on
The Catholic Priesthood
by
POPE PIUS XI
December 20, 1935
II
VIRTUE AND LEARNING
IN THE PRIESTHOOD
VIRTUE AND LEARNING
IN THE PRIESTHOOD
Most sublime, then, Venerable Brethren, is
the Dignity of the Priesthood. Even the falling away of the few unworthy
in the Priesthood, however deplorable and distressing it may be, cannot
dim the splendor of so lofty a Dignity. Much less can the unworthiness
of a few cause the worth and merit of so many to be overlooked; and how
many have been, and are, in the Priesthood, pre-eminent in Holiness, in
learning, in works of zeal, nay, even in martyrdom.
Nor must it be forgotten that personal unworthiness
does not hinder the efficacy of a Priest's Ministry. For the unworthiness
of the Minister does not make void the Sacraments he administers; since
the Sacraments derive their efficacy from the Blood of Christ, independently
of the Sanctity of the Instrument, or, as scholastic language expresses
it, the Sacraments work their effect ex opere operato.
Nevertheless, it is quite true that
so Holy an Office demands Holiness in him who holds it. A Priest
should have a loftiness of spirit, a purity of heart and a sanctity
of life be fitting the Solemnity and Holiness of the Office he holds.
For this, as We have said, makes the Priest a mediator between God and
man; a mediator in the place, and by the command of Him Who is "the one
Mediator of God and men, the man Jesus Christ." (Cf. I
Tim. II, 5.) The Priest must, therefore, approach as close
as possible to the perfection of Him Whose Vicar he is, and render himself
ever more and more pleasing to God, by the Sanctity of his life and of
his deeds; because more than the scent of incense, or the beauty of Churches
and Altars, God loves and accepts Holiness. "They who are the Intermediaries
between God and His people," says St. Thomas, "must bear a good conscience
before God, and a good name among men." (St. Thom. Aquin.,
Summ.
Theol., Supplem., q. 36, a. 1, ad 2m.) On the contrary,
whosoever handles and administers Holy things, while blameworthy in his
life, profanes them and is guilty of Sacrilege: "They who are not Holy
ought not to handle Holy things. (Decret., dist. 88,
can. 6.)
Command in the Old Testament
For this reason even in the Old Testament God commanded
His Priests and Levites: "Let them therefore be Holy because I also am
Holy: the Lord Who sanctify them." (Levit., XXI, 8,)
In his Canticle for the Dedication of the Temple, Solomon the Wise made
this same request to the Lord in favor of the sons of Aaron: "Let Thy Priests
be clothed with Justice: and let Thy Saints rejoice." (Ps.
CXXXI, 9.) So, Venerable Brethren, may we not ask with
Saint Robert Bellarmine: "If so great uprightness, Holiness and lively
Devotion was required of Priests who offered sheep and oxen, and praised
God for temporal Blessings; what, I ask, is required of those Priests who
Sacrifice the Divine Lamb and give thanks for Eternal Blessings?" (St.
Rob. Bell., Explan. in Psal., Ps. CXXXI, 9.) "A great
dignity," exclaimed St. Laurence Justinian, "but great too is the responsibility;
placed high in the eyes of men they must also be lifted up to the peak
of Virtue before the eye of Him Who seeth all; otherwise their elevation
will be not to their merit but to their damnation." (St.
Laur. Justin., De instit., prael., c. 11 [ed. Venets, 1606, fol.
380].)
Highest Holiness Priesthood
And surely every reason We have urged in showing
the Dignity of the Catholic Priesthood does but reinforce its Oblation
of singular Holiness; for as the Angelic Doctor teaches: "To fulfill the
duties of Holy Orders, common goodness does not suffice; but excelling
goodness is required; that they who receive Orders and are thereby higher
in rank than the people, may also be higher in Holiness." (St.
Thom. Aquin., Summ. Theol., Supplem., q. 35, a. 1, ad 3m.)
