PART TWO

 

 

MAN OF THE CHURCH AND FOR THE CHURCH

 

Scalabrini’s ecclesiology must be understood in light of the theology of his times.  This theology was enshrined in the two constitutions of Vatican Council I, which in embryo already contained many of the ideas of Vatican Council II.  But these ideas had not been ade­quately ex­pressed in Vatican Council I because of its forced interruption.

From the many pages Bishop Scalabrini dedicated to the Church we will choose the points he took from the ec­clesiol­ogy of his day as guiding principles for his own life and work as a bishop.  In his basically vertical ecclesiology, the following points clearly stand out: his idea of the Church as the extension of Christ’s In­carnation, as a continuation of Christ’s earthly life, as Christ’s permanent revelation among men, as the family of God, as the body of Christ, and as the Communion of Saints.

These elements shed light on Scalabrini’s “passion” for the Church, for the Church Univer­sal ‑- for which he feels an all-embracing solicitude ‑- and for the local Church, which he loves as a spouse, jealously defending her from ex­ternal (“extra-hierarchical”) interference.  This ecclesial “passion” is pred­icat­ed on a concept of epis­copacy that is theological rather than juridical: the bishop is the mediator of grace.

In line with the teaching of Vatican Council I, Scalabrini focuses on the Pope’s “preroga­tives” ‑- his primacy and his infalli­bility ‑- with the love and pride of a son who feels his father’s glory as his own and with the faith of the Christian who, in the person of the Pope, glorifies Christ.  This faith and love translate into a filial love that is neither servile nor obsequi­ous.  

Scalabrini “is conscious of being a bishop” and claims the di­vine authority of this of­fice, an authority that takes the “Bishop of our souls” as the model.  This authority is service, father­hood, dedication, re­sponsibility and coresponsibility “for the glory of God and the salva­tion of souls,” in the “in­terest of Jesus Christ and his Church.”  This same sacra­mental nature of the Church is expressed in the hierarchy: the “hierarchical principle” guarantees the transmission of grace through the channels insti­tuted by Christ, namely, Pope, bishop, and priest.

Lay people are more benefi­ciaries than protagonists.  But they, too, are priests and apostles, the bishop’s and the priest’s mediators before the world, just as the bish­op is the mediator of God and the Pope before priests and lay people.

Bishop Scalabrini had a rea­son for defending the doc­trine of “mediatorship,” that is to say, that the bishop is the sole legiti­mate mediator between the Pope and the faithful ‑- a doctrine that has been rein­terpreted in our day.  He wants to affirm and defend the principle, then practi­cally challenged by the “in­transigent” movement, that, in the field of con­science, the only competent legisla­tor and judge for the uni­versal Church is the Pope and, for the local Church, the bishop in commu­nion with the Pope.

Membership in, and union with, the Church, namely, with the whole body of Christians, ecclesiastical and lay, is not the result of mere “subservience” but is some­thing fully realized through the “threefold union of faith, communion and submission,” that is to say, through a union “of faith, charity, and obedience” with the Pope and the Church.  This union, in turn, ensures the members’ union of life and grace with the Head, Christ.

 

1. THE CHURCH

 

The Church is the extension of the Incarnation down through the centuries, the continu­ation of the Redeemer’s work, the portrait of Christ, the pro­longation of Pente­cost, the body of Christ.

The Church is a mother.  We must love her as a mother and abandon ourselves into her arms with filial trust.

The Church is holy in her teachings, her sacraments, and her laws.  She is the mother of holiness and the communion of saints.

The Church is one in faith, communion, government, and means of salvation.  She is the family of God, the city of God.  She is one but she is also diversified.  Not to recognize the variety of her charisms and functions is an attack on her unity.  She is one in charity based on truth, truth that must not be betrayed or hushed up.

The Church is the infallible teacher, unchanging in her fidelity to the deposit of the faith, dynamic in her fidelity to the Spirit.  As spouse of the Lamb, she is a Queen, who, even at the price of one’s life and at the sacrifice of one’s ideas, must be obeyed if one wishes to obey Christ.  But charity is her law, love is her life.  He who does not love and does not forgive is not in the Church.

 

 

a) CONTINUATION OF THE IN­CARNATION

 

 

“The Church is the extension of the Incarnation down through the centuries”

 

Someone put it so well when he said that the Church is the extension of the Incar­nation down through the cen­turies.  Just as in Christ the humanity and di­vinity, though distinct, are nonetheless intimately unit­ed and inseparable, in the same way the Church, which represents him and carries on his work and produces the same supernatural fruits, is divine and human at one and the same time.  Let me put it more clearly.  Though in her purpose and goal the Church is a spiritual soci­ety aiming at the sanctifi­cation and eternal salvation of souls, nonetheless she has also a material, visible, and external side, especial­ly in view of the members composing it, namely the people, who, after all, are not pure spirits but beings made up of body and soul. 

