ENCYCLICAL LETTER ON THE TEACHING OF THE CATECHISM

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXIII, Issue 24, 15 June 1905, Page 2

ENCYCLICAL LETTER ON THE TEACHING OF THE CATECHISM

The following Encyclical Letter on the Teaching of the Catechism, addressed to' the Bishops of the world, has been issued by our Holy Father Pius X :—: — Venerable Brethren, Health amd the Apostolic Benediction. A time of great trouble and difficulty is this in which Our littleness has been raised by the inscrutable designs of Divine Providence to the oilice of Supreme Pastor of the whole flock of Christ. Long has the enemy been prowling round the fold, attacking it with such subtle cunning, that now more than ever seems 'to be verified the prediction made by the Apostle to the elders of the Church of Ephesus : ' 1 know that ravening wolves will enter in among you, not sparing the flock.' (Acts xx. 29.). The reasons and causes of this religious decadence are l>eing studied by those who still cherish zeal for the glory of God, and differing as they do in their conclusions, they point out, each according to his own \iews, \arious ways for protecting and restoring the kingdom of God on earth. But to Us, Venerable Brethren, it seems that while other reasons may play their part, We must agree with those who hold that the main cause of the present lassitude and torpor, and of the most serious evils that flow from it, is to te found in the prevailing ignorance about Divine things. And this fully bears out what God Himself afhrmed through the Prophet Osee . ' . . . And there is no knowledge of G<od in the land. Cursing and lying and killing and theft and adultery have overflowed, and blood hath touched blood. Therefore shall the earth mourn and every one that dwelleth in it shall languish ' (thsee iv. 1 fi.). That there are among Christians in our lime large numbeis! who live m utter ignorance of The Truths Necessary for Salvation is a common lament nowadays, and one that is unhappily only too well founded. And when We say among Christians We mean not only the masses and those in the lower walks of life, who are sometimes not to blame owing to the inhumanity of masters whose demands leave them little time to think of themselves and their own interests , but we refer also and even more especially to all those who, while endowed with a certain amount of talent and culture and possessing abundant knowledge of profane matters, have no care or thought for religion. It is hard to find words to describe the dense darkness that environs these, and, more painful still, the indifference with which they regard it. Rarely do they give thought to the Supreme Author and Ruldr of all things or to the teaching of the faith oi Christ. Consequently they are absolutely without knowledge of the Incarnation of the Word of God and of the redemption of mankind wrought by Him, and of Grace which, is the chief means for the attainment of eternal welfare, and of the Holy Sacrifice and the Sacraments by which this grace is acquired and preserved. They fail to appreciate the malice and foulness of sin, and they have therefore no care to avoid it and free themselves from it. Thus they reach their last day in such a state that the minister of God, anxious to take advantage of the slightest hope of their salvation, is obliged to employ those final moments, which should be consecrated entirely to stimulating in them the love of God, in imparting a summary instruction on the things

