrine of the Mystical Body of Christ, which is the
Church,[1] was first taught us by the Redeemer Himself. Illustrating
as it does the great and inestimable privilege of our intimate union
with so exalted a Head, this doctrine by its sublime dignity invites
all those who are drawn by the Holy Spirit to study it, and gives them
in the truths of which it proposes to the mind, a strong incentive to
the performance of such good works as are conformable to its teaching.
For this reason, We deem it fitting to speak to you on this subject
through this Encyclical Letter, developing and explaining above all,
those points which concern the Church Militant. To this We are urged
not only by the surpassing grandeur of the subject but also by the
circumstances of the present time. [Ed. note: The Pontiff is here
speaking of the situation in Germany, Italy and other Fascist nations,
and the treatment of the Jews as it was known at the time. The reader
should be prepared, when reading Papal Encyclicals, to read the
delicate shades of things NOT mentioned specifically, but included
"between the lines," since Encyclicals are intended to reflect
doctrines which are eternal, not simply related to a single, specific
period or event.]
THE RICHES OF THE CHURCH.
2. For We intend to speak of the riches stored up in this
Church which Christ purchased with His Own Blood,[2] and whose members
glory in a thorn-crowned Head. The fact that they thus glory is a
striking proof that the greatest joy and exaltation are born only of
suffering, and hence that we should rejoice if we partake of the
sufferings of Christ, that when His glory shall be revealed we may
also be glad with exceeding joy. [3]
OUR TURBULENT TIMES.
3. From the outset it should be noted that the society
established by the Redeemer of the human race resembles its divine
Founder, who was persecuted, calumniated and tortured by those very
men whom He had undertaken to save. We do not deny, rather from a
heart filled with gratitude to God We admit, that even in our tur-
bulent times there are many who, though outside the fold of Jesus
Christ, look to the Church as the only haven of salvation; but We are
also aware that the Church of God not only is despised and hated
maliciously by those who shut their eyes to the light of Christian
____________________________________________________________________
1. Cf. Colossians 1:24
2. Acts 20:28
3. Cf. 1 Peter 4:13.
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wisdom and miserably return to the teachings, customs and practices of
ancient paganism, but is ignored and neglected, and even at times
looked upon as irksome by many Christians who are allured by specious
error or caught in the meshes of the world's corruption. In
obedience, therefore, Venerable Brethren, to the voice of Our con-
science and in compliance with the wishes of many, We will set forth
before the eyes of all and extol the beauty, the praises, and the
glory of Mother Church to whom, after God, we owe everything.
SUFFERING AND THE HEAVENLY MYSTERIES.
4. And it is to be hoped that Our instructions and exhorta-
tions will bring forth abundant fruit in the souls of the faithful in
the present circumstances. For We know that if all the sorrows and
calamities of these stormy times, by which countless multitudes are
being sorely tried, are accepted from God's hands with calm submis-
sion, they naturally lift souls above the passing things of earth
those of heaven that abide forever, and arouse a certain secret thirst
and intense desire for spiritual things. Thus, urged by the Holy
Spirit, men are moved, and as it were, impelled to seek the kingdom of
God with greater diligence; for the more they are detached from the
vanities of this world and from inordinate love of temporal things,
the more apt they will be to perceive the light of heavenly mysteries.
But the vanity and emptiness of earthly things are more manifest today
than perhaps at any other period, when Kingdoms and States are crum-
bling, when enormous quantities of goods and all kinds of wealth are
being sunk in the depths of the sea, and cities, towns and fertile
fields are strewn with massive ruins and defiled with the blood of
brothers. [Ed. note: kindly remember the date: 1943].
USEFULNESS OF THE DOCTRINE TO THOSE OUTSIDE THE CHURCH.
5. Moreover, We trust that Our exposition of the doctrine of
the Mystical Body of Christ will be acceptable and useful to those
also who are without the fold of the Church, not only because their
good will toward the Church seems to grow from day to day, but also
because, while before their eyes nation rises up against nation,
kingdom against kingdom, and discord is sown everywhere together with
the seeds of envy and hatred, if they turn their gaze to the Church,
if they contemplate her divinely-given unity - by which all men of
every race are united to Christ in the bond of brotherhood - they will
be forced to admire this fellowship in charity, and with the guidance
and assistance of divine grace will long to share in the same union
and charity.
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SPECIAL REASONS FOR JOY.
6. There is a special reason, too, and one most dear to Us,
which recalls this doctrine to Our mind and with it a deep sense of
joy. During the year that has passed since the twenty-fifth anniver-
sary of Our Episcopal consecration, We have had the great consolation
of witnessing something that has made the image of the Mystical Body
of Jesus Christ stand out most clearly before the whole world. Though
a long and deadly war has pitilessly broken the bond of brotherly
union between nations, We have seen Our children in Christ, in
whatever part of the world they happened to be, one in will and
affection, lift up their hearts to the common Father, who, carrying in
his own heart the cares and anxieties of all, is guiding the barque of
the Catholic Church int he teeth of a raging tempest. This is a
testimony to the wonderful union existing among Christians; but it
also proves that, as Our paternal love embraces all peoples, whatever
their nationality and race, so Catholics the world over, though their
countries may have drawn the sword against each other, look to the
Vicar of Jesus Christ as to the loving Father of them all, who, with
absolute impartiality and incorruptible judgment, rising above the
conflicting gales of human passions, takes upon himself with all his
strength the defence of truth, justice and charity.
THE LIVING STONES OF THE LIVING CHURCH.
7. We have been no less consoled to know that with spon-
taneous generosity a fund has been created for the erection of a
church in Rome to be dedicated to our saintly predecessor and patron,
Eugene I. At this temple, to be built by the wish and through the
liberality of all the faithful, will be a lasting memorial of this
happy event, so We desire to offer this Encyclical Letter in testimony
of Our gratitude. It tells of those living stones which rest upon the
living cornerstone, which is Christ, and are built together into a
holy temple, far surpassing any temple built by hands, into a habita-
tion of God in the Spirit. [4]
THE CHIEF REASON FOR THIS DOCUMENT.
8. But the chief reason for Our present exposition of this
sublime doctrine is Our solicitude for the souls entrusted to Us.
Much indeed has been written on this subject; and We know that many
today are turning with greater zest to a study which delights and
nourishes Christian piety. This, it would seem, is chiefly because a
revived interest in the sacred liturgy, the more widely spread custom
of frequent Communion, and the more fervent devotion to the Sacred
Heart of Jesus practiced today, have brought many souls to a deeper
consideration of the unsearchable riches of Christ which are preserved
in the Church. Moreover, recent pronouncements on Catholic Action, by
drawing closer the bonds of union between Christians and between them
and the ecclesiastical hierarchy and especially the Roman Pontiff,
have undoubtedly helped not a little to place this truth in its proper
____________________________________________________________________
4. Cf. Ephesians 2:21-22; 1 Peter 2:5.
Page -3-
light. Nevertheless, while We can derive legitimate joy from these
considerations, We must confess that grave errors with regard to this
doctrine are being spread among those outside the true Church, and
that among the faithful, also, inaccurate or thoroughly false ideas
are being disseminated which turn minds aside from the straight path
of truth.
"RATIONALISM" AND "MYSTICISM."
9. For while there still survives a false "rationalism,"
which ridicules anything that transcends and defies the power of human
genius, and which is accompanied by a cognate error, the so-called
"popular naturalism," which sees and wills to see in the Church
nothing but a juridical and social union, there is on the other hand a
false "mysticism" creeping in, which, in its attempt to eliminate the
immovable frontier that separates creatures from their Creator,
falsifies the Sacred Scriptures.
REASON ILLUMINED BY FAITH.
10. As a result of these conflicting and mutually antagonis-
tic schools of thought, some through vain fear, look upon so profound
a doctrine as something dangerous, and so they shrink from it as from
the beautiful but forbidden fruit of paradise. But this is not so.
Mysteries revealed by God cannot be harmful to men, nor should they
remain as treasures hidden in a field, useless. They have been given
from on high precisely to help the spiritual progress of those who
study them in a spirit of piety. For, as the Vatican Council teaches,
"reason illumined by faith, if it seeks earnestly, piously and wisely,
does attain under God, to a certain and most helpful knowledge of
mysteries, by considering their analogy with what it knows naturally,
and their mutual relations, and their common relations with man's last
end," although, as the same holy Synod observes, reason, even thus
illumined, "is never capable of understanding those mysteries as it
does those truths which forms its proper object." [5]
11. After pondering all this long and seriously before God
We consider it part of Our pastoral duty to explain to the entire
flock of Christ through this Encyclical Letter the doctrine of the
Mystical Body of Christ and of the union in this Body of the faithful
with the divine Redeemer; and then, from this consoling doctrine, to
draw certain lessons that will make a deeper study of this mystery
bear yet richer fruits of perfection and holiness. Our purpose is to
throw an added ray of glory on the supreme beauty of the Church; to
bring out into fuller light the exalted supernatural nobility of the
faithful who in the Body of Christ are united with their Head; and
finally, to exclude definitely the many current errors with regard to
this matter.
____________________________________________________________________
5. Sessio III; Const. de fide cath., c. 4.
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FIRST PART.
THE CHURCH IS THE MYSTICAL BODY OF CHRIST.
12. When one reflects on the origin of this doctrine, there
come to mind at once the words of the Apostle: "Where sin abounded,
grace did more abound."[6] All know that the father of the whole human
race was constituted by God in so exalted a state that he was to hand
on to his posterity, together with earthly existence, the heavenly
life of divine grace. But after the unhappy fall of Adam, the whole
human race, infected by the hereditary stain, lost their participation
in the divine nature,[7] and we were all "children of wrath."[8] But
the all-merciful God "so loved the world as to give His only-begotten
Son,"[9] and the Word of the Eternal Father with the same divine love
assumed human nature from the race of Adam - but as an innocent and
spotless nature - so that He, as the new Adam, might be the source
whence the grace of the Holy Spirit should flow unto all the children
of the first parent. Through the sin of the first man they had been
excluded from adoption as children of God; through the Word incarnate,
made brothers according to the flesh of the only-begotten Son of God,
they receive also the power to become the sons of God.[10] As He hung
upon the Cross, Christ Jesus not only appeased the justice of the
Eternal Father which had been violated, but He also won for us, His
brethren, an ineffable flow of graces. It was possible for Him of
Himself to impart these graces to mankind directly; but He willed to
do so only through a visible Church made up of men, so that through
her all might cooperate with Him in dispensing the graces of
Redemption. As the Word of God willed to make use of our nature, when
in excruciating agony He would redeem mankind, so in the same way
throughout the centuries He makes use of the Church that the work
begun might endure. [11]
13. If we would define and describe this true Church of
Jesus Christ - which is the One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic and Roman
Church[12] - we shall find nothing more noble, more sublime, or more
divine than the expression "the Mystical Body of Christ" - an express-
ion which springs from and is, as it were, the fair flowering of the
repeated teaching of the Sacred Scriptures and the Holy Fathers.
____________________________________________________________________
6. Romans 5:20
7. Cf. 2 Peter 1:4
8. Ephesians 2:3
9. John 3:16
10. Cf. John 1:12
11. Cf. 1 Vatican Council, Const. de Eccl., prol.
12. Cf. ibidem, Const. de fide cath., c. 1.
Page -5-
THE CHURCH IS A BODY.
One, Undivided, Visible.
14. That the Church is a body is frequently asserted in the
Sacred Scriptures. "Christ," says the Apostle, "is the Head of the
Body of the Church."[13] If the Church is a body, it must be an
unbroken unity, according to those words of Paul: "Though many we are
one body in Christ."[14] But it is not enough that the Body of the
Church should be an unbroken unity; it must also be something definite
and perceptible to the senses as Our predecessor of happy memory, Leo
XIII,in his Encyclical SATIS COGNITUM asserts: "the Church is visible
because she is a body.[15] Hence they err in a matter of divine truth,
who imagine the Church to be invisible, intangible, a something merely
"pneumatological" as they say, by which many Christian communities,
though they differ from each other in their profession of faith, are
untied by an invisible bond.
15. But a body calls also for a multiplicity of members,
which are linked together in such a way as to help one another. And
as in the body when one member suffers, all the other members share
its pain, and the healthy members come to the assistance of the
ailing, so in the Church the individual members do not live for
themselves alone, but also help their fellows, and all work in mutual
collaboration for the common comfort and for the more perfect building
up of the whole Body.
CONSTITUTED ORGANICALLY AND HIERARCHICALLY.
