Pope St. Pius X on Ignorance of Catholic Doctrine (and the consequences thereof)

Here are some excerpts from the Encyclical Letter Acerbo nimis, On the Teaching of Christian Doctrine, April 15, 1905. As you read this, think about what you are hearing–or not hearing–from the pulpit at your own parish. Also note what Pius X wrote about immorality in business and personal lives; things certainly have not improved in the last hundred years.

 

…How many and how grave are the consequences of ignorance in matters of religion! And on the other hand, how necessary and how beneficial is religious instruction! It is indeed vain to expect the fulfillment of the duties of a Christian by one who does not even know them.

We must now consider upon whom rests the obligation to dissipate this most pernicious ignorance and to impart in its stead the knowledge that is wholly indispensable. There can be no doubt, Venerable Brothers, that this most important duty rests upon all those who are pastors of souls. On them, by command of Christ, rest the obligations of knowing and of feeding the flocks committed to their care; and to feed implies, first of all, to teach. “I will give you pastors after my own heart,” God promised through Jeremias, “and they shall feed you with knowledge and doctrine.” Hence the Apostle Paul said: “Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the Gospel,” thereby indicating that the first duty of all those who are entrusted in any way with the government of the Church is to instruct the faithful in the things of God….

…Here then it is well to emphasize and insist that for a priest there is no duty more grave or more obligation more binding than this. Who, indeed, will deny that knowledge should be joined to holiness of life in the priest? “For the lips of the priest shall keep knowledge.” The Church demands this knowledge of those who are to be ordained to the priesthood. Why? Because the Christian people expect from them knowledge of the divine law, and it was for that end that they were sent by God. “And they shall seek the law at his mouth; because He is the messenger of the Lord of Hosts.” Thus the bishop speaking to the candidates for the priesthood in the ordination ceremony says: “Let your teaching be a spiritual remedy for God’s people; may they be worthy fellow-workers of our order; and thus meditating day and night on His law, they may believe what they read, and teach what they shall believe.”…

…In order to enkindle the zeal of the ministers of God, We again insist on the need to reach the ever-increasing number of those who know nothing at all of religion, or who possess at most such knowledge of God and Christian truths as befits idolaters. How many there are, alas, not only among the young, but among adults and those advanced in years, who know nothing of the chief mysteries of faith; who on hearing the name of Christ can only ask: “Who is He…that I may believe in Him?” In consequence of this ignorance, they do not consider it a crime to excite and nourish hatred against their neighbor, to enter into most unjust contracts, to do business in dishonest fashion, to hold the funds of others at an exhorbitant interest rate, and to commit other iniquities not less reprehensible. They are, moreover, ignorant of the law of Christ which not only condemns immoral actions, but also forbids deliberate immoral thoughts and desires. Even when for some reason or another they avoid sensual pleasures, they nevertheless entertain evil thoughts without the least scruple, thereby multiplying their sins above the number of hairs of the head. These persons are found, we deem it necessary to repeat, not merely among the poorer classes of the people or in sparsely settled districts, but also among those in the higher walks of life, even, indeed, among those puffed up with learning, who, relying upon a vain erudition, feel free to ridicule religion…

…What We have said so far demonstrates the supreme importance of religious instruction. We ought, therefore, to do all that lies in our power to maintain the teaching of Christian doctrine with full vigor, and where such is neglected, to restore it; for in the words of Our predecessor, Benedict XIV, “There is nothing more effective than catechetical instruction to spread the glory of God and to secure the salvation of souls.”

(trans. by J.B. Collins in Catechetical Documents of Pope Pius X, Paterson, N.J., 1946.)

Why Catholics Should Read the Bible (Part Five)

This is part five of a collection of short instructions published by The Catholic Press, Inc. in 1951, edited by Reverend John P. O’Connell, M.A., S.T.D.

A Pillar of Strength

But the Bible does more than familiarize us with the life of Jesus. Its pages present all the religious truths that enriched His mind and directed His human life. Those, then, who read this book frequently and prayerfully, under the direction of the Church, can truly say, “We have the mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16). Such readers come to share His point of view; they see all things as He does, and they face life in His spirit.

This is a source of invincible spiritual strength. In one’s own mind there is a complete certainty about all that God wants him to believe and to do, for “The decree of the Lord is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple” (Ps. 18:8). God’s word teaches so competently that one who studies it becomes perfect, equipped for every good work (2 Tim. 3:17). He feels new courage in the service of God, for the inspired word is not cold nor sterile, but it breathes forth love: “Happy are they who observe His decrees, who seek Him with all their heart” (Ps. 118:2).

Moreover, a Catholic who is thus grounded in the teaching of Sacred Scripture becomes, as Saint Jerome says, “a bulwark of the Church.” Enlightened convictions and upright life make him an apostle in deed and often an apologete in word. “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matt. 12:34); therefore, when man’s heart is rich with God’s word, he finds it easy and pleasant to share his treasure with others. Thus it was with the great Doctors of the Church, who have gained immortal glory through their holiness and sacred learning; all of these drew inspiration and light from a constant, loving study of the Bible.