indispensable for salvation—and even then it often happens that the invalid has become so far the slave of culpable ignorance as to cpnsider superfluous the intervention of the priest, and to face calmly the terrible passage to eternity without reconciling himself with God. Our predecessor Benedict XIV., therefore, had good reason to write as he did . ' This we asseverate : that the majority of those who are condemned to eternal punishment fall into this everlasting misfortune through ignorance of these mysteries of the faith which must necessarily be known and believed by all who belong to the elect ' (Inst. xx\i. 18). This being so, Venerable Brethren, what wonder is it if we see to-day in the world, and not merely among barbarous peoples but in the very midst of Christian nations, a constantly Increasing Corruption and Depravity ? The Apostle writing to the Ephesians admonished them . ' But fornication and all uncleanliness or covetousness, let it not be so much as named among you, as becometh saints, or o'bscemty or foolish talking ** (Ephes. v. 3, 4). But as the basis of this holiness and of the modesty that curbs the passions he sets supernatural wisdom : ' See, therefore, brethren, how you walk circumspectly, not as unwise, but as wise, redeeming the time, for the days are evil ' (Ibid. 15-16). And rightly so. For the human will has retained •but little of that love of what ib light and jusl which God the Creator infused into it and which drew it, so to speak, towards the real and not merely apparent good. Depraved as it has become by the corruption of the first sin, and hardly conscious ol the existence of God, its Author, its affections are almost entirely turned to vanity and lying. The erring, blinded by perverse passions, has need therefore of a guide to point out the way and lead it back to the paths of justice so unhappily abandoned. This guide, not selected at random but designated especially by nature, is no other than the intellect. But if the intellect be itself lacking in true light, that is, in the knowledge of dfc\ me things, it will be the blind leading the blind, and both will fall into the ditch. Holy David, praising God for the light of truth whi'h is flashed from Him on our minds, said ' The light of Thy countenance, 0 Lord, is siened upon us ' (Ps. r . 7). And he described the effect of this light when he added • ' Thou hast given gladness in my heart' — the gladness that fills the heart to make it nm in the way of the Diwne commandments. All this becomes e\ident on a little reflet tion. For the doctrine of Jesus Christ ie\eals to us God and His infinite perfection with far gieater clearness than does the natural light of the human intellect. What iollows 7 That same doctrine commands us To Honor God by Faith, which is the homage of our mind , by hope, which is the homage of our will , by charity, which is the homage of our heart , and thus it binds and the whole of man to his Supreme Maker and Ruler. So, too, only the doctiine of Christ makes known to us the true and most lofty dignity of man, by showing him to 'be the son of the celestial Father who is m hea\en, made to his innate and likeness and destined to liv\e with Him in eternal bliss. But from this \ery dignity and from the knowledge that man has of it Christ deduces the obligation for all men of loving one another like brothers, as they are ; commands them to h\e here below as children of light ' not in rioting and drunkenness, not In chamiberlng and impurities, not in contention and envy ' (Rom. xiii. 13) ; obliges them, too, to place all their solicitude in God, since He has care of us ; commands us to stretch forth a helping hand to the poor, to do good to those who do evil to us, to prefer tne eternal good of the soul to the fleeting good of time. And, not to go too far into detail, is it not the doctrine of Jesus Christ which inspires in proud man the love of humility, which is the source of all true glory? 'Whosoe\er shall humble himself ... he is the greater in the kingdom of hea\en ' (Matth wiii 4) From the same doctrine we l-earn prudence of the spirit, by means of which we are enabled to shun the prudence of the flesh, justice which teaches us to give everyone his due, fortitude which makes us ready to suffer all things, and by means of which we do, in fact, suffer all things with generosity for the sake of God and of our eternal happiness, and, finally, temperance, through which we find it passible to love even poverty, and actually to glory in the cross, and pay no heed to contempt. In fine The Science ol Christianity is a fount not only of light for the intellect, enabling it to attain to truth, but of warmth to the will, whereby we raise ourselves up to God and unite ourselves with him for the practice of virtue.