16. Again, as in nature a body is not formed by any hap-
hazard grouping of members but must be constituted of organs, that is
of members, that have not the same function and are arranged in due
order; so for this reason above all the Church is called a body, that
it is constituted by the coalescence of structurally untied parts, and
that it has a variety of members reciprocally dependent. It is thus
the Apostle describes the Church when he writes: "As in one body we
have many members, but all the members have not the same office: so we
being many are one body in Christ, and everyone members one of
another." [16]
17. One must not think, however, that this ordered or
"organic" structure of the body of the Church contains only hierarchi-
cal elements and with them is complete; or, as an opposite opinion
holds, that it is composed only of those who enjoy charismatic gifts -
though members gifted with miraculous powers will never be lacking in
____________________________________________________________________
13. Colossians 1:18
14. Romans 12:5
15. Cf. Acta Sancti Sedis (hereinafter A.S.S.) 29, p. 649.
16. Romans 12:4
Page -6-
the Church. That those who exercise sacred power in this Body are its
chief members must be maintained uncompromisingly. It is through
them, by commission of the Divine Redeemer Himself, that Christ's
apostolate as Teacher, King and Priest is to endure. At the same
time, when the Fathers of the Church sing the praises of this Mystical
Body of Christ, with its ministries, its variety of ranks, its of-
ficers, it conditions, its orders, its duties, they are thinking not
only of those who have received Holy Orders, but of all those too,
who, following the evangelical counsels, pass their lives either
actively among men, or hidden in the silence of the cloister, or who
aim at combining the active and contemplative life according to their
Institute; as also of those who, though living in the world, consec-
rate themselves wholeheartedly to spiritual or corporal works of
mercy, and of those in the state of Holy Matrimony. Indeed, let this
be clearly understood, especially in our days, fathers and mothers of
families, those who are godparents through Baptism, and in particular
those members of the laity who collaborate with the ecclesiastical
hierarchy in spreading the Kingdom of the Divine Redeemer occupy an
honorable, if often a lowly, place in the Christian community, and
even they under the impulse of God and with His help, can reach the
heights of supreme holiness, which, Jesus Christ has promised, will
never be wanting to the Church.
THE SACRAMENTS
Endowed With Vital Means of Sanctification
18. Now we see that the human body is given the proper
means to provide for its own life, health and growth, and for that of
all its members. Similarly, the Savior of mankind out of His infinite
goodness has provided in a wonderful way for His Mystical Body,
endowing it with the Sacraments, so that, as though by an uninter-
rupted series of graces, its members should be sustained from birth to
death, and that generous provision might be made for the social needs
of the Church. Through the waters of Baptism those who are born into
this world dead in sin are not only born again and made members of the
Church, but being stamped with a spiritual seal they become able and
fit to receive the other Sacraments. By the chrism of Confirmation,
the faithful are given added strength to protect and defend the
Church, their Mother, and the faith she has given them. In the
Sacrament of Penance a saving medicine is offered for the members of
the Church who have fallen into sin, not only to provide for their own
health, but to remove from other members of the Mystical Body all
danger of contagion, or rather to afford them an incentive to virtue,
and the example of a virtuous act.
19. Nor is that all; for in the Holy Eucharist the faithful
are nourished and strengthened at the same banquet and by a divine,
ineffable bond are united with each other and with the Divine Head of
the whole Body. Finally, like a devoted mother, the Church is at the
bedside of those who are sick unto death; and if it be not always
God's will that by the holy anointing she restore health to the mortal
body, nevertheless she administers spiritual medicine to the wounded
Page -7-
soul and sends new citizens to heaven - to be her new advocates
- who will enjoy forever the happiness of God.
20. For the social needs of the Church Christ has provided
in a particular way by the institution of two other Sacraments.
Through Matrimony, in which the contracting parties are ministers of
grace to each other, provision is made for the external and duly
regulated increase of Christian society, and, what is of greater
importance, for the correct religious education of the children,
without which this Mystical Body would be in grave danger. Through
Holy Orders men are set aside and consecrated to God, to offer the
Sacrifice of the Eucharistic Victim, to nourish the flock of the
faithful with the Bread of Angels and the food of doctrine, to guide
them in the way of God's commandments and counsels and to strengthen
them with all other supernatural helps.
21. In this connection it must be borne in mind that, as
God at the beginning of time endowed man's body with most ample power
to subject all creatures to himself, and to increase and multiply and
fill the earth, so at the beginning of the Christian era, He supplied
the Church with the means necessary to overcome the countless dangers
and to fill not only the whole world but the realms of heaven as well.
INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS
22. Actually only those are to be included as members of
the Church who have been baptized and profess the true faith, and who
have not been so unfortunate as to separate themselves from the unity
of the Body, or been excluded by legitimate authority for grave faults
committed. "For in one spirit" says the Apostle, "were we all
baptized into one Body, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether bond or
free."[17] As therefore in the true Christian community there is only
one Body, one Spirit, one Lord, and one Baptism, so there can be only
one faith.[18] And therefore, if a man refuse to hear the Church, let
him be considered - so the Lord commands - as a heathen and a publi-
can. [19] It follows that those who are divided in faith or government
cannot be living in the unity of such a Body, nor can they be living
the life of its one Divine Spirit.
____________________________________________________________________
17. 1 Corinthians 12:13
18. Cf. Ephesians 4:5
19. Matthew 18:17
Page -8-
NOT EXCLUDING SINNERS
23. Nor must one imagine that the Body of the Church, just
because it bears the name of Christ, is made up during the days of its
earthly pilgrimage only of members conspicuous for their holiness, or
that it consists only of those whom God has predestined to eternal
happiness. It is owing to the Savior's infinite mercy that place is
allowed in His Mystical Body here below for those whom, of old, He did
not exclude from the banquet.[20] For not every sin, however grave it
may be, is such as of its own nature to sever a man from the Body of
the Church, as does schism or heresy or apostasy. Men may lose
charity and divine grace through sin, thus becoming incapable of
supernatural merit, and yet not be deprived of all life if they hold
fast to faith and Christian hope, and if, illumined from above, they
are spurred on by the interior promptings of the Holy Spirit to
salutary fear and are moved to prayer and penance for their sins.
24. Let everyone then abhor sin, which defiles the mystical
members of our Redeemer; but if anyone unhappily falls and his
obstinacy has not made him unworthy of communion with the faithful,
let him be received with great love, and let eager charity see in him
a weak member of Jesus Christ. For, as the Bishop of Hippo[21]
remarks, it is better "to be cured within the Church's community than
to be cut off from its body as incurable members."[22] "As long as a
member still forms part of the body there is no reason to despair of
its cure; once it has been cut off, it can be neither cured nor
healed." [23]
THE CHURCH IS THE BODY OF CHRIST
25. In the course of the present study, Venerable Brethren,
we have thus far seen that the Church is so constituted that it may be
likened to a body. We must now explain clearly and precisely why it
is to be called not merely a body, but the Body of Jesus Christ. This
follows from the fact that our Lord is the Founder, the Head, the
Support and the Savior of this Mystical Body.
____________________________________________________________________
20. Cf. Matthew 9:11; Mark 2:16; Luke 15:2
21. St. Augustine
22. Augustine, Epistles, 157, 3, 22: Migne, P. L. 33, 686
23. Augustine, Sermons, 137, I: Migne, P.L. 38,754
Page -9-
CHRIST WAS THE FOUNDER OF THE BODY
26. As We set out briefly to expound in what sense Christ
founded His social Body, the following thought of Our predecessor of
happy memory, Leo XIII, occurs to Us at once: "The Church which,
already conceived, came forth from the side of the second Adam in His
sleep on the Cross, first showed Herself before the eyes of men on the
great day of Pentecost."[24] For the Divine Redeemer began the buil-
ding of the mystical temple of the Church when by His preaching He
made known His Precepts; He completed it when he hung glorified
on the Cross; and He manifested and proclaimed it when He sent
the Holy spirit as Paraclete in visible form on His disciples.
(a) By Preaching the Gospel
27. For while fulfilling His office as preacher He chose
Apostles, sending them as He had been sent by the Father[25] - namely
as teachers, rulers, instruments of holiness in the assembly of the
believers; He appointed their Chief and His Vicar on earth;[26] He
made known to them all things and whatsoever He had heard from His
Father; [27] He also determined that through Baptism [28] those who
should believe would be incorporated in the Body of the Church; and
finally, ,when He came to the close of His life, He instituted at
the Last Supper the wonderful Sacrifice and Sacrament of the
Eucharist.
____________________________________________________________________
24. Encyclical "Divinum Illud": A.S.S., 29, p. 649
25. John 17:18
26. Cf. Matthew 16:18-19
27. John 15:15; 17:8 and 14
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VENERABLE BRETHREN, HEALTH AND APOSTOLIC BENEDICTION:
Prefatory remarks.
(b) By Suffering on the Cross
28. That He completed His work on the gibbet of the Cross
is the unanimous teaching of the holy Fathers who assert that the
Church was born from the side of our Savior on the Cross like a new
Eve, mother of all the living. [1] "And it is now," says the great St.
Ambrose, speaking of the pierced side of Christ, "that it is built, it
is now that it is formed, it is now that it is...molded, it is now
that it is created....Now it is that arises a spiritual house, a holy
priesthood." [2] One who reverently examines this venerable teaching
will easily discover the reasons on which it is based.
29. And first of all, by the death of our Redeemer, the New
Testament took the place of the Old Law which had been abolished; then
the Law of Christ together with its mysteries, enactments, institu-
tions, and sacred rites was ratified for the whole world in the blood
of Jesus Christ. k For, while our Divine Savior was preaching in a
restricted area - He was not sent but to the sheep that were lost of
the House of Israel [3]-the Law and the Gospel were together in force;
[4]but on the Gibbet of His death Jesus made void the Law with its
decrees[5] fastened the handwriting of the Old Testament to the Cross,
[6] establishing the New Testament in His blood shed for the whole hu-
man race.[7] "To such an extent, then," says St. Leo the Great, speak-
ing of the Cross of our Lord, "was there effected a transfer from the
Law to the Gospel, from the Synagogue to the Church, from the
many sacrifices to one Victim, that, as Our Lord expired, that mysti-
cal veil which shut off the innermost part of the temple and its sa-
cred secret was rent violently from top to bottom." [8]
____________________________________________________________________
1. Cf. Genesis 3:20
2. Ambrose, "In Luc," 2, 87: Migne, P.L., 15, 1585
3. Cf. Matthew 15:24
4. Cf. St. Thomas Aquinas, I,II, 1. 103, a. 3, ad 2.
5. Cf. Ephesians 2:15
6. Cf. Colossians 2:14
7. Cf. Matthew 26:28; I Corinthians 11:25
8. Leo the Great, "Sermons", 68, 3: Migne, P.L. 54, 374
MYSTICI CORPORIS
30. On the Cross then the Old Law died, soon to be buried
and to be a bearer of death, [9] in order to give way to the New
Testament of which Christ had chosen the Apostles as qualified
ministers; [10] and although He had been constituted the Head of the
whole human family in the womb of the Blessed Virgin, it is by the
power of the Cross that our Savior exercises fully the office itself
of Head of His Church. "For it was through His triumph on the Cross,"
according to the teaching of the Angelic and Common Doctor, "that He
won power and dominion over the gentiles";[11] by that same victory He
increased the immense treasure of graces, which, as He reigns in glory
in heaven, He lavishes continually on His mortal members; it was by
His blood shed on the Cross that God's anger was averted and that all
the heavenly gifts, especially the spiritual graces of the New and
Eternal Testament, could then flow from the fountains of our Savior
for the salvation of men, of the faithful above all; it was on the
tree of the Cross, finally, that He entered into possession of His
Church, that is, of all the members of His Mystical Body; for they
would not have been untied to this Mystical Body through the waters of
Baptism except by the salutary virtue of the Cross, by which they had
been already brought under the complete sway of Christ.
31. But if our Savior, by His death, became, in the full
and complete sense of the word, the Head of the Church, it was
likewise through His blood that the Church was enriched with the
fullest communication of the Holy Spirit, through which, from the time
when the Son of Man was lifted up and glorified on the Cross by His
sufferings, she is divinely illumined. For then, as Augustine notes,
[12] with the rending of the veil of the temple it happened that the
dew of the Paraclete's gifts, which heretofore had descended only on
the fleece, that is on the people of Israel, fell copiously and abun-
dantly (while the fleece remained dry and deserted) on the whole earth,
that is on the Catholic Church, which is confined by no boundaries of
race or territory. Just as at the first moment of the Incarnation the
Son of the Eternal Father adorned with the fullness of the Holy Spirit
the human nature which was substantially united to Him, that it might
be a fitting instrument of the Divinity in the sanguinary work of the
Redemption, so at the hour of His precious death He willed that His
Church should be enriched with the abundant gifts of the Paraclete in
order that in dispensing the divine fruits of the Redemption she might
be, for the Incarnate Word, a powerful instrument that would never
fail. For both the juridical mission of the Church, and the power to
teach, govern and administer the Sacraments, derive their supernatural
____________________________________________________________________
9. Jerome and Augustine, "Epistles" 112, 14 116, 16; Migne:
P.L., 22, 924, 943; St. Thos., I-II, q 103, a. 3, ad 1; a.
4; ad 1; Council of Florence, "pro Jacob.": Mansi, 31, 1738.
