EXEUNTE
IAM ANNO
ENCYCLICAL OF POPE LEO XIII ON THE
RIGHT ORDERING OF CHRISTIAN LIFE
To
the Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, and
Bishops, and to all the Faithful in Grace and
Communion with the Apostolic See.
Venerable
Brothers, Beloved Sons, Health and Apostolic Benediction.
At the
end of the year in which, by a singular mercy of God, We have celebrated
the fiftieth anniversary of Our priesthood, We dwell with pleasure upon
the past months, and are delighted to recall them to memory. And not without
reason; for the occasion, which regarded Us in a personal manner, was
of itself neither great nor extraordinary, and yet moved the goodwill
of all men to a very great degree, to rejoice with and congratulate Us,
so that there was nothing left to be desired.
2. This
general joy was most pleasing and gratifying to Us; but what We valued
therein most was the agreement of sentiment and the universal testimony
to religion which it displayed. For the unanimous consent of well-wishers
expressed this fact clearly, that in all places the minds and hearts of
all were devoted to the Vicar of Christ, that men looked with confidence
to the Apostolic See, in the midst of its misfortunes, as to an ever-springing
and pure fount of salvation; and that in every land where the Catholic
religion flourishes
the Roman Church, mother and mistress of all Churches, is duly reverenced,
as it should be, with one mind and heart.
3. For
these reasons, through the past months, We have often lifted up our eyes
to God in thanksgiving for His most gracious gift of long life, and for
the consolations in Our labours which We have mentioned, and at the same
time, when needful, We showed our gratitude to those to whom it was due.
Now, however, the closing days of the year and of the Jubilee, bid Us
renew the recollection of benefits received, and it gives us great pleasure
that the whole Church joins with Us in thanksgiving. At the same time
We wish by this letter to declare publicly that so many testimonies of
devotion and love have gone very far towards lightening Our burden, and
the remembrance of them will live always in Our mind.
4. But
a holier and higher duty yet remains. For in this devotion and eagerness
to show honour to the Roman Pontiff, We acknowledge the power of God Who
often is wont to draw and alone can draw great good from matters even
of the smallest moment. For God, in His providence, seems to have wished
to arouse faith in the midst of wrong thinking men, and to recall the
Christian people to the desire of a higher life.
5. We
must therefore strive diligently that after beginning well we may also
end well, that the counsels of God may be both understood and put in practice.
The obedience shown to the Apostolic See will then be full and perfected,
if it be joined with Christian virtue, and thus lead to the salvation
of souls-the only end to be sought for, which will also abide forever.
In the exercise of Our high Apostolic office, bestowed upon Us by the
goodness of God, We have many times, as in duty bound, undertaken the
defence of truth, and have striven to expound particularly those doctrines
which seemed to be most useful to all, in order watchfully and carefully
to avoid the dangers of error. But now, as a loving parent, We wish to
address all Christians, and in homely words to exhort all to lead a holy
life. For beyond the mere name of Christian, beyond the mere profession
of faith, Christian virtues are necessary for the Christian, and upon
this depends, not only the eternal salvation of their souls, but also
the peace and prosperity of the human family and brotherhood.
6. If
We look into the kind of life men lead everywhere, it would be impossible
to avoid the conclusion that public and private morals differ much from
the precepts of the Gospel. Too sadly, alas, do the words of the Apostle
St. John apply to our age, "all that is in the world, is
the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence
of the eyes and the pride of life."(1) For in truth,
most men, with little care whence they come or whither they go, place
all their thoughts and care upon the weak and fleeting goods of this life;
contrary to nature and right reason they willingly give themselves up
to those ways of which their reason tells them they should be the masters.
