ADIUTRICEM
ENCYCLICAL OF POPE LEO XIII
ON THE ROSARY
To Our Venerable
Brethren the Patriarchs, Primates,
Archbishops, Bishops, and other Ordinaries in Peace
and Communion with the Apostolic See.
The mightiest
helper of the Christian people, and the most merciful, is the V irgin
Mother of God. How fitting it is to accord her honors ever increasing
in splendor, and call upon her aid with a confidence daily growing more
ardent. The abundant blessings, infinitely varied and constantly multiplying,
which flow from her all over the whole world for the common benefit of
mankind, add fresh motives for invoking and honoring her.
Catholic
Devotedness to Mary
2. For
such magnanimous favors, Catholics on their part have not failed to return
to her the tender devotion of grateful hearts; because, if ever there
was a time when love and veneration of the Blessed Virgin were awakened
to new life and inflaming every class of society, it is in these days
so bitterly anti-religious. The clearest evidence of this fact lies in
the sodalities which have everywhere been restored and multiplied under
her patronage; in the magnificent temples erected to her august name;
in the pilgrimages undertaken by
throngs of devout souls to her most venerated shrines; in the congresses
whose deliberations are devoted to the increase of her glory; in other
things of a like nature which are praiseworthy in themselves and augur
well for the future.
Widespread
Devotion to the Rosary
3. It
is specially deserving of notice, and it gives Us the greatest pleasure
to recall, that of all the forms of devotion to the Blessed Virgin, that
most excellent method of prayer, Mary's Rosary, is establishing itself
most widely in popular esteem and practice. This, We repeat, is a source
of great joy to Us. If We have spent so large a share of our activities
in promoting the Rosary devotion, We can easily see with what benevolence
the Queen of Heaven has come to Our aid when We prayed to her; and We
express the confident conviction that she will continue to stand at Our
side to lighten the burdens and the afflictions which the days to come
will bring.
The
Extension of the Kingdom of Christ
4. It
is mainly to expand the kingdom of Christ that We look to the Rosary for
the most effective help. On many occasions We have declared that the object
which at the present time engrosses Our most earnest attention, is the
reconciliation to the
Church of nations which have become separated from her. We recognize,
at the same time, that the realization of Our hopes must be sought chiefly
in prayer and supplication addressed to almighty God. This conviction
We again affirmed not long ago, when We recommended that special prayers
be offered for this intention to the Holy Ghost during the solemnities
of Pentecost; a recommendation that was adopted everywhere with the greatest
good will.
5. But
in view of the importance and the difficulty of such an undertaking, and
the necessity of perseverance in the practice of any virtue, it is well
to recall the Apostle's apt counsel: "Be instant in prayer"(1)
- counsel all the more to the point because an auspicious beginning of
the enterprise will supply the best inducement to perseverance in prayer.
Next October, therefore, if you and your people devoutly spend the whole
month with Us in praying assiduously to the Virgin Mother of God through
her Rosary and the other customary devotions, nothing could do more to
further this project or be more pleasing to Us. We have the best reasons
for entrusting Our plans and Our aspirations to her protection and the
highest hopes of seeing them realized.
Jesus
Gave Mary to His Church
6. The
mystery of Christ's immense love for us is revealed with dazzling brilliance
in the fact that the dying Saviour bequeathed His Mother to His disciple
John in the memorable testament: "Behold thy son." Now in John,
as the Church has constantly taught, Christ designated the whole human
race, and in the first rank are they who are joined with Him by faith.
It is in this sense that St. Anselm of Canterbury says: "What dignity,
O Virgin, could be more highly prized than to be the Mother of those to
whom Christ deigned to be Father and Brother!"(2) With a generous
heart Mary undertook and discharged the duties of her high but laborious
office, the beginnings of which were consecrated in the Cenacle. With
wonderful care she nurtured the first Christians by her holy example,
her authoritative counsel, her sweet consolation, her fruitful prayers.
She was, in very truth, the Mother of the Church, the Teacher and Queen
of the Apostles, to whom, besides, she confided no small part of the divine
mysteries which she kept in her heart.
