EXEUNTE
IAM ANNO
ENCYCLICAL OF POPE LEO XIII
ON THE RIGHT ORDERING OF CHRISTIAN LIFE
To the Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, and
Bishops, and to all the Faithful in Grace and
Communion with the Apostolic See.
Venerable Brothers, Beloved Sons, Health and Apostolic Benediction.
At the end of the year in which, by a singular mercy of
God, We have celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of Our priesthood,
We dwell with pleasure upon the past months, and are delighted
to recall them to memory. And not without reason; for the occasion,
which regarded Us in a personal manner, was of itself neither
great nor extraordinary, and yet moved the goodwill of all men
to a very great degree, to rejoice with and congratulate Us, so
that there was nothing left to be desired.
2. This general joy was most pleasing and gratifying
to Us; but what We valued therein most was the agreement of sentiment
and the universal testimony to religion which it displayed. For
the unanimous consent of well-wishers expressed this fact clearly,
that in all places the minds and hearts of all were devoted to
the Vicar of Christ, that men looked with confidence to the Apostolic
See, in the midst of its misfortunes, as to an ever-springing
and pure fount of salvation; and that in every land where the
Catholic religion flourishes the Roman Church, mother and mistress
of all Churches, is duly reverenced, as it should be, with one
mind and heart.
3. For these reasons, through the past months,
We have often lifted up our eyes to God in thanksgiving for His
most gracious gift of long life, and for the consolations in Our
labours which We have mentioned, and at the same time, when needful,
We showed our gratitude to those to whom it was due. Now, however,
the closing days of the year and of the Jubilee, bid Us renew
the recollection of benefits received, and it gives us great pleasure
that the whole Church joins with Us in thanksgiving. At the same
time We wish by this letter to declare publicly that so many testimonies
of devotion and love have gone very far towards lightening Our
burden, and the remembrance of them will live always in Our mind.
4. But a holier and higher duty yet remains.
For in this devotion and eagerness to show honour to the Roman
Pontiff, We acknowledge the power of God Who often is wont to
draw and alone can draw great good from matters even of the smallest
moment. For God, in His providence, seems to have wished to arouse
faith in the midst of wrong thinking men, and to recall the Christian
people to the desire of a higher life.
5. We must therefore strive diligently that after
beginning well we may also end well, that the counsels of God
may be both understood and put in practice. The obedience shown
to the Apostolic See will then be full and perfected, if it be
joined with Christian virtue, and thus lead to the salvation of
souls-the only end to be sought for, which will also abide forever.
In the exercise of Our high Apostolic office, bestowed upon Us
by the goodness of God, We have many times, as in duty bound,
undertaken the defence of truth, and have striven to expound particularly
those doctrines which seemed to be most useful to all, in order
watchfully and carefully to avoid the dangers of error. But now,
as a loving parent, We wish to address all Christians, and in
homely words to exhort all to lead a holy life. For beyond the
mere name of Christian, beyond the mere profession of faith, Christian
virtues are necessary for the Christian, and upon this depends,
not only the eternal salvation of their souls, but also the peace
and prosperity of the human family and brotherhood.