10. Cf. 2 Corinthians 3:6
11. Cf. St. Thos. III, 1. 42, a. 1.
12. Cf. "De peccato originali," 25, 29: Migne, P.L., 44, 400
Page -12-
MYSTICI CORPORIS
efficacy and force for the building up of the Body of Christ from the
fact that Jesus Christ, hanging on the Cross, opened up to His Church
the fountain of those divine gifts, which prevent her from ever
teaching false doctrine and enable her to rule them for the salvation
of their souls through divinely enlightened pastors and to bestow on
them an abundance of heavenly graces.
32. If we consider closely all these mysteries of the
Cross, those words of the Apostle are no longer obscure, in which he
teaches the Ephesians that Christ, by His blood, made the Jews and
Gentiles one "breaking down the middle wall of partition...in his
flesh" by which the two peoples were divided; and that He made the Old
Law void "that He might make the two in Himself into one new man,"
that is, the Church, and might reconcile both to God in one Body by
the Cross." [13]
(c) By Promulgating the Church on the Day of Pentecost
33. The Church which He founded by His Blood, He
strengthened on the Day of Pentecost by a special power, given from
heaven. For, having solemnly installed in his exalted office him whom
He had already nominated as His Vicar, He had ascended into Heaven;
and sitting now at the right hand of the Father He wished to make
known and proclaim His Spouse through the visible coming of the Holy
Spirit with the sound of a mighty wind and tongues of fire.[14] For
just as He Himself when He began to preach was made known by His
Eternal Father through the Holy Spirit descending and remaining on Him
in the form of a dove, [15] so likewise, as the Apostles were about to
enter upon their ministry of preaching, Christ our Lord sent the Holy
Spirit down from Heaven, to touch them with tongues of fire and to
point out, as by the finger of God, the supernatural mission and
office of the Church.
CHRIST IS THE HEAD OF THE BODY
34. That this Mystical Body which is the Church should be
called Christ's is proved in the second place from the fact that He
must be universally acknowledged as its actual Head. "He," as St.
Paul says, "is the Head of the Body, the Church." [16] He is the Head
from whom the whole body perfectly organized, "groweth and maketh
increase unto the edifying of itself." [17]
____________________________________________________________________
13. Cf. Ephesians 2:14-16
14. Cf. Acts 2:1-4
15. Cf.l Luke 3:22; Mark 1:10
16. Colossians 1:18
17. Cf. Ephesians 4:16; Colossians 2:19
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MYSTICI CORPORIS
35. You are familiar, Venerable Brethren, with the ad-
mirable and luminous language used by the masters of Scholastic
Theology and chiefly by the Angelic and Common Doctor, when treating
this question; and you know that the reasons advanced by Aquinas are a
faithful reflection of the mind and writings of the Holy Fathers, who
moreover merely repeated and commented on the inspired word of Sacred
Scripture.
(a) By Reason of His Pre-eminence
36. However for the good of all We wish to touch on this
point briefly. And first of all it is clear that the Son of God and
of the Blessed Virgin is to be called the head of the Church by reason
of His singular pre- eminence. For the Head is in the highest place.
But who is in a higher place than Christ God, who as the Word of the
Eternal Father must be acknowledged to be the "firstborn of every
creature?"[18] Who has reached more lofty heights than Christ Man who,
though born of the Immaculate Virgin, is the true and natural Son of
God, and in virtue of His miraculous and glorious resurrection, a
resurrection triumphant over death, has become the "firstborn of the
dead?" [19] Who finally has been so exalted as He, who as "the one
mediator of God and men"[20] has in a most wonderful manner linked
earth to heaven, who, raised on the Cross as on a throne of mercy, has
drawn all things to Himself,[21] who, as the Son of Man chosen from
among thousands, is beloved of God beyond all men, all angels and all
created things? [22]
(b) By Reason of Government
37. Because Christ is so exalted, He alone by every right
rules and governs the Church; and herein is yet another reason why He
must be likened to a head. As the head is the "royal citadel" of the
body[23] - to use the words of Ambrose - and all the members over whom
it is placed for their good[24] are naturally guided by it as being
endowed with superior powers, so the Divine Redeemer holds the helm of
the universal Christian community and directs its course. And as to
govern human society signifies to lead men to the end proposed by
____________________________________________________________________
18. Colossians 1:15
19. Colossians 1:18; Apocalypse 1:5
20. 1 Timothy 2:5
21. Cf. John 12:32
22. Cf. Cyril of Alexandria, "Commentary on John I,4: Migne,
P.G., 73, 69; St. Thomas., I, 1. 20, a. 4, ad 1.
23. Hexaemeron, 6, 55: Migne, P.L. 14, 265
24. Cf. Augustine, De Agonia Christi, 20,22: Migne, P.L., 40,
301
Page -14-
MYSTICI CORPORIS
means that are expedient, just and helpful, [25] it is easy to see how
our Savior, model and ideal of good Shepherds, [26] performs all these
functions in a most striking way.
38. While still on earth, He instructed us by precept,
counsel and warning in words that shall never pass away, and will be
spirit and life [27] to all men of all times. Moreover He conferred a
triple power on His Apostles and their successors, to teach, to
govern, to lead men to holiness, making this power, defined by special
ordinances, rights and obligations, the fundamental law of the whole
Church.
VISIBLY AND EXTRAORDINARILY
39. But our Divine Savior governs and guides the Society
which He founded directly and personally also. For it is He who
reigns within the minds and hearts of men, and bends and subjects
their wills to His good pleasure, even when rebellious. "The heart of
the King is in the hand of the Lord; whithersoever he will, he shall
turn it."[28] By this interior guidance He the "Shepherd and Bishop of
our souls,"[29] not only watches over individuals but exercises His
providence over the universal Church, whether by enlightening and
giving courage to the Church's rulers for the loyal and effective
performance of their respective duties, or by singling out form the
body of the Church - especially when times are grave - men and women
of conspicuous holiness, who may point the way for the rest of
Christendom to the perfecting of His Mystical Body. Morever from
Heaven Christ never ceases to look down with especial love on His
spotless Spouse so sorely tried in her earthly exile; and when He sees
her in danger, saves her from the tempestuous sea either Himself or
through the ministry of His Angels,[30] or through her whom we invoke
as Help of Christians, or through other heavenly advocates, and in
calm and tranquil waters comforts her with the peace "which surpasseth
all understanding." [31]
____________________________________________________________________
25. Cf. St. Thomas, I, q. 22, a. 1-4
26. Cf. John 10:1-18; 1 Peter 5:1-5
27. Cf. John 6:63
28. Proverbs 21:1
29. Cf. 1 Peter 2:25
30. Cf. Acts 8:26; 9:1-19; 10:1-7; 12:3- 10
31. Philippians 4:7
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MYSTICI CORPORIS
VISIBLY AND ORDINARILY THROUGH THE ROMAN PONTIFF
40. But we must not think that He rules only in a hidden[32]
or extraordinary manner. On the contrary, our Redeemer also governs
His Mystical Body in a visible and normal way through His Vicar on
earth. You know, Venerable Brethren, that after He had ruled the
"little flock" [33] Himself during His mortal pilgrimage, Christ our
Lord, when about to leave this world and return to the Father,
entrusted to the Chief of the Apostles the visible government of the
entire community He had founded. Since He was all wise He could not
leave the body of the Church He had founded as a human society without
a visible head. Nor against this may one argue that the primacy of
jurisdiction established in the Church gives such a Mystical Body two
heads. For Peter in view of his primacy is only Christ's Vicar; so
that there is only one chief Head of this Body, namely Christ, who
never ceases Himself to guide the Church invisibly, though at the same
time He rules it visibly, through him who is His representative on
earth. After His glorious Ascension into Heaven this Church rested
not on Him alone, but on Peter, too, its visible foundation stone.
That Christ and His Vicar constitute one only Head is the solemn
teaching of Our predecessor of immortal memory Boniface VIII in the
Apostolic Letter "Unam Sanctam;" [34] and his successors have never
ceased to repeat the same.
41. They, therefore, walk in the path of dangerous error
who believe that they can accept Christ as the Head of the Church,
while not adhering loyally to His Vicar on earth. They have taken
away the visible head, broken the visible bonds of unity and left the
Mystical Body of the Redeemer so obscured and so maimed, that those
who are seeking the haven of eternal salvation can neither see it nor
find it.
IN EACH PARTICULAR CHURCH THROUGH THE BISHOPS
42. What we have thus far said of the Universal Church must
be understood also of the individual Christian communities, whether
Oriental or Latin, which go to makeup the one Catholic Church. For
they, too, are ruled by Jesus Christ through the voice of their
respective Bishops. Consequently, Bishops must be considered as the
more illustrious members of the Universal Church, for they are united
by a very special bond to the divine Head of the whole Body and so are
rightly called "principal parts of the members of the Lord;" [35]
moreover, as far as his own diocese is concerned, each one as a true
Shepherd feeds the flock entrusted to him and rules it in the name of
____________________________________________________________________
32. Cf. Leo XIII, "Satis Cognitum": A.S.S., 28, 725
33. Luke 12:32
34. Cf. Corpus Juris Canonici, "Extr. Comm." I,8,1
35. Gregory the Great, Moral., 14,35,43: Migne, P.L., 75, 1062
Page -16-
MYSTICI CORPORIS
Christ. [36] Yet in exercising this office they are not altogether
independent, but are subordinate to the lawful authority of the Roman
Pontiff, although enjoying the ordinary power of jurisdiction which
they receive directly from the same Supreme Pontiff. Therefore,
Bishops should be revered by the faithful as divinely appointed
successors of the Apostles, [37] and to them, even more than to the
highest civil authorities should be applied the words: "Touch not my
anointed one!" [38] For Bishops have been anointed with the chrism of
the Holy Spirit.
43. That is why We are deeply pained when We hear that not
a few of Our Brother Bishops are being attacked and persecuted not
only in their own persons, but - what is more cruel and heartrending
for them - in the faithful committed to their care, in those who share
their apostolic labors, even in the virgins consecrated to God; and
all this, merely because they are a pattern of the flock from the
heart[39] and guard with energy and loyalty, as they should the sacred
"deposit of faith"[40] confided to them; merely because they insist on
the sacred laws that have been engraved by God on the souls of men,
and after the example of the Supreme Shepherd defend their flock
against ravenous wolves. Such an offence We consider as committed
against Our own person and We repeat the noble words of Our
Predecessor of immortal memory Gregory the Great: "Our honor is the
honor of the Universal Church; Our honor is the united strength of Our
Brethren; and We are truly honored when honor is given to each and
every one." [41]
(c) By Reason of Mutual Need
44. Because Christ the Head holds such an eminent position,
one must not think that he does not require the help of the Body.
What Paul said of the human organism is to be applied likewise to the
Mystical Body: "The head cannot say to the feet: I have no need of
you."[42]It is manifestly clear that the faithful need the help of the
Divine Redeemer, for He has said: "Without me you can do nothing,"[43]
and according to the teaching of the Apostle every advance of this
____________________________________________________________________
36. Cf. Vatican I, "Const. de Eccl.", Cap. 3
37. Cf. Cod. Jur. Can., Can 329, 1
38. I Paral. 16, 22; Ps. 104:15
39. Cf. 1 Peter 5:3
40. Cf. 1 Tim. 6:20
41. Cf. Ep. Ad Eulog., 30: Migne, P.L., 77, 933
42. 1 Cor. 12:21
43. John 15:5
Page -17-
MYSTICI CORPORIS
Mystical Body towards its perfection derives from Christ the Head.[44]
Yet this, also, must be held, marvelous though it may seem: Christ
has need of His members. First, because the person of Jesus Christ is
represented by the Supreme Pontiff, who in turn must call on others to
share much of his solicitude lest he be overwhelmed by the burden of
his pastoral office, and must be helped daily by the prayers of the
Church. Moreover as our Savior does not rule the Church directly in a
visible manner, He wills to be helped by the members of His Body in
carrying out the work of redemption. That is not because He is
indigent and weak, but rather because He has so willed it for the
greater glory of His spotless Spouse. Dying on the Cross He left to
His Church the immense treasury of the Redemption, towards which she
contributed nothing. But when those graces come to be distributed,
not only does He share this work of sanctification with His Church,
but He wills that in some way it be due to her action. This is a deep
mystery, and an inexhaustible subject of meditation, that the salva-
tion of many depends on the prayers and voluntary penances which the
members of the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ offer for this intention
and on the cooperation of pastors of souls and of the faithful,
especially of fathers and mothers of families, a cooperation which
they must offer to our Divine Savior as though they were His as-
sociates.
45. To the reasons thus far adduced to show that Christ our
Lord should be called the Head of the Society which is His Body there
may be added three others which are closely related to one another.
