THE TRIPLE CROWN
OR TIARA
THE POPE'S OFFICIAL HEADDRESS
TO OUR VENERABLE BRETHREN
THE PATRIARCHS, PRIMATES, ARCHBISHOPS,
BISHOPS AND OTHER ORDINARIES IN PEACE
AND COMMUNION WITH THE APOSTOLIC SEE
VENERABLE BRETHREN
GREETINGS AND APOSTOLIC BENEDICTION
More than once have We asserted--and We recently
repeated this in the Encyclical Letter Divini Redemptoris (Acta
Ap. Sedis, 1937, vol. XXIX, p. 65.) --that there is no remedy for
the ever-growing evils of our times except a return to Our Lord Jesus Christ
and to His Most Holy Precepts.
Truly, only He "hath the Words of eternal life", (Cf. John,
VI, 69.) and individuals and society can only fall quickly
and miserably if they ignore the Majesty of God and repudiate His Law.
However, anyone who studies with diligence the annals
of the Catholic Church will easily recognize that the true patronage of
the Virgin Mother of God is linked with all the annals of the Christian
name.
When, in fact, errors everywhere diffused were bent
upon rending the seamless robe of the Church and upon throwing the Catholic
world into confusion, our Fathers turned with confident soul to her "alone
who destroys all heresies in the world", (Rom. Brev.)
and the Victory won through her brought the return of tranquility.
When the impious Mohammedan power, trusting in its
powerful fleet and war-hardened armies, threatened the peoples of Europe
with ruin and slavery, then--upon the suggestion of the Sovereign Pontiff--the
protection of the Heavenly Mother was fervently implored and the enemy
was defeated and his ships sunk.
Mary Supplicated By Faithful In Every Age
Thus the faithful of every age, both in public misfortune
and in private need, turn in supplication to Mary, the benignant, so that
she may come to their aid and grant help and remedy against sorrows of
body and soul. And never was her most powerful aid hoped for in vain
by those who besought it with pious and trustful prayer.
But also in our day, dangers no less grave than
in the past beset civil and Religious society.
In fact, because the Supreme and Eternal Authority
of God, which commands and forbids, is despised and completely repudiated
by men, the result is that the consciousness of Christian duty is weakened,
and that faith becomes tepid in souls or entirely lost, and this afterward
affects and ruins the very basis of human society.
Thus on the one hand are seen citizens intent on
an atrocious struggle among themselves because some are provided with abundant
riches and others must gain bread for themselves and their dear ones by
the sweat of their brows.
Indeed, as we all know, in some regions the evil
has reached such a pitch that it seeks to destroy all private right of
property, so that everything might be shared in common.
On the other hand, there are not lacking men who
declare that they honor and exalt, above all, the power of the State.
They say they must use every means to assure civil order and enforce authority,
and pretend that only thus are they able totally to repulse the execrable
theories of the Communists. However, they despise the light of Evangelic
Wisdom and endeavor to revive the errors of the pagans and their way of
life.
To this is added the clever and lamentable sect
of those who, denying and hating God, declare themselves the enemies of
the Eternal, and who insinuate themselves everywhere. They discredit
and uproot all Religious belief from souls. Finally, they trample
on every human and Divine right. And while they cast scorn on the
hope of Heavenly Reward, they incite men to seek, even by illicit means,
false earthly happiness, and therefore drive them with brazen temerity
to the dissolution of the social order, causing disorder, cruel rebellions
and even the conflagration of civil war.
Hope In God Must Not Grow Faint
Nevertheless, Venerable Brethren, though such great
and numerous evils hang over us, and others still greater are to be feared
for the future, we must not lose heart nor let the confident hope that
rests solely on God become fainter.
He who "made the nations of the earth for health,"
(Cf. Wisdom I, 14.) without doubt will not let
those perish whom He has redeemed with His Precious Blood, nor will He
abandon His Church.
