To our Venerable Brethren, the Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops and other Local Ordinaries in peace and communion with the Apostolic See: Health and Apostolic Benedection.
    "You shall draw waters with joy out of the Savior's fountains." (Is. 12:3.)  These words, in which the Prophet Isaias in very expressive imagery foretold the mainfold and rich gifts of God which the Christian era was to reap, spontaneously come to our mind as we recall the centenary of the Proclamation in which our predecessor of immortal memory, Pius IX, gladly granting the petition of the Catholic world, ordered the celebration of the Feast of the Sacred Heart throughout the whole Church.

AN INESTIMABLE GIFT
    Those heavenly blessings which devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus pours into the souls of the faithful, purifying them, refreshing them with heavenly consolation and urging them to acquire all virtues, are too numerous to be counted. Mindful, therefore, of the wise words of the Apostle St. James--"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of Lights" (Jas. 1:17.) --we rightly see in this devotion, which everywhere grows more fervent, the inestimable gift which the Incarnate Word, our divine Savior, as the sole Mediator of grace and truth between the heavenly Father and the human race, gave to the Church, His mystical Bride, in recent times so that she could endure great trials and surmount difficulties.  In virtue of this inestimable gift, the Church is able to manifest her ardent love for her divine Founder and in a fuller measure carry out the injunction given by Jesus Christ Himself, which St. John the Evangelist records: "Now on the last, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, 'If anyone thirst, let him come to Me and let him drink who believe in Me.  As the Scripture says, From within Him there shall flow rivers of living water.'  He said this, however, of the Spirit whom they who believed in Him were to receive." (Jn. 7:37-39. The Holy Father's text here and in a few other places differs from the Vulgate.-Ed.)
    It was certainly not hard for those who heard Jesus speak these words, in which He promised that a fountain of "living water" would flow from within Him, to recall the words of the Holy Prophets Isaias, Ezechiel and Zachary foretelling the Messianic Kingdom, and to recall also that rock from which water miraculously gushed forth when Moses struck it." (Cf. Is. 12:3; Ez. 47:1-12; Za. 13:1; Ex. 17:1-7; Nm. 20:7-13; 1 Cor. 10:4; Rev. 7:17; 22:1.)

A MOST EXCELLENT ACT OF RELIGION
    Divine Love has its origin in the Holy Ghost, who is the personified Love of both the Father and the Son in the bosom of the august Trinity.  Most aptly, then, does the Apostle of the Gentiles, echoing the words of Jesus Christ, attribute the infusion of Charity in the souls of the faithful to this Spirit of Love: "The Charity of God is poured forth to our hearts by the Holy Ghost who has been given to us." (Rom. 5:5.)
    This intimate bond which, according to Sacred Scripture, exists between the divine Charity that must burn in the souls of the faithful and the Holy Ghost, who is Love itself, clearly shows to all of us, Venerable Brothers, the real nature of the devotion which should be rendered to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ.  For it is perfectly clear that this devotion, if we examine its proper nature, is a most excellent act of Religion, inasmuch as it demands the full and absolute determination of surrendering and consecrating oneself to the Love of the divine Redeemer whose wounded Heart is the living Sign and Symbol of that Love.  It is likewise clear, even to a greater degree, that this devotion especially indicates that we must repay divine Love with our own love.
    Indeed, it flows from the very essence of Love that the souls of men fully and completely submit to the rule of the Supreme Being, because the act of our love so depends upon the divine Will that it forms, as it were, a certain oneness according to the words of Scripture, "He who cleaves to the Lord is one spirit with Him." (1 Cor. 6:17;)

    The Church has always held devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in such high regard and continues to esteem it so greatly that she strives to have this devotion flourish throughout the world, and to promote it in every way among Christian peoples.  At the same time she is vigilant to safeguard it with all her strength against the charges of what is called naturalism and sentimentalism. In spite of this, it is nevertheless a deplorable fact that in the past and in our own time this most noble devotion has not been held in a place of honor and esteem among some Christians, and at times not even among those who claim to be animated by zeal for the Catholic Religion and the acquiring of sanctity.

THE ERROR OF THOSE WHO CONTEND...
    "If you knew the Gift of God." (Jn. 4:10.)  Venerable Brothers, We, who by the hidden designs of God have been chosen as guardian and dispenser of that sacred treasure of Faith and Piety which the divine Redeemer entrusted to His Church, make these words our own.  Through them, in keeping with the duty of our office, we admonish all those of our sons who are still led by preconceived opinions, and go so far at times as to consider devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus (which triumphing, as it were, over the errors and neglect of men has spread over His whole Mystical  Body) as less suited -- not to say detrimental  -- to the more pressing spiritual needs of the Church and the human race in our times.