7. It
is impossible to measure the power and scope
of her offices since the day she was taken up to that height of heavenly
glory in the company of her Son, to which the dignity and luster of her
merits entitle her. From her heavenly abode she began, by God's decree,
to watch over the Church, to assist and befriend us as our Mother; so
that she who was so intimately associated with the mystery of human salvation
is just as closely associated with the distribution of the graces which
for all time will flow from the Redemption.
Mary,
Help of Christians
8. The
power thus put into her hands is all but unlimited. How unerringly right,
then, are Christian souls when they turn to Mary for help as though impelled
by an instinct of nature, confidently sharing with her their future hopes
and past achievements, their sorrows and joys, commending themselves like
children to the care of a bountiful mother. How rightly, too, has every
nation and every liturgy without exception acclaimed her great renown,
which has grown greater with the voice of each succeeding century. Among
her many other titles we find her hailed as "our Lady, our Mediatrix,"(3)
"the Reparatrix of the whole world,"(4) "the Dispenser
of all heavenly gifts."(5)
Mary
and Our Faith
9. Since
faith is the foundation, the source, of the gifts of God by which man
is raised above the order of nature and is endowed with the dispositions
requisite for life eternal, we are in justice bound to recognize the hidden
influence of Mary in obtaining the gift of faith and its salutary cultivation-of
Mary who brought the "author of faith"(6) into this world and
who, because of her own great faith, was called "blessed." "O
Virgin most holy, none abounds in the knowledge of God except through
thee; none, O Mother of God, attains salvation except through thee; none
receives a gift from the throne of mercy except through thee."(7)
10. It
is no exaggeration to say that it is due chiefly to her leadership and
help that the wisdom and teachings of the Gospel spread so rapidly to
all the nations of the world in spite of the most obstinate difficulties
and most cruel persecutions, and brought everywhere in their train a new
reign of justice and peace. This it was that stirred the soul of St. Cyril
of Alexandria to the following prayerful address to the Blessed
Virgin: "Through
you the Apostles have preached salvation to the nations . . . through
you the priceless Cross is everywhere honored and venerated; through you
the demons have been put to rout and mankind has been summoned back to
Heaven; through you every misguided creature held in the thrall of idols
is led to recognize the truth; through you have the faithful been brought
to the layer of holy Baptism and churches been founded among every people."(8)
Ever
the Protectress of Catholic Belief
11. Nay
she has even, as this same Doctor claims, upheld and given strength to
the "sceptre of the orthodox faith."(9) It has been her unremitting
concern to see to it that the Catholic Faith stands firmly lodged in the
midst of the people, there to thrive in its fertile and undivided unity.
Many and well known are the proofs of her solicitude, manifested from
time to time even in a miraculous manner. In the times and places in which,
to the Church's grief, faith languished in lethargic indifference or was
tormented by the baneful scourge of heresy, our great and gracious Lady
in her kindness was ever ready with her aid and comfort.
12. Under
her inspiration, strong with her might, great men were raised up-illustrious
for their sanctity no less than for their apostolic spirit-to beat off
the attacks of wicked adversaries and to lead souls back into the virtuous
ways of Christian life, firing them with a consuming love of the things
of God. One such man, an army in himself, was Dominic Guzman. Putting
all his trust in our Lady's Rosary, he set himself fearlessly to the accomplishment
of both these tasks with happy results.
Seat
of Wisdom
13. No
one will fail to remark how much the merits of the venerable Fathers and
Doctors of the Church, who spent their lives in the defense and explanation
of the Catholic Faith, redound to the Virgin Mother of God. For from her,
the Seat of Divine Wisdom, as they themselves gratefully tell us, a strong
current of the most sublime wisdom has coursed through their writings.
And they were quick to acknowledge that not by themselves but by her have
iniquitous errors been overcome. Finally, princes as well as Pontiffs,
the guardians and defenders of the faith-the former by waging holy wars,
the latter by
the solemn decrees which they have issued have not hesitated to call upon
the name of the Mother of our God, and have found her answer powerful
and propitious.