 

Just as the saving mis­sion of the Man-God ‑- though directed to the ransom and eternal salvation of souls ‑- took place in the bodily and sensible forms of the incarnation, preaching, pas­sion, death and resurrec­tion, in the same way Christ wanted to tie the acts of his religion and the ordinary means of sanctifi­cation, like worship, magisterium and sacraments, to material and sensible forms.  So, in this religious society we discern a spiritual element, which we call the soul.  It is this soul that vivifies, animates, and holds sway over all the mystical members and puts them into communication with their divine Head and among themselves, bringing about that blessed exchange of merits and spiritual riches that we call the Communion of Saints.  This Communion of Saints embraces all the just, all the friends of God, not just those who are still pilgrims in this world but also those who have crossed the threshold of eternity and have already arrived at their homeland, as well as those who are temporarily detained in Pur­gatory as a final expiation for their faults.  To this dimension belongs everything that is internal and spiritu­al to the Church: faith, charity, hope, the gifts of grace, the charisms, the fruits of the divine Spirit and all the heavenly treasures that have accrued to her through the merits of Christ the Redeemer and those of his servants.

The other dimension ‑- which is tantamount to the body of the Church ‑- compris­es every­thing that is visible and external in the Church’s or­ganiza­tion of her mem­bers, in her worship and teaching ministry, as well as in her external order and governance.  Just as these two es­sential dimensions that make up the Church are, like body and soul, insepara­bly united; in the same way, through charity, there should prevail among the members of the Church such harmony and co­ordination of functions as to project the image of uni­ty which characterizes the human body and which the Apostle describes in these words: “the head Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, with the proper functioning of each part, brings about the body’s growth and builds itself up in love.”[1]

 

 

“The Church is the true im­age of her founder”

 

The life of the Church ema­nates directly from a divine principle, which animates and directs her human organ­ism, the assembly of the faithful, where this life takes shape and form.  This principle exalts her to a society whose nature is altogether different from that of other societies because she is an earthly-heavenly society, hence a true picture of her founder, at once God and Man.  So the Church can almost be called the living incarnation of Christ on earth, the con­tinuation of his mortal life, Jesus Christ poured out and bestowed in all his fullness.  In fact, basical­ly, the life of the Church is the Spirit of God, as the Apostle tells us: “Many though we are, we are one body in Christ.  One and the same Spirit produces all these things.”[2]

 

 

“The Church is the endur­ing continuation of the work of the Redeemer”

 

The Church, as the endur­ing continuation of the work of the Redeemer and Sanctifi­er of souls on earth, is the depositary and dispenser of the sac­raments.  Hence, it is the Church which, as it were, has the keys to this chan­nel.  It is the Church which, through her sacra­ments, draws sanctifying grace from the bosom of God and makes it flow, like a river, into the Christian soul (Is 44:3).  What a priceless gift Je­sus Christ bestowed on us when he founded his Church here on earth and allowed us to grow up in her.  In fact, it is only within her that he pours out his charisms.  The Church is the object of his pleasure, the pupil of his eye, the throb of his heart, his only dove, his perfect one, at once his spouse and his sister (Song of Songs).  She came forth from his side and is crim­soned with his divine blood; she is holy; she is immacu­late (Eph 6:25). 0 Church, 0 Church, how beloved you are to Jesus!  How fortunate we are to be your children!  In the Church we find whatever we need to achieve eternal salvation.  Outside of her, there is only darkness, des­olation and death.[3]

 

 

“Jesus Christ has portrayed himself in his Church”

 

God left an imprint of his glory on the universe he had cre­ated.  Especially in created man ‑- the head of creation ‑- God de­picted the living image of his very being.  Jesus Christ has por­trayed himself in his Church.  He made the world of souls after his own image and gave this world of souls unity because he is one, holiness because he is holy, authority because he is the Lord, universality because he is the God of immensity, perpetuity because he is the eternal God.  Just as, in creat­ing the stars and planets, he put into operation the force of attraction that makes all of them gravitate toward a common center, in the same way, when creating the Church, he poured out his grace, that is to say, a spiri­tual law of attraction that also makes souls grav­itate toward him who is the common center of intelligent beings, namely, God.  Into his Church he put his grace, that mysterious force that imparts movement and life to her.[4]

 

 

“The destiny of God and the Church are inseparable”

 

The destiny of God and his spouse are inseparable.  What happens in the physical and material body of Jesus Christ is an image of what happens and will always hap­pen in the spiritual and mystical body, which is the Church.  The body of Christ was subjected to abuse, scourges and blows.  Often enough, the Church, too, is subjected to abuse, scourges and blows.  Jesus Christ’s body hung from a cross, agonized on it, died, and was buried.  Often the Church, too, is cruci­fied, agonizes and seems to be dying.  But wait.  Jesus Christ comes forth from the tomb in glory.  He comes forth immortal, incapable of suffering.  He comes forth from the very tomb where his enemies thought they had buried him forever.  And from the very tomb where her modern enemies think they have buried the Catholic Church forever, she comes forth stronger, more glori­ous, and more beautiful than ever.[5]

