|
 Laetitiae
Sanctae
(De
Rosario mariali)
1.
The sacred joy which it has been given to Us to feel in
attaining the fiftieth anniversary of Our Episcopal
Consecration has been deepened by the knowledge that it
was shared by the people of the whole Catholic world,
and that as a father in the midst of his children We
have been consoled by the touching testimonies of their
loyalty and love. We gratefully accept it and record it
as a fresh proof of God's special providence, and one
which is markedly full of bounty to Ourselves, and of
blessing to the Church.
2.
At the same time We love to offer Our thanks for this
signal benefit to the august Mother of God, whose
powerful intercession We feel to have been exercised in
Our behalf. For hers is the loving kindness which,
during the length of years and the vicissitudes of life,
has never failed Us, and which day by day seems to draw
nearer to Us than ever, filling Our soul with gladness,
and strengthening Us with a confidence of which the
surety is higher than the things of time. It is as if
the voice of the heavenly Queen made itself heard to Us,
at one moment graciously consoling Us in the midst of
trials; at another guiding Us by her counsel in
directing the great work of the salvation of souls; at
another, urging Us to admonish the Christian people to
advance in piety and in the practice of every virtue.
For Us it is once more a joy as well as a duty to
respond to her inspirations. Amongst the happy results
which have already rewarded Our exhortations which were
due to her prompting, We have to reckon the remarkable
impulse given to the Devotion of the Most Holy Rosary.
This awakening has made itself felt in the increased
number of Confraternities instituted for the purpose,
the voluminous literature of pious and learned works
written upon the subject, and the manifold tributes
which Christian art has not failed to bring to its
service. And now, as if for yet another time, listening
to the voice of the same zealous Mother, who calls upon
Us to "cry out and cease not," We rejoice once
more to address you, Venerable Brethren, upon the
subject of the Rosary, standing as We do upon the eve of
that month of October which, by the award of special
Indulgences, We have deemed it well to dedicate to this
most popular devotion. Our appeal to you, however, will
not be directed so much to add any further
recommendation of a method of prayer so praiseworthy in
itself, nor yet to press upon the faithful the necessity
of practising it still more fervently, but rather to
point out how we may draw from this devotion certain
advantages which are especially valuable and needful at
the present day.
The
Rosary and Society
3.
For We are convinced that the Rosary, if devoutly used,
is bound to benefit not only the individual but society
at large. No one will do Us the injustice to deny that
in the discharge of the duties of the Supreme Apostolate
We have laboured - as, God helping, We shall ever
continue to labour - to promote the civil prosperity of
mankind. Repeatedly have We admonished those who are
invested with sovereign power that they should neither
make nor execute laws except in conformity with the
equity of the Divine mind. On the other hand, we have
constantly besought citizens who were conspicuous by
genius, industry, family, or fortune, to join together
in common counsel and action to safeguard and to promote
whatever would tend to the strength and well-being of
the community. Only too many causes are at work, in the
present condition of things, to loosen the bonds of
public order, and to withdraw the people from sound
principles of life and conduct.
Dislike
of Poverty - The Joyful Mysteries
4.
There are three influences which appear to Us to have
the chief place in effecting this downgrade movement of
society. These are - first, the distaste for a simple and
labourious life; secondly, repugnance to suffering of
any kind; thirdly, the forgetfulness of the future life.
5.
We deplore - and those who judge of all things merely by
the light and according to the standard of nature join
with Us in deploring that society is threatened with a
serious danger in the growing contempt of those homely
duties and virtues which make up the beauty of humble
life. To this cause we may trace in the home, the
readiness of children to withdraw themselves from the
natural obligation of obedience to the parents, and
their impatience of any form of treatment which is not
of the indulgent and effeminate kind. In the workman, it
evinces itself in a tendency to desert his trade, to
shrink from toil, to become discontented with his lot,
to fix his gaze on things that are above him, and to
look forward with unthinking hopefulness to some future
equalization of property. We may observe the same temper
permeating the masses in the eagerness to exchange the
life of the rural districts for the excitements and
pleasures of the town. Thus the equilibrium between the
classes of the community is being destroyed, everything
becomes unsettled, men's minds become a prey to jealousy
and heart-burnings, rights are openly trampled under
foot, and, finally, the people, betrayed in their
expectations, attack public order, and place themselves
in conflict with those who are charged to maintain it.