It is a short step from the desire of luxury to the striving after the
means to obtain it. Hence arises an unbridled greed for money, which blinds
those whom it has led captive, and in the fulfilment of its passion hurries
them madly along, often without regard for justice or injustice, and not
seldom accompanied by a disgraceful contempt for the poverty of their
neighbour. Thus many who live in the lap of luxury call themselves brethren
of the multitude whom in their heart of hearts they despise; and in the
same way with minds puffed up by pride, they take no thought to obey any
law, or fear any power. They call self love liberty, and think themselves
"born free like a wild ass's colt. "(2) Snares and temptation
to sin abound; We know
that impious or immoral dramas are exhibited on the stage; that books
and journals are written to jeer at virtue and ennoble crime; that the
very arts, which were intended to give pleasure and proper recreation,
have been made to minister to impurity. Nor can We look to the future
without fear, for new seeds of evil are sown, and as it were poured into
the heart of the rising generation. As for the public schools, there is
no ecclesiastical authority left in them, and in the years when it is
most fitting for tender minds to be trained carefully in Christian virtue,
the precepts of religion are for the most part unheard. Men more advanced
in age encounter a yet graver peril from evil teaching, which is of such
a kind as to blind the young by misleading words, instead of filling them
with the knowledge of the truth. Many now-a-days seek to learn by the
aid of reason alone, laying divine faith entirely aside; and, through
the removal of its bright light, they stumble and fail to discern the
truth, teaching for instance, that matter alone exists in the world; that
men and beasts have the same origin and a like nature; there are some,
indeed, who go so far as to doubt the existence of God, the Ruler and
Maker of the World, or who err most grievously, like the heathens, as
to the nature of God. Hence the very nature and form of virtue, justice,
and duty are of necessity destroyed. Thus it is that while they hold up
to admiration the high authority of reason, and unduly elevate the subtlety
of the human intellect, they fall into the just punishment of pride through
ignorance of what is of more importance.
7. When
the mind has thus been poisoned, at the same time the moral character
becomes deeply and essentially corrupted; and such a state can only be
cured with the utmost difficulty in this class of men, because on the
one hand wrong opinions vitiate their judgment of what is right, and on
the other the light of Christian faith, which is the principle and basis
of all justice, is extinguished.
8. In
this way We daily see the numerous ills which afflict all classes of men.
These poisonous doctrines have utterly corrupted both public and private
life; rationalism, materialism, atheism, have begotten socialism, communism,
nihilismevil principles which it was not only fitting should have sprung
from such parentage but were its necessary offspring. In truth, if the
Catholic religion is wilfully rejected, whose divine origin is
made clear by such
unmistakable signs, what reason is there why every form of religion should
not be rejected, not upheld, by such criteria of truth? If the soul is
one with the body, and if therefore no hope of a happy eternity remains
when the body dies, what reason is there for men to undertake toil and
suffering here in subjecting the appetites to right reason? The highest
good of man will then lie in enjoying life's pleasures and life's luxuries.
And since there is no one who is drawn to virtue by the impulse of his
own nature, every man will naturally lay hands on all he can that he may
live happily on the spoils of others. Nor is there any power mighty enough
to bridle the passions, for it follows that the power of law is broken,
and that all authority is loosened, if the belief in an ever-living God,
Who commands what is right and forbids what is wrong is rejected. Hence
the bonds of civil society will be utterly shattered when every man is
driven by an unappeasable covetousness to a perpetual struggle, some striving
to keep their possessions, others to obtain what they desire. This is
well-nigh the bent of our age.
9. There
is, nevertheless, some consolation for Us even in looking on these evils,
and We may lift up Our heart in hope. For God "created a1l things
that they might be: and He made the nations of the earth for health. "(3)
But as all this world cannot be upheld but by His providence and divinity,
so also men can only be healed by His power, of Whose goodness they were
called from death to life. For Jesus Christ redeemed the human race once
by the shedding of His blood, but the power of so great a work and gift
is for all ages; "neither is there salvation in any other. "(4)
Hence they who strive by the enforcement of law to extinguish the
growing flame of lawless desire, strive indeed for justice; but let them
know that they will labor with no result, or next to none, as long as
they obstinately reject the power of the gospel and refuse the assistance
of the Church. Thus will the evil alone be cured, by changing their ways,
and returning back in their public and private life to Jesus Christ and
Christianity.