 

 

“The Church is a prolonged Pentecost”

 

The Church, which had her beginnings at Pentecost, is a prolonged Pentecost down through the ages, one might say.  With the assistance of the Holy Spirit, she speaks out authoritatively to all, preaches the same truth to all, and en­joins the same precepts on all.  Some humbly bow their heads, revere and obey, while others make fun of her and boast they do not believe in her.  How do we explain this differ­ence?  Why do so many, many people, especial­ly in our day, soil their tongues and their pens with preposter­ous errors and blasphemies and lose the faith?  The reason is very simple: they have soiled their hearts.  Here is the infallible verdict of Jesus Christ (...): “the light came into the world, but people preferred dark­ness to light, because their works were evil.”  Unbelief springs from the corruption of the heart.[6]

 

 

“We are one body in Jesus Christ”

 

We are one body in Jesus Christ.  Just as in the human body not every member performs the same function, in the same way not every member of the Church exercises the same office.  In the human body there is one head which, placed on high, overlooks all the other members, di­rects and guides them, and rules over them.  In the Church, the mystical body of Jesus Christ, there is (...) the Supreme Pontiff, the visible head of this great body, who exercises supreme and universal governance over all the members, who, in him, are united with each oth­er.  Then we have the bishops.  Though subordi­nate to the Roman Pontiff, they are, neverthe­less, supreme rulers of that part of the Catholic fold which the uni­versal Shepherd has entrust­ed to their care.  One might call them the eyes of this body.  Then we have the priests and other lesser ministers who, we might say, are the arms of the body.  Fi­nally, we have all the faith­ful, who are the fullness and complement of the body.

 

In this way, a chain is formed which starts with the Pope and reaches, in an or­derly and hierarchical way, down to the last little peasant, who, while labori­ously plowing his fields, will ‑- if he has the spirit of Jesus Christ ‑- feel united in faith, charity and obedi­ence with the Pope and the Church, just as we ourselves feel united.  I very much want you to often savor this thought, which is so mar­velously beautiful and stir­ring!  How beautiful and inspiring is the sight of this immense family of be­lievers dispersed throughout the world, all confessing the same creed, cherishing the same hopes, enjoying the same sacra­ments, believing in the same priest­hood, of­fering the same Sacrifice, obeying the same law, lis­tening to the same voice of the common Father (...).

 

Beloved sons and daughters, when you assemble in church on holy days to take part in the divine mysteries, are you not thrilled at the thought that you are in com­munion with the whole world; that you are sons and daugh­ters of the same mother, who calls everybody, without distinction of birth, rank or upbringing, to earn, through good works, the same eternal bliss?  Are you not thrilled to know that you are in loving com­munion not only with the Church fighting the glorious battles of the Lord here on earth but also with the Church singing the song of victory in heaven?  Are you not thrilled to know that the things you believe in are the very same things all generations have believed in throughout all the centuries? (...).

 

Hail, one, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church!  You are our teacher, our queen, and our mother.  You are the mys­tical body of Jesus Christ living through the centuries.  From you comes our salvation, glory, peace, joy, bliss, and life.  We will listen to you, our teacher.  We will obey you, our sover­eign.  We will love you, our mother.  We will come to your help and defend you, 0 body of which we are members.[7]

 

 

b) OUR MOTHER

 

 

“Let us look at our Mother’s countenance”

 

We are sons and daughters of the Catholic Church.  Should not this thought alone stir us?  Let us look at our Mother’s countenance and be ashamed we have done so lit­tle for her till now.

Who is she?  She is the fruit of a miracle.  In fact, she is a miracle herself, a stu­pendous miracle in her ori­gin, a singular miracle in her growth, a permanent miracle in her duration.  As a matter of fact, how was she born?  She was born, one might say, by dint of miracles, without the slight­est human help, nay despite the efforts of all hell raging around the crib, despite immense and incredible obstacles that could not be overcome by created powers alone.  She is sustained solely by the arm of God.  Despite all the powers, all the prejudices, all the passions, all the errors of the world ‑- all of which have joined forces against her ‑- despite persecutions of every kind inflicted on her by barbari­ty, cunning, and pride, the Church, like lightning that flashes from east to west, spreads spectacu­larly and extends to the farthest corners of the world.  In the midst of the most ferocious assaults, in the midst of the most vicious attacks, she advanc­es peacefully and serenely.  She walks majestically across the countless centu­ries.  She stands tall and straight.  She does not surrender.  She has kept herself incorrupt and gloriously triumphs over enemies of all kinds (...).