But rather, as We said in the beginning, shall We
beseech God through the mediation of the Blessed Virgin, so acceptable
to Him, since, to use the words of St. Bernard: "Such is the Will
of God, Who has wished that we should have all things through Mary."
(Serm. in Nativ. B.M.V.)
Prayer of Rosary Occupies Distinct Place
Among the various supplications with which we successfully
appeal to the Virgin Mother of God, the Holy Rosary without doubt occupies
a special and distinct place.
This prayer, which some call the "Psalter of the
Virgin" or "Breviary of the Gospel and of Christian life," was described
and recommended by Our Predecessor of happy memory, Leo XIII, with these
vigorous passages: "Very admirable is this crown interwoven with the Angelic
Salutation which is interposed in the Sunday prayer, and uuites with it
the obligation of interior meditation. It is an excellent manner
of praying . . . and very useful for the attainment of immortal life."
(Acta Leonis, 1898, vol. XVIII, pp. 154, 155.)
And this can well be deduced from the very flowers
that form this mystic garland.
What prayers in fact can be found more adaptable
and holy?
The first is that which our Divine Redeemer Himself
pronounced when His Disciples asked Him: "Lord, teach us to pray"; (Luke
XI, 1.) a very holy supplication which both offers us the
way--as far as it is possible for us--to render glory to God, and also
takes into account all the necessities of our body and soul.
How can the Eternal Father, when prayed to with
the very Words of His Son, refuse to come to our aid?
The other prayer is the Angelic Salutation, which
begins with the eulogies of the Archangel Gabriel and of St. Elizabeth,
and ends with that very pious supplication by which we beg the help of
the Blessed Virgin now and at the hour of our death.
To these invocations, said aloud, is added the contemplation
of the Sacred Mysteries, through which they place, as it were, under our
eyes the joys, sorrows and triumphs of Jesus Christ and of His Mother,
so that we receive relief and comfort in our sorrows. Following those
most holy examples, we ascend to the happiness of the Heavenly Country
by steps of ever higher virtue.
Rosary Heavenly Suggestion Of Virgin Mary
This practice of piety, Venerable Brethren, admirably
diffused by St. Dominic, not without the Heavenly Suggestion and Inspiration
of the Virgin Mother of God, is without doubt easy for all, even for the
ignorant and the simple.
But those wander from the path of truth who consider
this devotion merely an annoying formula repeated with monotonous sing-song
intonation, and refuse it as good only for children and silly women!
In this regard, it is to be noted that both piety
and love, though always renewing the same words, do not always repeat the
same thing, but always express something new issuing from the intimate
sentment of devotion. And besides, this mode of prayer has the perfume
of Evangelic simplicity and requires humility of spirit; and, if we disdain
humility, as the Divine Redeemer teaches, it will be impossible for us
to enter the Heavenly Kingdom: "Amen, I say to you, unless you become as
little children you shall not enter the Kingdom of Heaven." (Matth.
XVIII, 3.)
Nevertheless, if men in our century, with its derisive
pride, refuse the Holy Rosary, there is an innumerable multitude of holy
men of every age and every condition who have always held it dear.
They have recited it with great devotion, and in every moment they have
used it as a powerful weapon to put the demons to flight, to preserve the
integrity of life, to acquire virtue more easily, and in a word to attain
real
peace among men.
Rosary A Daily Practice Of Learned Men
Nor are there lacking men famous as to Doctrine
and Wisdom who, although intensely occupied in scientific study and researches,
never even for a day fail to pray fervently on bended knee, before the
image of the Virgin, in this most pious form.
Thus kings and princes, however burdened with most
urgent occupations and affairs, made it their duty to recite the Rosary.
This Mystic Crown, then, not only is found in and glides through the hands
of the poor, but it also is honored by citizens of every social rank.
And We do not wish here to pass over in silence the fact that the Blessed
Virgin herself, even in our times, has solicitously recommended this
manner of prayer, when she appeared and taught it to the innocent girl
in the Grotto of Lourdes.