Not indeed that We mean to say that a knowledge of religion may not be joined with a perverse will and a bad life. Would to Giod that facts did not only too abundantly prove the contrary ! But We do maintain that the will cannot be upright nor conduct good while the intellect is the slave of crass ignorance. A man using* his eyes may certainly turn aside from the right path,, but the one who has become blind is certain to walk into the mouth of danger. Besides, there is always some hope for the reform of evil living as long as the light of faith is not wholly extinguished , whereas, if as a result of ignorance want of faith is added to corrupLion, the case hardly admits of remedy, and the road to eternal ruin lies open. Such, then, being the unhappy consequences of ignorance in matters of religion, and such, on the other hand, tho, necessity and utility of religious instruction, seeing that nobody can fulfil the duties of a Christian without knowing them, it only remains to inquire as to whose duty it is to eliminate this ignorance from the minds of the people, and to impart to them a knowledge so essential on this point. Venerable Brethren, there can be no room for doubt, for this most important duty is incumbent on all who are pastors of souls. On them by command of Christ rests the obligation of knowing and feeding the flocks entrusted to them. To feed implies first of all to teach. ' I will give you,' God promised through Jeremiah, ' pastors after my own heart, and they will feed you with knowledge and doctrine ' (Jer. iii. 15). Hence the Apostle St. Paul said : ' Christ sent) me not to baptise, but to preach the Gospel ' (1 Cor., i, 17), thus indicating that the first office of all those wh:> are placed to rule in some measure the Church is to instruct the faithful. We do not think it necessary to speak here of the sublime character of this instruction or to show how meiiieiicus it is in the sight of God. Ass-ire^ly the almsgiving with which we alleviate the trials of the poor is highly praised by the Lord. But who will deny that a far greater measure of praise is due to the zeal and the labor expended in teaching and exhortation ; not on the fleeting welfare of the body but on the eternal wellkre of souls ? In truth than this nofhTng is nearer or 'dearer to the heart of Jesus Christ the Saviour of souls, Who, through the lips of Isaias, affirmed of Himself. ' I have been sejnt to preach the 'Gospel to the poor ' (Duke iv. 18). For Our prasent purpose it will be better to dwell on a single point and to insist on it, viz., that for no priest is there A Duty More Grave or an obligation more binding than this one Will anyone deny that knowledge ought to be joined with holiness of life in every priest ? ' For the lips of the pnest shall keep knowledge ' (Mai. ii. 7). And the Church does in fact requite it most rigorously in those who are to be raised to the sacerdotal ministry. And why this ? Because It is Irom them that the Christian neople are to learn, and it is for that end that they are sent by God. ' "And they shall seek the law at his mouth for he is the angel of the Lord of Hosts ' (Ibid),, Thus the Bishoo in ordaining addresses the candidates for Orders in these words 'Let your spiritual doctrine! be as medicine for the people of God ; let them be prudent co-operators of our order ; in order that meditating day and night on this law they may believe what they shall read, and teach what they shall believe ' (' Pont. Rom.'). If this is true of all priests, what is to be! thought with regard to those who ossess the title and the authority of parish priests, and who by virtue of their rank, and in a sense by contract, have the office of ruling souls ? These, in a certain measure, are to be nun>bered among the pastors and doctors designated by Christ in order that the faithful may be no longer as children tossed to and fro anS carried about by every wind of doctrine by the wickedness of men, but that "doing the truth in charity I they may in all things grow up to him who is the head, even Christ ' (Eph. iv. 14, 15). Hence the sacred Council of Trent, treating of the pastors of souls, lays down as their first and chief duty that of instructing the faithful. It prescribes that they must speak to the people on the truths of religion on Sundays and the more solemn feasts, and do the same either daily or at least three times a week during the holy seasons of Advent and Lent. Nor is it content with this, for it adds that parish priests are bound, either by themselves or through others, to instruct the young, at least on Sundays and feast days, in the principles of faith and in obedience to God and their parents (Sess. 5 eh. 2 de ref ; Sess. 22 eh. 8 ; Sess. 24 eh. 4 and 7 de ref.). And when the Sacra-

ments are to be administered, it enjoins upon them the duty of explaining their efficacy in the vulgar tongue to those who are about to receive them.

These prescriptions of the Sacred Council of Trent have been epitomised and still more clearly defined by Our Predecessor Benedict XIV. in his Constitution, ' Etsi Minime ' in the following words . ' Two chief obligations have been imposed by the Council of Trent on those who have the care of souls : first, that they address the people on divine things on feast days ; and becond, that they instruct Wie young and ihe ignoid.nl in the rudiments of the law of God and of faith.' Rightly does that most wise Pontiff make a distinction between those two duties of the sermon, commonly known as the explanation of the Gospel and of the catechism. For it may be that there are some who, to save themselves trouble, are willing to believe that the explanation of the Gospel may serve also for catechetical instruction. This is an error which should be apparent to all. For the sermon on the Gospel is addressed to those who may be supposed to be already instructed in the rudiments of the iaith. It is, so to say, the bread that is broken for adults. Catechetical instruction, on the other hand, is that milk whith the Apostle St. Peter wished to be desiired with simplicity by the faithful as newly-born children.