This is a chain of indescribable miracles, miracles that make us see with our own eyes that the Eternal One is acting here, Christ’s power is at work here, God’s force, might and omnipotence are active here and that all this power is communicated and imparted to the Church and incarnated in the Church.  We should bow and reverence this immortal Queen of the ages, this immaculate Spouse of Christ, this Lady, sovereign of all kingdoms, ages, and peoples.  We should be proud to belong to her and to work for her glory.[8]

 

 

“The Church is truly our Mother”

 

My dear sons and daughters, fix deeply in your mind the great saying of St. Cyprian: “He who does not have the Church as a mother cannot have God as a father.”

The Church is truly our mother, beloved brothers and sisters of mine.  This is not an oratorical expression.  It is an eminently dogmatic teaching.

Between us and God stand our par­ents and the series of our forefathers and mothers, through whom we are united to the first man, Adam.  Likewise, writes a great man, in the su­pernatural order of faith and grace, between us and Jesus Christ stands a mother, who is a virgin, namely the Church.  Through the uninterrupt­ed series of spiritual gener­ations she goes back to the apostles and to Jesus Christ.  Just as the wave of natural life flows from God to all creation through the necessary media­tion of our parents according to the flesh, in the same way, the wave of divine, supernat­ural life flows from Christ to all believers through the equally necessary mediation of the Church.  She his Spouse and therefore our mother.  She was chosen to nurse us with the milk of her teaching, to bring us up in the spiritual life of grace, to enrich us with all the treasures of heav­en, and to lead us to the fullness of the stature of Christ.[9]

 

 

 

“Let us love this Mother”

 

Let us love this mother!  We must not forget that whoever does not love the Church is outside the love of Jesus Christ and therefore outside the only love that can ennoble us, exalt us, and make us love properly every­thing that is worthy of love in the universe.  Let us love the Church living and present in our days, the Church that speaks through her august Head and her bishops, that lives and suf­fers for us, that prays and hopes with us.  Let us love her as the most precious and cherished thing in the world after Jesus Christ.  Let us love her like our family, like our mother, who is at once most beautiful and most loving.  Let us love her as the one who best reflects and expresses in herself the infinite beauty and goodness of God who is our whole love.  Let us trustingly abandon our­selves into the arms of this mother.  “My mother told me so,” exclaims the child; and with these words he goes confidently on his way.  Each one of us should say the same thing: “The Church has spoken and that is enough!”[10]

 

 

“We shall always love you with the love of sons and daugh­ters”

 

Hail, 0 Catholic Church! 0 daughter of heaven!  How beauti­ful are your taber­nacles!  How luminous your ways!  Mother of saints, image of the heavenly city, eternal preserv­er of the incorruptible Blood, hail!  You love us with the love of a mother, and we will always love you with the love of sons and daughters.  Like our brothers and sisters who have already earned their palm of victory, we too will make every effort to sanctify ourselves on this our earthly pilgrimage so as not to be unworthy of you.  We will docilely follow your teachings and always stand at your side, knowing well that outside you there is no salvation.  We will fight with you on earth in the hope of being victorious with you in heaven through the merits of Je­sus Christ our God, to whom be honor, wisdom, do­minion, thanksgiving, benediction, power, might and glory forever and ever.  Amen.[11]

 

 

c) THE CHURCH IS HOLY

 

 

“The Church is holy”

 

The greatest work of God the Father is Jesus Christ, and the greatest work of Jesus Christ is his Church.  He acquired and purified her with his blood, sanctified her with his spirit, and enriched her with his merits so as to present her to his Father without spot or wrinkle and have her reign with him for­ever in heaven.  The Church, therefore, is holy in her Author, who is the source and font of all holiness.  She is holy in the sacraments, the channels from which all graces derive.  She is holy in her unbloody Sacrifice, by which a pure oblation is offered to the name of God.  She is holy in her worship, which is so majestic and beauti­ful that it inspires the liveliest faith, the deepest respect, and the most tender piety, a worship that tran­scends logic and speaks pow­erfully even to the hearts of the unorthodox.

The Church is also holy in her teachings, because her main concern is to preserve them incorrupt, just as she received them from her Founder, so that, through these teachings, she might heal spiritual infirmities and dissipate the darkness shrouding the minds of peo­ple; so that, with these teachings, she might incite her sons and daughters to good works and inspire them to the practice of voluntary poverty, a more perfect obe­dience, an angelic virgini­ty, and an austere and penitent life, instilling in them the courage needed for sacrifice and martyrdom.