(d) By Reason of Similarity
46. We begin with the similarity which we see existing
between Head and body, in that they have the same nature; and in this
connection it must be observed that our nature, although inferior to
that of the angels, nevertheless through God's goodness has risen
above it: "For Christ," as Aquinas says, "is Head of the angels; for
even in His humanity He is superior to angels....Even as man He
illumines the angelic intellect and influences the angelic will. But
in respect to similarity of nature Christ is not Head of the angels,
because He did not take hold of the angels - to quote the Apostle -
but of the seed of Abraham."[45] And Christ not only took our nature;
He became one of our flesh and blood with a frail body that could
suffer and die. But "If the Word emptied himself taking the form of a
slave," [46] it was that He might make His brothers according to the
flesh partakers of the divine nature,[47] through sanctifying grace in
this earthly exile, in heaven through the joys of eternal bliss. For
the reason why the only-begotten Son of the Eternal Father willed to
be a son of man was that we might be made conformed to the image of
____________________________________________________________________
44. Cf. Eph. 4:16; Col. 2:19
45. "Comm. in ep. ad Eph.," Cap. 1, lect. 8; Heb. 2:16-17
46. Phil. 2:7
47. Cf. 2 Peter 1:4
Page -18-
MYSTICI CORPORIS
the Son of God [48] and be renewed according to the image of Him who
created us. [49] Let all those, then, who glory in the name of
Christian, look to our Divine Savior as the most exalted and the most
perfect exemplar of all virtues; but let them also, by careful
avoidance of sin and assiduous practice of virtue, bear witness by
their conduct to His teaching and life, so that when the Lord shall
appear they may be like unto Him and see Him as He is. [50]
47. It is the will of Jesus Christ that the whole boy of
the Church, no less than the individual members, should resemble Him.
And we see this realized when, following in the footsteps of her
Founder, the Church teaches, governs, and offers the divine Sacrifice.
When she embraces the evangelical counsels she reflects the Redeemer's
poverty, obedience and virginal purity. Adorned with institutes of
many different kinds as with so many precious jewels, she represents
Christ deep in prayer on the mountain, or preaching to the people, or
healing the sick and wounded and bringing sinners back to the path of
virtue - in a word, doing good to all. What wonder then, if, while on
this earth she, like Christ, suffer persecutions, insults and sorrows.
(e) By Reason of Plenitude
48. Christ must be acknowledged Head of the Church for this
reason too, that, as supernatural gifts have their fullness and
perfection in Him, it is of this fullness that His Mystical Body
receives. It is pointed out by many of the Fathers, that as the head
of our mortal body is the seat of all the senses, while the other
parts of our organism have only the sense of touch, so all the powers
that are found in Christian society, all the gifts, all the extraor-
dinary graces, attain their utmost perfection in the Head, Christ.
"In Him it hath well pleased THE FATHER that all fulness should
dwell."[51] He is gifted with those supernatural powers that accompany
the hypostatic union, since the Holy spirit dwells in Him with a
fulness of grace than which no greater can be imagined. To Him has
been given "power over all flesh"; (Cf. John 17:2 ) "all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge are in Him" (Cf. Col. 2:3) abundant-
ly. The knowledge which is called "vision" He possesses with such
clarity and comprehensiveness that it surpasses similar celestial
knowledge found in all the saints of heaven. So full of grace and
truth is He that of His inexhaustible fullness we have all received.
[52]
____________________________________________________________________
48. Cf. Rom. 8:29
49. Cf. Col. 3:10
50. Cf. 1 John 3:2
51. Col. 1:19
52. Cf. John 1:14-16
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MYSTICI CORPORIS
(f) By Reason of Communication of Grace and Power
49. These words of the disciple whom Jesus loved lead us to
the last reason why Christ our Lord should be declared in a very
particular way Head of His Mystical Body. As the nerves extend from
the head to all parts of the human body and give them power to feel
and to move, in like manner our Savior communicates strength and power
to His Church so that the things of God are understood more clearly
and are more eagerly desired by the faithful. From Him streams into
the body of the Church all the light with which those who believe are
divinely illumined, and all the grace by which they are made holy as
He is holy.
IN ENLIGHTENING
50. Christ enlightens His whole Church, as numberless
passages from the Sacred Scriptures and the holy Fathers prove. "No
man hath seen God at any time: the only-begotten Son who is in the
bosom of the Father he hath declared him"[53] Coming as a teacher from
God[54] to give testimony to the truth[55] He shed such light upon the
nascent apostolic Church that the Prince of the Apostles exclaimed:
"Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life"; [56]
from heaven He assisted the evangelists in such a way that as members
of Christ they wrote what they had learned, as it were, at the dicta-
tion of the head. [57] And as for us today, who linger on in this
earthly exile, He is still the author of faith as in our heavenly home
He will be its finisher.[58] It is He who imparts the light of faith
to believers; it is He who enriches pastors and teachers and above all
His Vicar on earth with the supernatural gifts of knowledge, under-
standing and wisdom, so that they may loyally preserve the treasury of
faith, defend it vigorously, and explain it and confirm it with
reverence and devotion. Finally, it is He who, though unseen, pre-
sides at the Councils of the Church and guides them. [59]
____________________________________________________________________
53. John 1:18
54. John 3:2
55. John 18:37
56. John 6:68
57. Cf. Augustine, De Cons. Evang., 1,35,54; Migne, P.L.
34,1070
58. Hebrews 12:2
59. Cf. Cyril of Alexandria, Ep. 55 "de Symb."; Migne, P.G., 77,
293
Page -20-
MYSTICI CORPORIS
IN SANCTIFYING
51. Holiness begins from Christ; and Christ is its cause.
For no act conducive to salvation can be performed unless it proceeds
from Him as from its supernatural source. "Without me," He says, "you
can do nothing."[60] If we grieve and do penance for our sins if, with
filial fear and hope, we turn again to God, it is because He is
leading us. Grace and glory flow from His inexhaustible fulness. Our
Savior is continually pouring out His gifts of counsel, fortitude,
fear and piety, especially on the leading members of His Body, so that
the whole Body may grow ever more and more in holiness and integrity
of life. When the Sacraments of the Church are administered by
external rite, it is He who produces their effect in souls.[61] He
nourishes the redeemed with His own flesh and blood and thus calms the
turbulent passions of the soul; He gives increase of grace and pre-
pares future glory for souls and bodies. All these treasures of His
divine goodness He is said to bestow on the members of His Mystical
Body, not merely because He, as the Eucharistic Victim on earth and
the glorified Victim in heaven, through His wounds and His prayers
pleads our cause before the Eternal Father, but because He selects, He
determines, He distributes every single grace to every single person
"according to the measure of the giving of Christ."[62] Hence it
follows that from our Divine Redeemer as from a fountainhead "the
whole body, being compacted and fitly joined together, by what every
joint supplieth according to the operation in the measure of every
part, maketh increase of the body, into the edifying of itself in
charity." [63]
CHRIST IS THE SUPPORT OF THE BODY
52. These truths which We have expounded, Venerable
Brethren, briefly and succinctly tracing the manner in which Christ
our Lord wills that His abundant graces should flow from His fulness
into the Church, in order that she should resemble Him as closely as
possible, help not a little to explain the third reason why the social
Body of the Church should be honored by the name of Christ - namely,
that our Savior Himself sustains in a divine manner the society which
He founded.
53. As Bellarmine notes with acumen and accuracy,[64] this
appellation of the Body of Christ is not to be explained solely by the
fact that Christ must be called the Head of His Mystical Body, but
____________________________________________________________________
60. John 15:5
61. Cf. Aquinas, III, q.64,a.3
62. Ephesians 4:7
63. Ephesians 4:16; Colossians 2:19
64. Cf. "De Rom. Pont., 1,9; "De Concil.", 2,19
Page -21-
MYSTICI CORPORIS
also by the fact that He so sustains the Church, and so in a certain
sense lives in the Church, that she is, as it were, another Christ.
The Doctor of the Gentiles, in his letter to the Corinthians, affirms
this when, without further qualification, he calls the Church
"Christ," [65] following no doubt the example of his Master who called
out to him from on high when he was attacking the Church: "Saul,
Saul, why persecutest thou me?" [66] Indeed, if we are to believe
Gregory of Nyssa, the Church is often called simply "Christ" by the
Apostle;[67] and you are familiar Venerable Brethren, with that phrase
of Augustine: "Christ preaches Christ." [68]
____________________________________________________________________
65. 1 Corinthians 12:12
66. Acts 9:4; 22:7; 26:14
67. Cf. Greg. Nyss., "De Vita Moysis:"; Migne, P.G., 44,385
68. Cf. "Sermons",354,1: Migne, P.L.,39,1563
Page -22-
(a) By Reason of Her Juridical Mission
54. Nevertheless this most noble title of the Church must
not be so understood as if that ineffable bond by which the Son of God
assumed a definite human nature belongs to the universal Church; but
it consists in this, that our Savior shares prerogatives peculiarly
His own with the Church in such a way that she may portray, in her
whole life, both exterior and interior, a most faithful image of
Christ. For in virtue of the juridical mission by which our Divine
Redeemer sent His Apostles into the world, as He had been sent by the
Father, [1] it is He who through the Church baptizes, teaches, rules,
looses, binds, offers, sacrifices.
(b) By Reason of the Spirit of Christ
55. But in virtue of that higher, interior, and wholly
sublime communication, with which We dealt when We described the
manner in which the Head influences the members, Christ our Lord wills
the Church to live His own supernatural life, and by His divine power
permeates His whole Body and nourishes and sustains each of the
members according to the place which they occupy in the body, in the
same way as the vine nourishes and makes fruitful the branches which
are joined to it. [2]
Christ Is the Support of the Body
56. If we examine closely this divine principle of life and
power given by Christ, insofar as it constitutes the very source of
every gift and created grace, we easily perceive that it is nothing
else than the Holy spirit, the Paraclete, who proceeds from the Father
and the Son, and who is called in a special way, the "Spirit of
Christ" or the "Spirit of the Son."[3] For it was by this Breath of
grace and truth that the Son of God anointed His soul in the immacu-
late womb of the Blessed Virgin; this Spirit delights to dwell in the
beloved soul of our Redeemer as in His most cherished shrine; this
Spirit Christ merited for us on the Cross by shedding His Own Blood;
this Spirit He bestowed on the Church for the remission of sins, when
He breathed on the Apostles;[4] and while Christ alone received this
Spirit without measure,[5] to the members of the Mystical Body He is
imparted only according to the measure of the giving of Christ from
____________________________________________________________________
1. John 17:18, 20:21
2. Cf. Leo XIII, "Sapientiae Christianae," A.S.S., 22,392,
"Satis Cognitum," ibid. 28,710
3. Rom. 8:9; 2 Cor. 3:17; Gal. 4:6
4. Cf. John 20:22
5. Cf. John 3:34
Christ's own fulness.[6] But after Christ's glorification on the Cross,
His Spirit is communicated to the Church in an abundant outpouring, so
that she, and her individual members, may become daily more and more
like to our Savior. It is the Spirit of Christ that has made us
adopted sons of God[7] in order that one day "we all beholding the
glory of the Lord with open face may be transformed into the same
image from glory to glory."[8]
Who Is the Soul of the Mystical Body
57. To this Spirit of Christ, also, as to an invisible
principle is to be ascribed the fact that all the parts of the Body
are joined one with the other and with their exalted Head; for He is
entire in the Head, entire in the Body, and entire in each of the
members. To the members He is present and assists them in proportion
tot heir various duties and offices, and the greater or less degree of
spiritual health which they enjoy. It is He who, through His heavenly
grace, is the principle of every supernatural act in all parts of the
Body. It is He who, while He is personally present and divinely
active in all the members, nevertheless in the inferior members acts
also through the ministry of the higher members. Finally, while by
His grace He provides for the continual growth of the Church, He yet
refuses to dwell through sanctifying grace in those members that are
wholly severed from the Body. This presence and activity of the
Spirit of Jesus Christ is tersely and vigorously described by Our
predecessor of immortal memory Leo XIII in his Encyclical Letter
"Divinum Illud Munus" in these words: "Let it suffice to say that, as
Christ is the Head of the Church, so is the Holy Spirit her soul."[9]
58. If that vital principle, by which the whole community of
Christians is sustained by its Founder, be considered not now in
itself, but in the created effects which proceed form it, it consists
in those heavenly gifts which our Redeemer, together with His Spirit,
bestows on the Church, and which He and His Spirit, from whom come
supernatural light and holiness, make operative in the Church. The
Church, then, no less than each of her holy members can make this
great saying of the Apostle her own: "And I live, now not I; but
Christ liveth in me."[10]
____________________________________________________________________
6. Cf. Ephesians 1:8; 4:7
7. Cf. Rom. 8:14-17; Gal. 4:6-7
8. Cf 2 Cor. 3:18
9. A.S.S.,29,p. 650
10. Gal. 2:20
Page -24-
Christ Is the Savior of the Body
59. What We have said concerning the "Mystical Head"[11]
would indeed be incomplete if We were not at least briefly to touch on
this saying of the same Apostle: "Christ is the Head of the Church:
He is the savior of his Body."[12] For in these words we have the final
reason why the Body of the Church is given the name of Christ, namely,
that Christ is the Divine Savior of this Body. The Samaritans were
right in proclaiming Him "Savior of the world;"[13] for indeed He most
certainly is to be called the "Savior of all men," even though we must
add with Paul: "especially of the faithful,"[14] since, before all
others, He has purchased with His Blood His members who constitute the
Church.[15] But as We have already treated this subject fully and
clearly when speaking of the birth of the Church on the Cross, of
Christ as the source of life and the principle of sanctity, and of
Christ as the support of His Mystical Body, there is no reason why We
should explain it further; but rather let us all, while giving per-
petual thanks to God, meditate on it with a humble and attentive mind.
