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Messages of His Holiness, Pop>e John XXIII

ON THE SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL

APPROPINQUANTE CONSILIO, Motu Proprio of His Holiness
Pope John XXIII August 6, 1962

RESUME OF THE REGULATIONS FOR THE COUNCIL. Pre-
pared by the Press Office of the Second Vatican
Ecumenical Council

RADIO ADDRESS TO THE WORLD, given on September 11, 1962
by Pope John

ADDRESS GIVEN ON JUNE 20, 1962 by His Holiness at the
concluding meeting of the 7th and final session of the

Central Preparatory Commission.

PENTECOST ADDRESS given in St. Peter's Basilica on June 10,
1962

Translations provided by the NCWC News Service

1962

National Catholic Welfare Conference
1312 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. Washington 5, D.C.





APPROPINQUANTE CONCILIO

Motu Proprio of His Holiness, Pope John XXIII

August 6, 1962

With the advent of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council,
Our soul is filled with a great joy thinking of the now close and
marvelous spectacle which will be offered by the multitude of
bishops gathered together in the beloved city of Rome, coming
from all parts of the world to study, together with Us, near the
tomb of St. Peter, the most grave problems of the Church.

Therefore We give deep thanks to God, not only because He
has benevolently given Us the inspiration to initiate such im-
portant work but also because He has continually guided with
His help the preparatory labors of the council. This confirms

Us constantly more in the confidence that the abundance of
divine blessings will not be wanting for the completion of the

work begun, just as they were abundant at the happy beginning.
The Catholic Church expects multiple fruits from this

great gathering. And she, who is the most holy spouse of
Christ and the mother and teacher of all peoples, desires above
all else that the light of truth reaches all her sons, including

those who live far distant from her, so that they may always be
more fired by the ardor of charity. It is, in fact, the heavenly
values of truth and charity which help to the greatest extent in
achieving peace and unity. That which the coming council pro-
poses to achieve is found in that mandate which Jesus Christ
entrusted to the Apostles and which echoes in all places and
at all times: '^Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them and teaching them to observe all that I have commanded
you^\(l) There are, therefore, three tasks which are expected
of the Bishops, the successors of the Apostles, that is, teaching,
sanctifying and governing. So that they might carry out this
mandate in a worthy manner, Jesus Christ has benignly promised
to be with them until the end of time.

Men must be taught that which concerns the true Faith and
good morals, and there must always be remembered more what
the intimate nature of the Church is and what are her tasks and
her ends. In fact, the more radiantly the face of Mother Church

( 1 ) Matthew 28 , 10

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shines, with so much more intense ardor will men love her, and
with all the more docility of mind will they use the means of
salvation offered by her and be obedient to her laws.

Moreover, new inventions have enlarged the dominion of men
over »^?+iire. and since there is also in this, a similarity to the
appearance of divine wisdom which '‘is the brightness. . .of
eternal light and the unspotted mirror of God's majesty and the
image of His goodness" (2), it is to be hoped that men may draw
encouragement from this to improve with more attentive study
their morals and to achieve that intimate perfection of life
toward which the human mind tends by its nature.

The approaching ecumenical council, by virtue of the number
of those who will participate in its meetings, evidently will be
the greatest of the councils held by the Church thus far. And
this fact, while a reason of comfort, engenders also in the mind
worries and concern, since, as it is clear, it will not be an
easy thing to store up wisely for use the counsels of an assembly
so numerous, to followthe voice of so many speakers, to examine
in depth the wishes and desires of all and to put into effect all
that has been established.

What inspires confidence in Our mind is the certainty that
the Fathers of the council, though they differ according to

nation, race and language, are all Our brothers in Christ and
all act in one single and similar spirit, so that truly according

to the words of Jesus Christ they will be able to shine as the
light of the world and will be able to produce fruits "in all
goodness and justice and truth". (3)

In order that these fruits may be abundant. We will be
helped above all by Almighty God, whom We have invoked with
all Our prayers through Jesus Christ, the one and only Mediator
between God and men, and through the Most Blessed Virgin
Mary and her spouse, St. Joseph, under whose special patronage
We have wished to place the council. The common work of all
those who take part in the council will also help, so long as it is
in harmony and proceeds according to the prescribed order.
This is why We have deemed it opportune to establish certain
norms which, taking into account the special nature and circum-
stances of this council, favor the beginning and the honest

(1) Matthew 28 , 10

(2) Wisdom 7 , 26

(3) Ephesians 5 , 8-9

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progress of the work of such a vast assembly and consequently
''let all things be done properly and in order". (4)

Therefore, after mature reflection, through this motu proprlo
and on Our Apostolic authority. We decree and promulgate the
following provisions and We order that they be observed faith-
fully by all at the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council.