The Church is holy in her sons and daughters because the Savior “gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawless­ness and to cleanse for himself a people as his own, eager to do what is good” (...).  Come and look for yourselves.  Those un­told millions of generous martyrs, of solitary peni­tents, of chaste virgins, of heroes of all kinds; those countless shepherds and priests burning with holy zeal for the glory of God and the salvation of souls, rushing off even to dis­tant lands where the sword of persecution is being wielded or deadly diseases are reaping victims; those innumerable religious whose virtues, austerity of life, spirit of solitude, prayer, zeal, charity, and detach­ment from earthly things are admired by their very enemies; those number­less good people, ignored by the world but known and loved by Him who searches hearts ‑- all these people are sons and daughters of the Catholic Church.  Being holy in herself and holy in all her things, the Church will never cease to nurture with­in herself giants of holi­ness, giants worthy of the supreme honor of the altars and, in this way, to be “the inexhaust­ible source of all good things.”[12]

 

 

“The Church is the mother of holiness”

 

Holiness is the inseparable and distinctive attribute of the true Church.  God is holi­ness by nature.  Hence the Church, which comes from God, must bear the mark of holiness.  St. Augustine says that the Catholic Church is holy, indeed that she is the mother of holi­ness: sanctitatis mater (...).

A source of holiness is, first of all, the truths the Catholic Church teaches us.  Her teachings are not mere theories but eter­nal principles, from which flow countless moral conse­quences that divinize our nature, as it were (...).  A God who is just and infi­nitely merciful, the immor­tality of the soul, atone­ment for sin through penance, forgiveness of offenses, patience, charity, humility, and so on, these are all teachings that have helped mold count­less upright and illustrious heroes in all ages.

A source of holiness is found in the sacraments, which the Church administers to us with the tenderness of a mother.  She administers Baptism to wipe away the stains of our physical ori­gin; Confirmation to make us stronger in fighting the battles of the Lord; Penance as a means to atone for our sins; the Eucharist to com­municate the very Author of holiness to us; the sacra­ment of Matrimony to sancti­fy the family; Sacred Orders to perpetuate, here below, the priesthood of Jesus Christ; Extreme Unction to pour heaven’s consolations down upon our bed of pain.

A source of holiness is of­fered in the precepts she enjoins on us.  They are full of indulgence and kindness.  Through them this gentle mother guides us through the dangers of the world to the port of salva­tion.  She does everything she can to make us happy in this life and in the next.  She commands us to love God with our whole heart, to direct to him ‑- as to our last end ‑- all our thoughts, our affections, our works, all that we are and all that we can do, and to love our neighbor as ourselves with the love that comes from God.  Finally, she urges us to imitate Jesus Crucified, our Lord, the sublime model of resignation, fortitude and glory, so that, cruci­fied with him to the vanity of this world, we may share both his sufferings and his joys. 

A source of holiness is the Com­munion of Saints, fruit of that perfect love that binds together Church Mili­tant, Church Suffering and Church Triumphant and, out of them, forms one body of which Jesus Christ is the head.  Thus we share in the merits of the just ones who are still pilgrims here on earth, as well as in the glory of the heavenly citi­zens.[13]

 

 

“Show us anything honorable that religion does not give rise to or does not inspire “

 

Show us anything honorable that the Catholic religion does not give rise to or does not inspire.  Friend­ship perhaps?  Yes, but only the Catholic religion can give us true and faithful friends.  Gratitude maybe?  Yes, but only the Catholic reli­gion fashions a truly good heart and seasons social life with pure joy.  Marriage perhaps?  Yes, but is it not true that, by raising marriage to the dignity of a sacrament, the Catholic re­ligion has made marriage stable and holy and wants it to reflect the image of the union between Christ and his Church?  Social respon­sibilities maybe?  Yes, but is it not the gospel that com­mands us to be humble, gentle, kind, meek, patient, and charitable?  Courage maybe?  Yes, but who are the heroes that can stand next to those the Catholic religion takes pride in?  Good gover­nance perhaps?  Oh, if nations, republics and kingdoms could be governed only by the pre­cepts of the gospel, you would not find corrup­tion, injustice, slander, ambition, hatred, theft, murder, sacrilege, and rebellion.[14]

 

 

“The treasury of the Church is the Communion of Saints”

 

The Communion of the Saints, namely the common treasury of graces and merits found in the Church, is due principally to its Head (...).  So, it is to Jesus Christ that the Church owes the lavish supply of its goods.  Oh, I am no longer amazed that this reserve fund is inexhaust­ible and infinite.  The blood of Jesus Christ, this adorable blood ‑- one drop of which would have been enough to redeem the world ‑- his tears, his prayers, his life, his works, his labors, and his suffer­ings: all these make up the treasury of the Church and keep supplying it.  It is a chain of merits that extends from one end of the earth to the other.  It is a river of graces that flows incessantly through humanity and makes it fruitful (...).

Even though the life of the members derives, above all, from the Head, we must not think that the members themselves do not contribute to this life.  In fact, the Apostle says: “God has so constructed the body ... that the members may have the same concern for one another, so that their surplus may also supply your needs.”

Now, if this applies to the natural body of human beings, to the body of a family, to the body of a city, should this not apply also to the Church, which is the body of Jesus Christ, the family of the elect, the City of God?