The Eucharistic Sacrifice in which the Immaculate Victim Who taketh away
the sins of the world is immolated, requires in a special way that the
Priest, by a Holy and spotless life, should make himself as far as he can,
less unworthy of God, to Whom he daily offers that Adorable Victim, the
very Word of God Incarnate for love of us. Agnoscite quod agitis,
imitamini quod tractatis, "realize what you are doing, and imitate
what you handle." (Pont. Rom., de Ordinat. Presbyt.)
says the Church through the Bishop to the Deacons as they are about to
be Consecrated Priests. The Priest is also the Almoner of God's Graces
of which the Sacraments are the channels; how Grave a reproach would it
be, for one who dispenses these most precious Graces, were he himself without
them, or were he even to esteem them lightly and guard them with little
care. Moreover, the Priest must teach the Truths of Faith; but the
Truths of Religion are never so worthily and effectively taught as when
taught by Virtue; because, in the common saying: "Deeds speak louder than
words." The Priest must Preach the Law of the Gospel; but for that
preacing to be effective, the most obvious and, by the Grace of God, the
most persuasive argment, is to see the actual practice of the Law in him
who preaches it. St. Gregory the Great gives the reason: "The voice
which penetrates the hearts of the hearers, is the voice commended by the
speaker's own life; because what his word enjoins, his example helps to
bring about." (St. Greg. the Great, Epis., lib. I,
ep. 25; Migne,
P. L., 77, 470.) This exactly is what
Holy Scripture says of Our Divine Savior: He "began to do and to teach."
(Acts,
I, 1.) And the crowds hailed Him,
not so much because "never did man speak like this man," (John,
VII, 46.) but rather because "He hath done all things well."
(Mark, VII, 37.) On the other hand, they who
"say and do not," practising not what they preach, become like the Scribes
and Pharisees, though it saved their Legitimte Authority to preach the
word of God, was yet administered publicly, in the presence of the listening
crowd: "The Scribes and Pharisees have sitten on the chair of Moses.
All things therefore whatsoever they shall say to you observe and do: but
according to their works do ye not." (Matth., XXIII, 2-3.)
A preacher who does not try to ratify by his life's exmple the Truth he
preaches, only pulls down with one hand what he builds up with the other.
On the contrary, God greatly Blesses the labors of those Heralds of the
Gospel who attend first to their own Holiness; they see their Apostolate
flourishing and fruitful, and in the day of the harvest, "coming they shall
come with joyfulness, carrying in their sheaves." (Ps.
CXXV, 6.)
Personal Sanctification Comes First
It would be a grave error fraught with many dangers
should the Priest, carried away by false zeal, neglect his own Sanctification,
and become over immersed in the external works, however Holy, of the Priestly
Ministry. Thereby, he would run a double risk. In the first
place he endangers his own Eternal Salvation, as the great Apostle of the
Gentiles feared for himself: "But I chastise my body, and bring it into
subjection: lest perhaps, when I have preached to others, I myself should
become a cast-away." (I Cor., IX, 27.)
In the second place he might lose, if not Divine Grace, certainly that
unction of the Holy Ghost which gives such a marvelous force and efficacy
to the external Apostolate.
Now to all Christians in general it has been said:
"Be ye perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect;" (Matth.,
V, 48.) how much more then should the Priest consider these
words of the Divine Master as spoken to himself, called as he is by a special
Vocation to follow Christ more closely. Hence the Church publicly
urges on all her Clerics this most grave duty, placing it in the Code of
her Laws: "Clerics must lead a life, both interior and exterior, more Holy
than the laity, and be an example to them by excelling in virtue and good
works," (Cod. Iur. Can., c. 124.) and
since the Priest is an ambassador for Christ, (Cf. II
Cor., V, 20.) he should so live as to be able with Truth
to make his own the words of the Apostle: "Be ye followers of me, as I
also am of Christ;" (I Cor., IV, 16; XI, 1.)
he ought to live as another Christ, Who by the splendor of His Virtue enlightened
and still enlightens the world.