For that which our Lord began when hanging on the Cross, he continues
unceasingly amid the joys of heaven: "Our Head," says St. Augustine,
"intercedes for us: some members He is receiving, others He is
chastising, others cleansing, others consoling, others creating,
others calling, others recalling, others correcting, others renew-
ing."[16]But it is for us to cooperate with Christ in this work of
salvation, "from one and through one saved and saviors."[17]
THE CHURCH IS THE "MYSTICAL" BODY OF CHRIST
60. And now, Venerable Brethren, We come to that part of Our
explanation in which We desire to make clear why the Body of Christ,
which is the Church, should be called mystical. This name, which is
used by many early writers, has the sanction of numerous Pontifical
documents. There are several reasons why it should be used; for by it
we may distinguish the Body of the Church, which is a Society whose
Head and Ruler is Christ, from His physical Body, which, born of the
Virgin Mother of God, now sits at the right hand of the Father and is
hidden under the Eucharistic veils; and, that which is of greater
importance in view of modern errors, this name enables us to distin-
____________________________________________________________________
11. Cf. Ambrose, "De Elia et ieiun.",10,36-37, et "in Psalm.
118," "serm. 20, 2"; Migne, P.L. 14,710 et 15,1483
12. Eph. 5:23
13. John 4:42
14. Cf. 1 Tim. 4:10
15. Acts 20:28
16. "Ennar. in Ps. 85:5;" Migne, P.L. 37:1085
17. Clem. Elex., "Strom., 7:2;" Migne, P.G. 9, 413.
Page -25-
guish it from any other body, whether in the physical or the moral
order.
The Mystical Body and the Physical Body
61. In a natural body the principle of unity unites the
parts in such a manner that each lacks in its own individual subsis-
tence; on the contrary, in the Mystical Body the mutual union, though
intrinsic, links the members by a bond which leaves to each the
complete enjoyment of his own personality. Moreover, if we examine
the relations existing between the several members and the whole body,
in every physical, living body, all the different members are ul-
timately destined to the good of the whole alone; while if we look to
its ultimate usefulness, every moral association of men is in the end
directed to the advancement of all in general and of each single
member in particular; for they are persons. And thus - to return to
Our theme - as the Son of the Eternal Father came down from heaven for
the salvation of us all, He likewise established the body of the
Church and enriched it with the divine Spirit to ensure that immortal
souls should attain eternal happiness according tot he words of the
Apostle: "All things are yours; and you are Christ's; and Christ is
God's."[18] For the Church exists both for the good of the faithful
and for the glory of God and of Jesus Christ whom He sent.
The Mystical Body and the Moral Body
62. But if we compare a mystical body with a moral body, it
is to be noted that the difference between them is not slight; rather
it is very considerable and very important. In the moral body the
principle of union is nothing else than the common end, and the common
cooperation of all under the authority of society for the attainment
of that end; whereas in the Mystical Body of which We are speaking,
this collaboration is supplemented by another internal principle,
which exists effectively in the whole and in each of its parts, and
whose excellence is such that of itself it is vastly superior to
whatever bonds of union may be found in a physical or moral body. As
We said above, this is something not of the natural but of the super-
natural order; rather it is something in itself infinite, uncreated:
the Spirit of God, who, as the Angelic Doctor says, "numerically one
and the same, fills and unifies the whole Church."[19]
63. Hence, this word in its correct signification gives us
to understand that the Church, a perfect society of its kind, is not
made up of merely moral and juridical elements and principles. It is
____________________________________________________________________
18. 1 Cor. 3:23; Pius XI, "Divini Redemptoris": A.A.S., 1937, p.
80
19. "De Veritate", 1. 29, a. 4, c
Page -26-
far superior to all other human societies;[20] it surpasses them as
grace surpasses nature, as things immortal are above all those that
perish.[21] Such human societies, and in the first place civil Society,
are by no means to be despised or belittled; but the Church in its
entirety is not found within this natural order, any more than the
whole man is encompassed within the organism of our mortal body.[22]
Although the juridical principles, on which the Church rests and is
established, derive from the divine constitution given to it by Christ
and contribute to the attaining of its supernatural end, nevertheless
that which lifts the Society of Christians far above the whole natural
order is the Spirit of our Redeemer who penetrates and fills every
part of the Church's being and is active within it until the end of
time as the source of every grace and every gift and every miraculous
power. Just as our composite mortal body, although it is a marvelous
work of the Creator, falls far short of the eminent dignity of our
soul, so the social structure of the Christian community, though it
proclaims the wisdom of its divine Architect, still remains something
inferior when compared to the spiritual gifts which give it beauty and
life, and to the divine source whence they flow.
THE JURIDICAL CHURCH AND THE CHURCH OF CHARITY
64. From what We have thus far written, and explained,
Venerable Brethren, it is clear, We think, how grievously they err who
arbitrarily claim that the Church is something hidden and invisible,
as they also do who look upon her as a mere human institution posses-
sion a certain disciplinary code and external ritual, but lacking
power to communicate supernatural life.[23] On the contrary, as Christ,
Head and Exemplar of the Church "is not complete, if only His visible
human nature is considered..., or if only His divine, invisible
nature..., but He is one through the union of both and one in both ...
so is it with His Mystical Body"[24] since the Word of God took unto
Himself a human nature liable to sufferings, so that He might consec-
rate in His blood the visible Society founded by Him and "lead man
back to things invisible under a visible rule."[25]
65. For this reason We deplore and condemn the pernicious
error of those who dream of an imaginary Church, a kind of society
that finds its origin and growth in charity, to which, somewhat
contemptuously, they oppose another, which they call juridical. But
this distinction which they introduce is false: for they fail to
____________________________________________________________________
20. Cf. Leo XIII, "Sapientiae Christianae", A.S.S., 22, p 392
21. Cf. Leo XIII, "Satis Cognitum": A.S.S., 28, p. 724
22. Cf. ibidem, p. 710
23. Cf. Leo XIII, "Satis Cognitum": A.S.S.,28,p. 710
24. Ibidem.
25. St. Thos., "De Veritate," 1.29,a.4,ad 9
Page -27-
understand that the reason which led our Divine Redeemer to give to
the community of man He founded the constitution of a Society, perfect
of its kind and containing all the juridical and social elements -
namely, that He might perpetuate on earth the saving work of
Redemption,[26]- was also the reason why He willed it to be enriched
with the heavenly gifts of the Paraclete. The Eternal Father indeed
willed it to be the "kingdom of the Son of his predilection;"[27] but
it was to be a real kingdom in which all believers should make Him the
entire offering of their intellect and will,[28] and humbly and
obediently model themselves on Him, Who for our sake "was made
obedient unto death."[29] There can, then, be no real opposition or
conflict between the invisible mission of the Holy spirit and the
juridical commission of Ruler and Teacher received from Christ, since
they mutually complement and perfect each other - as do the body and
soul in man - and proceed from our one Redeemer who not only said as
He breathed on the Apostles "Receive ye the Holy Spirit,"[30] but also
clearly commanded: "As the Father hath sent me, I also send you;"[31]
and again: "He that heareth you, heareth me."[32]
66. And if at times there appears in the Church something
that indicates the weakness of our human nature, it should not be
attributed to her juridical constitution, but rather to that regret-
table inclination to evil found in each individual, which its Divine
Founder permits even at times in the most exalted members of His
Mystical Body, for the purpose of testing the virtue of the Shepherds
no less than of the flocks, and that all may increase the merit of
their Christian faith. For, as We said above, Christ did not wish to
exclude sinners from His Church; hence if some of her members are
suffering from spiritual maladies, that is no reason why we should
lessen our love for the Church, but rather a reason why we should
increase our devotion to her members. Certainly the loving Mother is
spotless in the Sacraments by which she gives birth to and nourishes
her children; in the faith which she has always preserved inviolate;
in her sacred laws imposed on all; in the evangelical counsels which
she recommends; in those heavenly gifts and extraordinary grace
____________________________________________________________________
26. I Vatican Council, Sess. IV, "Const. dogm. de Eccl.", prol.
27. Colossians 1:13
28. I Vat. Council, Sess. III, "Const. de fide Cath.", Cap. 3
29. Phil. 2:8
30. John 20:22
31. John 20:21
32. Luke 10:16
Page -28-
through which with inexhaustible fecundity,[33] she generates hosts of
martyrs, virgins and confessors. But it cannot be laid to her charge
if some members fall, weak or wounded. In their name she prays to God
daily: "Forgive us our trespasses;" and with the brave heart of a
mother she applies herself at once to the work of nursing them back to
spiritual health. When, therefore, we call the Body of Jesus Christ
"mystical," the very meaning of the word conveys a solemn warning. It
is a warning that echoes in these words of St. Leo: "Recognize, O
Christian, your dignity, and being made a sharer of the divine nature
go not back to your former worthlessness along the way of unseemly
conduct. Keep in mind of what Head and of what Body you are a mem-
ber."[34]
SECOND PART
THE UNION OF THE FAITHFUL WITH CHRIST
67. Here, Venerable Brethren, We wish to speak in a very
special way of our union with Christ in the Body of the Church, a
thing which is, as Augustine justly remarks, sublime, mysterious and
divine;[35] ut for that very reason it often happens that many misun-
derstand it and explain it incorrectly. It is at once evident that
this union is very close. In the Sacred Scriptures it is compared to
the chaste union of man and wife, to the vital union of branch and
vine, and to the cohesion found in our body.[36] Even more, it is
represented as being so close that the Apostle says: "He (Christ) is
the Head of the Body of the Church,"[37] and the unbroken tradition of
the Fathers from the earliest times teaches that the Divine Redeemer
and the Society which is His Body form but one mystical person, that
is to say to quote Augustine, the whole Christ.[38] Our Savior Himself
in His sacerdotal prayer did not hesitate to liken this union to that
wonderful unity by which the Son is in the Father, and the Father in
the Son.[39]
____________________________________________________________________
33. Cf. I Vat. Counc., Sess. III, "Const. de fide Cath.", Cap
3.
34. "Sermons",21,3: Migne, P.L., 54,192-193
35. Cf. Augustine, "Contra Faust.",21,8: Migne, P.L.,42,392.
36. Cf. Eph. 5:22-23; John 15:1-5; Eph. 4:16
37. Colossians 1:18
38. Cf. "Enarratio in Psalmis," 17:51 and 90:2,1: Migne,
P.L.,36,154 and 37,1159.
39. John 17:21-23
Page -29-
Social and Juridical Bonds
68. Our union in and with Christ is first evident from the
fact that, since Christ wills His Christian community to be a Body
which is a perfect Society, its members must be united because they
all work together towards a single end. The nobler the end towards
which they strive, and the more divine the motive which actuates this
collaboration, the higher, no doubt, will be the union. Now the end in
question is supremely exalted; the continual sanctifying of the
members of the Body for the glory of God and of the Lamb that was
slain.[40] The motive is altogether divine: not only the good pleasure
of the Eternal Father, and the most earnest wish of our Savior, but
the interior inspiration and impulse of the Holy Spirit in our minds
and hearts. For if not even the smallest act conducive to salvation
can be performed except in the Holy Spirit, how can countless multi-
tudes of every people and every race work together harmoniously for
the supreme glory of the Triune God, except in the power of Him, who
proceeds from the Father and the Son in one eternal act of love?
69. Now since its Founder willed this social body of Christ
to be visible, the cooperation of all its members must also be exter-
nally manifest through their profession of the same faith and their
sharing the same sacred rites, through participation in the same
Sacrifice, and the practical observance of the same laws. Above all,
it is absolutely necessary that the Supreme Head, that is, the Vicar
of Jesus Christ on earth, be visible to the eyes of all, since it is
He who gives effective direction to the work which all do in common in
a mutually helpful way towards the attainment of the proposed end. As
the Divine Redeemer sent the Paraclete, the Spirit of Truth, who in
His name[41] should govern the Church in an invisible way, so, in the
same manner, He commissioned Peter and his successors to be His
personal representatives on earth and to assume the visible government
of the Christian community.
The Theological Virtues
70. These juridical bonds in themselves far surpass those of
any other human society, however exalted; and yet another principle of
union must be added to them in those three virtues, Christian faith,
hope and charity, which link us so closely to each other and to God.
71. "One Lord, one faith,"[42] writes the Apostle: the
faith, that is, by which we hold fast to God, and to Jesus Christ whom
____________________________________________________________________
40. Apocalypse 5:12-13
41. Cf. John 14:16 and 26
42. Ephesians 4:5
Page -30-
He has sent.[43] The beloved disciple teaches us how closely this
faith binds us to God: "Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the
Son of God, God abideth in him, and he in God."[44] This Christian
faith binds us no less closely to each other and to our divine Head.