...THAT THIS DEVOTION IS PURELY OPTIONAL
   There are some who, because they join the very essence of this devotion to other forms of piety which the Church approves and encourages but does not command, put it on an equal footing with these other forms of piety and look upon it as some kind of additive which each one is free to use according to his own good pleasure.

...THAT IT IS USELESS OR IRRATIONAL
    There are others, again, who assert that this devotion is burdensome and of little or no value, particularly for those who are serving as soldiers in the Kingdom of God, motivated by the idea of working, to the utmost of their strength, resources and time, to defend, teach and spread Catholic Doctrine, to inculcate Christian social teaching, and to promote those acts of Religion and those undertakings which they consider much more necessary today.  Then, too, there are those who, far from considering this devotion a powerful help for correctly forming and restoring Christian morals both in the private life of individuals and in the family circle, consider it rather as a form of piety springing from emotions and not from reasoned convictions and more suited, therefore, for women, because they see in it something unbecoming educated men.

...THAT IT IS TOO PASSIVE
    There are still others also, who, since they consider that a devotion of this sort calls primarily for penance, expiation and other virtues which they call "passive" because they are not such as bear external fruits, conclude that it is unsuitable for nurturing the spiritual fervor demanded by our times, which ought to be directed toward visible and strenuous activity, the triumph of the Catholic Faith and the defense of Christian morals; indeed, as all know, these morals are readily tainted today by the fallacious attitudes of those who take an identical view of every form of Religion (because the distinction of true and false in thought and action has been lost), and are pathetically contaminated by the principles of what are called atheistic materialism and laicism.

LEO XIII ANSWERS THESE OBJECTIONS
    Venerable Brothers, who does not see that such opinions are completely contrary to the teachings which our predecessors publicly proclaimed from this Chair of Truth when they approved the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus?  Who would dare call useless and less suitable to our time that piety which our predecessor of immortal memory, Leo XIII, declared "a most excellent form of Religion" and in which he had no doubt there was to be found a powerful remedy to cure those very same evils which today, too--beyond doubt in an even greater and more violent manner--afflict and vex individuals and society?  "This devotion," he said, "which we recommend to all, will be profitable for all."
    He added these admonitions and exhortations which also apply to devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus: "Hence this force of evils, which has so long been weighing heavily upon us, demands that the help of One be sought by whose Power it can be driven off.  Who is He, but Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God!  'For there is no other Name under Heaven given to men by which we must be saved.' (Acts 4:12.)  We must then flee to Him, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life." (Enc. Annum Sacrum, May 25, 1899: Acta Leonis, vol. 19, 1900, pp. 71, 77-78.)

THE MIND OF PIUS XI
    Neither did our immediate predecessor of happy memory, Pius XI, declare this devotion less approved and suited to foster Christian piety.  In an Encyclical Letter he wrote: "Is not the epitime of Religion, and consequently the norm of the more perfect life, contained in that form of piety which more realily leads souls to acknowledge Christ the Lord and which more effectively inclines hearts to love Him more ardently and imitate Him more closely?" (Enc. Miserentissimus Redemptor, May 8, 1928: Acta Apostolicae Sedis 20, 1928, p. 167.)

PROVIDENTIAL GROWTH OF THIS DEVOTION
    This truth is as evident and clear to us as it was to our predecessors.  When we became Pope and saw with pleasure that devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus had providentially increased among Christian peoples and was marching in triumph, so to speak, we were filled with joy at the graces which flowed to the Church from this devotion.  We were pleased to note this in our very first Encyclical. (Cf. Encuclical Summi Pontificatus, October 20, 1939: Acta Apostolicae Sedis 31, 1939, p. 415.)

A NEW FERVOR
    Through the years of our Pontificate, filled not only with cares and anxieties but also with ineffable consolations, these blessings have not been diminished in number, power or splendor, but have rather been multiplied.  Various movements have providentially started which are conducive to the adding of new fervor to this devotion and most aptly suited to the needs of our times.  We mean organizations to promote culture, Religion and Charity, published articles which explain the historical, the ascetical or the mystical aspects which have bearing on this topic, and pious works of expiation.
    We mention especially the proofs of deepest piety given by the Apostleship of Prayer, under whose auspices and care homes, colleges, institutions and at times whole nations were consecrated to the most Sacred Heart of Jesus.  Not infrequently by letter, public addresses, and even by radio we have extended our Paternal congratulatios to these undertakings. (Cf. Acta Apostolicae Sedis 32, 1940, p. 276; 35, 1943, p. 470; 37, 1945, pp. 263-264; 40, 1948, p. 501; 41, 1949, p. 331.)