Importance Of Piety
It is plain, then, that all Christian Virtues should
flourish in the soul of the Priest. Yet there are some Virtues which
in a very particular manner attach themselves to the Priest as most befitting
and necessary to him. Of these the first is Piety, or Godliness,
according to the exhortation of the Apostle to his beloved Timothy: Exerce
. . . teipsum ad pictatem, "exercise thyself unto Godliness." (I
Tim., IV, 7.) Indeed the Priest's relations with God are
so intimate, so delicate and so frequent, that clearly they should ever
be graced by the sweet odor of Piety; if "Godliness is profitable to all
things," (I Tim., IV, 8.) it is especially
profitable to a right exercise of the Priestly Charge. Without Piety
the Holiest practices, the most Solemn Rites of the Sacred Ministry, will
be performed mechanically and out of habit; they will be devoid of spirit,
unction and life. But remark, Venerable Brethren, the Piety of which
We speak is not that shallow and superficial Piety which attracts but does
not nourish, is busy but does not Sanctify. We mean that solid Piety
which is not dependent upon changing mood or feeling. It is based
upon principles of sound Doctrine; it is Ruled by staunch convictions;
and so it resists the assaults and the illusions of temptation. This
Piety should primarily be directed towards God Our Father in Heaven; yet
it should be extended also to the Mother of God. The Priest even
more than the faithful should have Devotion to Our Lady, for the relation
of the Priest to Christ is more deeply and truly like that which Mary bears
to Her Divine Son.
Chastity A Most Precious Virtue
It is impossible to treat of the Piety of a Catholic
Priest without being drawn on to speak too of another most precious Treasure
of the Catholic Priesthood, that is, of Chastity; for from Piety springs
the meaning and the beauty of Chastity. Clerics of the Latin Church
in higher Orders are bound by a Grave Obligation of Chastity; so Grave
is the Obligation in them of its perfect and total Observance that a transgression
involves the added guilt of Sacrilege. (Cod. Iur. Can.,
can.
132 Para. 1.)
Though this Law does not bind, in all its amplitude,
Clerics of the Oriental Churches, yet among them also, Ecclesiastical Celibacy
is Revered; indeed in some cases, especially in the Higher Orders of
the Hierarchy, it is a necessary and Obligatory Requisite.
A certain connection between this Virtue and the
Sacerdotal Ministry can be seen even by the light of reason alone: since
"God is a Spirit," (John, IV, 24.) it is only
fitting that he who Dedicates and Consecrates himself to God's service
should in some way "divest himself of the body." The ancient Romans
perceived this fitness; one of their Laws which ran Ad divos adeunte
caste, "approach the goods chastely," is quoted by one of their
greatest Orators with the following comment: "The Law orders us to present
ourselves to the gods in Chastity--of Spirit, that is, in which are all
things. Nor does this exclude Chastity of the body, which is to be
understood, since the Spirit is so far superior to the body; for it should
be remembered that bodily Chastity cannot be preserved, unless Spiritual
Chastity be maintained." (M. T. Cicero, De legibus, lib.
II, c. 8.) In the Old Law, Moses in the name of God commanded
Aaron and his sons to remain within the Tabernacle, and so to keep continent,
during the seven days in which they were exercising their Sacred Functions.
(Cf. Levit., VIII, 33-35.)
Law Of Ecclesiastical Celibacy
But the Christian Priesthood, being much superior
to that of the Old Law, demanded a still greater Purity. The Law
of Ecclesiastical Celibacy, whose first written traces presuppose a still
earlier unwritten practice, dates back to a Canon of the Council of Elvira,
(Conc. Eliberit, can. 33 [Mansi, tom. II, col. 11].)
at the beginning of the fourth century, when persecution still raged.
This Law only makes Obligatory what might in any case almost be termed
a moral exigency that springs from the Gospel and the Apostolic Preaching.
For the Divine Master showed such high esteem for Chastity, and exalted
it as something beyond the common Power; He Himelf was the Son of a Virgin
Mother, Florem Matris Virginis, (Cf. Brev.