14. Hence
it is that the Church and the Fathers have given expression to their joy
in Mary in words whose beauty equals their truth: "Hail, voice of
the Apostles forever eloquent, solid foundation of the faith, unshakeable
prop of the Church."(10) "Hail, thou through whom we have been
enrolled as citizens of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church"(11).
"Hail, thou fountain springing forth by God's design, whose rivers
flowing over in pure and unsullied waves of orthodoxy put to flight the
hosts of error."(12) "Rejoice, because thou alone bast destroyed
all the heresies in the world."(13)
A
Mother to the Nations
15. The
unexampled part which the Virgin most admirably played and still plays
in the progress, the battles, and the triumphs of the Catholic Faith,
makes it evident what God has planned for her to do. It should fill the
hearts of all good people with a firm hope of obtaining those things which
are now the object of our common desire. Trust Mary, implore her aid.
16. That
the one selfsame profession of faith may unite the minds of Christian
nations in peace and harmony, that the one and only bond of perfect charity
may gather their hearts within its embrace-such is our prayerful hope!
And may Mary, by her powerful help, bring this ardently desired gift into
our possession! And remembering that her only begotten Son prayed so earnestly
to His heavenly Father for the closest union among the nations whom He
has called by the one Baptism to the one inheritance of salvation bought
for an infinite price, will she not, for that reason, see to it that all
in His marvelous light will strive as with one mind for unity? And will
it not be her wish to employ her goodness and providence to console the
Spouse of Christ, the Church, through her long-sustained efforts in this
enterprise, as well as to bring to full perfection the boon of unity among
the members of the Christian family, which is the illustrious fruit of
her motherhood?
Beloved
Bond of Christendom
17. A
token that the fulfillment of these hopes may soon be a reality is to
be seen in the conviction
and the confidence which warms the hearts of the devout. Mary will be
the happy bond to draw together, with strong yet gentle constraint, all
who love Christ, no matter where they may be, to form a nation of brothers
yielding obedience to the Vicar of Christ on earth, the Roman Pontiff,
their common Father.
18. Here
our mind, almost of its own accord, looks back through the annals of the
Church to the illustrious examples of her ancient unity, and dwells with
affectionate regard on the memory of the great Council of Ephesus. The
absolute unity of faith, the participation in identical worship, which
in those days linked East with West, manifested itself in the Council
with a strength unparalleled, and shone beyond it with a radiant beauty
when, after the Fathers had emphasized the dogma that the Blessed Virgin
is the Mother of God, the news of their procedure-spread abroad from the
exultant populace of that most devout of cities-filled all Christendom
with transports of universal joy.
Our
Catholic Love of Unity
19. Every
motive which bolsters and increases confidence in the power of our mighty
and kindhearted Virgin Mother to obtain the things we ask for, should
act as a powerful incentive generating in us that fiery zeal to pray to
her-a zeal We would incite in every Catholic heart. Let each one weigh
for himself, moreover, how fitting is this practice and how fruitful to
himself; and how acceptable and pleasing to the Blessed Virgin it is bound
to be. For, possessing as they do unity of faith, Catholics thus make
clear not only that they value this precious gift at its true worth, but
also that they intend to hold to it with jealous tenacity. No better way
is afforded of proving a fraternal feeling toward their separated brethren
than to aid them by every means within their power to recover this, the
greatest of all gifts.
Mother
of Unity and Concord
20. Such
brotherly affection, truly Christian and practiced as long as the Church
can remember, has traditionally sought a special efficacy from the Mother
of God, since she has been the foremost promoter of peace and unity. St.
Germain of Constantinople addresses this prayer to her: "Be mindful
of Christians who are thy servants; commend the prayers of all; help all
to realize their hopes; strengthen the faith; keep the
Church in unity."(14) And to this day the Greeks beseech her in this
manner: "O Virgin most pure, whose privilege it is to approach thy
Son without fear of rebuff! Beseech Him, O Virgin most holy, to grant
peace to the world and to breathe into the churches of Christendom one
mind and one heart; and we shall all magnify thee."(15)
The
Eastern Churches and Mary
21. There
is another special reason why Mary will be favorably disposed to grant
our united prayers in behalf of the nations cut off from communion with
the Church: namely, the prodigious things they have done for her honor
in the past, especially in the East. To them is due much of the credit
for propagating and increasing devotion to her. From them have come some
of the best-remembered heralds and champions of her dignity, who have
wielded a mighty influence by their authority or by their writings-eulogists
famed for the ardor and the charm of their eloquence; "empresses
well beloved of God,"(16) who imitated the Virgin most pure in the
example of their lives, and paid honor to her with lavish generosity;
temples and basilicas built to her glory with regal splendor.
