MAGNAE
DEI MATRIS
ENCYCLICAL OF POPE LEO XIII
ON THE ROSARY
To
Our Venerable Brethren, the Patriarchs,
Primates, Archbishops, and other Ordinaries in Peace and
Communion with the Apostolic See.
As often
as the occasion arises to stimulate and intensify the love and veneration
of the Christian people for Mary, the great Mother of God, We are filled
with wondrous satisfaction and joy, as by a subject which is not only
of prime importance in itself and profitable in countless ways, but which
also perfectly accords with the inmost sentiments of Our heart. For the
holy reverence for Mary which We experienced from Our tenderest years,
has grown greater and has taken firmer hold of Our soul with Our advancing
age.
The
Holy Father's Devotion to Mary
2. As
time went on, it became more and more evident how deserving of love and
honor was she whom God Himself was the first to love, and loved so much
more than any other that, after elevating her high above all the rest
of His creation and adorning her with His richest gifts, He made her His
Mother. The many and splendid proofs of her bounty and beneficence toward
us, which We remember with deep gratitude and which move Us to tears,
still further encourage and
strongly inflame Our filial reverence for her. Throughout the many dreadful
events of every kind which the times have brought to pass, always with
her have We sought refuge, always to her have We lifted up pleading and
confident eyes. And in all the hopes and fears, the joys and sorrows,
that We confided to her, the thought was constantly before Us to ask her
to assist Us at all times as Our gracious Mother and to obtain this greatest
of favors: that We might be able, in return, to show her the heart of
a most devoted son.
Filial
Trust in Mary
3. When,
then, it came to pass in the secret design of God's providence that We
were chosen to fill this Chair of St. Peter and to take the place of the
Person of Christ Himself in the Church, worried by the enormous burden
of the office and finding no ground for reliance upon Our own strength,
We hastened with fervent zeal to implore the divine aid through the maternal
intercession of the ever blessed Virgin. Never has Our hope, We are happy
to acknowledge, at any time of Our life but more especially since We began
to exercise the Supreme Apostolate, failed in the course of events to
bear fruit or bring Us comfort. Thus encouraged, Our hope today
mounts more confidently
than ever to beseech many more and even greater blessings through her
favor and mediation, which will profit alike the salvation of Christ's
flock and the happy increase of His Church's glory.
4. It
is, therefore, a fitting and opportune time, Venerable Brethren, for Us
to induce all Our children-exhorting them through you-to plan on celebrating
the coming month of October, consecrated to our Lady as the august Queen
of the Rosary, with the fervent and wholehearted devotion which the necessities
weighing upon Us demand.
5. It
is only too plain how many and of what nature are the corrupting agencies
by which the wickedness of the world deceitfully strives to weaken and
completely uproot from souls their Christian faith and the respect for
God's law on which faith is fed and depends for its effectiveness. Already
the fields cultivated by our Lord are everywhere turning into a wilderness
abounding in ignorance of the Faith, in error and vice, as though blown
upon by some hideous pest. And to add to the anguish of this thought,
so far from putting a check on such insolent and destructive depravity,
or imposing the punishment deserved, they who can and should correct matters
seem in many cases, by their indifference or open connivance, to increase
the spirit of evil.
6. We
have good reason to deplore the public institutions in which the teaching
of the sciences and arts is purposely so organized that the name of God
is passed over in silence or visited with vituperation; to deplore the
license-growing more shameless by the day-of the press in publishing whatever
it pleases, and the license of speech in addressing any kind of insult
to Christ our God and His Church. And We deplore no less the consequent
laxity and apathy in the practice of the Catholic religion which if not
quite open apostasy from the Faith, is certainly going to prove an easy
road to it, since it is a manner of life having nothing in common with
faith. Nobody who ponders this disorder and the surrender of the most
fundamental principles will be astonished if afflicted nations everywhere
are groaning under the heavy hand of God's vengeance and stand anxious
and trembling in fear of worse calamities.
The
Remedy
7. Now,
to appease the might of an outraged God and to bring that health of soul
so needed by those
who are sorely afflicted, there is nothing better than devout and persevering
prayer, provided it be joined with a love for and practice of Christian
life. And both of these, the spirit of prayer and the practice of Christian
life, are best attained through the devotion of the Rosary of Mary.
8. The
well-known origin of the Rosary, illustrated in celebrated monuments of
which we have made frequent mention, bears witness to its remarkable efficacy.