We prescribe therefore that all that which is established
in this Our motu propHo remain definitely established and be
observed irrespective of any other provisions to the contrary,

however worthy of special attention.
Given in Rome, at St. Peter's, the 6th of August, the feast of

the Transfiguration of Our Lord, of the year 1962, the fourth of
Our pontificate.

(4) Corinthians 14 , 40

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RESUME Of THE REGULATIONS FOR THE COUNCIL

Prepared and distributed by the Press Office of the
Second Vatican Ecumenical Council

The regulations which establish the norms for the Second
Vatican Ecumenical Council consist of three parts: the first
concerns the people who will participate in the council or who
are engaged in work pertaining to its progress; the second estab-
lishes the rules which must be observed during the council; the
third indicates the procedure for the meetings.

PART ONE: The Participants

The first part is divided into nine chapters which are sub-
divided into 18 articles, including an introduction in which it is
stated who are the council Fathers and their obligation, accord-
ing to the Code of Canon Law, to have themselves represented
by a deputy should it be impossible for them to attend person-
ally. In the introduction there are also listed the people who
perform tasks during the council: theologians, canonists,
experts on different disciplines, the Secretary General, the

under secretaries, the masters of ceremonies, those who
assign the seats, the notaries, the promoters, the ballot ex-
aminers, the scribes- archivists, the readers, the interpreters,

the translators, the stenographers, the technicians.

The first three chapters define the essential structural
outline and duties of the public sessions, of the general congre-

gations and of the council commissions.
The public sessions are presided over by the Pope and in

his presence the council Fathers express their vote on the

decrees and canons previously discussed and prepared at the
general congregations.

The general congregation is presided over, in the name and
with the authority of the Pope himself, by one of the 10 cardinals
chosen and named by the Holy Father to form the Council of the
Presidency.

The council commissions amend, and eventually prepare,
according to the opinion expressed by the Fathers during the
general congregations, the projects of the decrees and canons.

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There are 10 council commissions and they are composed
as follows:

—One cardinal president named by the Pope;
--One or two vice presidents elected by the president from
among the members of the commission;

--One secretary chosen by the president from among the
theologians or canonists or experts of the council;

—Twenty-four members, of whom 16 will be elected by the
Fathers of the council and eight named by the Pope.

--The 10 council commissions are named according to the
subjects they must examine:

1) The Doctrinal Commission for Faith and Morals;
2) Commission for Bishops and the government of

dioceses;

3) Commission for the Oriental Churches;

4) Commission for the Discipline of the Sacraments;
5) Commission for the Discipline of the Clergy and the

Christian people;

6) Commission for the Religious;
7) Commission for the Missions;

8) Commission for Sacred Liturgy;
9) Commission for Seminaries, Studies and Catholic

schools;

10)

Commission for the Apostolate of the Laity, for the
Press and Entertainment.

As one can see, the council commissions follow almost the
same outline as the preparatory commissions, with the exception
of the 10th which combines the preparatory Commission for the
Lay Apostolate with the preparatory Secretariat for Press and
Entertainment.

To these 10 commissions there are added moreover: a) a
Secretariat for Extraordinary Questions of the Council. The
duty of this secretariat will be to examine possible new prob-
lems of special importance proposed by the Fathers and, if
need be, to refer them to the Holy Father. This secretariat is
presided over by the Cardinal Secretary of State and its secre-
tary is the secretary general of the council.

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b) The Secretariat for the Union of Christians, c) the
Technical-Organizational Commission andd) the Administrative
Secretariat. The last three bodies continue to exist because
they have not finished their task and they keep their character-
istic nature and structure of the preparatory period.

The fourth chapter establishes the composition and the
duties of the Administrative Tribunal. This was constituted
with the duty of defining possible disciplinary questions. It

consists of 10 members and is presided over by a cardinal.
Both members and cardinal are named by the Pope.

The fifth chapter illustrates the qualifications and the
duties of the council experts, that is, of the theologians,

canonists and others. They are designated by the Pope. They
take part in the general congregations but without right to

speak or to be interrogated. They collaborate with the members
of the council commissions, on the invitation of the individual
presidents of these commissions, for the purpose of compiling
and correcting the texts and of preparing reports.

The council Fathers can moreover make use not only of
the official council experts but also of theologians, canonists and

private experts who, though bound by secrecy regarding the
questions discussed in the council of which they are informed,
cannot however take part in the general congregations or in the
meetings of the council commissions.