Mary's
Icons
22. And
We may here add a detail not foreign to Our subject and reflecting further
glory upon the Mother of God. It is common knowledge that, under the changing
fortunes of time, great numbers of venerable images of our Lady have been
brought from the East to the West, most of them finding their way to Italy
and to Rome.
23. Our
forebears received them with deepest respect and venerated them with magnificent
honors; and their descendants, emulating their piety, continue to cherish
these images as highly sacred treasures. It is a delight for the mind
to discover in this fact the approval and the favor of a mother wholly
devoted to her children. For it seems to indicate that these images have
been left in our midst as witness of the ages when the entire Christian
family was held together by ties of absolute unity, and as so many precious
pledges of our common inheritance. The very sight of them must needs invite
souls, as though the Virgin herself were bidding them, to keep in devout
remembrance those whom the Catholic Church calls
with loving care back to the peace and the gladness which they formerly
enjoyed, within her embrace.
Mary,
Guardian of Unity
24. And
so, in Mary, God has given us the most zealous guardian of Christian unity.
There are, of course, more ways than one to win her protection by prayer,
but as for Us, We think that the best and most effective way to her favor
lies in the Rosary. We have elsewhere brought it to the attention of the
devout Christian and not least among the advantages of the Rosary is the
ready and easy means it puts in his hands to nurture his faith, and to
keep him from ignorance of his religion and the danger of error.
25. The
very origin of the Rosary makes that plain. When such faith is exercised
by vocally repeating the Our Father and Hail Mary of the Rosary prayers,
or better still in the contemplation of the mysteries, it is evident how
close we are brought to Mary. For every time we devoutly say the Rosary
in supplication before her, we are once more brought face to face with
the marvel of our salvation; we watch the mysteries of our Redemption
as though they were unfolding before our eyes; and as one follows another,
Mary stands revealed at once as God's Mother and our Mother.
26. The
sublimity of that double dignity, the fruits of her twofold ministry,
appear in vivid light when in devout meditation we think of Mary's share
in the joyful, the sorrowful, the glorious mysteries of her Son. The heart
is inflamed by these reflections with a feeling of grateful love toward
her and, esteeming everything beneath her as so much worthless chaff,
strives with manful purpose to prove worthy of such a Mother and the gifts
she bestows. Meditation on the mysteries of the Rosary, often repeated
in the spirit of faith, cannot help but please her and move her, the fondest
of mothers, to show mercy to her children.
For
Our Separated Brethren
27. For
that reason We say that the Rosary is by far the best prayer by which
to plead before her the cause of our separated brethren. To grant a favorable
hearing belongs properly to her office of spiritual Mother. For Mary has
not brought forth-nor could she-those who are of Christ except in the
one same Faith and in the one same love;
for "Can Christ be divided?"(17) All must live the life of Christ
in an organic unity in order to "bring forth fruit to God"(18)
in the one same body. Every one of the multitudes, therefore, whom the
mischief of calamitous events has stolen away from that unity, must be
born again to Christ of that same Mother whom God has endowed with a never
failing fertility to bring forth a holy people. And this Mary, for her
part, longs to do. Adorned by us with garlands of her favorite prayer,
she will obtain by her entreaties help in abundance from the Spirit that
quickeneth. God grant that they refuse not to comply with the burning
desire of their merciful Mother but, on the contrary, give ear, like men
of good will, with a proper regard for their eternal salvation, to the
voice, gently persuasive, which calls to them: "My little children,
of whom I am in labor again, until Christ be formed in you."(19)
Devotion
to the Rosary in the East
28. Knowing
what power our Lady's Rosary possesses, not a few of Our Predecessors
took special care to spread the devotion throughout the countries of the
East-in particular Eugene IV in the Constitution "Advesperascente"
issued in 1439, and later Innocent XII and Clement XI. By their authority,
privileges of wide extent were granted to the Order of Preachers in favor
of this project. The hoped-for results were forthcoming, thanks to the
energetic activity of the brethren of that Order, result to which many
a bright record bears witness, although time and adversity have since
raised great obstacles in the way of further progress. Yet even today
the same zeal for the Rosary devotion which We cited at the beginning
of this Letter still fills the hearts of great numbers in those lands-a
fact which, We trust, will be as useful in the realization of Our hopes
as it was in raising them.