For, in the days when the Albigensian sect, posing as the champion of
pure faith and morals, but in reality introducing the worst kind of anarchy
and corruption, brought many a nation to its utter ruin, the Church fought
against it and the other infamous factions associated with it, not with
troops and arms, but chiefly with the power of the most holy Rosary, the
devotion which the Mother of God taught to our Father Dominic in order
that he might propagate it. By this means the Church triumphed magnificently
over every obstacle and provided for the salvation of her children not
only in that trial but in others like it afterward, always with the same
glorious success. For this reason, now, when human affairs have taken
the course which We deplore, bringing affection to the Church and ruin
to the State, all of us have the duty to unite our voice in prayer, with
like devotion, to the holy Mother of God, beseeching her that we too may
rejoice, as we ardently desire, in experiencing the same power of her
Rosary.
The
Mother of Mercy
9. When
we have recourse to Mary in prayer, we are having recourse to the Mother
of mercy, who is so well disposed toward us that, whatever the necessity
that presses upon us especially in attaining eternal life, she is instantly
at our side of her own accord, even though she has not been invoked. She
dispenses grace with a generous hand from that treasure with which from
the beginning she was divinely endowed in fullest abundance that she might
be worthy to be the Mother of God. By the fullness of grace which confers
on her the most illustrious of her many titles, the Blessed Virgin is
infinitely superior to all the hierarchies of men and angels, the one
creature who is closest of all to Christ. "It is a great thing in
any saint to have grace sufficient for the salvation of many souls; but
to have enough to suffice for the salvation of everybody in the world,
is the greatest of all; and this is found
in Christ and in the Blessed Virgin."(1)
Jesus
and Mary
10. It
is impossible to say how pleasing and gratifying to her it is when we
greet her with the Angelic Salutation, "full of grace"; and
in repeating it, fashion these words of praise into ritual crowns for
her. For every time we say them, we recall the memory of her exalted dignity
and of the Redemption of the human race which God began through her. We
likewise bring to mind the divine and everlasting bond which links her
with the joys and sorrows, the humiliations and triumphs of Christ in
directing and helping mankind to eternal life.
11. It
pleased Christ to take upon Himself the Son of Man, and to become thereby
our Brother, in order that His mercy to us might be shown most openly;
for "it behooved him in all things to be made like unto his brethren
that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest before God."(2)
Likewise because Mary was chosen to be the Mother of Christ, our Lord
and our Brother, the unique prerogative was given her above all other
mothers to show her mercy to us and to pour it out upon us. Besides, as
we are indebted to Christ for sharing in some way with us the right, which
is peculiarly His own, of calling God our Father and possessing Him as
such, we are in like manner indebted to Him for His loving generosity
in sharing with us the right to call Mary our Mother and to cherish her
as such.
Our
Mother in Christ
12. While
nature itself made the name of mother the sweetest of all names and has
made motherhood the very model of tender and solicitous love, no tongue
is eloquent enough to put in words what every devout soul feels, namely
how intense is the flame of affectionate and active charity which glows
in Mary, in her who is truly our mother not in a human way but through
Christ. Nobody knows and comprehends so well as she everything that concerns
us: what helps we need in life; what dangers, public or private, threaten
our welfare; what difficulties and evils surround us; above all, how fierce
is the fight we wage with ruthless enemies of our salvation. In these
and in all other troubles of life her power is most far-reaching. Her
desire to use it is most ardent to bring consolation, strength, and help
of every kind to children who are dear to her.
13. Accordingly,
let us approach Mary confidently, wholeheartedly beseeching her by the
bonds of her motherhood which unite her so closely to Jesus and at the
same time to us. Let us with deepest devotion invoke her constant aid
in the prayer which she herself has indicated and which is most acceptable
to her. Then with good reason shall we rest with an easy and joyous mind
under the protection of the best of mothers.
The
Rosary as Meditation
14. To
this commendation of the Rosary which follows from the very nature of
the prayer, We may add that the Rosary offers an easy way to present the
chief mysteries of the Christian religion and to impress them upon the
mind; and this commendation is one of the most beautiful of all. For it
is mainly by faith that a man sets out on the straight and sure path to
God and learns to revere in mind and heart His supreme majesty, His sovereignty
over the whole of creation, His unsounded power, wisdom, and providence.