6. If We look into the kind of life men lead
everywhere, it would be impossible to avoid the conclusion that
public and private morals differ much from the precepts of the
Gospel. Too sadly, alas, do the words of the Apostle St. John
apply to our age, "all that is in the world, is the concupiscence
of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes and the pride
of life."(1) For in truth, most men, with little care whence
they come or whither they go, place all their thoughts and care
upon the weak and fleeting goods of this life; contrary to nature
and right reason they willingly give themselves up to those ways
of which their reason tells them they should be the masters. It
is a short step from the desire of luxury to the striving after
the means to obtain it. Hence arises an unbridled greed for money,
which blinds those whom it has led captive, and in the fulfilment
of its passion hurries them madly along, often without regard
for justice or injustice, and not seldom accompanied by a disgraceful
contempt for the poverty of their neighbour. Thus many who live
in the lap of luxury call themselves brethren of the multitude
whom in their heart of hearts they despise; and in the same way
with minds puffed up by pride, they take no thought to obey any
law, or fear any power. They call self love liberty, and think
themselves "born free like a wild ass's colt. "(2) Snares
and temptation to sin abound; We know that impious or immoral
dramas are exhibited on the stage; that books and journals are
written to jeer at virtue and ennoble crime; that the very arts,
which were intended to give pleasure and proper recreation, have
been made to minister to impurity. Nor can We look to the future
without fear, for new seeds of evil are sown, and as it were poured
into the heart of the rising generation. As for the public schools,
there is no ecclesiastical authority left in them, and in the
years when it is most fitting for tender minds to be trained carefully
in Christian virtue, the precepts of religion are for the most
part unheard. Men more advanced in age encounter a yet graver
peril from evil teaching, which is of such a kind as to blind
the young by misleading words, instead of filling them with the
knowledge of the truth. Many now-a-days seek to learn by the aid
of reason alone, laying divine faith entirely aside; and, through
the removal of its bright light, they stumble and fail to discern
the truth, teaching for instance, that matter alone exists in
the world; that men and beasts have the same origin and a like
nature; there are some, indeed, who go so far as to doubt the
existence of God, the Ruler and Maker of the World, or who err
most grievously, like the heathens, as to the nature of God. Hence
the very nature and form of virtue, justice, and duty are of necessity
destroyed. Thus it is that while they hold up to admiration the
high authority of reason, and unduly elevate the subtlety of the
human intellect, they fall into the just punishment of pride through
ignorance of what is of more importance.
7. When the mind has thus been poisoned, at the
same time the moral character becomes deeply and essentially corrupted;
and such a state can only be cured with the utmost difficulty
in this class of men, because on the one hand wrong opinions vitiate
their judgment of what is right, and on the other the light of
Christian faith, which is the principle and basis of all justice,
is extinguished.
8. In this way We daily see the numerous ills
which afflict all classes of men. These poisonous doctrines have
utterly corrupted both public and private life; rationalism, materialism,
atheism, have begotten socialism, communism, nihilism evil principles
which it was not only fitting should have sprung from such parentage
but were its necessary offspring. In truth, if the Catholic religion
is wilfully rejected, whose divine origin is made clear by such
unmistakable signs, what reason is there why every form of religion
should not be rejected, not upheld, by such criteria of truth?
If the soul is one with the body, and if therefore no hope of
a happy eternity remains when the body dies, what reason is there
for men to undertake toil and suffering here in subjecting the
appetites to right reason? The highest good of man will then lie
in enjoying life's pleasures and life's luxuries. And since there
is no one who is drawn to virtue by the impulse of his own nature,
every man will naturally lay hands on all he can that he may live
happily on the spoils of others. Nor is there any power mighty
enough to bridle the passions, for it follows that the power of
law is broken, and that all authority is loosened, if the belief
in an ever-living God, Who commands what is right and forbids
what is wrong is rejected. Hence the bonds of civil society will
be utterly shattered when every man is driven by an unappeasable
covetousness to a perpetual struggle, some striving to keep their
possessions, others to obtain what they desire. This is well-nigh
the bent of our age.
9. There is, nevertheless, some consolation for
Us even in looking on these evils, and We may lift up Our heart
in hope. For God "created all things that they might be:
and He made the nations of the earth for health. "(3) But
as all this world cannot be upheld but by His providence and divinity,
so also men can only be healed by His power, of Whose goodness
they were called from death to life. For Jesus Christ redeemed
the human race once by the shedding of His blood, but the power
of so great a work and gift is for all ages; "neither is
there salvation in any other."(4) Hence they who strive by
the enforcement of law to extinguish the growing flame of lawless
desire, strive indeed for justice; but let them know that they
will labor with no result, or next to none, as long as they obstinately
reject the power of the gospel and refuse the assistance of the
Church. Thus will the evil alone be cured, by changing their ways,
and returning back in their public and private life to Jesus Christ
and Christianity.