Let us look at the vast army of saints, who were once on this earth and now live triumphantly in heaven.  How much suffering, how many prayers, how many sacrifices have flowed like streams into the infinite ocean of the merits of Jesus Christ, which make up the treasury of the Church.

In this treasury I see not just the superabundant satisfac­tory and intercessory merits of Christ but also those of the Virgin and the saints.  I see the blood of the martyrs, the austerity of the hermits, the zeal of the Apostles, the faith of the confessors, and the palms of the virgins.  Your own good works, the very prayers you offered up to God today with your Bishop are there.  By virtue of the Communion of Saints, our prayer leaves this church, flies on the wings of angels, crosses the oceans, and goes straight to the heart of our distant brothers and sisters, to our impenitent brothers and sisters, to our separated brothers and sisters.  Our prayer brings them the balm of consolation, the grace of repentance, the gift of perseverance.  The Communion of Saints reaches everywhere.  Through it, there are no limits of time or space.[15]

 

 

“How consoling, how beautiful is this dogma of the Communion of Saints”

 

Do you not hear the sobs coming up from the depths?  “Have pity on me, at least you, my friends!” Have pity on me, at least you who were once my friends (...), These are cries of pain and lamentation.  It is the cry of a father, a mother, a brother, a sister, a daughter, a wife, a cry rising up to us from the prison of expiation, pleading for our suffrages, because not even suffering can destroy the Communion of Saints.  Why should the Communion of Saints be broken by the expiation of the righteous?  Do they not belong to the body of Jesus Christ, just like us? Are they not living members of the family of the elect and of the city of God?  So, why should they not share in the common treasury of the Church, in our satisfaction for sin, in our sacrifices, in our help?

How truly consoling, how truly beautiful is this dogma of the Communion of Saints!  Heaven prays, earth prays, purgatory prays.  Thus purgatory, earth, heaven, the Church Suffering, the Church Militant, the Church Trium­phant, all assist each other and are united in a mutual exchange of supplications and merits.  From purgatory prayer rises up to earth.  From earth it soars to Heaven.  There, echoed by the saints, it obtains relief, light, and peace.  Purgatory prays for us.  Heaven prays for us.  And, in the midst of our joys and sorrows, we poor exiles and pilgrims pray to Heaven.

It is through us that the cry of those souls in prison arrives at the throne of God.  From up there, the bounteous mercy of God flows down over the earth and from earth, like a heavenly dew, descends on Purgatory where it falls on lips burning in expiatory flames.[16]

 

 

d) THE CHURCH IS ONE

 

 

“Unity in faith, unity in communion”

 

The true Church of Jesus Christ, prefigured in the Old Testament by Noah’s Ark and by Mount Zion and referred to as the vineyard, the field, the ship, the sheep­fold, the house, the army, the kingdom of God, the body of Christ, must bear on its brow the resplendent note of unity.  Just as there is but one Lord, one faith, one baptism, in the same way there must be unity of belief in those who belong to the Church.  Just as Jesus Christ died to gather into one the dispersed children of God, in the same way there must be unity of love, unity of communion.  The profession of the same doctrine ‑- namely unity in faith ‑- and total submission to the same Head, representing God ‑- namely unity in communion ‑- was the divine Savior’s last thought as he fervently prayed to the Father for his present and future followers, “so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be one in us.” This was the twofold unity the Apostle inculcated, when he said: “Strive to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace.”[17]

 

 

“Unity of faith, unity of governance, unity of the sacra­ments”

 

Since God is one and truth is one, the Church, too, must be one.  Unity, in fact, is the first note to shine on the brow of Christ’s Church.  Unity of faith, unity of governance, unity of sacraments, the kind of unity Christ himself fashioned!  Unity of faith: because all the members making up the Church must believe in the same truths and profess the same doctrines under pain of ceasing to be Catholics.  Hence, no freedom of thought, no whim of private interpretation, no interference of the individual in what has to do with the faith.

Unity of governance: Christ’s Church forms a single immense family, a well-knit body, a real society, arranged and organized with an interior and exterior organism, perfect in every aspect.  Hence, over each diocese we find a bishop, who is its father, its shepherd, and its teacher.  Over all the bishops we find the Pope, who is the foundation, the head, and the sovereign of all.  Everything centers on the Pope and everything comes down from the Pope to the faithful with such a marvelous ebb and flow of life that even unbelievers are amazed at all this and are compelled to admire the marvelous structure and the amazing unity of that glorious hierarchical society.