Rom., Hymn: ad Laud. in fest SS. Nom. Jesu.) and was brought
up in the virgin family of Joseph and Mary; He showed special love for
pure souls such as the two Johns--the Baptist and the Evangelist.
The great Apostle Paul, faithful interpreter of the New Law and of the
Mind of Christ, preached the inestimable value of Virginity, in view of
a more fervent service of God, and gave the reason when he said: "He that
is without a wife is solicitous for the things that belong to the Lord,
how he may please God." (I Cor., VII, 32.)
All this had almost inevitable consequences: the Priests of the New Law
felt the Heavenly attraction of this chosen Virtue; they sought to be of
the number of those "to whom it is given to take this word," (Cf.
Matth., XIC, 11.) and they spontaneously bound themselves
to its observance. Soon it came about that the practice, in the Latin
Church, received the sanction of Ecclesiastical Law. The second Council
of Carthage at the end of the fourth century declared: "What the Apostles
taught, and the early Church preserved, let us too, observe." (Conc.
Carthag. II. can. 3; cfr. MANSI, Coll. Conc., t. III, col. 91.)
In the Oriental Church, too, most illustrous Fathers
bear witness to the excellence of Catholic Celibacy. In this matter
as in others there was harmony between the Latin and Oriental Churches
where accurate discipline flourished. St. Epiphanius at the end of
the fourth century tells us that Celibacy applied even to the Sub-Diaconate:
"The Church does not on any account admit a man living in the wedded state
and having children, even though he have only one wife, to the Orders of
Deacon, Priest, Bishop or Sub-Deacon; but only him whose wife be dead or
who should abstain from the use of Marriage; this is done in those places
especially where the Ecclesiastical Canons are accurately followed." (St.
Epiphan, Advers. Haer. Panar., 59, 4 [Migne, P. G., 41, 1024].)
The Deacon of Edessa and Doctor of the Universal Church, well called the
Harp of the Holy Ghost, St. Ephraem, the Syrian, is particularly eloquent
on this matter. (Brev. Rom., 18 iun., lect. VI.)
In one of his poems, addressed to his friend the Bishop Abraham, he says:
"Thou art true to thy name, Abraham, for thou also art the father of many:
but because thou has no wife as Abraham had Sara, behold thy flock is thy
spouse. Bring up its children in thy Truth; may they become to thee
children in thy truth; may they become to thee children of the spirit and
sons of the promise that makes them heirs to Eden. O sweet fruit
of Chastity, in which the Priesthood finds its delights . . . the horn
of plenty flowed over and anointed thee, a hand rested on thee and chose
thee out, the Church desired thee and held thee dear." (St.
Ephraem, Carmina Nisibaena,
carm. XIX [ed. Bickel, p. 112].)
And in another place: "It is not enough for the Priest and the name of
the Priesthood, it is not enough, I say, for him who offers up the Living
Body, to cleanse his soul and tongue and hand and make spotless his whole
body; but he must at all times be absolutely and preeminently Pure, because
he is established as a Mediator between God and the human race. May
He be praised who made His servants clean!" (St. Ephraem,
Carmina
Nisibaena,
carm. XVIII [ibid.].) St. John Chrysostom affirms:
"The Priest must be so Pure that, if he were to be lifted up and placed
in the Heavens themselves, he might take a place in the midst of the Angels."
(St. John Chrysost., De sacerdotio, III, 4 [Migne,
P.
G., 48, 642].)
Angelic Life Ideal Of Priesthood
In short the very height, or, to use Saint Epiphanius'
phrase, "the incredible Honor and Dignity" (St. Epiphan.,
Ad
Haer. Panar., 59, 4 [Migni, P. G., XLI, 1024].)
of the Christian Priesthood, which We have briefly described, shows how
becoming is Clerical Celibacy and the Law which enjoins it. Priests
have a Duty which, in a certain way, is higher than that of the most Pure
Spirits, "Who stand before the Lord." (Cf. Tob., XII, 15.)