For he who comes to God must believe that God exists and is a rewarder
to those who seek Him. Moreover, because God's eternal Son assumed our
humanity and shone before us as the Way, the Truth, and the Life, our
faith must include the lofty mysteries of the august Trinity of divine
Persons and of the Father's only-begotten Son made Man: "This is
eternal life: that they may know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ,
whom thou bast sent."(3)
15. God
gave us a most precious blessing when He gave us faith. By this gift we
are not only raised above the level of human things, to contemplate and
share in the divine nature, but are also furnished with the means of meriting
the rewards of heaven; and therefore the hope is encouraged and strengthened
that we shall one day look upon God, not in the shadowy images of His
creatures, but in the fullest light, and shall enjoy Him forever as the
Supreme Goodness. But the Christian is kept so busy by the various affairs
of life and wanders so easily into matters of little importance, that
unless he be helped with frequent reminders, the truths which are of first
importance and necessity are little by little forgotten; and then faith
begins to grow weak and may even perish.
Our
Faith and the Mysteries of the Rosary
16. To
ward off these exceedingly great dangers of ignorance from her children,
the Church, which never relaxes her vigilant and diligent
care, has been in the habit of looking for the stanchest support of faith
in the Rosary of Mary. And indeed in the Rosary, along with the most beautiful
and efficacious prayer arranged in an orderly pattern, the chief mysteries
of our religion follow one another, as they are brought before our mind
for contemplation: first of all the mysteries in which the Word was made
flesh and Mary, the inviolate Virgin and Mother, performed her maternal
duties for Him with a holy joy; there come then the sorrows, the agony
and death of the suffering Christ, the price at which the salvation of
our race was accomplished; then follow the mysteries full of His glory;
His triumph over death, the Ascension into heaven, the sending of the
Holy Spirit, the resplendent brightness of Mary received among the stars,
and finally the everlasting glory of all the saints in heaven united with
the glory of the Mother and her Son.
17. This
uninterrupted sequence of wonderful events the Rosary frequently and perseveringly
recalls to the minds of the faithful and presents almost as though they
were unfolding before our eyes: and this, flooding the souls of those
who devoutly recite it with a sweetness of piety that never grows weary,
impresses and stirs them as though they were listening to the very voice
of the Blessed Mother explaining the mysteries and conversing with them
at length about their salvation.
18. It
will not, then, seem too much to say that in places, families, and nations
in which the Rosary of Mary retains its ancient honor, the loss of faith
through ignorance and vicious error need not be feared.
True
Christian Living
19. There
is still another and not lesser advantage which the Church earnestly seeks
for her children from the Rosary, and that is the faithful regulation
of their lives and their conduct in keeping with the rules and precepts
of their holy religion. For if, as we all know from Holy Scripture, "faith
without works is dead"(4)because faith draws its life from charity
and charity flowers forth in a profusion of holy actions-then the Christian
will gain nothing for eternal life from his faith unless his life be ordered
in accordance with what faith prescribes. "What shall it profit,
my brethren, if a man say he bath faith, but hath not works? Shall faith
be able to save him?"(5) A man of this sort will incur a much
heavier rebuke from
Christ the Judge than those who are, unfortunately, ignorant of Christian
faith and its teaching: they, unlike the former, who believes one thing
and practices another, have some excuse or at least are less blameworthy,
because they lack the light of the Gospel.
"And
Dwelt Among Us"
20. In
order therefore that the faith we profess may the better bring forth a
harvest of fruits in keeping with its nature, while the mind is dwelling
on mysteries of the Rosary the heart is wonderfully enkindled by them
to make virtuous resolutions. What an example we have set before us! This
shines forth everywhere in our Lord's work of salvation. Almighty God,
in the excess of His love for us, takes upon Himself the form of lowly
man. He dwells in our midst as one of the multitude, converses with us
as a friend, instructs and teaches the way of justice to individuals and
to multitudes. In His discourse He is the teacher unexcelled; in the authority
of His teaching He is God. To all He shows Himself a doer of good; He
relieves the sick of the ills of their bodies and, with paternal compassion,
heals the most serious sickness of their souls. Those above all whom sorrow
troubles or whom the weight of worry crushes, He comforts with the gentle
invitation: "Come to me, all you that labor, and are burdened, and
I will refresh you."(6) Then into us, at rest in His embrace, He
breathes that mystic fire which He has brought to all men, and benignly
imbues us with the meekness and humility of His own heart, with the hope
that, by the practice of these virtues, we may share the true and solid
peace of which He is the Author: "Learn of me, because I am meek,
and humble of heart; and you shall find rest to your souls."(7) For
Himself, in return for that light of heavenly wisdom and that stupendous
abundance of blessings which only He could merit for mankind, He suffers
the hatred of men and their most atrocious insults; and, nailed to the
cross, He pours out His blood and yields up His soul, holding it to be
the highest glory to beget life in men by His death.