Unity of sacraments, because in Christ’s Church all not only use the same sacraments but use them in basically the same way.  All pray with the same words, all offer God the same sacrifice of praise, the same spotless oblation, which, according to prophecy, was to be offered in the whole world from the rising of the sun to its setting.[18]

 

 

“The Church is the body of Christ, a family, a city”

 

The Apostle teaches us that the Church is the body of Jesus Christ.  Now, the members of a body are united with each other in a continuous exchange of reciprocal services.  Each member supports and helps the other, and together all share the same goods, namely energy, health, movement, and life.  If a member stopped contributing to the general well-being or stopped drawing from this common source, it would, by that very fact, become powerless and stop living.  Hence, one cannot say: “I don’t need you,” because all the members, the head as well as the hands, the hands as well as the feet, contribute to the beauty, to the harmony of the whole.

The Church is a family.  Now, all the members of a family are united with each other in a similar way.  The weaker one leans on the stronger one, the stronger one defends the weaker one.  Each member’s good name, good fortune and good health redound on everyone and form a common reserve.  The father’s authority is passed on to mother and children.  The mother’s love is shared with the father and the chil­dren, while the children’s innocence is reflected on their parents.  The gain of one becomes the gain of the other; the poverty of one, the poverty of the other; the disgrace of one, the disgrace of the other; the glory of one, the glory of the other.  When one member of the family suffers, all the others suffer with him.  When one is happy, all the others are happy with him.  So, the human family is like the human body, an exchange of mutual services and functions, in a reciprocal partnership of love.

The Church is a city, a city founded on the top of a high mountain.  Now, even here, each one’s riches redound to the good of the others, and the abundance of some makes up for the poverty of the others.  Some contribute to the common support by work, others look after the good administration of the enterprise.  Each one has his own personal worth, his own private rights.  But there is also a common treasury, in which all share according to their rights and their capacity.  What marvelous harmony this is in which every­thing is intertwined, interconnected, correlated in a vast network of needs and benefits.[19]

 

 

“Variety does not harm its marvelous unity”

 

Look at this holy edifice, and you will see that variety does not harm its marvelous unity.  Each stone has its own form, its own place, its own special purpose.  Some stones are at the base, others at the very top.  The more gorgeous and splendid ones adorn the sanctuary and the altar.  Others, more common, but no less useful, are disseminated all over and form the main body of the building.  Some stones are buried underground and are altogether unknown, but they hold up the weight of the whole building.  Some are exposed to the gaze of people but are often such a trivial ornament that if they were to be removed, the temple would not be any less beautiful or any less solid.

This is a vivid image of society, of the family and of the Church, as God instituted them.  In them, the individual must keep to his place and with simplicity accept the position in which God has put him, since God is the author of honors, distributor of dignities, and supreme arbiter of our destiny.  A Christian’s real joy is doing the will of God.  St. Paul says that we are  building on the founda­tion of the Apostles and prophets, with Jesus Christ as the cornerstone on which the whole well-constructed edifice rises and becomes the Lord’s holy temple.  On this cornerstone, you, too, have been erected into a dwelling place of God through the Spirit.

These stones (...) would not form a solid edifice if they did not adhere to each other with a certain order, if they did not, so to speak, stay together in peace and mutual love.  In the same way, Christians can truly form the house of God only if they are intimately united by the bonds of love: “People build the house of the Lord only when they are held together by love.” (Domum Domini non faciunt, nisi quando charitate compaginantur.)  Charity (...) is the precious mortar of the Christian society.  The great law of attraction is what brings to perfection and reaffirms the mutual love we owe our brothers and sisters.  It gives the human heart solidity and elasticity, filling it with power, compassion, and mercy.[20]

 

 

“Strong in truth, strong in love, strong in unity”

 

To all I say: be firm, be fearless, be immovable in supporting and defending the inviolable rights of the Church and its august Head.  But, as Leo XIII admonishes, always do so with that moderation of manners and language that do not take away but add force to rights and truth and make the truth easily understood even by the most reluctant minds.

If we insist so much on this point, it is because in our times, unfortunately, so many people twist and ignore even the most elementary principles of Christianity.  We cannot repeat these things too often.  Hence, our fortitude must be made attractive through our prudence and charity; and, in turn, our prudence and charity must draw power from our fortitude: “Resist, steadfast in faith!”

Strong in truth, strong in love, strong also in unity: this is the fulfillment and the fruit of charity.

Unity!  This was the last recommendation the Holy Father offered us in the warmest and most affectionate terms.  This is also the recommendation that, in his name, I offer you with all the passion of my heart: unity!  Unity of mind, unity of heart, unity of action.  During these very troubled times we are going through, we can support each other only if we are united, if we stand together.  There is no sacrifice of opinion we should not make in order to preserve this unity, in which alone lies the secret of victory.[21]

 

 

“A system of liberalism that is altogether new”

 

What can we say about certain people who, not satisfied with their role as subjects in the Church of God, believe they can also have a role in its governance?