"TO HIM BE GLORY"
    Consequently, as we behold the rich abundance of salutary waters, that is, of Heavenly Gifts of divine Love, flowing from the Sacred Heart of Our Redeemer and permeating countless children of the Catholic Church, (under the inspiration and operation of the Holy Ghost) we cannot refrain, Venerable Brothers, from exhorting you Paternally to join us in giving glory and thanks to God, the giver of all good Gifts.  We join our sentiments with those of the Apostle of the Gentiles: "Now, to Him who is able to accomplish all things in a measure far beyond what we ask or conceive, in keeping with the power that is at work in us--to Him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus down through all the ages of time without end.  Amen." (Eph. 3:20-21.)

SOLID FOUNDATIONS OF THE DEVOTION
    But after we have duly thanked the eternal God, we wish through this Encyclical to urge you, and all our dearly beloved children of the Church, to study diligently the teachings of Scripture, the Fathers and Theologians--the solid foundations on which devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus rests.
    For we are firmly convinced that only when we have thoroughly investigated the basic and profound nature of this devotion in the light of divinely revealed Truth, only then, do we say, can we rightly and fully appreciate its incomparable excellence and its inexhautible store of heavenly Gifts.  Only after piously meditating on the countless blessings flowing from this devotion can we worthily commemorate the first centenary of the celebration of the Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus throughout the Universal Church.

A SALUTARY TEACHING
    To give to the minds of the Faithful a salutary teaching by virtue of which they can more easily and fully understand the true nature of this devotion and reap its abundant fruits, we shall explain those passages of the Old and New Testamemts in which God's infinite Love for mankind to revealed and set before us.  We can, of course, never really study that Love sufficiently.  We shall then touch upon the chief points of the teaching of the Fathers and Doctors of the Church.
    Finally, it will be our concern to show in its true light the close connection that exists between the kind of devotion to be shown to the Heart of the divine Redeemer and the veneration due to His Love and the Love of the august Trinity for all men.  For we think that only if the principal reasons for this noble form of piety and the foundations on which it rests are set forth in the light of Scripture and the teaching handed down in the Church can the faithful quite readily "draw waters with joy out of the Savior's fountains." (Is. 12:3.)
    To draw this water means to realize more fully the special importance which devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus has in the Liturgy of the Church and in her internal and external life and activity, and so to be able to gather those spiritual fruits through which individuals can profitably renew their way of life, as the Shepherds of the flock of Christ desire.

THE CHURCH ADORES...
    That all may be able to understand more correctly the Doctrine which the passages to be cited from the Old and New Testament proclaim in regard to this Devotion, they must above all clearly understand the reason why the Church adores [cultum latriae tribuit] the Heart of the divine Redeemer.

...THE SACRED HEART UNITED TO THE DIVINE PERSON
    Now it is perfectly clear to you, Venerable Brothers, that the reason for this is twofold.  The first reason, which also applies to the other sacred members of the Body of Jesus Christ, rests on the teaching by which we know that His Heart, as the noblest part of human nature, is hypostatically united to the Person of the divine Word and must therefore be adored in the same way in which the Church adores the Person of the Incarnate Son of God.  We are dealing with an article of Catholic Faith, since this point was already solemnly defined in the general Council of Ephesus and the second Council of Constantinople. (Council of Ephesus, Can. 8; cf/ <amso. Sacrorum Conciliorum Ampliss. Collectio, r, 1083 C; Second Council of Constantinople, can. 9; cf. Ibid. 9, 382 E.)

...THE SACRED HEART: SIGN AND SYMBOL OF LOVE
    The second reason, which refers specifically to the Heart of the divine Redeemer and in a special manner demands that adoration [cuttum latriae] be given it, stems from the fact that His Heart, more than all the other Members of His Body, is the natural Sign and Symbol of His boundless Love for the human race.  Our predecessor of immortal memory, Leo XIII, remarked "In the Sacred Heart there is the Symbol and the express Image of the infinite Love of Jesus Christ which moves us to love in return." (Cf. Encl. Annum Sacrum:  Acta Leonis, vol. 19, 1900, p. 76.)

GOD'S LOVE IMAGED IN SCRIPTURE
    It is true that Scripture never makes express mention of a special devotion of veneration and love which is to be paid to the physical Heart of the Incarnate Word as the Symbol of His most ardent Love.  Even though we must openly admit this, it cannot surprise us nor in any way lead us to doubt that the divine Love for us, which is the principal reason for this devotion, is proclaimed and inculcated both in the Old and New Testaments in such vivid images as to greatly stir men's souls.  And since these images were presented in the passages of Scripture which announced the coming of the Son of God made man, they can therefore be regarded as a presage of that most excellent Sign and Symbol of divine Love, that is, the most Sacred and Adorable Heart of the divine Redeemer.

LOVE: SEAL OF THE OLD LAW
    For our present purpose we do not consider it necessary to cite many passages from the books of the Old Testament, which contain truths revealed by God long ago.  We deem it sufficient to recall the Convenant which was made between God and the Jewish people and was ratified with peace offerings.
    Moses wrote its Principal Laws on two Tables of Stone and the Prophets expounded them. (Cf. Ex. 34:27-28.)  The Covenant was sealed not only by the bonds of God's Supreme Dominion and the obedience which men owe Him, but was also strengthened and sustained by higher considerations of Love.

