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Title: |
Ingruentium Malorum
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Descr.: |
On Reciting The Rosary
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Pope: |
Pope Pius XII
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Date: |
September 15, 1951
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To
Our Venerable Brethren, Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops,
Bishops, and Other Ordinaries Having Peace and Communion with the
Apostolic See
Venerable
Brethren, Greetings and Apostolic Benediction.
1.
Ever since We were raised, by the design of Divine Providence, to
the supreme Chair of Peter, We have never ceased, in the face of
approaching evils, to entrust to the most powerful protection of
the Mother of God the destiny of the human family, and, to this
end, as you know, We have from time to time written letters of
exhortation.
2.
You know, Venerable Brethren, with what zeal and with what
spontaneous and unanimous approval the Christian people everywhere
have answered Our invitation. It has been magnificently testified
many times by the great demonstration of faith and love towards
the august Queen of Heaven, and above all, by that manifestation
of universal joy which, last year, Our eyes had the pleasure to
behold, when, in St. Peter's Square, surrounded by an immense
multitude of the faithful, We solemnly proclaimed the Assumption
into Heaven of the Virgin Mary, body and soul.
3.
The recollection of these things comes back pleasantly to Us and
encourages Us to trust firmly in Divine Mercy. However, at
present, We do not lack reasons for profound sorrow which torment
and sadden Our paternal heart.
4.
You know well, Venerable Brethren, the calamitous conditions of
our times. Fraternal harmony among nations, shattered for so long
a time, has not yet been re-established everywhere. On the
contrary, here and there, we see souls upset by hatred and
rivalry, while threats of new bloody conflicts still hover over
the peoples. To this, one must add the violent storm of
persecution, which in many parts of the world, has been unleashed
against the Church, depriving it of its liberty, saddening it very
cruelly with calumnies and miseries of all kinds, and making the
blood of martyrs flow again and again.
5.
To what and to how many snares are the souls of so many of Our
sons submitted in those areas to make them reject the Faith of
their fathers, and to make them break, most wretchedly, the bond
of union which links them to this Apostolic See! Nor can We pass
over in silence a new crime to which, with utmost sorrow, We want
earnestly to draw not only your attention, but the attention of
the clergy, of parents, and even of public authorities. We refer
to the iniquitous campaign that the impious lead everywhere to
harm the shining souls of children. Not even the age of innocence
has been spared, for, alas, there are not lacking those who boldly
dare to snatch from the mystical garden of the Church even the
most beautiful flowers, which constitute the hope of religion and
society. Considering this, one cannot be surprised if peoples
groan under the weight of the Divine punishment, and live under
the fear of even greater calamities.
6.
However, consideration of a situation so pregnant with dangers
must not depress your souls, Venerable Brethren. Instead, mindful
of that Divine teaching: "Ask and it shall be given to you;
seek and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to
you" (Luke 11, 9), fly with greater confidence to the Mother
of God. There, the Christian people have always sought chief
refuge in the hour of danger, because "she has been
constituted the cause of salvation for the whole human race"
(St. Irenaeus).
7.
Therefore, we look forward with joyful expectation and revived
hope to the coming month of October, during which the faithful are
accustomed to flock in larger numbers to the churches to raise
their supplications to Mary by means of the Holy Rosary.
8.
O Venerable Brethren, We desire that, this year, this prayer
should be offered with such greater fervor of heart as is demanded
by the increased urgency of the need. We well know the Rosary's
powerful efficacy to obtain the maternal aid of the Virgin. By no
means is there only one way to pray to obtain this aid. However,
We consider the Holy Rosary the most convenient and most fruitful
means, as is clearly suggested by the very origin of this
practice, heavenly rather than human, and by its nature. What
prayers are better adapted and more beautiful than the Lord's
prayer and the angelic salutation, which are the flowers with
which this mystical crown is formed? With meditation of the Sacred
Mysteries added to the vocal prayers, there emerges another very
great advantage, so that all, even the most simple and least
educated, have in this a prompt and easy way to nourish and
preserve their own faith.
9.
And truly, from the frequent meditation on the Mysteries, the soul
little by little and imperceptibly draws and absorbs the virtues
they contain, and is wondrously enkindled with a longing for
things immortal, and becomes strongly and easily impelled to
follow the path which Christ Himself and His Mother have followed.
The recitation of identical formulas repeated so many times,
rather than rendering the prayer sterile and boring, has on the
contrary the admirable quality of infusing confidence in him who
prays and brings to bear a gentle compulsion on the motherly Heart
of Mary.
10.
Let it be your particular care, O Venerable Brethren, that the
faithful, on the occasion of the coming month of October, should
use this most fruitful form of prayer with the utmost possible
zeal, and that it become always more esteemed and more diligently
recited.
11.
Through your efforts, the Christian people should be led to
understand the dignity, the power, and the excellence of the
Rosary.
12.
But it is above all in the bosom of the family that We desire the
custom of the Holy Rosary to be everywhere adopted, religiously
preserved, and ever more intensely practiced. In vain is a remedy
sought for the wavering fate of civil life, if the family, the
principle and foundation of the human community, is not fashioned
after the pattern of the Gospel.