Is it not right, then, that he live an all but angelic life? A Priest
is one who should be totally dedicated to the things of the Lord. (Cf.
Luke, II, 49; I Cor., VII, 32.) Is it not right, then,
that he be entirely detached from the things of the world, and have his
conversation in Heaven? (Cf. Philipp., III, 20.)
A Priest's charge is to be solicitous for the Eternal Salvation of souls,
continuing in their regard the work of the Redeemer. Is it not, then,
fitting that he keep himself free from the cares of a family, which would
absorb a great part of his energies?
Impressiveness Of Ordination Ceremony
And truly an Ordination Ceremony, frequent though
it be in the Catholic Church, never fails to touch the hearts of those
present: how admirable a sight, these young Ordinands who before receiving
the Sub-Diaconate, before, that is, Consecrating themselves utterly to
the Service and the Worship of God, freely renounce the joys and the pleasures
which might rightfully be theirs in another walk of life! We say
"freely," for though, after Ordination, they are no longer free to contract
earthly Marriage, nevertheless they advance to Ordination itself unconstrained
by any Law or person, and of their own spontaneous choice. (Cod.
iur. Can., can. 971.)
Notwithstanding all this, We do not wish that what
We have said in commendation of Clerical Celibacy should be interpreted
as though it were Our mind in any way to blame, or, as it were, disapprove
the different discipline Legitimately prevailing in the Oriental Church.
What We have said has been meant solely to exalt in the Lord something
We consider one of the Purest Glories of the Catholic Priesthood; something
which seems to Us to correspond better to the desires of the Sacred Heart
of Jesus and to His purposes in regard to Priestly souls.
Not less than by his Chastity, the Catholic Priest
ought to be distinguished by his detachment. Surrounded by the corruptions
of a world in which everything can be bought and sold, he must pass through
them utterly free of selfishness. He must Holily spurn all vile greed
of earthly gains, since he is in search of souls, not of money, of the
Glory of God, not his own. He is no mercenary working for a temporal
recompense, nor yet an employee who, whilst attending conscientiously to
Duties of his Office, at the same time is looking to his career and personal
promotion; he is the "good Soldier of Christ" who "entangleth not
himself with secular business: that he may please Him to Whom he hath engaged
himself." (II Tim., II, 3-4.) The Minister
of God is a father of souls; and he knows that his toils and his cares
cannot adequately be repaid with wealth and honors of earth. He is
not indeed forbidden to receive fitting sustenance, according to the teaching
of the Apostle: "They that serve the Altar may partake with the Altar .
. . so also the Lord Ordained that they who preach the Gospel should live
by the Gospel." (I Cor., IX, 13-14.)
But once "called to the inheritannce of the Lord," as his very title "Cleric"
declares, a Priest must expect no other recompense than that promised by
Christ to His Apostles: "Your reward is very great in Heaven." (Matth.,
V, 12.) Woe to the Priest who, forgetful of these Divine Promises
should become "greedy of filthy lucre." (Tit., I,
7.) Woe if he join the number of the worldly over whom
the Church like the Apostle grieves: "All seek the things that are their
own own: not the things that are Jesus Christ's." (Philipp.,
II,
21.) Such a Priest, besides failing in his Vocation, would
earn the contempt even of his own people. They would perceive in
him the deplorable contradiction between his conduct and the Doctrine,
so clearly expounded by Christ, which the Priest is bound to teach: "Lay
not up to yourselves treasures on earth: where the rust and moth consume
and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up to yourselves
Treasures in Heaven." (Matth., VI, 19, 20.)
Judas, an Apostle of Christ, "one of the twelve," as the Evangelists sadly
observe, was led down to the abyss of iniquity precisely through the spirit
of greed for earthly things. Remembering him, it is easy to grasp
how this same spirit could have brought such harm upon the Church throughout
the centuries: greed, called by the Holy Ghost the "root of all evil,"
(I Tim., VI, 10.) can incite to any crime;
and a Priest who is poisoned by this vice, even though he stop short of
crime, make a common cause with the enemies of God and of the Church, and
co-operate in their evil designs.