10. Now the whole essence of a Christian life
is to reject the corruption of the world and to oppose constantly
any indulgence in it; this is taught in the words and deeds, the
laws and institutions, the life and death of Jesus Christ, "the
author and finisher of faith."(5) Hence, however strongly
We are deterred by the evil disposition of nature and character,
it is our duty to run to the "fight proposed to us,"(6)
fortified and armed with the same desire and the same arms as
He who, "having joy set before him, endured the cross."(7)Wherefore
let men understand this specially, that it is most contrary to
Christian duty to follow, in worldly fashion, pleasures of every
kind, to be afraid of the hardships attending a virtuous life,
and to deny nothing to self that soothes and delights the senses.
"They that are Christ's, have crucified their flesh, with
the vices and concupiscences"(8)so that it follows that they
who are not accustomed to suffering, and who hold not ease and
pleasure in contempt belong not to Christ. By the infinite goodness
of God man lived again to the hope of an immortal life, from which
he had been cut off, but he cannot attain to it if he strives
not to walk in the very footsteps of Christ and conform his mind
to Christ's by the meditation of Christ's example. Therefore this
is not a counsel but a duty, and it is the duty, not of those
only who desire a more perfect life, but clearly of every man
"always bearing about in our body the mortification of Jesus."(9)
How otherwise could the natural law, commanding man to live virtuously,
be kept? For by holy baptism the sin which we contracted at birth
is destroyed, but the evil and tortuous roots of sin, which sin
has engrafted, and by no means removed. This part of man which
is without reason - although it cannot beat those who fight manfully
by Christ's grace - nevertheless struggles with reason for supremacy,
clouds the whole soul and tyrannically bends the will from virtue
with such power that we cannot escape vice or do our duty except
by a daily struggle. "This holy synod teaches that in the
baptised there remains concupiscence or an inclination to evil,
which, being left to be fought against, cannot hurt those who
do not consent to it, and manfully fight against it by the grace
of Jesus Christ; for he is not crowned who does not strive lawfully."(10)
There is in this struggle a degree of strength to which only a
very perfect virtue, belonging to those who, by putting to flight
evil passions, has gained so high a place as to seem almost to
live a heavenly life on earth. Granted; grant that few attain
such excellence; even the philosophy of the ancients taught that
every man should restrain his evil desires, and still more and
with greater care those who from daily contact with the world
have the greater temptations - unless it be foolishly thought
that where the danger is greater watchfulness is less needed,
or that they who are more grievously ill need fewer medicines.
11. But the toil which is borne in this conflict
is compensated by great blessings, beyond and above heavenly and
eternal rewards, particularly in this way, that by calming the
passions nature is largely restored to its pristine dignity. For
man has been born under this law, that the mind should rule the
body, that the appetites should be restrained by sound sense and
reason; and hence it follows that putting a curb upon our masterful
passions is the noblest and greatest freedom. Moreover, in the
present state of society it is difficult to see what man could
be expected to do without such a disposition. Will he be inclined
to do well who has been accustomed to guide his actions by self-love
alone? No man can be high-souled, kind, merciful, or restrained,
who has not learnt self conquest and a contempt for this world
when opposed to virtue. And yet it must be said that it seems
to have been pre-determined by the counsel of God that there should
be no salvation to men without strife and pain. Truly, though
God has given to man pardon for sin, He gave it under the condition
that His only begotten Son should pay the due penalty; and although
Jesus Christ might have satisfied divine justice in other ways,
nevertheless He preferred to satisfy by the utmost suffering and
the sacrifice of His life. Thus he has imposed upon His followers
this law, signed in His blood, that their life should be an endless
strife with the vices of the age. What made the apostles invincible
in their mission of teaching truth to the world; what strengthened
the martyrs innumerable in their bloody testimony to the Christian
faith, but the readiness of their soul to obey fearlessly His
laws? And all who have taken heed to live a Christian life and
seek virtue have trodden the same path; therefore We must walk
in this way if We desire either Our own salvation or that of others.