6.
For evils such as these let us seek a remedy in the
Rosary, which consists in a fixed order of prayer
combined with devout meditation on the life of Christ
and His Blessed Mother. Here, if the joyful mysteries be
but clearly brought home to the minds of the people, an
object lesson of the chief virtues is placed before
their eyes. Each one will thus be able to see for
himself how easy, how abundant, how sweetly attractive
are the lessons to be found therein for the leading of
an honest life. Let us take our stand in front of that
earthly and divine home of holiness, the House of
Nazareth. How much we have to learn from the daily life
which was led within its walls! What an all-perfect
model of domestic society! Here we behold simplicity and
purity of conduct, perfect agreement and unbroken
harmony, mutual respect and love - not of the false and
fleeting kind - but that which finds both its life and its
charm in devotedness of service. Here is the patient
industry which provides what is required for food and
raiment; which does so "in the sweat of the
brow," which is contented with little, and which
seeks rather to diminish the number of its wants than to
multiply the sources of its wealth. Better than all, we
find there that supreme peace of mind and gladness of
soul which never fail to accompany the possession of a
tranquil conscience. These are precious examples of
goodness, of modesty, of humility, of hard-working
endurance, of kindness to others, of diligence in the
small duties of daily life, and of other virtues, and
once they have made their influence felt they gradually
take root in the soul, and in course of time fail not to
bring about a happy change of mind and conduct. Then
will each one begin to feel his work to be no longer
lowly and irksome, but grateful and lightsome, and
clothed with a certain joyousness by his sense of duty
in discharging it conscientiously. Then will gentler
manners everywhere prevail; home-life will be loved and
esteemed, and the relations of man with man will be
loved and esteemed, and the relations of man with man
will be hallowed by a larger infusion of respect and
charity. And if this betterment should go forth from the
individual to the family and to the communities, and
thence to the people at large so that human life should
be lifted up to this standard, no one will fail to feel
how great and lasting indeed would be the gain which
would be achieved for society.
Repugnance
to Suffering - The Sorrowful Mysteries
7.
A second evil, one which is specially pernicious, and
one which, owing to the increasing mischief which it
works among souls, we can never sufficiently deplore, is
to be found in repugnance to suffering and eagerness to
escape whatever is hard or painful to endure. The
greater number are thus robbed of that peace and freedom
of mind which remains the reward of those who do what is
right undismayed by the perils or troubles to be met
with in doing so. Rather do they dream of a chimeric
civilization in which all that is unpleasant shall be
removed, and all that is pleasant shall be supplied. By
this passionate and unbridled desire of living a life of
pleasure, the minds of men are weakened, and if they do
not entirely succumb, they become demoralized and
miserably cower and sink under the hardships of the
battle of life.
8.
In such a contest example is everything, and a powerful
means of renewing our courage will undoubtedly be found
in the Holy Rosary, if from our earliest years our minds
have been trained to dwell upon the sorrowful mysteries
of Our Lord's life, and to drink in their meaning by
sweet and silent meditation. In them we shall learn how
Christ, "the Author and Finisher of Our
faith," began "to do and teach," in order
that we might see written in His example all the lessons
that He Himself had taught us for the bearing of our
burden of labour and sorrow, and mark how the sufferings
which were hardest to bear were those which He embraced
with the greatest measure of generosity and good will.
We behold Him overwhelmed with sadness, so that drops of
blood ooze like sweat from His veins. We see Him bound
like a malefactor, subjected to the judgment of the
unrighteous, laden with insults, covered with shame,
assailed with false accusations, torn with scourges,
crowned with thorns, nailed to the cross, accounted
unworthy to live, and condemned by the voice of the
multitude as deserving of death. Here, too, we
contemplate the grief of the most Holy Mother, whose
soul was not merely wounded but "pierced" by
the sword of sorrow, so that she might be named and
become in truth "the Mother of Sorrows."