21. It
would be utterly impossible for anyone to meditate on and attentively
consider these most precious memorials of our loving Redeemer and not
have a heart on fire with gratitude to Him. Such is the power of a faith
sincerely practiced that, through the light it brings to man's
mind and the vigor
with which it moves his heart, he will straightway set out in the footsteps
of Christ and follow them through every obstacle, making his own a protestation
worthy of a St. Paul: "Who then shall separate us from the love of
Christ? Shall tribulation? or distress? or famine? or nakedness? or danger?
or persecution? or the sword?"(8) "I live, now not I; but Christ
liveth in me."(9)
The
Life of Mary
22. But
lest we be dismayed by the consciousness of our native weakness and grow
faint when confronted with the unattainable example which Christ, who
is Man and at the same time God, has given, along with mysteries which
portray Him, we have before our eyes for contemplation the mysteries of
His most holy Mother.
23. She
was born, it is true, of the royal family of David, but she fell heir
to none of the wealth and grandeur of her ancestors. She passed her life
in obscurity, in a humble town, in a home humbler still, the more content
with her retirement and the poverty of her home because they left her
freer to lift up her heart to God and to cling to Him closely as the supreme
Goodness for which her heart yearned.
24. The
Lord is with her whom He has filled with His grace and made blessed. She
is designated by the heavenly messenger sent to her as the Virgin from
whom, by the power of the Holy Ghost, the expected Saviour of nations
is to come forth clothed in our humanity. The more she wonders at the
sublime dignity and gives thanks to the power and mercy of God, the more
does she, conscious of no merit in herself, grow in humility, promptly
proclaiming and consecrating herself the handmaid of God even while she
becomes His Mother.
25. Her
sacred promise was as sacredly kept with a joyous heart; henceforth she
leads a life in perpetual union with her son Jesus, sharing with Him His
joys and sorrows. It is thus that she will reach a height of glory granted
to no other creature, whether human or angelic, because no one will receive
a reward for virtue to be compared with hers; it is thus that the crown
of the kingdoms of heaven and of earth will await her because she will
be the invincible Queen of Martyrs. It is thus that she will be seated
in the heavenly city of God by the side of her Son, crowned
for all eternity, because she will drink with Him the cup overflowing
with sorrow, faithfully through all her life, most faithfully on Calvary.
Mary,
Our Model
26. In
Mary we see how a truly good and provident God has established for us
a most suitable example of every virtue. As we look upon her and think
about her we are nor cast down as though stricken by the overpowering
splendor of God's power; but, on the contrary, attracted by the closeness
of the common nature we share with her, we strive with greater confidence
to imitate her. If we, with her powerful help, should dedicate ourselves
wholly and entirely to this undertaking, we can portray at least an outline
of such great virtue and sanctity, and reproducing that perfect conformity
of our lives to all God's designs which she possessed in so marvelous
a degree, we shall follow her into heaven.
27. Undaunted
and full of courage, let us go on with the pilgrimage we have undertaken
even though the way be rough and full of obstacles. Amid the vexation
and toil let us not cease to hold out suppliant hands to Mary with the
words of the Church: "To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and
weeping in this valley of tears; turn then, most gracious advocate, thine
eyes of mercy toward us. . . Keep our lives all spotless, make our ways
secure, till we find in Jesus joys that will endure."(10)
28. Although
she was never subject to the frailty and perversity of our nature, Mary
well knows its condition and is the best and most solicitous of mothers.
How willingly will she hasten to our aid when we need her; with what love
will she refresh us, and with what strength sustain us. For those of us
who follow the journey hallowed by the blood of Christ and by the tears
of Mary, our entrance into their company and the enjoyment of their most
blessed glory will be certain and easy.
Devout
and Frequent Recitation of the Rosary
29. Therefore
the Rosary of the Blessed Virgin
Mary, combining in a convenient and practical form an unexcelled form
of prayer, an instrument well adapted to preserve the faith and an illustrious
example of perfect virtue, should be often in the hands of the true Christian
and be devoutly recited and meditated upon. We address this commendation
especially to the Confraternity of the Holy Family which We recently praised
and approved. Since the mystery of the hidden life which Christ our Lord
long led within the walls of the house in Nazareth is the reason for the
existence of this association, that its members may constantly conform
themselves to Christian life on the model of the Holy Family established
by God Himself, its intimate connection with the Rosary is plain.