Thus it becomes necessary for every one to guard manfully against
the allurements of luxury, and since on every side there is so
much ostentation in the enjoyment of wealth, the soul must be
fortified against the dangerous snares of riches lest straining
after what are called the good things of life, which cannot satisfy
and soon fade away, the soul should lose "the treasure in
heaven which faileth not." Finally, this is matter of deep
grief, that free-thought and evil example have so evil an influence
in enervating the soul, that many are now almost ashamed of the
name of Christian - a shame which is the sign either of abandoned
wickedness or the extreme of cowardice; each detestable and each
of the highest injury to man. For what salvation remains for such
men, or on what hope can they rely, if they cease to glory in
the name of Jesus Christ, if they openly and constantly refuse
to mould their lives on the precepts of the gospel? It is the
common complaint that the age is barren of brave men. Bring back
a Christian code of life, and thereby the minds of men will regain
their firmness and constancy. But man's power by itself is not
equal to the responsibility of so many duties. As We must ask
God for daily bread for the sustenance of the body, so must We
pray to Him for strength of soul for its nourishment in virtue.
Hence that universal condition and law of life, which We have
said is a perpetual battle, brings with it the necessity of prayer
to God. For, as is well and wisely said by St. Augustine, pious
prayer flies over the world's barriers and calls down the mercy
of God from heaven. In order to conquer the emotions of lust,
and the snares of the devil, lest we should be led into evil,
we are commanded to seek the divine help in the words, "pray
that ye enter not into temptation."(11) How much more is
this necessary, if we wish to labour for the salvation of others?
Christ our Lord, the only begotten Son of God, the source of all
grace and virtue, first showed by example what he taught in word:
"He passed the whole night in the prayer of God,"(12)
and when nigh to the sacrifice of his life, "He prayed the
longer."(13)
12. The frailty of nature would be much less
fearful, and the moral character would grow weak and enervated
with much less ease if that divine precept were not so much disregarded
and treated almost with disdain. For God is easily appeased, and
desires to aid men, having promised openly to give His grace in
abundance to those who ask for it. Nay, He even invites men to
ask, and almost insists with most loving words: "I say unto
you, ask and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find:
knock, and it shall be opened to you."(14) And that we should
have no fear in doing this with confidence and familiarity, he
softens His words, comparing Himself to a most loving father who
desires nothing so much as the love of his children. "If
you then being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children:
how much more will your Father who is in heaven, give good things
to them that ask Him?"(15) And this will not seem excessive
to one who considers it, if the efficaciousness of prayer seemed
so great to St. John Chrysostom that he thought it might be compared
with the power of God; for as God created all things by His word,
so man by prayer obtains what he wills. For nothing has so great
a power as prayer, because in it there are certain qualities with
which it pleases God to be moved. For in prayer we separate ourselves
from things of earth, and filled with the thought of God alone,
we become aware of our human weakness; for the same reason we
rest in the embrace of our Father, we seek a refuge in the power
of our Creator. We approach the Author of all good, as though
we wish Him to gaze upon our weak souls, our failing strength,
our poverty; and, full of hope, we implore His aid and guardianship,
Who alone can give help to the weak and consolation to the infirm
and miserable. With such a condition of mind, thinking but little
of ourselves, as is fitting, God is greatly inclined to mercy,
for God resisteth the proud, but to the humble he giveth grace.(16)
Let, then, the habit of prayer be sacred to all; let soul and
voice join together in prayer, and let our whole daily life agree
together, so that, by keeping the laws of God, the course of our
days may seem a continual ascent to Him.
13. The virtue of which we speak, like the others,
is produced and nourished by divine faith; for God is the Author
of all true blessings that are to be desired for themselves, as
we owe to Him our knowledge of His infinite goodness, and our
knowledge of the merits of our Redeemer. But, again, nothing is
more fitted for the nourishment of divine faith than the pious
habit of prayer, and the need of it at this time is seen by its
weakness in most, and its absence in many men. For that virtue
is especially the source whereby not only private lives may be
amended, but also from which a final judgment may be looked for
in those matters which in the daily conflict of men do not permit
states to live in peace and security. If the multitude is frenzied
with a thirst for excessive liberty, if the inhuman lust of the
rich never is satisfied, and if to these be added those evils
of the same kind to which We have referred fully above, it will
be found that nothing can heal them more completely or fully than
Christian faith.