ISRAEL'S LOVING FEAR
    For to the people of Israel the weightiest reason for obeying God was not the fear of divine vengeance, which the thunder and lightning flashing from the peak of Mt. Sinai struck into their souls, but rather the love which they owed God. "Hear, O Israel!  The Lord is our God, the Lord alone!  Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.  Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today." (Dt. 6:4-6.)

MOSES AND THE PROPHETS
    We are not surprised, then, if Moses and the Prophets, whom the Angelic Doctor rightly calls the "elders" of the chosen people, (Summa Theologica, II-II, q. 2, a. 7: ed. Leon. tom. 8, 1895, p. 34.)  because they knew that the Foundation of the entire Law was placed on this Precept of Love, described the dealings between God and His people in terms of the mutual love of a father and his children or of a husband and his wife, rather than in stern terms of God's Supreme Dominion or of our own subjection in fear.
    Therefore, to cite a few examples, Moses himself, when he sang his famous Canticle because of the liberation of his people from the bondage of Egypt and wanted to declare that it had been accomplished by the Power of God, used these touching expressions and comparisons: "As an eagle incites its nestlings forth by hovering over its brood, so He [God] spread His Wings to receive them and bore them up on His Pinions." (Dt. 32:11.)

HOSEA: GOD IS A LOVING FATHER
    Of the Prophets none perhaps more than Hosea expresses and explains so clearly and forcefully the Love which God always showed His people.  In the writings of this Prophet, who is outstanding among the rest of the minor Prophets for the austere grandeur of his diction, God manifests a holy and solicitous Love for His chosen people, a Love like that of a loving and merciful father or that of a husband whose honor is offended.
    The sort of love in question here is so far from diminishing or ceasing on account of the perfidy of traitors or enormous crimes, that it will rather justly punish offenses, not indeed to repudiate and dismiss the estranged and faithless wife and ungrateful children, but to make amends and purify and reunite them in renewed and strengthened bonds of love.  "Because Israel was a child, and I loved him, and I called my son out of Egypt.... And I was like a foster father to Ephraim, I carried them in My arms; and they knew not that I healed them.  I will draw them with the cords of Adam, with the bonds of Love.... I will heal their breaches, I will Love them freely, for My wrath is turned away from them.  I will be as the dew, Israel shall spring as the lily, and his root shall shoot forth as that of Libanus." (Hos. 11:1, 3-4; 14, 5-6.)

ISAIAS....AND THE CANTICLE
    The Prophet Isaias expresses similar sentiments when he represents God Himself and His chosen people expressing, as it were, opposite views in a conversation: "And Sion said: The Lord has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me.  Can a woman forget her infant, so as not to have pity on the son of her womb?  And if she should forget, yet will not I forget you." (Is. 49:14-15.)
    No less touching are the words which the author of the Canticle of Canticles uses when he graphically describes in terms of conjugal love the bonds of mutual charity which join God and His chosen people: "As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.... I to my beloved, and my beloved to me, who feeds among the lilies.... Put me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy as hard as hell: the lamps thereof are fire and flames."  (Ct. 2:2; 6:2; 8:6.)

HARBINGER OF THE SAVIOR'S LOVE
    This most tender, indulgent, and patient Love of God, which disclaimed the Jewish people as they added crime upon crime but never completely repudiated them, seems ardent and sublime.  But it was only a harbinger of that most ardent Love which the Redeemer who had been promised to mankind was to unfold from His most Loving Heart.  This Love was to be the exemplar of our love, the foundation of the New Covenant.  However, only He who is the Only-Begotten of the Father and the Word made flesh "full of grace and of truth," (Jn. 1:14.)  when He came among men weighed down with countless sins and miseries, could in His human nature, hypostatically united with the divine Person, open for mankind "a fountain of living water" to irrigate the parched earth and transform it into a blooming, fruitful garden.

JEREMIAS' PROPHECY
    It seems that the Prophet Jeremias in a way foretold that this marvelous transformation would be accomplished through God's most merciful and eternal Love, in these words: "I have loved you with an everlasting Love, therefore have I drawn you, taking pity.... Behold the days shall come, says the Lord, and I will make a new Covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Juda.... This shall be the Covenant that I will make with the house of Israel, after those days, says the Lord: I will write it in their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people....for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." (Jer. 31:3, 31, 33-34.)

(Since this is such a long Encyclical I am putting it in five files -- to  read on click on the CONTINUE link below.  If you wish to save this Encyclical to your computer you will have to save each file separately and be sure to save them in html  files so you don't lose the pictures.)

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