Therefore why should We not hope for every grace
if We supplicate Our Heavenly Mother in this manner with due disposition
and holiness?
We desire very earnestly, Venerable Brethren, that
the Holy Rosary should be recited in a special manner in the month of October
and with increased devotion both in the Churches and in homes.
And so much the more must it be done since the enemies
of the Divine Name--that is, those who have rebelled against and denied
and scorned the Eternal God--spread snares for the Catholic Faith and the
liberty due to the Church, and finally rebel with insane efforts against
Divine and human rights, to send mankind to ruin and perdition. Through
effcacious recourse to the Virgin Mother of God, they may be finally bent
and led to penance and return to the straight path, trusting to the care
and protection of Mary.
Rosary's Power Cited By Examples In History
The Holy Virgin who once victoriously drove the
terrible sect of the Albigenses from Christian countries, now suppliantly
invoked by us, will turn aside the new errors, especially those of Communism,
which reminds us in many ways, in its motives and misdeeds, of the ancient
ones.
And as in the times of the Crusades in all Europe
there was raised one voice of the people, one supplication, so it is today:
in all the world, the cities and even the smallest villages, united with
courage and strength, with filial and constant insistence, the people seek
to obtain from the great Mother of God that the enemies of Christian and
human civilization be defeated, and thus that real peace may shine again
over tired and straying men.
If, then, all will do this with due disposition,
with great faith and with fervent piety, it is right to hope that as in
the past, so in our day, the Blessed Virgin will obtain from her Divine
Son that the waves of the present tempests be calmed and that a brilliant
victory crown this rivalry of Christians in prayer.
Rosary A Spur To Evangelic Virtue
The Holy Rosary, besides, not only serves admirably
to overcome the enemies of God and Religion, but is also a stimulus and
spur to the practice of Evangelic Virtues which it injects and cultivates
in our souls. Above all, it nourishes the Catholic Faith, which flourishes
again precisely in opportune meditation of the Sacred Mysteries, and raises
minds to the truth revealed to us by God.
Every one can understand how salutary it is, especially
in our times wherein sometimes a certain annoyance of the things of the
spirit is felt even among the faithful, and a dislike, as it were, for
the Christian Doctrine.
Therefore, revive the hope of immortal welfare,
while the triumph of Jesus Christ and of His Mother, meditated on by us
in the last part of the Rosary, shows us Heaven open and invites us to
the conquest of the Eternal Country.
Thus while an unbridled longing for the things of
this earth has penetrated into the hearts of mortals and each one more
ardently longs for the short-lived riches and ephemeral pleasures, all
feel a fruitful call back to the Heavenly Treasures "where thieves do not
break in and neither rust nor moth doth consume," (Matth.
XII, 33.) and to the wealth that will never perish.
And the charity which has been weakened and cooled
in many, how can it fail to be rekindled into love in the souls of those
who recall with a full heart the tortures and death of our Redeemer and
the afflictions of His Sorrowful Mother?
From this charity towards God, then, there cannot
but rise a more intense love of one's neighbor if one dwells on the labors
and sorrows that Our Lord suffered for all, reinstating the lost inheritance
of the children of God.
Diffusion Of Rosary Means Increase In Piety
Therefore see to it, Venerable Brethren, that such
a fruitful practice shall be more diffused, more highly esteemed by all,
and that common piety be increased.
Through your work and that of the Priests who help
you in the care of souls, its praises and advantages shall be preached
and repeated to the faithful of every social class.
From it, the young will draw fresh energy with which
to control the rebellious tendencies to evil and to preserve intact the
stainless purity of the soul; also in it, the old will again find repose,
relief and peace from their anxious cares. To those who devote themselves
to Catholic Action may it be a spur to impel them to a more fervent and
active work of apostolate; and to all those who suffer in any way, especially
the dying, may it bring comfort and increase the hope of eternal happiness.