10. Now
the whole essence of a Christian life is to reject the corruption of the
world and to oppose constantly any indulgence in it; this is taught in
the words and deeds, the laws and institutions, the life and death of
Jesus Christ, "the author and finisher of faith."(5)
Hence, however strongly We are deterred by the evil disposition of
nature
and character, it is our duty to run to the "fight proposed to
us,"(6) fortified and armed with the same desire and the same
arms as He who, "having joy set before him, endured the cross."(7)Wherefore
let men understand this specially, that it is most contrary to Christian
duty to follow, in worldly fashion, pleasures of every kind, to be afraid
of the hardships attending a virtuous life, and to deny nothing to self
that soothes and delights the senses. "They that are Christ's, have
crucified their flesh, with the vices and concupiscences"(8)so that
it follows that they who are not accustomed to suffering, and who hold
not ease and pleasure in contempt belong not to Christ. By the infinite
goodness of God man lived again to the hope of an immortal life, from
which he had been cut off, but he cannot attain to it if he strives not
to walk in the very footsteps of Christ and conform his mind to Christ's
by the meditation of Christ's example. Therefore this is not a counsel
but a duty, and it is the duty, not of those only who desire a more perfect
life, but clearly of every man "always bearing about in our body
the mortification of Jesus."(9) How otherwise could the
natural law, commanding man to live virtuously, be kept? For by holy baptism
the sin which we contracted at birth is destroyed, but the evil and tortuous
roots of sin, which sin has engrafted, and by no means removed. This part
of man which is without reason-although it cannot beat those who fight
manfully by Christ's grace-nevertheless struggles with reason for supremacy,
clouds the whole soul and tyrannically bends the will from virtue with
such power that we cannot escape vice or do our duty except by a daily
struggle. "This holy synod teaches that in the baptised there
remains concupiscence or an inclination to evil, which, being left to
be fought against, cannot hurt those who do not consent to it, and manfully
fight against it by the grace of Jesus Christ; for he is not crowned who
does not strive lawfully."(10) There is in this struggle a degree
of strength to which only a very perfect virtue, belonging to those who,
by putting to flight evil passions, has gained so high a place as to seem
almost to live a heavenly life on earth. Granted; grant that few attain
such excellence; even the philosophy of the ancients taught that every
man should restrain his evil desires, and still more and with greater
care those who from daily contact with the world have the greater temptations-unless
it be foolishly thought that where the danger is greater watchfulness
is less needed, or that they who are more grievously ill need fewer medicines.
11.
But the toil which is borne in this conflict is compensated by great blessings,
beyond and above heavenly and eternal rewards, particularly in this way,
that by calming the passions nature is largely restored to its pristine
dignity. For man has been born under this law, that the mind should rule
the body, that the appetites should be restrained by sound sense and reason;
and hence it follows that putting a curb upon our masterful passions is
the noblest and greatest freedom. Moreover, in the present state of society
it is difficult to see what man could be expected to do without such a
disposition. Will he be inclined to do well who has been accustomed to
guide his actions by self-love alone? No man can be highsouled, kind,
merciful, or restrained, who has not learnt self conquest and a contempt
for this world when opposed to virtue. And yet it must be said that it
seems to have been pre-determined by the counsel of God that there should
be no salvation to men without strife and pain. Truly, though God has
given to man pardon for sin, He gave it under the condition that His only
begotten Son should pay the due penalty; and although Jesus Christ might
have satisfied divine justice in other ways, nevertheless He preferred
to satisfy by the utmost suffering and the sacrifice of His life. Thus
he has imposed upon His followers this law, signed in His blood, that
their life should be an endless strife with the vices of the age. What
made the apostles invincible in their mission of teaching truth to the
world; what strengthened the martyrs innumerable in their bloody testimony
to the Christian faith, but the readiness of their soul to obey fearlessly
His laws? And all who have taken heed to live a Christian life and seek
virtue have trodden the same path; therefore We must walk in this way
if We desire either Our own salvation or that of others. Thus it becomes
necessary for every one to guard manfully against the allurements of luxury,
and since on every side there is so much ostentation in the enjoyment
of wealth, the soul must be fortified against the dangerous snares of
riches lest straining after what are called the good things of life, which
cannot satisfy and soon fade away, the soul should lose "the treasure
in heaven which faileth not." Finally, this is matter of deep
grief, that free-thought and evil example have so evil an influence in
enervating the soul, that many are now almost ashamed of the name
of Christian-a shame
which is the sign either of abandoned wickedness or the extreme of cowardice;
each detestable and each of the highest injury to man. For what salvation
remains for such men, or on what hope can they rely, if they cease to
glory in the name of Jesus Christ, if they openly and constantly refuse
to mould their lives on the precepts of the gospel? It is the common complaint
that the age is barren of brave men. Bring back a Christian code of life,
and thereby the minds of men will regain their firmness and constancy.