14. Here it is fitting We should exhort you whom
God has made His helpers by giving the divine power to dispense
His Sacraments, to turn to meditation and prayer. If the reformation
of private and public morals is needed, it scarcely requires to
be said that in both respects the clergy ought to set the highest
example. Let them therefore remember that they have been called
by Jesus Christ, "the light of the world, that the soul of
the priest should shine like a light illuminating the whole world."(17)
The light of learning, and that in no small degree is needed in
the priest, because it is his duty, to fill others with wisdom,
to destroy errors, to be a guide to the many in the steep and
slippery paths of life. Learning ought to be accompanied by innocence
of life, because in the reformation of man example is far better
than precept. "Let your light shine before men, that they
may see your good works."(18) The meaning of the divine word
is that the perfection of virtue in priests should be such that
they should be like a mirror to the rest of men. "There is
nothing which induces others more effectively to piety and the
worship of God, than the life and example of those who have dedicated
themselves to the divine ministry: for, since they are separated
from the world and placed in a higher sphere, others look on them
as though on a mirror, to take examples from them."(19) Therefore
if all men must watchfully heed against the allurements of sin,
and against seeking too eagerly fleeting pleasures, it is clear
how much more faithful and steadfast ought priests to be. The
sacredness of their dignity, moreover - as well as the fact that
it is not sufficient to restrain their passions-demands in them
the habit of stringent self restraint, and also a guard over the
powers of the soul, particularly the intellect and will, which
hold the supreme place in man. "Thou who hast the mind to
leave all (says St. Bernard), remember to reckon thyself among
what thou would'st abandon - nay, deny thyself first and before
everything." Not before the soul is unshackled and free from
every desire, will men have a generous zeal for the salvation
of others, without which they cannot properly secure their own
everlasting welfare. "There will be one thing only sought
(says St. Bernard) by His subjects, one glory, one pleasure -
to make ready for the Lord a perfect people. For this they will
give everything with much exertion of mind and body, with toil
and suffering, with hunger and thirst, with cold and nakedness."
The frequent meditation upon the things of heaven wonderfully
nourishes and strengthens virtue of this kind, and makes it always
fearless of the greatest difficulties for the good of others.
The more pains they take to meditate well, the more clearly will
they understand the greatness and holiness of the priestly office.
They will understand how sad it is that so many men, redeemed
by Jesus Christ, are running headlong to eternal ruin; and by
meditation upon God they will be themselves encouraged, and will
more effectually excite others to the love of God. Such, then,
is the surest method for the salvation of all; and in this men
must take heed not to be terrified by difficulties, and not to
despair of cure by reason of the long continuance of the evil.
The impartial and unchangeable justice of God metes out reward
for good deeds and punishment for sin. But since the life of peoples
and nations, as such, does not outlast their world, they necessarily
receive the rewards due to their deeds on this earth. Indeed it
is no new thing that prosperity should come to a wrong-doing state;
and this by the just counsel of God, Who from time to time rewards
good actions with prosperity, for no people is altogether without
merit, and this Augustine considered was the case with the Roman
people. The law, nevertheless, is clear that for public prosperity
it is to the interest of all that virtue - and justice especially,
which is the mother of all virtues - should be practised, "Justice
exalteth a nation; but sin maketh nations miserable."(20)
It is not Our purpose here to consider how far evil deeds may
prosper, not whether empires, when flourishing and managing matters
to their own liking, do nevertheless carry about with them, as
it were shut up in their bowels, the seed of ruin and wretchedness.