Excerpt from The Holy Bible, pp. xxiii-xxiv. The Catholic Press, Inc. Chicago, Ill. Copyright 1951.

Why Catholics Should Read the Bible (Part Four)

This is part four of a collection of short instructions published by The Catholic Press, Inc. in 1951, edited by Reverend John P. O’Connell, M.A., S.T.D.

A Companion For Our Journey

But there is one person who sums up in Himself the whole of God’s message–Christ Jesus, Son of God and Son of Mary. In reading about Him, we come to know all that God has ever told us about Himself, all that He has dreamed of giving us. For in Christ Jesus, His Divine Word, God utters Himself whole and entire; in the Christ of the Gospels we recognize the very features of the kind Father who is waiting for us in our heavenly home, and our heart thrills with new hope. At the same time we find in Him a perfect companion. In His abounding love, God has become a man like ourselves. He has come down from heaven to be with us and to trace with bloodstained footprints the path we must follow. He is both the goal of our journey and our fellow traveler along the way.

The Gospels tell His story–all that He said and did, How He lived and died. It is to the Gospels, then, we must turn if we would become familiar with Him. We shall truly know Christ only when we have read and re-read these golden pages. Only when we have understood with our heart the scenes of Bethany, the Prodigal Son, Magdalene, the bruised and bleeding Outcast nailed to a rough cross–only then shall we come to a great appreciation of Him who is both our God and our Brother. Saint Jerome has said that “To be ignorant of the Scriptures is not to know Christ.” How often we lament the falling away of erstwhile friends of Christ. May it not be that, through neglect of the Scriptures, they never really knew Him?

Excerpt from The Holy Bible, p. xxiii. The Catholic Press, Inc. Chicago, Ill. Copyright 1951.

Modernism and Pope Saint Pius X’s Writings on the Subject (including links)

Modernism. In general, an exaggerated love of what is modern or novel. As a theological term, modernism designates the heresy, or rather the collection of errors, which rose in the Church at the beginning of the 20th century under the influence of men like Loisy (France), Tyrrel (England), and Buonaiuti (Italy). Under Pope Pius X, two famous documents were issued against modernism: (1) a decree of the Holy Office, Lamentabili, of July 3,1907, and (2) the encyclical Pascendi, of September 8, 1907. The former is a list of 65 condemned propositions of the modernists; the latter is an analysis of the theories of the modernists in contrast with the philosophy and doctrine of true Christianity.

Among the errors of the modernists’ teachings were the following: (1) it is impossible to prove the existence of a God distinct from the world. (2) “Revelation” is only a natural product of the subconscious, and dogma is only an expression of the subconscious, subject to continual evolution. (3) The Bible is not a divinely inspired book, and it ought to be studied the same way as any human book, which is likely to contain errors. (4) There is no need to reconcile science and faith. One may deny as a scientist what he believes as a Christian. (5) The divinity of Christ was not taught by the Gospels, but is the product of an evolution in Christian thinking over the centuries. (6) The idea of a redemptive value in the death of Christ originated with Saint Paul. (7) Christ instituted neither the Church nor the primacy of Peter. The present organization of the Church is purely the result of historical contingencies, and could be completely changed.

Modernism is an amalgam of verbal Catholicism and naturalistic rationalism. The modernists did not wish to abandon any of the traditional statements of Catholic teaching. But these statements were given a new rationalistic meaning. Pius X foresaw that modernism would lead to an abolition of all religion and gradually to atheism.

LAMENTABILI SANE

SYLLABUS CONDEMNING THE ERRORS OF THE MODERNISTS

Pius X, July 3, 1907

 http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Pius10/p10lamen.htm

PASCENDI DOMINICI GREGIS 

ENCYCLICAL ON THE DOCTRINE OF THE MODERNISTS

Pope Pius X, September 8, 1907

http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Pius10/p10pasce.htm

The definition of modernism is an excerpt of The Catholic Dictionary, edited by Reverend John P. O’Connell, M.A.,S.T.D., p. 157. The Holy Bible. The Catholic Press, Inc. Chicago, Illinois. Copyright 1951.

A Short Catechism on Indulgences (Part 1)

I am glad to bring you a two-part teaching on the Holy Catholic Church’s teachings concerning Indulgences. It was in a Bible from 1951–note the lack of ambiguity. This is the first installment, and the final part I will post later today or perhaps tomorrow.

A Short Catechism on Indulgences 

1. What is an indulgence? An indulgence is the removal by the Church of temporal punishment due to sins already forgiven.

2. What is temporal punishment? Temporal punishment is temporary punishment. It will last only for a time. It is not endless, like the punishments of hell.

3. After a man’s sins are forgiven, must he still suffer for them? Even after a man’s sins are forgiven, he must make up for them, or atone for them in some way. He must make satisfaction to God for the injustice done by his sins. A parent who has forgiven a child’s prank (e.g., breaking a window) would still demand that the child in some way atone for the injury committed (e.g., by paying for the window). Similarly God, even after forgiving a man’s sins, demands that he atone for the injustice done.