Witnessing these examples of fortitude, not with sight
but by faith, who is there who will not feel his heart
grow warm with the desire of imitating them?
9.
Then, be it that the "earth is accursed" and
brings forth "thistles and thorns," - be it
that the soul is saddened with grief and the body with
sickness; even so, there will be no evil which the envy
of man or the rage of devils can invent, nor calamity
which can fall upon the individual or the community,
over which we shall not triumph by the patience of
suffering. For this reason it has been truly said that
"it belongs to the Christian to do and to endure
great things," for he who deserves to be called a
Christian must not shrink from following in the
footsteps of Christ. But by this patience, We do not
mean that empty stoicism in the enduring of pain which
was the ideal of some of the philosophers of old, but
rather do We mean that patience which is learned from
the example of Him, who "having joy set before Him,
endured the cross, despising the shame" (Heb 12:2).
It is the patience which is obtained by the help of His
grace; which shirks not a trial because it is painful,
but which accepts it and esteems it as a gain, however
hard it may be to undergo. The Catholic Church has
always had, and happily still has, multitudes of men and
women, in every rank and condition of life, who are
glorious disciples of this teaching, and who, following
faithfully in the path of Christ, suffer injury and
hardship for the cause of virtue and religion. They
re-echo, not with their lips, but with their life, the
words of St. Thomas: "Let us also go, that we may
die with him" (Jn 11:16).
10.
May such types of admirable constancy be more and more
splendidly multiplied in our midst to the weal of
society and to the glory and edification of the Church
of God!
Forgetfulness
of the Future - The Glorious Mysteries
11.
The third evil for which a remedy is needed is one which
is chiefly characteristic of the times in which we live.
Men in former ages, although they loved the world, and
loved it far too well, did not usually aggravate their
sinful attachment to the things of earth by a contempt
of the things of heaven. Even the right-thinking portion
of the pagan world recognized that this life was not a
home but a dwelling-place, not our destination, but a
stage in the journey. But men of our day, albeit they
have had the advantages of Christian instruction, pursue
the false goods of this world in such wise that the
thought of their true Fatherland of enduring happiness
is not only set aside, but, to their shame be it said,
banished and entirely erased from their memory,
notwithstanding the warning of St. Paul, "We have
not here a lasting city, but we seek one which is to
come" (Heb 13:14).
12.
When We seek out the causes of this forgetfulness, We
are met in the first place by the fact that many allow
themselves to believe that the thought of a future life
goes in some way to sap the love of our country, and
thus militates against the prosperity of the
commonwealth. No illusion could be more foolish or
hateful. Our future hope is not of a kind which so
monopolizes the minds of men as to withdraw their
attention from the interests of this life. Christ
commands us, it is true, to seek the Kingdom of God, and
in the first place, but not in such a manner as to
neglect all things else. For, the use of the goods of
the present life, and the righteous enjoyment which they
furnish, may serve both to strengthen virtue and to
reward it. The splendour and beauty of our earthly
habitation, by which human society is ennobled, may
mirror the splendour and beauty of our dwelling which is
above. Therein we see nothing that is not worthy of the
reason of man and of the wisdom of God. For the same God
who is the Author of Nature is the Author of Grace, and
He willed not that one should collide or conflict with
the other, but that they should act in friendly
alliance, so that under the leadership of both we may
the more easily arrive at that immortal happiness for
which we mortal men were created.
13.
But men of carnal mind, who love nothing but themselves,
allow their thoughts to grovel upon things of earth
until they are unable to lift them to that which is
higher. For, far from using the goods of time as a help
towards securing those which are eternal, they lose
sight altogether of the world which is to come, and sink
to the lowest depths of degradation. We may doubt if God
could inflict upon man a more terrible punishment than
to allow him to waste his whole life in the pursuit of
earthly pleasures, and in forgetfulness of the happiness
which alone lasts for ever.
14.