For all we who believe, "having the same spirit of faith,"[45] are
illumined by the same light of Christ, nourished by the same Food of
Christ, and live under the teaching authority of Christ. If the
same spirit of faith breathes in all, we are all living the same life
"in the faith of the Son of God who loved us and delivered himself
for us."[46] And once we have received Christ, our Head, through
an ardent faith so that He dwells within our hearts,[47] as He is
the author so He will be the finisher of our faith.[48]
72. As by faith on this earth we hold fast to God as the
Author of truth, so by Christian hope we long for Him as the fount of
blessedness, "looking for the blessed hope and coming of the glory of
the great God."[49] It is because of this universal longing for the
heavenly Kingdom that we do not desire a permanent home here below,
but seek for one above,[50] and because of our yearning for the glory
on high that the Apostle of the Gentiles did not hesitate to say: "One
Body and one Spirit, as you are called in one hope of your calling;"
[51] nay rather that Christ in us is our hope of glory.[52]
73. But if the bonds of faith and hope, which bind us to our
Redeemer in His Mystical Body are weighty and important, those of
charity are certainly no less so. If even in the natural order the
love of friendship is something supremely noble, what shall we say of
that supernatural love, which God infuses in our hearts? "God is
charity and he that abideth in charity abideth in God and God in
him."[53] The effect of this charity-such would seem to be God's law -
____________________________________________________________________
43. John 17:3
44. 1 John 4:15
45. 2 Corinthians 4:13
46. Galatians 2:20
47. Ephesians 3:17
48. Hebrews 12:2
49. Titus 2:13
50. Hebrews 13:14
51. Ephesians 4:4
52. Colossians 1:27
53. 1 John 4:16
Page -31-
is to compel Him to enter into our loving hearts to return love for
love, as He said: "If anyone love me..., my Father will love him and
we will come to him and will make our abode with him."[54] Charity
then, more than any other virtue binds us closely to Christ. How many
children of the Church, on fire with this heavenly flame, have re-
joiced to suffer insults for Him, and to face and overcome the hardest
trials, even at the cost of their lives and the shedding of their
blood. For this reason our Divine Savior earnestly exhorts us in
these words: "Abide in my love." And as charity, if it does not
issue effectively in good works, is something altogether empty and
unprofitable, He added immediately: "If you keep my commandments you
shall abide in my love; as I have also kept my Father's commandments
and do abide in His love."[55]
Love of Our Neighbor
74. But, corresponding to this love of God and of Christ,
there must be love of the neighbor. How can we claim to love the
Divine Redeemer, if we hate those whom He has redeemed with His
precious blood, so that He might make them members of His Mystical
Body? For that reason the beloved disciple warns us: "If any man
say: 'I love God' and hates his brother, he is a liar. For he that
loveth not his brother whom he seeth, how can he love God whom he
seeth not? And this commandment we have from God, that he who loveth
God loveth his brother also."[56] Rather it should be said that the
more we become "members one of another"[57] "mutually careful, one for
another,"[58]the closer we shall be united with God and with Christ;
as, on the other hand, the more ardent the love that binds us to God
and to our divine Head, the closer we shall be united to each other in
the bonds of charity.
Christ Embraces Us with Infinite Knowledge and Undying Love
75. Now the only-begotten Son of God embraced us in His
infinite knowledge and undying love even before the world began. And
that He might give a visible and exceedingly beautiful expression to
this love, He assumed our nature in hypostatic union: hence - as
Maximus of Turin with a certain unaffected simplicity remarks - "in
Christ our own flesh loves us."[59] But the knowledge and love of our
Divine Redeemer, of which we were the object from the first moment of
____________________________________________________________________
54. John 14:28
55. John 15:9-10
56. 1 John 4:20-21
57. Romans 12:5
58. 1 Corinthians 12:25
59. "Sermons", 29: Migne, P.L. 57,594
Page -32-
His Incarnation, exceed all that the human intellect can hope to
grasp. For hardly was He conceived in the womb of the Mother of God,
when He began to enjoy the Beatific Vision, and in that vision all the
members of His Mystical Body were continually and unceasingly present
to Him, and He embraced them with His redeeming love. O marvelous
condescension of divine love for us! O inestimable dispensation of
boundless charity! In the crib, on the Cross, in the unending glory
of the Father, Christ has all the members of the Church present before
Him and united to Him in a much clearer and more loving manner than
that of a mother who clasps her child to her breast, or than that with
which a man knows and loves himself.
The Church Is the Fulness of Christ
76. From all that We have hitherto said, you will readily
understand, Venerable Brethren, why Paul the Apostle so often writes
that Christ is in us and we in Christ. In proof of which, there is
this other more subtle reason. Christ is in us through His Spirit,
whom He gives to us and through whom He acts within us in such a way
that all the divine activity of the Holy Spirit within our souls must
also be attributed to Christ.[60] "If a man hath not the Spirit of
Christ, he is none of his," says the Apostle, "but if Christ be in
you..., the spirit liveth because of justification."[61]
77. This communication of the Spirit of Christ is the
channel through which8 all the gifts, powers, and extra-ordinary
graces found superabundantly in the Head as in their source flow into
all the members of the Church, and are perfected daily in them accord-
ing to the place they hold in the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ. Thus
the Church becomes, as it were, the filling out and the complement of
the Redeemer, while Christ in a sense attains through the Church a
fulness in all things.[62] Herein we find the reason why, according to
the opinion of Augustine already referred to, the mystical Head, which
is Christ, and the Church, which here below as another Christ shows
forth His person, constitute one new man, in whom heaven and earth are
joined together in perpetuating the saving work of the Cross: Christ
We mean, the Head and the Body, the whole Christ.
The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit
78. For indeed We are not ignorant of the fact that his
profound truth - of our union with the Divine Redeemer and in par-
ticular of the indwelling of the Holy spirit in our souls - is
shrouded in darkness by many a veil that impedes our power to under-
stand and explain it, both because of the hidden nature of the
doctrine itself, and of the limitations of our human intellect. But
We know, too, that from well-directed and earnest study of this
____________________________________________________________________
60. St. Thomas, "Comment. in Ep. ad Eph.", Cap. 2,lect. 5
61. Romans 8:9-10
62. Cf. St. Thomas, "Comment. in Ep. ad Eph.", Cap 1, lect. 8.
Page -33-
doctrine, and from the clash of diverse opinions and the discussion
thereof, provided that these are regulated by the love of truth and by
due submission to the Church, much light will be gained, which, in its
turn will help to progress in kindred sacred sciences. Hence, We do
not censure those who in various ways, and with diverse reasonings
make every effort to understand and to clarify the mystery of this our
wonderful union with Christ. But let all agree uncompromisingly on
this, if they would not err from truth and from the orthodox teaching
of the Church: to reject every kind of mystic union by which the
faithful of Christ should in any way pass beyond the sphere of crea-
tures and wrongly enter the divine, were it only to the extent of
appropriating to themselves as their own but one single attribute of
the eternal Godhead. And, moreover, let all hold this as certain
truth, that all these activities are common to the most Blessed
Trinity, insofar as they have God as supreme efficient cause.
79. It must also be borne in mind that there is question
here of a hidden mystery, which during this earthly exile can only be
dimly seen through a veil, and which no human words can express. The
Divine Persons are said to indwell inasmuch as they are present to
beings endowed with intelligence in a way that lies beyond human
comprehension, and in a unique and very intimate manner which
transcends all created nature, these creatures enter into relationship
with Them through knowledge and love.[63] If we would attain, in some
measure, to a clearer perception of this truth, let us not neglect the
method strongly recommended by the [First] Vatican Council[64] in
similar cases, by which these mysteries are compared one with another
and with the end to which they are directed, so that in the light
which this comparison throws upon them we are able to discern, at
least partially, the hidden things of God.
80. Therefore, Our most learned predecessor Leo XIII of
happy memory, speaking of our union with Christ and with the Divine
Paraclete who dwells within us, and fixing his gaze on that blessed
vision through which this mystical union will attain its confirmation
and perfection in heaven says: "This wonderful union, or indwelling
properly so- called, differs from that by which God embraces and gives
joy to the elect only by reason of our earthly state."[65] In that
celestial vision it will be granted to the eyes of the human mind
strengthened by the light of glory, to contemplate the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Spirit in an utterly ineffable manner, to assist
throughout eternity at the processions of the Divine Persons, and to
rejoice with a happiness like to that with which the holy and un-
divided Trinity is happy.
____________________________________________________________________
63. Cf. St. Thos., I,1.43,a.3
64. Sess. 3.; "Const. de fide Cath.", Cap. 4.
65. "Divinum Illud," A.S.S.,29,p.653
Page -34-
The Holy Eucharist the Symbol of Unity
81. It seems to Us that something would be lacking to what
We have thus far proposed concerning the close union of the Mystical
Body of Jesus Christ with its Head, were We not to add here a few
words on the Holy Eucharist, by which this union during this mortal
life reaches, as it were, a culmination.
82. By means of the Eucharistic Sacrifice Christ our Lord
willed to give the faithful a striking manifestation of our union
among ourselves and with our divine Head, wonderful as it is and
beyond all praise. For in this Sacrifice the sacred minister acts as
the viceregent not only of our Savior but of the whole Mystical Body
and of each one of the faithful. In this act of Sacrifice through the
hands of the priest, by whose word alone the Immaculate Lamb is
present on the altar, the faithful themselves, united with him in
prayer and desire, offer to the Eternal Father a most acceptable
victim of praise and propitiation for the needs of the whole Church.
And as the Divine Redeemer, when dying on the Cross, offered Himself
to the Eternal Father as Head of the whole human race, so "in this
clean oblation"[66] He offers to the heavenly Father not only Himself
as Head of the Church, but in Himself His mystical members also, since
He holds them all, even those who are weak and ailing, in His most
loving Heart.
83. The Sacrament of the Eucharist is itself a striking and
wonderful figure of the unity of the Church, if we consider how in the
bread to be consecrated many grains go to form one whole,[67] and that
in it the very Author of supernatural grace is given to us, so that
through Him we may receive the spirit of charity in which we are
bidden to live now no longer our own life but the life of Christ, and
to love the Redeemer Himself in all the members of His social Body.
84. As then in the sad and anxious times through which we
are passing there are many who cling so firmly to Christ the Lord
hidden beneath the Eucharistic veils that neither tribulation, nor
distress, nor famine, nor nakedness, nor danger, nor persecution, nor
the sword can separate them from His love,[68] surely no doubt can
remain that Holy Communion which once again in God's providence is
much more frequented even from early childhood, may become a source of
that fortitude which not infrequently makes Christians into heroes.
____________________________________________________________________
66. Malachi 1:11
67. Cf. "Didache," 9:4
68. Romans 8:35
Page -35-
PASTORAL EXHORTATION
(I) - ERRORS TOUCHING THE SPIRITUAL LIFE
85. If the faithful, Venerable Brethren, in a spirit of
sincere piety understand these things accurately and hold to them
steadfastly, they will the more easily avoid those errors which arise
from an irresponsible investigation of this difficult matter, such as
some have made not without seriously endangering Catholic faith and
disturbing the peace of souls.
False Mysticism.
86. For there are some who neglect the fact that the Apostle
Paul has used metaphorical language in speaking of this doctrine, and
failing to distinguish as they should the precise and proper meaning
of the terms the physical body, the social body, and the Mystical
Body, arrive at a distorted idea of unity. They make the Divine
Redeemer and the members of the Church coalesce in one physical
person, and while they bestow divine attributes on man, they make
Christ our Lord subject to error and to human inclination to evil. But
Catholic faith and the writings of the holy Fathers reject such false
teaching as impious and sacrilegious; and to the mind of the Apostle
of the Gentiles it is equally abhorrent, for although he brings Christ
and His Mystical Body into a wonderfully intimate union, he neverthe-
less distinguishes one from the other as Bridegroom from Bride.[1]
False Quietism.
87. No less far from the truth is the dangerous error of
those who endeavor to deduce from the mysterious union of us all with
Christ a certain unhealthy quietism. They would attribute the whole
spiritual life of Christians and their progress in virtue exclusively
to the action of the Divine Spirit, setting aside and neglecting the
collaboration which is due from us. No one, of course, can deny that
the Holy spirit of Jesus Christ is the one source of whatever super-
natural powers enters into the Church and its members. For "The Lord
will give grace and glory" as the Psalmist says.[2]But that men should
persevere constantly in their good works, that they should advance
eagerly in grace and virtue, that they should strive earnestly to
reach the heights of Christian perfection and at the same time to the
best of their power should stimulate others to attain the same goal, -
all this the heavenly Spirit does not will to effect unless they
contribute their daily share of zealous activity. "For divine favors
are conferred not on those who sleep, but on those who watch," as St.