The sixth chapter, subdivided into four long articles, deals
with the General Secretariat, directed by the Secretary General
who is assisted by two under-secretaries. This secretariat is
subdivided into four different offices:

1) The Office of Sacred Ceremonies, to which belong the
the prefect of ceremonies, the masters of ceremonies and
the people in charge of assigning the seats;

2) The Office of Juridic Acts, consisting of notaries,
promoters and ballot examiners;

3) The Office for recording and preserving of the council
acts, in which work the scribe-archivists, the readers,
the interpreters, translators and stenographers;

4) The Office formed by all the people responsible for the
technical equipment used for recordings, voting, etc.

All the members of these different offices depend on the
secretary general and are named by the Holy Father. Their
individual duties which are easily identified by the definition of
their appointments, are subsequently clearly defined in the

regulations.

8



The seventh chapter outlines the duties of the two custodians
of the council, who are also named by the Holy Father.

The eighth chapter of the first part deals with the observers
who are sent by the Christian churches separated from the
Catholic Church.

They can attend the public sessions and the general congre-
gations, with the exception of special cases indicated by the

Council of the Presidency; they cannot, however, intervene in

the discussions or vote. They cannot take part in the meetings
of the council commissions without the permission of the lawful
authority. They can report to their communities on the council
meetings, but they are bound by secrecy regarding any other
person. The Secretariat for Union is the official body of the
council for the necessary contacts with the observers and it is

the duty of the secretariat to make the necessary provisions
enabling them to follow the work of the council.

PART TWO:

The Norms Which Must Be Observed at the Council

The second part consists of 12 chapters subdivided into 25
articles.

They contain first of all indications regarding the procedure
for convoking council meetings, and establish that the public
session and the general congregations will be held in St. Peter^s,

whereas the commissions will meet in premises as close as
possible to the basilica.

At the public sessions all the Fathers having episcopal rank,
as well as abbots and prelates, will wear a white cope and miter.
But at the general congregations the cardinals will wear red or
violet cassocks, according to the liturgical seasons, with rochet,

short cape and mozetta; patriarchs will dress in violet with
rochet, short cape and mozetta; archbishops and bishops will
wear violet cassock with only the rochet and short cape; abbots,
prelates nullius and the superiors of religious orders will wear
their own choir dress.

Precedence is established as follows: cardinals, patriarchs,
primates, archbishops, bishops, abbots and prelates nullius,

abbots primate, abbots superior of monastic congregations, the
superiors general of orders and of the exempted religious
clerical congregations. Procurators also have their special

9



place according to order of precedence; a special place is
also reserved to the council experts.

The fourth and fifth chapters establish the norms for the
profession of faith and for the oath of secrecy.

The sixth and seventh chapters prescribe that Latin is the
only language which canbe used at public sessions, at the general
congregations, at the meetings of the Administrative Tribunal
and for the compiling of the acts. The readers, interpreters,
and translators are held at the disposal of the Fathers to make
the use of Latin easier for them.

At the meetings of the council commissions modern languages
can also be used in addition to Latin, but subject to immediate
translation into Latin.

The eighth chapter provides indication of how the discus-
sions in the council hall must proceed.

a) Every question which is to be discussed must be pre-
sented and illustrated at the general congregation by a
relator who is designated by the president of the com-
mission involved;

b) Every Father who intends to intervene in order to
approve, reject or amend the text, must present a request
to the presidency, through the general secretary, and,

when his turn comes, he must clearly outline the reasons
for his intervention, subsequently handing in writing the

possible amendments he proposes. The Fathers are
requested not to exceed, if possible, 10 minutes when they
speak to illustrate their thought.

c) The general congregation, after hearing the reply of the
relator, will vote on the individual proposals and amend-
ments, deciding on whether they are to be rejected or
included in the project.

d) If the amendments are accepted, the relator—once the
text has been returned to the council commission for
correction—will have to submit again the new formula
for the examination of the general congregation.

e) If the amended project is not approved in all its parts by
the general congregation, the same routine will have to
be followed again for its ultimate prefection.

Chapter nine indicates the formulae and the methods which
must govern the ballots: placet (yes), non placet (no), atpublic
sessions in the presence of the Holy Father; placet, non placet, or
placet justa modum (yes, but With changes), at the general congre-

10



gations and at the commissions. Whoever casts a ballot placet
justa modum must explain in writing the reasons for his reserva-
tions.

Ballots are cast with special cards, which will be examined
by a new mechanical system unless the president of the assembly
decides otherwise case by case.

There must be a two-thirds majority in the ballots taken at
public sessions, general congregations and at meetings of the

council commissions, unless special provisions to the contrary

are decided by the Supreme Pontiff.
The 10th chapter deals with the possibility of new questions

being presented for discussion by the council. In order that

these may be examined by the Council of the Presidency, the
person submitting them must present them in writing together
with the reasons which justify his act. But they must always be
questions concerning problems pertaining to public welfare and
of such importance that they demand the attention of the council.

