POPE PIUS X.

New Zealand Tablet, 1 October 1908, Page 11

POPE PIUS X.

JUBILEE ADDRESS TO THE CLERGY OF THE WORLD

the Holv'V o^ 35101 ; ° f thG , fiftiGth anniversa O' of his priesthood the Gentiles to the Hebrews, when he wrote: < For they vntcl as being to render an account of your sou l s ' (xiii., I? ) is s tronSv appealing and fear-inspiring. If this responsibility Itcheslo a » who have authority in the Church, it belongs in a part cu la GoTs^ift th m Wh °' th ° U ? h UnCqUal tO task ' S5 by God sg ft the supreme position. Wherefore he is night and day subject to anxiety .in this respect and never ceases to con sider and strive for what will tend to' •

The Safety and Growth of the Flock " :ss.;» 'srr. hH raCTSt warmly exhorted the Bishops of the Catholic world tha they Chrt in nOt^ mm ° r \ effiCaSiOUS tha " t0 inStil ti-^rifS Christ in those who were destined to instil ;t; t in others. He acknowledges that as the result "or «w , many of the cl were red V^*^ he same fme others, i n different countries, did not, he regretted find^ -!°. CC ° ndUCt themse lves that the Christian p eo pe cou W find in their act, O ns what they might imitate. To these le

wished in the present letter to 'open his- heart— the heart of a father, palpitating with eager love. at. the sight of an ailing son * Hie accordingly adds his own exhortation to those of the Bishops urging that the clergy should daily strive to become • men of God, to use the language of the Apostle. His Holiness earnestly commends the following text, to the attention of the clergy : 'Be renewed in the spirit of your mind ; and put on the new man who, according to God, is created in justice and holi- , ness of truth ' (Ephes. iv, 23-4). The realisation of this Ideal, continues his Holiness, will be^ a beautiful and most acceptable gift to the Supreme Pontiff on the fiftieth anniversary of his priesthood. Taking a retrospect of the years he has spent in the priesthood, he thinks that the human imperfections, whatever they may be, which are to be regretted, appear to have been in some way expiated in exhorting and admonishing them to ' walk worthy of God, in all things pleasing ' (Coloss. i. 10). The exhortation concerned not only the welfare of the clergy but also that of the people, because they could not be separated from one another. A priest could not be good or bad without influencing others. The character of his actions affected the people and when it was praiseworthy how great was the blessing! His Holiness, therefore, in this communication to the clergy insists in the first place, on ' Sanctity of Life. They received the priesthood not merely for themselves, but for others: 'For every high-priest taken from amongst men is ordained for men in the things that appertain to God ' (Hebr v, 1). This was also pointed out by Christ, Who, to indicate what kind of conduct He looked for in the-case of priests, compared them to salt and also to light. The priest, then, was the light of the world, the salt of the earth. He was so chiefly for the handing down of Christian truth, but it could not be denied that such an institution counted almost- as nothing if the priest did not conform by example to what he taught' by word. Hearers disdainfully, but not without reason, objected. • They profess that they know God ; but in their works they deny Him ' (Tjft 1, 16). Where sanctity was absent, there -corruption must ha# crept in. Accordingly Christ, dwelling on the same contparisoT called such priests savorless salt which ' is good for nothing any more but to be cast out ' and even ' to be trodden: orctor men > (Matt, v., 13). The force of those words was the- mor^evident inasmuch as the clergy discharged the duties of the priestly office not in their own name, but in that of Jesus Christ 'Lit a man,' said the Apostle, ' so account of us as of the ministers of Christ and the uispensers of the mysteries of God ' (I. Corr. iv., 1); 'for Christ therefore we are ambassadors' (ii Corr v '20)' On this account Christ Himself placed them in the category not of servants but of friends : ' I will not now call you servants. ... But I have called you friends ; because all things whatsoever I have heard of My Father I have made known to you.- ... I have chosen you and have appointed you that you should go and should bring forth fruit ' (John xv, 15, 16). They were therefore to bear about in themselves the person of Christ • they were to fill their office as ambassador in such a manner as to comply with His wishes. Now, since ' firm friendship consisted in having Ihe same inclinations and disinclinations ' they were bound to feel as felt Christ, who was 'holy, innocent, undefiled* (Hcbr. vii, 26). As His ambassadors they should gain the confidence of men for His doctrines and His tews observing them in the first place themselves. His Holiness shows that Life in Clerical Seminaries and the whole preparation for the priesthood is designed- to- be an initiation in Chritian virtue. When the candidate first chose to enter the service of the sanctuary the Church wished him- to declare 'The Lord is the -portion of my inheritance -and of my cup :• it is Thou that wilt restore my inheritance to me ' (Ps. xv., 5). In which words', said St. Jerome, the cleric is warned that ' as one who is himself the portion, of the Lord- or has the . Lord for his portion, he should conduct himself like a man who possesses -and is possessed, by. the Lord' (Ep. Hi., ad Nepotianum n. 5). • And at the commencement. of his priesthood .the cleric was -reminded that 'the odor of his life should be a delight to the Church of Christ, so that he might raise up the house, that is, the children of God, by preaching and example.' There were some who thought and maintained that a priest's highest duty consisted in wholly devoting- himself to the benefit of others." Wherefore neglecting nearly altogether those virtues by which a man is himself perfected (virtues which they , termed passive), they asserted that all one's strength' and zeal should be given to the cultivation and" practice" of • the active virtues. But' this was a view dangerously fallacious and injurious. The Pontiff goes on to inculcate the self-abnegation' that befits a worker in

Christ's vineyard, and says the priest must take care, whilst striving after personal perfection, not to omit any of the duties the discharge of which tends to the good of others, such, for instance, as hearing confessions, visiting the sick, especially the dying, teaching ihe truths of religion to the ignorant, "consoling those that mourn, and Bringing Back the Wandering, so as to imitate Christ, ' who^went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil.' (Acts x.,38). The, Pontiffs proposes as an- example of sanctity to the clergy John Baptist Vianney, the Cure of Ars,~ whose beatification he rejoices to .have decreed. Sanctity made them what their divine vocation demanded — men crucified to the world and walking in the newness of life, who, as St. Paul said, 'in labors, in watchings, Jn fastings, in chastity,- in' knowledge, in long-suffering, in sweetness, in the Holy Ghost, in charity unfeigned, in the word of truth,' conduct themselves as ministers of God — men striving solely for heavenly things and using all their power to induce others to do. likewise. The -Holy Father then explains at considerable length the importance of daily meditation, which -cannot be omitted without grave carelessness and harm to .the soul ; also of prayer, and the reading of pious books, especially the Sacred Scriptures. ' Woe,' says his Holiness, ' to the priest who, forgetful of his" own soul, gives up earnestness in prayer, rejects pious reading, and never enters into himself to hear the voice of an accusing conscience. Neither the gaping wounds of that soul nor the appeals of Mother Church shall move the unfortunate man till the terrible threat takes ' effect : " Bind the heart of this people, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes ; lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and be converted and I heal them.'" His Holiness in concluding refers with commendation to annual and short monthly retreats for the clergy and counsels closer union between the priests for their own protection and for the purposes of mutual edification and self-improvement. He thanks them for their good wishes on the occasion of his jubilee and in granting them the Apostolic Benediction prays that the peace of Christ may dwell in their hearts.