It is on the basis of this insane pretension that they have been concocting a system of liberalism that is entirely new, all the more dangerous for its being clothed in a beautiful image.  It is a pharisaical system that, unfortunately, manages to seduce so many simple souls and take possession of certain minds that are neither wicked nor mean.  It is an anarchical system that ends up dividing our forces and sowing discord among the sons and daughters of the same father, among the members of the same family.  It is a barbaric system that does not hesitate, when it can, to mortify immortal souls and kill off every germ of charity in the hearts of so many people (...).

The gravest dangers for the Church are not violent and barbaric persecutions, which the Church has been used to for centuries and which, thank God, she knows how to turn to her own advantage; nor discus­sions by enlightened minds and by science, because she knows she will come out victorious.  Reason, history and God’s promises are on her side.  The most insidious and most dangerous enemies are the weaknesses of some of her own, as well as their insane pride, ambitious designs, and hypocritical wiles.  In no way are their behavior and their actions in keeping with the spirit of true and perfect Catholics, which they claim to be. [22]

 

 

“Indifference to the more endearing virtues of Christianity”

 

Once more I must lift my voice against a new outbreak of this deadly system.  Once again I must remind you that it is not at all in keeping with the true Catholic spirit for people to consume themselves in protestations of loyalty and devotion to the Pope, as these people do, while at the same time showing little respect for the bishops united with the Pope, undermin­ing the bishops’ governance in roundabout ways, or maliciously twisting their acts and intentions.

I denounce those who identify themselves, as it were, with the Holy See, proclaim­ing themselves its defenders, its only loyal sons and daughters, its only faithful spokes­persons.  I am troubled by those who condemn as disobedient to the Church certain people, even in positions of authority, who really are extremely devoted to it.  I protest against those who claim an exclusive monopoly on Catholicism.  They talk as if they were infallible teachers, condemning  and anathematizing, in the name of Religion and Pope, all those who do not agree with their opinions or, all too often, with their exaggerations and eccentricities (...).

I resent those who pretend they can solve the most difficult, the most intricate, the most delicate questions in the religious or religious-scientific field by more or less spontaneous plebiscites by people without authority and almost always without competence.  I rebel against those who batch together otherwise highly respectable persons with the enemies of Religion, often accusing them of having broken the faith or having somehow perverted it simply because the latter have different opinions on matters that are purely political or still left free to the discussion of the learned by the wise moderation of the Holy See (...).

I am deeply grieved that some people do not see anything good, nay, just evil, in the thinking or activities of fellow human beings who disagree ‑- or are believed to disagree ‑-with their views (...).  I am distressed by those who act indifferent to the most lovable virtues of Christianity and all but ridicule people who espouse these virtues and cherish them highly (...).

All this is in open contradiction to the spirit that should animate a sincere Catholic.  Whoever does not understand this spirit, whoever does not experience it, has lost the sense of Christ.[23]

 

 

“Hierarchical unity is essential”

 

Not only dogmatic unity but also hierarchical unity pertains to the essential unity of the Church.  Christ prayed to his Father that the faithful “be one, as I and the Father are one.”[24]

 

 

“Woe to him who dares break this chain”

 

In these days of anarchy, we cannot repeat often enough: we must be united!  The people must be united with their pastors.  The pastors and clergy must be united among themselves in the hierarchical order.  And all ‑- clergy and people alike ‑- must be united with the bishop, who, in perfect union with the Pope, the Supreme Pontiff, is the link that binds you to the invisible Shepherd, Jesus Christ.  This is the sacred chain we find in the Catholic Church.  Woe to him who dares break this chain!  Whoever detaches himself from the adjoining link becomes the sport of the wicked and the instrument of perdition for many.[25]

 

 

“The Church must always remain hierarchically ordered if she is to overcome”

 

A contentious spirit has always been a shameful thing, but it is all the more so today when we are surrounded by hostile and vicious enemies, eager to annihilate the Church and souls.  “In the battle we are presently waging for matters of vital importance,” the Holy Father said some time ago, “everybody should work together, with one mind and one heart, toward the one common goal, namely to protect the great interests of religion and society.”

We cannot expect to achieve this goal with the more or less passionate arguments of certain restless spirits, with the more or less subtle discussions on how best to marshall our forces, with a forced and external submis­sion that still leaves mistrust, suspicion, and alienation in the depth of one’s heart.  We cannot achieve this goal with rivalries, jealousies, exclusive and egoistical ways of acting.  Nor can we achieve this goal with a harsh and callous zeal that mistakes the power of the sacred ministry for blind partisan violence and thinks it is honoring God by attacking people who may be absolutely upright and dedicated to the interests of the Church and its august Head, but whose dedication is without show, pretence, or human passions.

I will say over and over again: what will vindicate the rights of the Holy See and restore order to the Church and, with order, peace, is for people to observe hierar­chical dependence, to abandon themselves humbly and trustingly, like sons and daughters, to the paternal authority governing them.  Let me be even clearer: what we need is for people to submit their minds and hearts to their shepherds and, through them and with them, to the Shepherd of the Church who guides us all.  Hence, the Church must always rema