But man's power by itself is not equal to the responsibility of so many
duties. As We must ask God for daily bread for the sustenance of the body,
so must We pray to Him for strength of soul for its nourishment in virtue.
Hence that universal condition and law of life, which We have said is
a perpetual battle, brings with it the necessity of prayer to God. For,
as is well and wisely said by St. Augustine, pious prayer flies over the
world's barriers and calls down the mercy of God from heaven. In order
to conquer the emotions of lust, and the snares of the devil, lest we
should be led into evil, we are commanded to seek the divine help in the
words, "pray that ye enter not into temptation."(11)
How much more is this necessary, if we wish to labour for the salvation
of others? Christ our Lord, the only begotten Son of God, the source of
all grace and virtue, first showed by example what he taught in word:
"He passed the whole night in the prayer of God,"(12) and
when nigh to the sacrifice of his life, "He prayed the longer."(13)
12.
The frailty of nature would be much less fearful, and the moral character
would grow weak and enervated with much less ease if that divine precept
were not so much disregarded and treated almost with disdain. For God
is easily appeased, and desires to aid men, having promised openly to
give His grace in abundance to those who ask for it. Nay, He even invites
men to ask, and almost insists with most loving words: "I say
unto you, ask and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find: knock,
and it shall be opened to you."(14)And that we should have no
fear in doing this with confidence and familiarity, he softens His words,
comparing Himself to a most loving father who desires nothing so much
as the love of his children. "If you then being evil, know how
to give good gifts to your children: how much more wild your Father who
is in heaven, give good things to them that ask Him?"(15) And
this will not seem excessive to one who considers it, if the efficaciousness
of prayer seemed
so great to St. John Chrysostom that he thought it might be compared with
the power of God; for as God created all things by His word, so man by
prayer obtains what he wills. For nothing has so great a power as prayer,
because in it there are certain qualities with which it pleases God to
be moved. For in prayer we separate ourselves from things of earth, and
filled with the thought of God alone, we become aware of our human weakness;
for the same reason we rest in the embrace of our Father, we seek a refuge
in the power of our Creator. We approach the Author of all good, as though
we wish Him to gaze upon our weak souls, our failing strength, our poverty;
and, full of hope, we implore His aid and guardianship, Who alone can
give help to the weak and consolation to the infirm and miserable. With
such a condition of mind, thinking but little of ourselves, as is fitting,
God is greatly inclined to mercy, for God resisteth the proud, but
to the humble he giveth grace.(16) Let, then, the habit of prayer
be sacred to all; let soul and voice join together in prayer, and let
our whole daily life agree together, so that, by keeping the laws of God,
the course of our days may seem a continual ascent to Him.
13.
The virtue of which we speak, like the others, is produced and nourished
by divine faith; for God is the Author of all true blessings that are
to be desired for themselves, as we owe to Him our knowledge of His infinite
goodness, and our knowledge of the merits of our Redeemer. But, again,
nothing is more fitted for the nourishment of divine faith than the pious
habit of prayer, and the need of it at this time is seen by its weakness
in most, and its absence in many men. For that virtue is especially the
source whereby not only private lives may be amended, but also from which
a final judgment may be looked for in those matters which in the daily
conflict of men do not permit states to live in peace and security. If
the multitude is frenzied with a thirst for excessive liberty, if the
inhuman lust of the rich never is satisfied, and if to these be added
those evils of the same kind to which We have referred fully above, it
will be found that nothing can heal them more completely or fully than
Christian faith.