The fathers and mothers of families particularly
must give an example to their children, especially when, at sunset, they
gather together after the day's work, within the domestic walls, and recite
the Holy Rosary on bended knees before the image of the Virgin, together
fusing voice, faith and sentiment. This is a beautiful and salutary
custom, from which certainly there cannot but be derived tranquility and
abundance of Heavenly Gifts for the household.
Holy Father's Words To Newly Wedded Couples
When very frequently We receive newly-married couples
in audience and address paternal words to them, We give them Rosaries,
We recommend these to them earnestly, and We exhort them, citing Our own
example, not to let even one day pass without saying the Rosary, no matter
how burdened they may be with many cares and labors.
For these reasons, Venerable Brethren, We have thought
to exhort you earnestly, and through you, all the faithful, to carry out
this pious practice. Nor do We doubt that you, listening, with your
usual response to Our Paternal invitation, will bring about abundant fruits
once more.
And in addressing this Encyclical to you, another motive impels Us.
We wish that, together with Us, Our many children in Jesus Christ shall
unite and render thanks to the Mother of God for the better health We have
happily regained.
This Grace, as We have had occasion to write, (Cf.
Chirograph to Cardinal E. Pacelli, Osservatore Romano, 5th
September 1937.) We attribute to the special intercession
of the Virgin of Lisieux, St. Teresa of the Child Jesus. But We know,
though, that everything comes to us granted by Almighty God through the
hands of Our Lady.
Asks Reparation For Offense To Blessed Mother
And lastly, as there has been launched in the public
press with rash insolence, a very grave injury to the Blessed Virgin, We
cannot do less than profit by this occasion to offer, together with the
Episcopate and the people of that nation which venerates Mary as "Queen
of the Kingdom of Poland," and with the homage of our piety, due reparation
to the august Queen, and denounce to the whole world this sacrilege committed
with impunity, as a painful and unworthy thing.
Meanwhile, with a full heart We impart to You, Venerable
Brethren, and to the flock entrusted to the care of each of you, the Apostolic
Blessing as an augury of Heavenly Graces and in token of Our Paternal benevolence.
Given at Castelgandolfo, near Rome, on the 29th
of the month of September, on the Feast of the Dedication of St. Michael
Archangel, in the year 1937, the sixteenth of Our Pontificate.
POPE PIUS XII
DESCRIPTION OF MAGNIFICENT
PAPAL CORONATION
As Peter was given a new name so does the new Supreme
Pontiff become known by another. After the election he extends his
first blessing to the people -- a Benediction which was not given in the
open for years until Pope Pius XI established the custom.
The Coronation, one of the most magnificent of
Vatican Ceremonies, takes place shortly after the election. With
the Pope carried high in a golden chair and attended by brilliantly attired
chamberlains and soldiers, the Coronation Mass is an unrivaled spectacle
of beauty, dignity, and ancient pageantry. At the Coronation, in
the midst of the pomp and splendor, a master of ceremonies recites in Latin:
"Holy Father, thus does the glory of the world pass away." As the
first Cardinal Deacon places the three-crowned Tiara on the head of the
Pope, he says: "Receive the three-crowned Tiara, and know that thou art
the Father of Princes and Kings, the Pastor of the earth, and Vicar of
Jesus Christ, to Whom be honor and glory forever. Amen."
The CORONATION of Pope Pius XII took place on
the balcony of St. Peter's in March, 1939. (Frm the book "The
Vatican and Holy Year" by Stephen S. Fenichell & Phillip Andrews. --
1950 edition.)
(Tradition is an equal part [along with the Bible] of the Authoritative Teaching of the Church -- From the book "The Immaculate Way" by Brian Farrely, S.S.M. -- 1963 edition.)
The True Answer To World Peace -- qwest site
Triumph Of Church -- qwest site
The True
Answer To World Peace -- reagan site
Triumph
Of Mary -- reagan site