____________________________________________________________________
1. Ephesians 5:22-23
2. Psalm 83:12
Ambrose says.[3]For if in our mortal body the members are strengthened
and grow through continued exercise, much more truly can this be said
of the social Body of Jesus Christ in which each individual member
retains his own personal freedom, responsibility, and principles of
conduct. For that reason he who said: "I live, now not I, but Christ
liveth in me"[4] did not at the same time hesitate to assert: "His
[God's] grace in me has not been void, but I have labored more abun-
dantly than all they: yet not I, but the grace of God with me."[5] It
is perfectly clear, therefore, that in these false doctrines the
mystery which we are considering is not directed to the spiritual
advancement of the faithful but is turned to their deplorable ruin.
Frequent Confession.
88. The same result follows from the opinions of those who
assert that little importance should be given to the frequent confes-
sion of venial sins. Far more important, they say, is that general
confession which the Spouse of Christ, surrounded by her children in
the Lord, makes each day by the mouth of the priest as he approaches
the altar of God. As you well know, Venerable Brethren, it is true
that venial sins may be expiated in many ways which are to be highly
commended. But to ensure more rapid progress day by day in the path of
virtue, We will that the pious practice of frequent confession, which
was introduced into the Church by the inspiration of the Holy spirit,
should be earnestly advocated. By it genuine self-knowledge is in-
creased, Christian humility grows, bad habits are corrected, spiritual
neglect and tepidity are resisted, the conscience is purified, the
will strengthened, a salutary self-control is attained, and grace is
increased in virtue of the Sacrament itself. Let those, therefore,
among the younger clergy who make light of or lessen esteem for
frequent confession realize that what they are doing is alien to the
Spirit of Christ and disastrous for the Mystical Body of our Savior.
Prayer, Public and Private.
89. There are others who deny any impetratory power to our
prayers, or who endeavor to insinuate into men's minds the idea that
prayers offered to God in private should be considered of little
worth, whereas public prayers which are made in the Name of the Church
are those which really matter, since they proceed from the Mystical
Body of Christ. This opinion is false; for the divine Redeemer is
most closely united not only with His Church, which is His Beloved
Spouse, but also with each and every one of the faithful, [Ed. note:
emphasis mine] and He ardently desires to speak with them heart to
heart, especially after Holy Communion. It is true that public
prayer, inasmuch as it is offered by Mother Church, excels any other
____________________________________________________________________
3. "Expositio Evangelii secundum Lucam", 4:49; Migne. P.L.
15:1626
4. Galatians 2:20
5. 1 Corinthians 15:10
Page -37-
kind of prayer by reason of her dignity as Spouse of Christ; but no
prayer, even the most private, is lacking in dignity or power, and all
prayer is of the greatest help to the Mystical Body in which, through
the Communion of Saints, no good can be done, no virtue practiced by
the individual members, which does not redound also to the salvation
of all. Neither is a man forbidden to ask for himself particular
favors even for this life merely because he is a member of this Body,
provided he is always resigned to the divine will; for the members
retain their own personality and remain subject to their own in-
dividual needs.[6]Moreover, how highly all should esteem mental prayer
is proved not only be ecclesiastical documents, but also by the custom
and practice of the saints.
Prayers to Christ.
90. Finally, there are those who assert that our prayers
should be directed not to the person of Jesus Christ, but rather to
God, or to the Eternal Father through Christ, since our Savior as Head
of His Mystical Body is only "Mediator of God and men."[7] But this
certainly is opposed not only to the mind of the Church and to
Christian usage, but to truth. For to speak exactly, Christ is Head
of the universal Church as He exists at once in both of His natures[8]
moreover He Himself has solemnly declared: "If you shall ask me
anything in my name, that I will do."[9] For although prayers are very
often directed to the Eternal Father through the only-begotten Son,
especially in the Eucharistic Sacrifice - in which Christ, at once
Priest and Victim, exercises in a special manner the office of
Mediator - nevertheless not infrequently even in this Sacrifice,
prayers are addressed to the Divine Redeemer also; for all Christians
must clearly know and understand that the man Jesus Christ is also the
Son of God and God Himself. And thus, when the Church Militant offers
her adoration and prayers to the Immaculate Lamb, the Sacred Victim,
her voice seems to re-echo the never-ending chorus of the Church
Triumphant: "To him that sitteth on the throne and to the Lamb
benediction and honor and glory and power forever and ever."[10]
____________________________________________________________________
6. Cf. St. Thomas Aquinas, "De Veritate," II-II: q.83,a.5 et 6.
7. 1 Timothy 2:5
8. Cf. St. Thomas Aquinas, "De Veritate", q.29,a.4,c.
9. John 14:14
10. Apocalypse 5:13
Page -38-
(II) - EXHORTATION TO LOVE THE CHURCH.
91. Venerable Brethren, in Our exposition of this mystery
which embraces the hidden union of us all with Christ, We have thus
far, as Teacher of the Universal Church, illumined the mind with the
light of truth, and Our pastoral office now requires that We provide
an incentive for the heart to love this Mystical Body with that ardor
of charity which is not confined to thoughts and words, but which
issues in deeds. If those who lived under the Old Law could sing of
their earthly city: "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand
be forgotten; let my tongue cleave to my jaws if I do not remember
thee, if I make not Jerusalem the beginning of my joy,"[11] how much
greater then should be the joy and exultation that should fill our
hearts who dwell in a City built on the holy mountain of living and
chosen stones, "Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone."[12]
For nothing more glorious, nothing nobler, nothing surely more
honorable can be imagined than to belong to the One, Holy Catholic,
Apostolic and Roman Church, in which we become members of One Body as
venerable as it is unique; are guided by one supreme Head; are filled
with one divine Spirit; are nourished during our earthly exile by one
doctrine and one heavenly Bread, until at last we enter into the one,
unending blessedness of heaven.
With an Undivided Love.
92. But lest we be deceived by the angel of darkness who
transforms himself into an angel of light,[13] let this be the supreme
law of our love: to love the Spouse of Christ as Christ willed her to
be, and as He purchased her with His blood. Hence, not only should we
cherish exceedingly the Sacraments with which holy Mother Church
sustains our life, the solemn ceremonies which she celebrates for our
solace and our joy, the sacred chant and the liturgical rites by which
she lifts our minds up to heaven, but also the sacramentals and all
those exercises of piety by which she consoles the hearts of the
faithful and sweetly imbues them with the Spirit of Christ. As her
children, it is our duty, not only to make a return to her for her
maternal goodness to us, but also to respect the authority which she
has received from Christ in virtue of which she brings into captivity
our understanding unto the obedience of Christ.[14] Thus we are
commanded to obey her laws and her moral precepts, even if at times
they are difficult to our fallen nature; to bring our rebellious body
into subjection through voluntary mortification; and at times we are
warned to abstain even from harmless pleasures. Nor does it suffice
to love this Mystical Body for the glory of its divine Head and for
____________________________________________________________________
11. Psalm 136:5-6
12. Ephesians 2:20 and 1 Peter 2:4-5
13. 2 Corinthians 11:14
14. 2 Corinthians 10:5
Page -39-
its heavenly gifts; we must love it with an effective love as it
appears in this our mortal flesh - made up, that is, of weak human
elements, even though at times they are little fitted to the place
which they occupy in this venerable body.
Through Which We See Christ in the Church.
93. In order that such a solid and undivided love may abide
and increase in our souls day by day, we must accustom ourselves to
see Christ Himself in the Church. For it is Christ who lives in His
Church, and through her, teaches, governs, and sanctifies; it is
Christ also who manifests Himself differently in different members of
His society. If the faithful strive to live in a spirit of lively
faith, they will not only pay due honor and reverence to the more
exalted members of this Mystical Body, especially those who according
to Christ's mandate will have to render an account of our souls,[15]
but they will take to their hearts those members who are the object of
our Savior's special love: the weak, We mean, the wounded, and the
sick who are in need of material or spiritual assistance; children
whose innocence is so easily exposed to danger in these days, and
whose young hearts can be molded as wax; and finally the poor, in
helping whom we recognize as it were, through His supreme mercy,
the very person of Jesus Christ.
94. For as the Apostle with good reason admonishes us:
"Those that seem the more feeble members of the Body are more neces-
sary; and those that we think the less honorable members of the Body,
we surround with more abundant honor."[16] Conscious of the obliga-
tions of Our high office We deem it necessary to reiterate this grave
statement today, when to Our profound grief We see at times the
deformed, the insane, and those suffering from hereditary disease
deprived of their lives, as though they were a useless burden to
Society; and this procedure is hailed by some as a manifestation of
human progress, and as something that is entirely in accordance with
the common good. Yet who that is possessed of sound judgment does not
recognize that this not only violates the natural and the divine law
[17] written in the heart of every man, but that it outrages the no-
blest instincts of humanity? The blood of these unfortunate victims
who are all the dearer to our Redeemer because they are deserving of
greater pity, "cries to God from the earth."[18]
____________________________________________________________________
15. Hebrews 13:17
16. 1 Corinthians, 12:22-23
17. Decree of the Holy Office, 2 Dec. 1940: A.A.S., 1940, p,
553
18. Genesis 4:10
Page -40-
Let Us Imitate the Love of Christ for the Church.
95. In order to guard against the gradual weakening of that
sincere love which requires us to see our Savior in the Church and in
its members, it is most fitting that we should look to Jesus Himself
as a perfect model of love for the Church.
(a) With an All-embracing Love
96. And first of all let us imitate the breadth of His love.
For the Church, the Bride of Christ, is one; and yet so vast is the
love of the divine Spouse that it embraces in His Bride the whole
human race without exception. Our Savior shed His Blood precisely in
order that He might reconcile men to God through the Cross, and might
constrain them to unite in one body, however widely they may differ in
nationality and race. True love of the Church, therefore, requires
not only that we should be mutually solicitous one for another[19] as
members and sharing in their suffering[20] but likewise that we should
recognize in other men, although they are not yet joined to us in the
body of the Church, our brothers in Christ according to the flesh,
called, together with us, to the same eternal salvation. It is true,
unfortunately, especially today, that there are are some who extol
enmity, hatred and spite as if they enhanced the dignity and the worth
of man. Let us, however, while we look with sorrow on the disastrous
consequences of this teaching, follow our peaceful King who taught us
to love not only those who are of a different nation or race,[21] but
even our enemies.[22] While Our heart overflows with the sweetness of
the teaching of the Apostle of the Gentiles, We extol with him the
length, and the breadth, and the height, and the depth of the charity
of Christ,[23] which neither diversity of race or customs can diminish,
nor trackless wastes of the ocean weaken, nor wars, whether just or
unjust, destroy.
97. In this gravest of hours, Venerable Brethren, when
bodies are racked with pain and souls are oppressed with grief, every
individual must be aroused to this supernatural charity so that, by
the combined efforts of all good men, striving to outdo each other in
pity and mercy - We have in mind especially, those who are engaged in
any kind of relief work - the immense needs of mankind, both spiritual
and corporal, may be alleviated, and the devoted generosity, the
inexhaustible fruitfulness of the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, may
shine resplendently throughout the whole world.
____________________________________________________________________
19. Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 12:25
20. 1 Corinthians 12:26
21. Luke 10:33-37
22. Luke 6:27-35; Matthew 5:44-48
23. Ephesians 3:18
Page -41-
(b) With Zealous Activity
98. As the vastness of the charity with which Christ loved
His Church is equalled by its constant activity, we all, with the same
assiduous and zealous charity must love the Mystical Body of Christ.
Now from the moment of His Incarnation, when he laid the first founda-
tions of the Church, even to His last mortal breath, our Redeemer
never ceased for an instant, though He was the Son of God, to labor
unto weariness in order to establish and strengthen His Church,
whether by giving us the shining example of His holiness, or by
preaching, or conversing, or gathering and instructing disciples. And
so We desire that all who claim the Church as their mother, should
seriously consider that not only the clergy and those who have consec-
rated themselves to God in the religious life, but the other members
of the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ as well have, each in his degree,
the obligation of working hard and constantly for the building up and
increase of this Body. We wish this to be borne in mind especially by
members of Catholic Action who assist the Bishops and the priests in
their apostolic labors - and to their praise be it said, they do
realize it - and also by those members of pious associations which
work for the same end. There is no one who does not realize their
energetic zeal is of the highest importance and of the greatest weight
especially in the present circumstance.
99. In this connection We cannot pass over in silence the
fathers and mothers of families to whom our Savior has entrusted the
youngest members of His Mystical Body. We plead with them most
earnestly, for the love of Christ and the Church, to take the greatest
possible care of the children confided to them, and to protect them
from the snares of every kind into which they can be lured so easily
today.
(c) By Continual Prayer
100. Our Redeemer showed His burning love for the Church
especially by praying for her to His heavenly Father. To recall but a
few examples: everyone knows, Venerable Brethren, that just before
the Crucifixion He prayed repeatedly for Peter,[24] for the other
Apostles,[25] for all who, through the preaching of the holy Gospel
would believe in Him.[26]
____________________________________________________________________
24. Luke 22:32
25. John 17:9-19
26. John 17:20-23
Page -42-
For the Members of the Church.