4. How can one make up for the sins he has committed? There are many ways in which one can satisfy or make up for his sins. For example, confession, by which sins are forgiven, also helps atone for them, that is, it takes away some of the temporal punishment due to one’s sins. Also, suffering, patiently endured and offered to God, atones for sins. Doing good works (e.g., giving alms to the poor, praying devoutly, etc.) also helps to atone for sins.

5. If all one’s sins are not completely atoned for at the time of his death, how shall he atone for them? After his death his soul shall suffer for a time in purgatory to atone for those sins not already atoned for in life.

6. Can sin be atoned for in any way except by one’s own personal good works and sacrifices? Yes. The merits of Christ, of Mary, and of the Saints can help to atone for the sins of men. Christ’s death, in addition to meriting forgiveness for the sins of all men, also made infinite atonement or satisfaction for the sins of men. That infinite satisfaction merited by Christ and the superabundant satisfaction merited by Mary and of the Saints (which they gained during life but did not need) constitutes the “Treasury of the Church”. From this store of supernatural merit, which the Church can apply to its own living members, the Church grants indulgences. An indulgence is the application to a particular soul some of the satisfaction merited by Christ, by Mary, or by the Saints.

Catechism on Indulgences, p. xi, xii. The Holy Bible. The Catholic Press, Inc. Chicago, Illinois. Copyright 1951.

Indulgences For Reading The Bible

   (Good Catholic art is uplifting)

So many of the rich treasures of Holy Catholic Church are hidden away in older books. Here is a Pope Pius XII-era writing on Indulgences for reading the Bible:

A. To the faithful who read the books of Sacred Scripture for at least a quarter of an hour, with the great reverence due to the divine word and after the manner of spiritual reading:

an indulgence of three years is granted. 

B. To the faithful who piously read at least some verses of the Gospel and in addition, while kissing the Gospel Book, devoutly recite one of the following invocations: “May our sins be blotted out by virtue of the words of the Gospel,” “May the reading of the Gospel be our salvation and our protection,” “May Christ teach us the words of the Holy Gospel”:

an indulgence of 500 days is granted;

a plenary indulgence is granted, under the usual conditions, to those who daily for a whole month act in the way indicated above;

a plenary indulgence is granted at the hour of death to those who have often during life performed this pious exercise, as long as, having confessed and received Communion, or at least having sorrow for their sins, they invoke the most holy name of Jesus on their lips, if possible, or at least in their hearts, and accept death from the hand of God as the price of sin.

[Enchiridion Indulgentiarum, 694]

There is a “Short Catechism on Indulgences” in the same book I will put in another post tomorrow, probably in two posts so it will not be too long.

Quote from Enchiridion Indulgentiarum, 694, p. xi. The Holy Bible. The Catholic Press, Inc. Chicago, Illinois. Copyright 1951.

Covetousness: The Second of the Seven Capital Sins

Covetousness. One of the seven capital sins (which see); an unreasonable love of temporal goods. The desire for temporal goods is not sinful in itself. To desire what is necessary for the present or the future, or useful for a good work in which one wishes to engage is lawful. However, to desire wealth for its own sake or just for the pleasures and honors it will bring is unreasonable. Moreover, to seek riches in a inordinate manner, i.e., with no regard for the rights of others, or for one’s own health or that of one’s employees, is to be guilty of avarice or covetousness.

Although avarice in itself is usually a venial sin, it may lead to serious sins against justice and charity. Wealth, like power, tends to corrupt. Our Lord warned of the danger of riches (Matt. 19:23-26; Mark 10:23-27; Luke 18:24-27), and Saint Paul called covetousness “the root of all evils” (1 Tim. 6:10).

Excerpt from The Catholic Dictionary, edited by Reverend John P. O’Connell, M.A.,S.T.D., p. 56. The Holy Bible. The Catholic Press, Inc. Chicago, Illinois. Copyright 1951.

Pride. The First of the Capital Sins

Pride: The first of the seven capital sins. Pride is rebellion against God (Dan. 5:20). It was through this sin that our first parents lost original justice (Gen. 3:5). Pride is the beginning of all sin, ignorance accompanies it, and punishment awaits it (Prov. 11:2; Ecclus. 10:7; Luke 14:11). The Pharisees at the time of Christ were often proud men (Luke 18:9-14). We have no reason to be proud, for we have received everything from God and can do nothing without Him (1 Cor. 4:7). Jesus, to redeem us from the sins to which our pride reduced us, gave us the greatest pattern of humility in His Incarnation, life and death, and requested that we imitate Him above all in humility. “Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart” (Matt. 11:29).

Excerpt from The Catholic Dictionary, edited by Reverend John P. O’Connell, M.A.,S.T.D., p. 191. The Holy Bible. The Catholic Press, Inc. Chicago, Illinois. Copyright 1951.