Compassion Toward The Unfortunate
On the other hand, by sincere disinterestedness
the Priest can hope to win the hearts of all. For detachment from
earthly goods, if inspired by lively faith, is always accompanied by tender
compassion towards the unfortunate of every kind. Thus the Priest
becomes a veritable father of the poor. Mindful of the touching words
of his Savior, "As long as you did to one of these my least brethren, you
did it to Me," (Matth., 25, 40.) he sees in
them, and, with particular affection, Venerates and loves Jesus Christ
Himself.
Thus the Catholic Priest is freed from the bonds
of a family and of self-interest,--the two chief bonds which could bind
him too closely to earth. Thus freed, his heart will more readily
take flame from that Heavenly Fire that burns in the Heart of Jesus; that
Fire that seeks only to enflame Apostolic hearts and through them "cast
Fire on all the earth." (Luke, 12, 49.) This
is the Fire of zeal. Like the zeal of Jesus described in Holy Scripture,
(Ps. LXVIII, 10; John, II, 17.) the zeal
of Priest for the Glory of God and the salvation of souls ought to cosume
him. It should make him forget himself and all earthly things.
It should powerfully urge him to dedicate himself utterly to his sublime
work, and to search out means ever more effective for an Apostolate ever
wider and ever better.
The Call To Mission Fields
The Good Shepherd said: "And other sheep I have
that are not of this fold; them also I must bring;" (John,
X, 16.) and again, "See the countries for they are white already
to the harvest." (John, IV, 35.) How can a Priest
meditate upon these words and not feel his heart enkindled with yearning
to lead souls to the Heart of the Good shepherd? How can he fail
to offer himself to the Lord of the harvest for unremitting toil?
Our Lord saw the multitudes "lying like sheep that have no shepherd." (Matth.,
IX, 36.) Such multitudes are to be seen today not only in
the far distant lands of the Missions, but also, alas! in countries
which have been Christian for centuries. How can a Priest see such
multitudes and not feel deeply within himself an echo of that Divine Pity
which so often moved the Heart of the Son of God? (Cf. Matth.,
IX, 16; XIV, 14; XV, 32; Mark VI, 34; VIII, 2; etc.) --a Priest,
we say, who is conscious of possessing the words of life and of having
in his hands the God-given means of regeneration and salvation? But
thanks be to God, it is just this flame of Apostolic zeal which is one
of the brightest jewels in the crown of the Catholic Priesthood.
Our heart fills with fatherly consolation at the sight of Our Brothers
and Our beloved Sons, Bishops and Priests, who like chosen troops ever
prompt to the call of their Chief hasten to all outposts of this vast field.
There
they engage in the peaceful but bitter warfare of Truth against error,
of light against darkness, of the Kingdom of God against the kingdom of
Satan.
Obedience Of The Priest
But, by its very nature as an active and courageous
company, the Catholic Priesthood must have the spirit of discipline, or,
to use a more deeply Christian word, obedience. It is obedience which
binds together all ranks into the harmony of the Church's Hierarchy.
The Bishop, in his admoinition to the Ordinands,
says: "With a certain wonderful variety Holy Church is clothed, made comely
and is Ruled; since in her some are Consecrated Pontiffs, and other Priests
of lesser degree, and from many members of differing dignity there is formed
one body of Christ." (Pont. Rom., de Ordinat. Presbyr.)
This obedience Priests promised to the Bishop after Ordination, the Holy
Oil still fresh on their hands. On the day of his Consecreation the
Bishop, in his turn, swore obdeience to the Supreme Visible Head of the
Church, the Successor of St. Peter, the Vicar of Jesus Christ. Let
then obedience bind ever closer together these various members of the Hierarchy,
one with another, and all with the Head; and thus make the Church Militant
a foe truly terrible to the enemies of God, ut castrorum aciem ordinatam,
"as
an army set in array." (Cfr. Cant., VI, 5, 9.)