13.
To undertake such a difficult duty, We affirm that the custom of
the family recitation of the Holy Rosary is a most efficacious
means. What a sweet sight - most pleasing to God - when, at
eventide, the Christian home resounds with the frequent repetition
of praises in honor of the august Queen of Heaven! Then the
Rosary, recited in common, assembles before the image of the
Virgin, in an admirable union of hearts, the parents and their
children, who come back from their daily work. It unites them
piously with those absent and those dead. It links all more
tightly in a sweet bond of love, with the most Holy Virgin, who,
like a loving mother, in the circle of her children, will be there
bestowing upon them an abundance of the gifts of concord and
family peace.
14.
Then the home of the Christian family, like that of Nazareth, will
become an earthly abode of sanctity, and, so to speak, a sacred
temple, where the Holy Rosary will not only be the particular
prayer which every day rises to heaven in an odor of sweetness,
but will also form the most efficacious school of Christian
discipline and Christian virtue. This meditation on the Divine
Mysteries of the Redemption will teach the adults to live,
admiring daily the shining examples of Jesus and Mary, and to draw
from these examples comfort in adversity, striving towards those
heavenly treasures "where neither thief draws near, nor moth
destroys" (Luke 12, 33). This meditation will bring to the
knowledge of the little ones the main truths of the Christian
Faith, making love for the Redeemer blossom almost spontaneously
in their innocent hearts, while, seeing, their parents kneeling
before the majesty of God, they will learn from their very early
years how great before the throne of God is the value of prayers
said in common.
15.
We do not hesitate to affirm again publicly that We put great
confidence in the Holy Rosary for the healing of evils which
afflict our times. Not with force, not with arms, not with human
power, but with Divine help obtained through the means of this
prayer, strong like David with his sling, the Church undaunted
shall be able to confront the infernal enemy, repeating to him the
words of the young shepherd: "Thou comest to me with a sword,
and a spear, and with a shield; but I come to thee in the name of
the Lord of Hosts, the God of armies...and all this assembly shall
know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear, for this is
his battle, and he will deliver you into our hands" (I Kings
17, 45-47)
16.
For this reason, We earnestly desire, Venerable Brethren, that all
the faithful, following your example and your exhortation should
respond solicitously to Our paternal exhortation, uniting their
hearts and their voices with the same ardor of charity. If the
evils and the assaults of the wicked increase, so likewise must
the piety of all good people increase and become ever more
vigorous. Let them strive to obtain from our most loving Mother,
especially through this form of prayer, that better times may
quickly return for the Church and society.
17.
May the very powerful Mother of God, moved by the prayers of so
many of her sons, obtain from her only Son - let us all beseech
her - that those who have miserably wandered from the path of
truth and virtue may, with new fervor, find it again; that hatred
and rivalry, which are the sources of discord and every kind of
mishap, may be put aside, and that a true, just, and genuine peace
may shine again upon individuals, families, peoples, and nations.
And, finally, may she obtain that, after the rights of the Church
have been secured in accord with justice, its beneficent influence
may penetrate without obstacle the hearts of men, the social
classes, and the avenues of public life so as to join people among
themselves in brotherhood and lead them to that prosperity which
regulates, preserves, and coordinates the rights and duties of all
without harming anyone and which daily makes for greater and
greater mutual friendship and collaboration.
18.
Venerable Brethren and beloved sons, while you entwine new flowers
of supplication by reciting your Rosary, do not forget those who
languish miserably in prison camps, jails, and concentration
camps. There are among them, as you know, also Bishops dismissed
from their Sees solely for having heroically defended the sacred
rights of God and the Church. There are sons, fathers and mothers,
wrested from their homes and compelled to lead unhappy lives far
away in unknown lands and strange climates.
19.
Just as We love them with a special charity and embrace them with
the love of a father, so must you, with a brotherly love which the
Christian religion nourishes and enkindles, join with Us before
the altar of the Virgin Mother of God and recommend them to her
motherly heart. She doubtlessly will, with exquisite sweetness,
revive in their hearts the hope of eternal reward and, We firmly
believe, will not fail to hasten the end of so much sorrow.
20.
We do not doubt that you, O Venerable Brethren, with your usual
burning zeal, will bring to the knowledge of your clergy and
people these Our paternal exhortations in a way which will appear
most appropriate to you.
21.
Feeling certain that Our sons throughout the world will respond
willingly and generously to this Our invitation, We impart, from
the fullness of Our heart and as an evidence of Our favor and an
augury of heavenly graces, to each and every one of you, to the
flock entrusted to each of you and particularly to those who,
especially during the month of October, will devoutly recite the
holy Rosary according to Our intentions, Our Apostolic Blessing.
Given
in Rome, at St. Peter's, the 15th day of September, the Feast of
the Seven Sorrows of the Virgin Mary, in the Year 1951, the 13th
of Our pontificate.
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