It is from this danger that they will be happily
rescued, who, in the pious practice of the Rosary, are
wont, by frequent and fervent prayer, to keep before
their minds the glorious mysteries. These mysteries are
the means by which in the soul of a Christian a most
clear light is shed upon the good things, hidden to
sense, but visible to faith, "which God has
prepared for those who love Him." From them we
learn that death is not an annihilation which ends all
things, but merely a migration and passage from life to
life. By them we are taught that the path to Heaven lies
open to all men, and as we behold Christ ascending
thither, we recall the sweet words of His promise,
"I go to prepare a place for you." By them we
are reminded that a time will come when "God will
wipe away every tear from our eyes," and that
"neither mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow, shall be
any more," and that "We shall be always with
the Lord," and "like to the Lord, for we shall
see Him as He is," and "drink of the torrent
of His delight," as "fellow-citizens of the
saints," in the blessed companionship of our
glorious Queen and Mother. Dwelling upon such a
prospect, our hearts are kindled with desire, and we
exclaim, in the words of a great saint, "How vile
grows the earth when I look up to heaven!" Then,
too, shall we feel the solace of the assurance
"that which is at present momentary and light of
our tribulation worketh for us above measure exceedingly
an eternal weight of glory."
15.
Here alone we discover the true relation between time
and eternity, between our life on earth and our life in
heaven; and it is thus alone that are formed strong and
noble characters. When such characters can be counted in
large numbers, the dignity and well-being of society are
assured. All that is beautiful, good, and true will
flourish in the measure of its conformity to Him who is
of all beauty, goodness, and truth the first Principle
and the Eternal Source.
Confraternities
of the Rosary
16.
These considerations will explain what We have already
laid down concerning the fruitful advantages which are
to be derived from the use of the Rosary, and the
healing power which this devotion possesses for the
evils of the age and the fatal sores of society. These
advantages, as we may readily conceive, will be secured
in a higher and fuller measure by those who band
themselves together in the sacred Confraternity of the
Rosary, and who are thus more than others united by a
special and brotherly bond of devotion to the Most Holy
Virgin. In this Confraternity, approved by the Roman
Pontiffs, and enriched by them with indulgences and
privileges, they possess their own rule and government,
hold their meetings at stated times, and are provided
with ample means of leading a holy life and of labouring
for the good of the community. They are, are so to
speak, the battalions who fight the battle of Christ,
armed with His Sacred Mysteries, and under the banner
and guidance of the heavenly Queen. How faithfully her
intercession is exercised in response to their prayers,
processions, and solemnities is written in the whole
experience of the Church not less than in the splendour
of the victory of Lepanto.
17.
It is, therefore, to be desired that renewed zeal should
be called forth in the founding, enlarging, and
directing of these confraternities, and that not only by
the sons of St. Dominic, to whom by virtue of their
Order a leading part in this Apostolate belongs, but by
all who are charged with the care of souls, and notable
in those places in which the Confraternity has not yet
been canonically established. We have it especially at
heart that those who are engaged in the sacred field of
the missions, whether in carrying the Gospel to
barbarous nations abroad, or in spreading it amongst the
Christian nations at home, should look upon this work as
especially their own. If they will make it the subject
of their preaching, We cannot doubt that there will be
large numbers of the faithful of Christ who will readily
enrol themselves in the Confraternity, and who will
earnestly endeavour to avail themselves of those
spiritual advantages of which We have spoken, and in
which consist the very meaning and motive of the Rosary.
From the Confraternities, the rest of the faithful will
receive the example of greater esteem and reverence for
the practice of the Rosary, and they will be thus
encouraged to reap from it, as We heartily desire that
they may, the same abundant fruits for their souls'
salvation.
Conclusion
18.
This then is the hope, which, amid the manifold evils
which beset society, brightens, consoles, and supports
Us. May Mary, the Mother of God and of men, herself the
authoress and teacher of the Rosary, procure for Us its
happy fulfilment. It will be your part, Venerable
Brethren, to provide that by your efforts Our words and
Our wishes may go forth on their mission of good for the
prosperity of families and the peace of peoples.
19.
And as a pledge of the Divine favour, and of Our own
affection, We lovingly bestow upon you, your clergy, and
your people, the Apostolic Benediction.
Given
at St. Peter's, Rome, this 8th day of September, in the
year of Our Lord 1893, and the 16th of Our Pontificate.
LEO
XIII
|