14.
Here it is fitting We should exhort you whom God has made His helpers
by giving the divine power to dispense His Sacraments, to turn to meditation
and prayer. If the reformation of private
and public morals is needed, it scarcely requires to be said that in both
respects the clergy ought to set the highest example. Let them therefore
remember that they have been called by Jesus Christ, "the light
of the world, that the soul of the priest should shine Like a light illuminating
the whole world."(17) The light of learning, and that
in no small degree is needed in the priest, because it is his duty, to
fill others with wisdom, to destroy errors, to be a guide to the many
in the steep and slippery paths of life. Learning ought to be accompanied
by innocence of life, because in the reformation of man example is far
better than precept. "Let your light shine before men, that they
may see your good works."(18) The meaning of the divine word
is that the perfection of virtue in priests should be such that they should
be like a mirror to the rest of men. "There is nothing which induces
others more effectively to piety and the worship of God, than the life
and example of those who have dedicated themselves to the divine ministry:
for, since they are separated from the world and placed in a higher sphere,
others look on them as though on a mirror, to take examples from them."(19)
Therefore if all men must watchfully heed against the allurements of sin,
and against seeking too eagerly fleeting pleasures, it is clear how much
more faithful and steadfast ought priests to be. The sacredness of their
dignity, moreover-as well as the fact that it is not sufficient to restrain
their passions-demands in them the habit of stringent self restraint,
and also a guard over the powers of the soul, particularly the intellect
and will, which hold the supreme place in man. "Thou who bast the
mind to leave all (says St. Bernard), remember to reckon thyself among
what thou would'st abandonnay, deny thyself first and before everything."
Not before the soul is unshackled and free from every desire, will men
have a generous zeal for the salvation of others, without which they cannot
properly secure their own everlasting welfare. "There will be one
thing only sought (says St. Bernard) by His subjects, one glory, one pleasure-to
make ready for the Lord a perfect people. For this they will give everything
with much exertion of mind and body, with toil and suffering, with hunger
and thirst, with cold and nakedness." The frequent meditation upon
the things of heaven wonderfully nourishes and strengthens virtue of this
kind, and makes it always fearless of the greatest difficulties for the
good of others. The more
pains they take to meditate well, the more clearly will they understand
the greatness and holiness of the priestly office. They will understand
how sad it is that so many men, redeemed by Jesus Christ, are running
headlong to eternal ruin; and by meditation upon God they will be themselves
encouraged, and will more effectually excite others to the love of God.
Such, then, is the surest method for the salvation of all; and in this
men must take heed not to be terrified by difficulties, and not to despair
of cure by reason of the long continuance of the evil. The impartial and
unchangeable justice of God metes out reward for good deeds and punishment
for sin. But since the life of peoples and nations, as such, does not
outlast their world, they necessarily receive the rewards due to their
deeds on this earth. Indeed it is no new thing that prosperity should
come to a wrong-doing state; and this by the just counsel of God, Who
from time to time rewards good actions with prosperity, for no people
is altogether without merit, and this Augustine considered was the case
with the Roman people. The law, nevertheless, is clear that for public
prosperity it is to the interest of all that virtue-and justice especially,
which is the mother of all virtues-should be practised, "Justice
exalteth a nation; but sin maketh nations miserable."(20) It is not
Our purpose here to consider how far evil deeds may prosper, not whether
empires, when flourishing and managing matters to their own liking, do
nevertheless carry about with them, as it were shut up in their bowels,
the seed of ruin and wretchedness. We wish this one thing to be understood,
of which history has innumerable examples, that injustice is always punished,
and with greater severity the longer it has been continued. We are greatly
consoled by the words of the Apostle Paul, "For all things are yours;
and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's."(21) By the hidden dispensation
of divine providence the course of earthly things is so guided that all
things that happen to man turn out to the glory of God for the salvation
of those who are true disciples of Jesus Christ. Of these the mother and
guide, the leader and guardian is the Church; which being united to Christ
her spouse in intimate and unchangeable charity is also joined to Him
by a common cause of battle and of victory. Hence We are not, and cannot
be anxious on account of the Church, but We greatly fear for the salvation
of very many, who proudly despise the Church, and by
every kind of error rush to ruin; We are concerned for those States which
We cannot but see are turned from God and sleeping in the midst of danger
in dull security and insensibility. "Nothing is equal to the Church;"
[says St. John Chrysostom,] "how many have opposed the Church and
have themselves perished? The Church reaches to the heavens; such is the
Church's greatness. She conquers when attacked; when beset by snares she
triumphs; she struggles and is not overthrown, she fights and is not conquered."