Let obedience temper excessive zeal on the one hand, and put the spur to
weakness and slackness on the other. Let it assign to each his place
and station. These each should accept without resistance; for otherwise
the magnificent work of the Church in the world would be sadly hindered.
Let each one see in the arrangements of his Hierarchical Superiors the
arrangements of the only True Head, Whom all obey: Jesus Christ Our Lord,
Who became for us "obedient unto death," even to the death of the Cross.
. . . " (Philipp., II, 8.) The Divine
High Priest wished us to have abundant witness to His own most perfect
obedience to the Eternal Father; for this reason both the Prophecies and
the Gospels often testify to the entire submission of the Son of God to
the Will of the Father. "When He cometh into the world He saith;
Sacrifice and Oblation thou wouldst not: but a Body thou ast fitted to
me. . . . Then said I: Behold I come. In the Head of the Book it
is written of me that I should do they will, O God . . . " (Hebr.,
X,
5-7.) "My meat is to do the Will of Him that sent Me." (John,
IV, 34.) On His very Cross He Consecrated obedience.
He did not wish to commit His soul into the hands of His Father before
having declared that all was fulfilled in Him that the Sacred Scriptures
had foretold; He had accomplished the entire charge entrusted to Him by
the Father, even to the last deeply mysterious "I thirst," which He pronounced
"that the Scripture might be fulfilled" (John XIX, 28.)
By these words He wished to show that zeal even the most ardent ought always
to be completely subjected to the Will of the Father; that our zeal should
always be controlled by obedience to those who, for us, have the place
of the Father, and convey to us His Will, in other words our Lawful
Superiors in the Hierarchy.
Learning In The Priesthood
But the portrait of the Catholic Priest which We
intend to exhibit to the world would be unfinished were We to omit another
important feature,--learning. This the Church requires of him; for
the Catholic Priest is set up as a "Master in Israel;" (Cf.
John, III, 10.) he has received from Jesus Christ the Office and
Commission of Teaching Truth: "Teach . . . all nations." (Matth,
XXVIII, 15.) He must Teach the Truth that heals and saves;
and because of this Teaching, like the Apostle of the Gentiles, he has
a Duty towards "the learned and the unlearned." (Rom.,
I,
14.) But how can he teach unless he himself possess knowledge?
"The lips of the Priest shall keep knowledge, and they shall seek the Law
at his mouth," saith the Holy Ghost in the Prophecy of Malachy. (Malach.,
II, 7.) Who could ever utter a word in praise of Sacerdotal
Learning more weighty than that which Divine Wisdom Itself once spoke by
the mouth of Osee: "Because thou has rejected knowledge, I will reject
thee that thou shall not do the Office of Priesthood to Me." (Osee,
IV, 8.) The Priest should have full grasp of the Catholic
Teaching on Faith and Morals; he should know how to present it to others;
and he should be able to give the reasons for the Dogmas, Laws and Observances
of the Church of which he is Minister. Profane sciences have indeed
made much progress;
but in Religious questions there is much ignorance
still darkening the mind of our contemporaries. This ignoracne the
Priest must dispel. Never was more pointed than today the warning
of Tertullian Hoc unum gestit interdum (veritas), ne ignorata damnetur,
"This
alone Truth sometimes craves, that it be not condemned unheard."
(Tert.
Apolog., c. 1 [Migne, P. L., 1, 260].) It is the
Priest's task to clear away from men's minds the mass of prejudices and
misunderstandings which hostile adversaries have piled up; the modern mind
is eager for the Truth, and the Priest should be able to point it out with
serene frankness; there are souls still hesitating, distressd by doubts,
and the Priest should inspire courage and trust, and guide them with calm
security to the safe port of Faith, Faith accepted by both head and heart;
error makes its onslaughts, arrogant and persistent, and the Priest should
know how to meet them with a defence vigorous and active, yet solid and
unruffled.