101. After the example of Christ we too should pray daily
to the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into His harvest.[27] Our
united prayer should rise daily to heaven for all the members of the
Mystical Body of Jesus Christ; first for Bishops who are responsible
in a special way for their respective dioceses; then for priests and
religious, both men and women, who have been called to the service of
God, and who, at home and in the foreign missions, are protecting,
increasing, and advancing the Kingdom of the Divine Redeemer. No
member of this venerated Body must be forgotten in this common prayer;
and let there be a special remembrance of those who are weighed down
with the sorrows and afflictions of this earthly exile, as also for
the suffering souls in Purgatory. Neither must those be neglected who
are being instructed in Christian doctrine, so that they may be able
to receive baptism without delay.
102. Likewise, We must earnestly desire that this united
prayer may embrace in the same ardent charity both those who, not yet
enlightened by the truth of the Gospel, are still outside the fold of
the Church, and those who, on account of regrettable schism, are
separated from Us, who though unworthy, represent the person of Jesus
Christ on earth. Let us then re-echo that divine prayer of our Savior
to the heavenly Father: "That they all may be one, as thou, Father,
in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world
may believe that thou hast sent me."[28]
For Those Who Are Not Yet Members of the Church.
103. As you know, Venerable Brethren, from the very begin-
ning of Our Pontificate, We have committed to the protection and
guidance of heaven those who do not belong to the visible Body of the
Catholic Church, solemnly declaring that after the example of the Good
Shepherd We desire nothing more ardently than that they may have life
and have it more abundantly.[29] Imploring the prayers of the whole
Church WE wish to repeat this solemn declaration in this Encyclical
Letter in which We have proclaimed the praises of the "great and
glorious Body of Christ"[30] and from a heart overflowing with love We
ask each and every one of them to correspond to the interior movements
of grace, and to seek to withdraw from that state in which they cannot
____________________________________________________________________
27. Matthew 9:38; Luke 10:2
28. John 17:21
29. Cf. Encyclical Letter, "Summi Pontificatus", A.A.S., 1939,
p. 419
30. Irenaeus, "Adversum Haeraetici", 4,33,7: Migne P.G., 87,1076
Page -43-
be sure of their salvation.[31] For even though by an unconscious
desire and longing they have a certain relationship with the Mystical
Body of the Redeemer, they still remain deprived of those many heaven-
ly gifts and helps which can only be enjoyed in the Catholic Church.
Therefore may they enter into Catholic unity and, joined with Us in
the one, organic Body of Jesus Christ, may they together with us run
on to the one Head in the Society of glorious love.[32] Persevering in
prayer to the Spirit of love and truth, We wait for them with open and
outstretched arms to come not to a stranger's house, but to their own,
their father's home.
104. Though We desire this unceasing prayer to rise to God
from the whole Mystical Body in common, that all the straying sheep
may hasten to enter the one fold of Jesus Christ, yet We recognize
that this must be done of their own free will; for no one believes
unless he wills to believe.[33] Hence they are most certainly not
genuine Christians[34] who against their belief are forced to go into
a church, to approach the altar and to receive the Sacraments; for
the "faith without which it is impossible to please God"[35] is an
entirely free "submission of intellect and will."[36] Therefore,
whenever it happens, despite the constant teaching of this Apostolic
See,[37] that anyone is compelled to embrace the Catholic faith
against his will, Our sense of duty demands that We condemn the
act. For men must be effectively drawn to the truth by the
Father of light through the spirit of His beloved Son, because,
endowed as they are with free will, they can misuse their freedom
under the impulse of mental agitation and base desires.
Unfortunately many are still wandering far from the Catholic truth,
being unwilling to follow the inspira-tions of divine grace, because
neither they[38] nor the faithful pray to God with sufficient fervor
for this intention. Again and again We beg all we ardently love
the Church to follow the example of the Divine Redeemer and to give
themselves constantly to such prayer.
____________________________________________________________________
31. Cf. Pius IX, "Iam Vos Omnes", 13 Sept. 1868, Acta Conc.
Vat. [1], C.L.7,10
32. Cf. Gelasimus I, "Epistle", 14: Migne, P.L. 59,89
33. Cf. Augustine, "In Ioannem Evangelium Tractatus", 26,2:
Migne, P.L. 30,1607
34. Cf. Augustine, Ibidem
35. Hebrews 11:6
36. 1 Vat. Counc. "Const. de fide Cath.", cap. 3
37. Cf. Leo XIII, "Immortale Dei", A.S.S., 18: pp. 174-175;
Codex Juris Canonici, canon 1351
38. Cf. Augustine, Ibidem
Page -44-
For Rulers.
105. And likewise, above all in the present crisis, it
seems to Us not only opportune but necessary that earnest supplica-
tions should be offered for kings, princes, and for all those who
govern nations and are thus in a position to assist the Church by
their protecting power, so that, the conflict ended, "peace, the work
of justice"[39] under the impulse of divine charity may emerge from
out this raging tempest and be restored to wearied man, and that
holy Mother Church "may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all
piety and chastity."[40]We must plead with God to grant that the
rulers of nations may love wisdom,[41] so that the severe judgment
of the Holy spirit may never fall on them: "Because being
ministers of His Kingdom you have not judged rightly, not kept the
law of Justice, nor walked according to the will of God; horribly
and speedily will he appear to you; for a most severe judgment shall
be for them that bear rule. For to him that is little, mercy
shall be granted; but the mighty shall be mightily tormented. For God
will not except any man's person, neither will he stand in awe of
any man's greatness; for he made the little and the great, and he hath
equally care of all. But a greater punishment is ready for the more
mighty. To you, therefore, O Kings, these are my words, that you may
learn wisdom and not fall from it."[42]
(d) Filling Up Those Things That Are Wanting of the Sufferings of
Christ.
106. Moreover, Christ proved His love for His spotless
Bride not only at the cost of immense labor and constant prayer, but
by His sorrows and His sufferings which He willingly and lovingly
endured for her sake. "Having loved His own...He loved them unto the
end."[43] Indeed it was only at the price of His Blood that He
purchased the Church.[44] Let us then follow gladly in the
bloodstained footsteps of our King, for this is necessary to ensure
our salvation: "For if we have been planted together in the likeness
of His Resurrection."[45] and "if we be dead with him, we shall live
also with Him."[46] Also our zealous love for the Church demands it,
and our brotherly love for the souls she brings forth to Christ.
For although our Savior's cruel
____________________________________________________________________
39. Isaiah 32:17
40. 1 Timothy 2:2
41. Wisdom 6:23
42. Wisdom 6:4- 10
43. John 13:1
44. Acts 20:28
45. Romans 6:5
46. 2 Tim. 2:11
Page -45-
passion and death merited for His Church an infinite treasure of
graces, God's inscrutable providence has decreed that these graces
should not be granted to us all at once; but their greater or lesser
abundance will depend in no small part on our own good works, which
draw down on the souls of men a rain of heavenly gifts freely bestowed
by God. These heavenly gifts will surely flow more abundantly if we
not only pray fervently to God, especially by participating every day
if possible in the Eucharistic Sacrifice; if we not only try to
relieve the distress of the needy and of the sick by works of
Christian charity, but if we also set our hearts on the good things of
eternity rather than on the passing things of this world; if we
restrain this mortal body by voluntary mortification, denying it what
is forbidden, and by forcing it to do what is hard and distasteful;
and finally, if we humbly accept as from God's hands the burdens and
sorrows of this present life. Thus, according to the Apostle, "we
shall fill up those things that are wanting of the sufferings of
Christ in our flesh for His Body, which is the Church."[47]
107. As We write these words there passes before Our eyes,
alas, an almost endless throng of unfortunate beings for whom We shed
tears of sorrow; sick, poor, disabled, widows, orphans, and many not
infrequently languishing even unto death on account of their own
painful trials or those of their families. With the heart of a father
We exhort all those who from whatever cause are plunged in grief and
anguish to lift their eyes trustfully to heaven and to offer their
sorrows to Him who will one day reward them abundantly. Let them all
remember that their sufferings are not in vain, but that they will
turn to their own immense gain and that of the Church, if to this end
they bear them with patience. The daily use of the offering made by
the members of the Apostleship of Prayer will contribute very much to
make this intention more efficacious and We welcome this opportunity
of recommending this Association highly, as one which is most pleasing
to God.
108. There never was a time, Venerable Brethren, when the
salvation of souls did not impose on all the duty of associating their
sufferings with the torments of our Divine Redeemer. But today that
duty is more clear than ever, when a gigantic conflict has set almost
the whole world on fire and leaves in its wake so much death, so much
misery, so much hardship; in the same way today, in a special manner,
it is the duty of all to fly from vice, the attraction of the world,
the unrestrained pleasures of the body, and also from worldly
frivolity and vanity which contribute nothing to the Christian train-
ing of the soul nor to the gaining of Heaven. Rather let those
weighty words of Our immortal predecessor Leo the Great be deeply
engraven upon our minds, that by Baptism we are made flesh of the
Crucified:[48] and that beautiful prayer of St. Ambrose: "Carry me,
____________________________________________________________________
47. Colossians 1:24
48. Cf. "Sermons", 63:6; 66:3: Migne, P.L.,54,357 and 366
Page -46-
Christ, on the Cross, which is salvation to the wanderers, sole rest
for the wearied, wherein alone is life for those who die."[49]
109. Before concluding, We cannot refrain from again and
again exhorting all to love holy Mother Church with a devoted and
active love. If we have really at heart the salvation of the whole
human family, purchased by the precious Blood, we must offer every day
to the Eternal Father our prayers, works and sufferings, for her
safety and for her continued and ever more fruitful increase. And
while the skies are heavy with storm clouds, and exceeding great
dangers threaten the whole of human Society and the Church herself,
let us commit ourselves and all that we have to the Father of Mercies,
crying out: "Look down, we beseech Thee, Lord, on this Thy family, for
which our Lord Jesus Christ did not hesitate to be betrayed into the
hands of evil men and to undergo the torment of the Cross."[50]
CONCLUSION
THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY.
110. Venerable Brethren, may the Virgin Mother of God hear
the prayers of Our paternal heart - which are yours also - and obtain
for all a true love of the Church - she whose sinless soul was filled
with the divine spirit of Jesus Christ above all other created souls,
who "in the name of the whole human race" gave her consent "for a
spiritual marriage between the Son of God and human nature."[51]
Within her virginal womb Christ our Lord already bore the exalted
title of Head of the Church; in a marvelous birth she brought Him
forth as the source of all supernatural life, and presented Him
newly born, as Prophet, King and Priest to those who, from among
Jews and Gentiles, were the first to come to adore Him.
Furthermore, her only Son, condescending to His mother's prayer in
"Cana of Galilee," performed the miracle by which "his disciples
believed in Him."[52] It was she, the second Eve, who, free from
all sin, original or personal, and always more intimately united with
her Son, offered Him on Golgotha to the Eternal Father for all the
children of Adam, sin-stained by his unhappy fall, and her
mother's rights and her mother's love were included in the
holocaust. Thus she who, according to the flesh, was the mother of
our Head, through the added title of pain and glory became,
according to the Spirit, the mother of all His members. She it was
through her powerful prayers obtained that the spirit of our Divine
Redeemer, already given on the Cross, should be bestowed,
accompanied by miraculous gifts, on the newly founded Church at
Pentecost; and finally, bearing with courage and confidence the
____________________________________________________________________
49. "In Psalmis", 118:22-30: Migne, P.L., 15:1521
50. Latin rite Office for Holy Week.
51. St. Thomas Aquinas, III, 1.30,a.1,c.
52. John 2:11
Page -47-
tremendous burden of her sorrows and desolation, she, truly the Queen
of Martyrs, more than all the faithful "filled up those things that
are wanting of the sufferings of Christ...for His Body, which is the
Church";[53] and she continues to have for the Mystical Body of Christ,
born of the pierced Heart of the Savior,[54] the same motherly care and
ardent love with which she cherished and fed the Infant Jesus in the
crib.
111. May she, then, the most holy Mother of all the members
of Christ,[55] to whose Immaculate Heart We have trustfully
consecrated all mankind, and who now reigns in heaven with her Son,
her body and soul refulgent with heavenly glory - may she never
cease to beg from Him that copious streams of grace may flow from its
exalted Head into all the members of the Mystical Body. May she
throw about the Church today, as in times gone by, the mantle of
her protection and obtain from God that now at least the Church and
all mankind may enjoy more peaceful days.
112. Confiding in this sublime hope, from an overflowing
heart We impart to you, one and all, Venerable Brethren, and to the
flocks entrusted to your care, as a pledge of heavenly graces and a
token of Our special affection, the Apostolic Benediction.
113. Given at Rome, at St. Peter's on the twenty-ninth day
of June, the Feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, in the year
1943, the fifth of Our Pontificate.
Pius PP. XII
FINIS
____________________________________________________________________
53. Colossians 1:24
54. Cf. "Vesper hymn of Office of the Sacred Heart."
55. Cf. Pius X, "Ad Diem Illum": A.A.S., 36: p. 453
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