Not only is she not conquered, but she preserves that corrective power
over nature, and that effective strength of life that springs from God
Himself, and is unchanged by time. And, if by this power she has freed
the world grown old in vice and lost in superstition, why should she not
again recover it when gone astray? Let strife and suspicion at length
cease, let all obstacles be removed, give the possession of all her rights
to the Church, whose duty it is to guard and spread abroad the benefits
gained by Jesus Christ, then We shall know by experience, where the light
of the Gospel is, and what the power of Christ can do.
15.
This year, which is now coming to an end, has given, as We have said,
many signs of a reviving faith. Would that like the spark it might grow
to an ever-increasing flame, which, by burning up the roots of sin, may
open a way for the restoration of morals and for salutary counsels. We,
indeed, who steer the mystical barque of the Church in such a storm, fix
Our mind and heart upon the Divine Pilot Who holds the helm and sits unseen.
Thou seest, Lord, how the winds have borne down on every side, how the
sea rages and the waves are lashed to fury. Command, we beseech Thee,
Who alone canst, the winds and the sea. Give back to man that tranquillity
and order-that true peace which the world cannot give. By Thy grace let
man be restored to proper order with faith in God, as in duty bound, with
justice and love towards our neighbour, with temperance as to ourselves,
and with passions controlled by reason. Let Thy kingdom come, let the
duty of submitting to Thee and serving Thee be learnt by those who, far
from Thee, seek truth and salvation to no purpose. In Thy laws there is
justice and fatherly kindness; Thou grantest of Thy own good will the
power to keep them. The life of a man on earth is a warfare, but Thou
lookest down upon the struggle and helpest man to
conquer, Thou raisest him that falls, and crownest him that triumphs.(22)
16.
With a mind upheld by these thoughts to cherish a joyful and firm hope,
as a pledge of the favours of Heaven and of Our good-will, We most lovingly
in the Lord grant to you, Venerable Brethren, and to the clergy and people
of the whole Catholic world, the Apostolic blessing.
Given
at Rome at St. Peter's, on the birthday of Our Lord Jesus Christ; in the
year 1888; the eleventh of Our Pontificate.
REFERENCES:
1. 1 Jn ii, 16.
2. ]ob xi, 12.
3. Wis i, 14.
4. Acts iv,
12.
5. Heb xii, 2.
6. Heb xii,
1.
7. Heb xii, 2.
8. Gal v, 24.
9. 2 Cor iv, 10.
10. Conc. Trid.,
sess. v, can. 5.
11. Mt xxvi, 41.
12. Lk vi, 12.
13. Lk xxii, 43.
14. Lk xi, 9.
15. Mt vii, 11.
16. 1 Pet v,
5.
17. St. John Chrysost.
De Sac. 1, 3, c.l.
18. Mt v, 16.
19. Conc. Trid. Sess.
xxii, c. 1, de Ref.
20. Pr xiv,
34.
21. I Cor. iii, 22-23.
22. Cf. S. Aug.
in Ps 32.
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