Seminary Training Only Beginning
Therefore, Venerable Brethren, it is necessary that
the Priest, even among the absorbing tasks of his charge, and ever with
a view to it, should continue his Theological Studies with unremitting
zeal. The knowledge acquired at the Seminary is indeed a sufficient
Foundation with which to begin; but it must be grasped more thoroughly,
and perfected by an ever-increasing knowledge and understanding of the
Sacred Sciences. Herein is the source of effective Preaching and
of influence over the souls of others. (Cf. Cod. Iur.
Can., can. 129.) Yet even more is required. The
Dignity of the Office he holds, and the maintenance of a becoming respect
and esteem among the people, which helps so much in his Pastoral work,
demand more than purely Ecclesiastical learning. The Priest must
be graced by no less knowledge and culture than is usual among well-bred
and well-educated people of his day. This is to say that he must
be healthily modern, as is the Church, which is at home in all times and
all places, and adapts itself to all; which blesses and furthers all healthy
initiative and has no fear of the progress, even the most daring progress,
of Science, if only it be True Science. Indeed, in all ages
the Catholic Clergy has distinguished itself in every field of human knowledge;
in fact, in certain centuries it so took the lead in the field of learning
that the word "Cleric" became synonymous with "learned." The Church
preserved and saved the Treasures of Ancient Culture, which without her
and her Monasteries would have been almost entirely lost; and her most
Illustrious Doctors show that all human knowledge can help to throw light
upon and to defend the Catholic Faith. An illustrious example of
this We Ourselves have recently called to the world's attention.
For We crowned with the Halo of Sanctity and the Glorious title of doctor
of the Church that great Teacher of the incomparable Aquinas: Albert of
Cologne, whom his contemporaries had already Honored with the Titles of
Great and of Universal Doctor.
Recognition Of Special Gifts
Today it could hardly be hoped that the Clergy could
hold a similar Primacy in every Branch of Knowledge; the range of human
science has become so vast that no man can comprehend it all, much less
become distinguished in each of its numberless branches. Nevertheless
wise encouragement and help should be given to those members of the Clergy,
who, by taste and special gifts, feel a call to Devote themselves to study
and research, in this or that branch of Science, in this or that art; they
do not thereby deny their Clerical Profession; for all this, undertaken
within just limits and under the guidance of the Church, redounds to the
good estate of the Church and to the Glory of her Divine Head, Jesus Christ.
And among the rest of the Clergy, none should remain content with a standard
of learning and culture which sufficed, perhaps, in other times; they must
try to attain--or, rather, they must actually attain--a higher standard
of general education and of learning. It must be broader and more
complete; and it must correspond to the generally higher level and wider
scope of modern education as compared with the past.
Holiness Preferred Over Science
Sometimes, it is true, and even in modern times,
Our Lord makes the world, as it were, His plaything; (Prov.,
VIII,
31.) for He has been pleased to elect to the Priestly State
men almost devoid of that learning of which We have been speaking; and
through them He has worked wonders. But He did this that all might
learn, if there be a choice, to prize Holiness more than learning; not
to place more trust in human than in Divine Means. He did this because
the world has need, from time to time, to hear repeated that wholesome
practical lesson: "The foolish things of the world hath God chosen to confound
the wise . . . that no flesh should Glory in His Sight." (I
Cor., I, 27-29.)
In the natural order, Divine Miracles suspend for
a moment the effect of physical Laws, but do not revoke them. So,
too, the case of these Saints, real living Miracles in whom High sanctity
made up for all the rest, does not make the lesson We have been teaching
any the less True or any the less necessary.
It is clear, then, that virtue and learning are
required, that there is need of example and of edification, need for the
Priest to spread on all sides, and to all who draw near him "the good odor
of Christ." (Cf. II Cor., II, 15.) This
need is today more keenly felt and has become more evident and urgent.
This because of Catholic Action, that movement so consoling, which has
within it the Power to spur on to the very highest ideals of perfection.
Through Catholic Action the relations of the laity with Priests are becoming
more frequent and more intimate. And in this collaboration, the laity
quite naturally look upon the Priest not merely as a guide, but as a Model
also of Christian Life and of Apostolic Virtue.