30. Especially
is this so in the joyful mysteries, which end with the one in which Jesus,
after manifesting His wisdom in the temple, came with Mary and Joseph
to Nazareth and was subject to them, preparing, as it were, for the other
mysteries which are more closely connected with the instruction and the
Redemption of mankind. From this all the members may understand that it
is their duty to be devotees of the Rosary themselves and to be diligent
in propagating deviation to it among others.
31. For
Our part, We confirm and ratify the grants of sacred indulgences made
in years past in favor of the faithful who spend the month of October
in the manner We have prescribed. Because of your authority and zeal,
Venerable Brethren, We know that the Catholic people will be fired with
devotion and holy emulation in venerating through the Rosary, the Blessed
Virgin, Help of Christians.
The
Holy Father's Source of Consolation
32. And
now let Us bring Our exhortation to a close in the way it began, proclaiming
once more and even more openly the devotion we cherish toward the great
Mother of God, a devotion both mindful of past blessings and full of joyous
hope. We ask the prayers of the Christian people in devout supplication
before her altars on behalf of the Church, tormented by such adverse and
turbulent times, and on behalf of Ourself as well. Advanced in age, worn
out with labors, fettered by distressingly difficult events with no human
help to rely upon, We must yet carry on the government of the Church.
Our hope in Mary, powerful and benign Mother, is daily more confirmed
and more sweetly consoling. To her intercession We attribute the many
and remarkable gifts We have obtained from God; with thanks still more
profuse do we attribute the fact
that it has been given Us to reach the fiftieth anniversary of Our episcopal
consecration.
33. It
is, indeed, a great comfort to us, looking back over the long years of
Our pastoral charge, troubled as they have been by daily worry, that We
are still engaged in ruling the whole Christian flock. During that time
We have had, as happens in men's lives and as the mysteries of Christ
and Mary illustrate, reasons for joy mixed with reasons for many and bitter
sorrows, as well as occasions to glory in gains won for Christ. All of
this We, with a mind submissive to God and with a grateful heart, have
tried to turn to the good and the honor of the Church. And now-for the
rest of Our life will run a course not unlike the past-should new joys
come to gladden Our heart, or sorrow to threaten Us, or honors to glory
in, We, steadfast in the same heart and mind, yearning only for the heavenly
glory which God confers, say with David: "Blessed be the name of
the Lord";(11) Not to us, but to thy name give glory."(12)
The
Shepherd's Plea to His Flock
34. From
Our devoted children, whose filial and affectionate concern for us We
know burns bright, We look for heartfelt thanks to God, prayers, and holy
aspirations, rather than for congratulations and honors. It will be a
special joy to Us if they ask for Us this grace, that all the strength
and life that remain to Us, all the authority and grace with which We
are invested, may profit the Church, and in the first place bring back
into her fold her enemies and those who have wandered from the right way,
to whom our voice has this long time been appealing for reconciliation.
35. Upon
all of Our dearly beloved children may there flow, from the happiness
and joy of Our coming Jubilee, God granting, gifts of justice, peace,
prosperity, holiness, and all good things. This, with paternal love, We
beg God; this do We exhort in the words of His Holy Scriptures: "Hear
me. . . and bud forth as the rose planted by the brooks of waters: Give
ye a sweet odor as frankincense. . . Send forth flowers, as the lily,
and yield a smell, and bring forth leaves in grace and praise with canticles
and bless the Lord in his works. Magnify his name, and give glory to him
with the voice of your lips, and with the canticles of your mouths, and
with harps. . . With the whole
heart and mouth praise ye him, and bless the name of the Lord."(13)
36. If
these plans, so ardently desired, be scoffed at by the wicked who blaspheme
that of which they are ignorant, may God mercifully spare them. But that
He may give Our hopes His propitious aid through the prayers of the Queen
of the Most Holy Rosary, take as a token of divine favor and at the same
time as a pledge of Our affection, Venerable Brethren, the Apostolic Benediction,
which We, lovingly in the Lord, bestow on each of you, on your clergy,
and on your
people.
Given
at Rome, at St. Peter's, the eighth of September, 1892, in the fifteenth
year of Our Pontificate.
REFERENCES:
1. St.
Thomas Aquinas, Super Salut. Ang.
2. Hebr. 2:17.
3. ]n. 17:3.
4. James 2:20.
5. James 2:14.
6. Mt. 11:28.
7. Mt. 11:29.
8. Rom. 8:35.
9. Gal. 2:20.
10. Sacred Liturgy.
11. Ps. 112:2.
12. Ps. 113:1.
13. Ecclus. 39:17-20, 41.
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