We wish this one thing to be understood, of which history has
innumerable examples, that injustice is always punished, and with
greater severity the longer it has been continued. We are greatly
consoled by the words of the Apostle Paul, "For all things
are yours; and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's."(21)
By the hidden dispensation of divine providence the course of
earthly things is so guided that all things that happen to man
turn out to the glory of God for the salvation of those who are
true disciples of Jesus Christ. Of these the mother and guide,
the leader and guardian is the Church; which being united to Christ
her spouse in intimate and unchangeable charity is also joined
to Him by a common cause of battle and of victory. Hence We are
not, and cannot be anxious on account of the Church, but We greatly
fear for the salvation of very many, who proudly despise the Church,
and by every kind of error rush to ruin; We are concerned for
those States which We cannot but see are turned from God and sleeping
in the midst of danger in dull security and insensibility. "Nothing
is equal to the Church;" [says St. John Chrysostom,] "how
many have opposed the Church and have themselves perished? The
Church reaches to the heavens; such is the Church's greatness.
She conquers when attacked; when beset by snares she triumphs;
she struggles and is not overthrown, she fights and is not conquered."
Not only is she not conquered, but she preserves that corrective
power over nature, and that effective strength of life that springs
from God Himself, and is unchanged by time. And, if by this power
she has freed the world grown old in vice and lost in superstition,
why should she not again recover it when gone astray? Let strife
and suspicion at length cease, let all obstacles be removed, give
the possession of all her rights to the Church, whose duty it
is to guard and spread abroad the benefits gained by Jesus Christ,
then We shall know by experience, where the light of the Gospel
is, and what the power of Christ can do.
15. This year, which is now coming to an end,
has given, as We have said, many signs of a reviving faith. Would
that like the spark it might grow to an ever-increasing flame,
which, by burning up the roots of sin, may open a way for the
restoration of morals and for salutary counsels. We, indeed, who
steer the mystical barque of the Church in such a storm, fix Our
mind and heart upon the Divine Pilot Who holds the helm and sits
unseen. Thou seest, Lord, how the winds have borne down on every
side, how the sea rages and the waves are lashed to fury. Command,
we beseech Thee, Who alone canst, the winds and the sea. Give
back to man that tranquillity and order-that true peace which
the world cannot give. By Thy grace let man be restored to proper
order with faith in God, as in duty bound, with justice and love
towards our neighbour, with temperance as to ourselves, and with
passions controlled by reason. Let Thy kingdom come, let the duty
of submitting to Thee and serving Thee be learnt by those who,
far from Thee, seek truth and salvation to no purpose. In Thy
laws there is justice and fatherly kindness; Thou grantest of
Thy own good will the power to keep them. The life of a man on
earth is a warfare, but Thou lookest down upon the struggle and
helpest man to conquer, Thou raisest him that falls, and crownest
him that triumphs.(22)
16. With a mind upheld by these thoughts to cherish
a joyful and firm hope, as a pledge of the favours of Heaven and
of Our good-will, We most lovingly in the Lord grant to you, Venerable
Brethren, and to the clergy and people of the whole Catholic world,
the Apostolic blessing.
Given at Rome at St. Peter's, on the birthday
of Our Lord Jesus Christ; in the year 1888; the eleventh of Our
Pontificate.
LEO XIII
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REFERENCES:
1. 1 Jn ii, 16.
2. Job xi, 12.
3. Wis i, 14.
4. Acts iv, 12.
5. Heb xii, 2.
6. Heb xii, 1.
7. Heb xii, 2.
8. Gal v, 24.
9. 2 Cor iv, 10.
10. Conc. Trid., sess. v, can. 5.
11. Mt xxvi, 41.
12. Lk vi, 12.
13. Lk xxii, 43.
14. Lk xi, 9.
15. Mt vii, 11.
16. 1 Pet v, 5.
17. St. John Chrysost. De Sac. 1, 3, c.l.
18. Mt v, 16.
19. Conc. Trid. Sess. xxii, c. 1, de Ref.
20. Pr xiv, 34.
21. I Cor. iii, 22-23.
22. Cf. S. Aug. in Ps 32.
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