29. Along
with this hope, there is the joyful fact, of equal importance to the East
and the West, and in keeping with the longing We have expressed: namely
the plan, Venerable Brethren, which took form at the celebrated Eucharistic
Congress held in Jerusalem, to build a shrine in honor of the Queen of
the Most Holy Rosary at Patras in Achaia, not far from places where at
one time Christianity, under her patronage, shone brilliantly. For, as
We have with great pleasure learned from the committee which was organized
with Our approval to advance the project and take
charge of the work, most of you have already sent in contributions collected
for this purpose and have promised to continue your help until the project
has been completed.
30. On
the strength of this it has been decided to begin work on a scale proportioned
to the size of the undertaking, and We have granted permission for the
laying of the first stone of the shrine at an early date with solemn ceremonies.
The temple will stand as a monument of everlasting thanksgiving erected
in the name of the Christian people to their heavenly Helper and Mother.
There she will be invoked unceasingly in the Greek and the Latin rites
that, ever more propitious, she will continue to heap new favors upon
the ancient blessings.
Let
All Turn to Mary
31. And
now, Venerable Brethren, Our exhortation returns to the point from which
it began. Well may all, shepherds and flocks alike, fly with fullest confidence
to the protection of the great Virgin, especially next month. Let them
not fail to call upon her name, with one voice beseeching her as God's
Mother, publicly and in private, by praise, by prayer, by the ardor of
their desire: "Show thyself our Mother." May her motherly compassion
keep her whole family safe from every danger, lead them in the path of
genuine prosperity, above all establish them in holy unity. She looks
upon Catholics of every nation with a kindly eye. Where the bond of charity
joins them together she makes them more ready, more and more determined,
to uphold the honor of religion which, at the same time, brings upon the
state the greatest blessings. May she look with utmost compassion upon
those great and illustrious nations which are cut off from the Church
and upon the noble souls who have not forgotten their Christian duty.
32. May
she aspire in them most salutary desires, foster their holy aspirations,
and bring them to happy completion. In the East, may that widespread devotion
to her which the dissident nations
profess, as well as the countless glorious acts of their ancestors in
her honor, effectively aid them. In the West, may the memory of her beneficent
patronage stand its dissidents in good stead; with surpassing kindness
she has, through many ages, manifested her approval of, and has rewarded,
the admirable devotion shown her among every class.
33. May
the peoples of the East and West, and all the others wherever they may
be, profit by the suppliant voice of Catholics united in prayer, and by
our voice which will cry to Our last breath: Show thyself a Mother.
Given
at Rome, at St. Peter's, the fifth day of September, in the eighteenth
year of Our Pontificate.
REFERENCES:
1. Col.
4:2.
2. St. Anselm, Orat, 47.
3. St. Bernard, Serm. II in Adv.
4. St. Tharasius, Orat. in Praesentatione. 5. On Off. Graec., 8 Dec.
6. Hebr. 12:I.
7. St. Germ. Constantinop., Orat. II, in Dormitione B.M.V.
8. St. Cyril Alex., Homil. contra Nestor.
9. Ibid.
10. Ex hymno Graecorum.
11. St. John Damasc., in Annuntiatione Deigenitricis, n. 9.
12. St. German. Constantinop., Orat. in Praesentatione B.M. V.
13. In Officio B.M.V.
14. Orat. hist. in Dormitione Deiparae.
15. Men., 5 maii, Theotokion.
16. St. Cyril Alex., De fide, Ad Pulcheriam.
17. I Cor. I:13.
18. Rom. 7:4.
19. Gal. 4:19.
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