The Task of the Catechist is to take up one or other of the truths of faith or Christian precept, and to explain it in all its parts ; and since* the scope of this instruction is always directed to amendment of life, he must necessarily institute a comparison between what is required of us by Our Lord and our actual conduct ; and he should, therefore, by appropriate examples skilfully selected from the Holy Scriptures, Church history, and the li\es of the saints, use persuasion with his hearers and point out to them how they arc to shape their conduct, concluding with an efficacious exhortation in order that they may be moved to shun and detest \ice and to practise \irtue. We are aware that the office of catcthist is not much sought after, because, as a rule, it is deemed of little account and does not lend itself easily to the winning of applausle But this, m Our "view, is an estimate born oi' \anity ami not of truth. We are quite willing to admit the merits of those sacred orators who dedicate themsches with genuine zeal to t he glory of God by the defence and maintenance of the faith, or by extolling the heroes of Christianity. But their labour presupposes labour of another kind, that of the catechist. Where the latter is wanting, the foundations are wanting, and they labor in \am who build the ■house. Too often it happens that ornate sermons which win the applause of crowded congregations serv_e only to tickle the ears, and fail utterly to touch the heart. Cateeheticil instruction, on the other hand, plain and simple though it be, is that word of which (iod Himself speaks in Isaias • ' And as the rain and the snow came down from llea\en ant! return no more thither, but soak Ihe earfh ami water it, and make it to spring, and five seed to the sower anS bread to the cater; so shall ni\ word be whirh shall go forth from, my mouth ; it s<hall not return to me void, but shall do whatsoever I please, and shall prosper in the things for which I sent it.' The same, We think, is to be said of those pnests who compose laborious books to illustrate the Truths of rehgion. They are worthy of great comindndation for their activity But how many road thes>c w.lumes and derive fruit in proportion to the toil and the v i.shos of those who wrote them ' Whereas the teaching of the Catechism, when properly done, never fails to be oi profit to those who listen to it. For (we must repeat this truth in order to stimulate the zeal of the ministers of the sanctuary) there are to-day vast numbers, and they are constantly increasing, who are utterly ignorant of the truths of religion, or who have at most so little knowledge of God and of the Christian faith that they can live as idolaters in the icry midst of the light of Christianity. How many there arc, not only among Ihe young, but among adults and even those tottering with age who know nothing of the principal mysteries of faith, who on hcanng the name of Christ oan only ask ' Who is he ... that I may believe in Him ' (John ix. 36). And in consequence of this ignorance They make no crime of exciting and ciicnshing hatred against their neighbour, of entering into most uniust contracts, giving themselves up to dishonest speculations, possessing themselves- of the property of others by enormous- usury, and committing similar iniquities. They are actually ignorant that

The Law of Christ not only forbids immoral actions, but condemns deliberate immoral thoughts, and immoral desires, so that even when they are restrained by some motive or other from abandoning themselves to sensual pleasures, they feed without any kind of scruple on evil thoughts, multiplying sins beyond the hairs of their heads. Nor, 'let it be repeated, are such to be found only among the poorer classes of the people or in country places, but in the highest walks of life, and among those who, inflated with knowledge, rely upon a vain erudition and think themselves at liberty to turn religion into ridicule and to ' blaspheme that which they know not ' (Jud. 10).. Now if it is vain to expect a harvest where no seed has been sown, how can we hope to have betterliving generations if they be not instructed in time in the doctrine of Jesus Christ ? It follows, too, that if faith languishes in our days, if it has almost vanished throughout a large propontion of the people, the reason is that the duty of catechetical teaching is either fulfilled very superficially or altqge/thei neglectedNor will it do to say, in excuse, that faith is a free gift bestowed on each one at baptism. Yes, all who are baptised in Christ have had infused into them the habit of faith ; but this most divine 'germ aoes not develop, or put forth great branches (Marie iv. 32) when left to itself, and as if by its own virtue. Man at his birth has within him the faculty of understanding, but he has need also of the mother's word to awaken it as it were, and to bring it into actiou. So too the Christian, born again of the water and the Holy Ghost, has faith within him ibut he requires the word of the Church to fecundate it and develop it, and make it fruitful. Hence the Apostle wrote : ' Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of God ' (Romans x. 17), and to show the necessity o? teaching he ad»ds. ' How shall they hear without a preacher ?' (Ibid.). Now if all that has been said serves to show the supreme importance of religious teaching, supreme also must be Our solicitude in maintaining always in vigor, and in re-establishing where it may happen to have become neglected, the teaching of the catechism which Benedict XIV. described as ' the most useful of institutions for the clory of God and the -.salvation of souls' (Cons. ' Etsi Minime,' 13). Desirous, therefore, Venerable Brethren, of fulfilling this most important duty, imposed upon I T s by the Supreme Apostolato, and of introducing uniformity everywhere in this most weighty mat tor, We do by Our Supreme authority, enact anil strictly ordain that in all dioceses The Following Preoepis be Observed : I.— All parish priests, and, in general, all those who have Ihe care of souls, on every Sunday and feast day throughout the year, without exception, shall with the text of the catechism instruct for the space of an hour the young of both sexes in what everyone must believe and do to be saved. IX _They shall, at stated times during the year, prepare boys and girls by continued instruction, lastinir several days, to receive Ihe sacraments of Penance and Confirmation, 111 —They shall likewise, and with special care, on all forial days of Lent, and if necessary on other days after the feasl of Easter, by sari table Tnstruction and reflections, prepare boys and girls to make their first Coninvunion in a holy manner. IV. — In each and every parish the Confraternity of riiristio.n Doctrine is to be canonieally erected. Through this the parish priests, especially in places whore there is a scarcity of priests, will find valuable helpers for the Catechetical instruction in pious lay ner^ons who v\ill lend their aid to this holy and salutary work, both through 7eal for the glory of Goxi and as a, means of gaining the numerous indulgences granted by tbe Sovereign Pontiff. V— ln lafrge towns, and especially in those which contain universities, colleges, and grammar schools, let religious classes be founded, to instruct in the truths of faith and in the practice of Christian life the young people who frequent those public schools from which all religious teaching is banned. vr — Considering too, that especially in these days adults not less than the young stand in need of religious instruction, all parish priests and others having the care of souls, shall, in addition to the usual homily on the Gosnel delivered at the parochial Mass on all day si of obligation, explain the Catechism 'for the faithful in any easy style, suited to the intelligence of their hearers, at such time of the day as they

may deenv most convenient for the people, but not during the hour in which the children are taught. In this instruction they are to make use of the Catechism of the Council of Trent ; and they are to divide the matter in such a way as within the space of four or five years to treat of the Apostles' Creed, the Sacraments, tfre Decalogue, the Lord's Prayer, and the Precepts of the Church. This, Venerable Brethren, We do prescribe and command by virtue of Apostolic Authority. It now rests with you to put it into Prompt and Complete Execution in your dioceses, and by all the force at your command, and to see to it that these prescriptions of Ours be not neglected, or what comes lo the same thing, carried out superficially. And that this may be avoided, you must not coase to recommend and to require that your parish priests do not imnart this instruction carelessly, but that they diligently prepare themselves for it ; let them not speak words of human wisdom, but ' with simplicity of heart and in the sincerity of God '(11. Cor. i. 12), imitating the example of Jesus Ohrist who though ' he revealed mysteries hidden from; the beginning of the world ' (Matth. xhi. 35) yet spoke always 'to the multitudes in parables, and without parables did not speak to them ' (Ibid 34). The same thing was done also by the Apostles taught by Our Lord, of whom the Pontiff Gregory the Great said : ' They took supreme care to preach to the ignorant things easy and intelligible, not sublime and arduous ' (Moral. 11. xriii. chap. 26). In matters of religion the majority of men in our times must be considered as ignorant. We would not, however, have it supposed that this studied simplicity of preaching does not require labor and meditation ; on the contrary, it requires it more than any other kind. It is much easier to find a preacher capable of delivering an eloquent and elaborate discourse than a cateohist able to impart instruction in a manner entirely worthy of praise. It must, therefore, be carefully borne in mind that whatever facility of ideas and language a man may have inherited from nature, he will never be able to teaoh the Catechism to the young and the adult without preparing himself thoughtfully for the task. It is a mistake for a man to suppose that, owing to the rudepess and ignorance of the people, he may perform this office in a careless manner. On the contrary, the more uncultured the hearers, Tlhe Greater is the Necessity for study and diligence to bring home to their minds those most sublime truths, so far beyond the natural understanding of the multitude, which must yet be known by all the learned and. the unlettered alike, in order that they may attain eternal salvation. Amd now, Venerable Brethren, be it permitted Us to close this letter by addressing to you these words of Moses : 'If any man be on the Lord's side, let him join with me ' (Ex. xxxii. 2fi). We pray and conjure you to reflect on the ruin of souls which is wrought by this one cause, ignorance of dhine things. Doubtless vwi have established many useful and p.raiscworthy undertakings in your respective dioceses for the benefit of the flock entrusted to you, bul before all else, and with all the diligence, all the ?eal, all the assiduity that is possible for you, sec to it that the knowledge of Christian doctrine thoroughly penetrate and pervade the minds of all : ' Let every one,' these are the words of the Apostle St. Peter, ' as he has received grace, minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God ' (1 Peter iv. 10). Through the Intercession of the most BlesseS Immaculate Virgin, may your diligence and your energy be rendered fruitful by the Apostolic Blessing which, in token of Our affection and as an earnest of Dhine favors, We impart to you and to the clergy and the peonle entrusted to each one of you. Given ai Rome, at Sf.. Peter's on the 15th day of April, MDCCCCV., in the second year of Out Pontificate. PIUS X., POPE.