The last chapters of the second part forbid the Fathers
explicitly- -referring to Canon 225 of canon law--from leaving
the council before it has ended. In the event that any one of

them has to leave Rome for urgent reasons while the council is
still meeting, the permission of the president will have to be
requested; when one has to be absent from a meeting of the
public sessions or of the general congregations, the Council of

the Presidency in this case too must be warned through the
secretary general.

PART THREE: Procedure of the Meetings

The third part consists of only three chapters which are
divided into 27 articles. This part envisages in all its details the
procedure of the meetings of the public sessions, the general
congregations and the council commissions.

Preceded and accompanied by special liturgical ceremonies,
the public sessions are presided over by the Holy Father. After
reading from a special pulpit the prepared decrees and canons,
the secretary general asks for the vote of the Fathers, the result

of which is immediately communicated to the Pope.
If the Supreme Pontiff approves in his turn these decrees

and canons, he pronounces the solemn formula: ‘‘The decrees
and canons just read are pleasing to the Fathers (without
exception, or with the exception of- -votes to the contrary.)

11 -



And We also, withL the approval of the sacred council, decree,
establish and promulgate them as they have been read.”

The general congregations are held on the basis of a precise
calendar, which is communicated beforehand to the Fathers.
Every day work begins with the Holy Mass which is celebrated
by a council Father who is designated by the president and with
the prayer of the “Adsumus”

;
it ends with the prayer of the

‘'Agimus '^ . According to the procedure outlined in the second
part, every project is examined and perfected. When the time
of its final compilation is reached, the president submits it to
the Holy Father, to permit him, if he deems it opportune, to
accept it for approval at the public session.

In their turn, the council commissions base the procedure
of their meetings on the general congregations, with the ex-
ception of the special and individual needs of the task entrusted

to them: thatof preparing the projects which are to be discussed,
presenting them to the general congregations, amending them
according to the proposals expressed by the Fathers during the
joint meetings in the council hall.

12



DIAMO IL TESTO
Radio Address of September 11, 1962

The great anticipation of the ecumenical council, just a
month away from its official opening, is shining in the eyes and
the hearts Of all the children of the holy and blessed Catholic

Church.

In the course of three years of preparation, an array of
chosen minds assembled from all parts of the world and of
every tongue, united in sentiments and in purpose, has gathered

together so abundant a wealth of doctrinal and pastoral material

as to provide the episcopate of the entire world, when they meet
beneath the vaults of the Vatican basilica, themes for a most
wise application of the Gospel teaching of Christ which for 20
centuries has been the light of humanity redeemed by His blood.

We are therefore, by the grace of God, proceeding satis-
factorily.

The prophetic words of Jesus, pronounced in view of the
final consummation of the world, inspire the good and generous
dispositions of men—especially at certain periods in history

—

to a fresh start towards the highest peaks: “Levate capita vestra,

quoniam appropinquat redemptio vestra” [Lift up yOUr heads, because
your redemption is at hand.] (1)

Considered in its spiritual preparation, the council which
is to meet in a few weeks, seems to merit that invitation of Our
Lord: “Yidete omnes arhores cum iam producunt ex se fructum. Ita et vos..

scitote quoniam prope est regnum Dei ” [Behold the fig tree, and all the
trees. When they put forth their buds, you know that summer is
near. Even so, when you see these things coming to pass, know
that the kingdom of God is near.] (2)

(1) Cfr. Luke 21, 20-33

(2) Ibid.

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This phrase, ‘'"Regnum Dei,** (The Kingdom of God) ex-
presses fully and precisely the tasks of the council. Regnum
Dei signifies and is in reality the Church of Christ: one, holy,
catholic and apostolic.

Just as Jesus, the Word of God made man, founded her, for
20 centuries He has preserved her, and still today vivifies her
by His presence and His grace. Through her. He is continually
renewing the ancient miracle which during successive ages, at
times harsh and difficult, bore her in adversity and in prosperity,
thus multiplying the victories of the spirit: Victories of truth

over error, of good over evil, of love and peace over divisions
and opposition.

The Terms of the Contradiction

Good and evil are with us still and will remain with us in
the future. This is because the free will of man will always
have the freedom to express itself and the possibility of going
astray. But the final and eternal victory will be with Christ and
His Church in every chosen soul and in the chosen souls of every
people.

It seems happy and opportune to Us here to recall the
symbolism of the Easter candle. At one point in the liturgy,
see how His name resounds: ‘'L umen Christi.** The Church of
Christ, from every point of the earth, responds, “Deo g rati as,
Deo gratias,** aS though tO Say: “Yes. Lumen Christi; Lumen ecclesiae

;

Lumen gentium.**

What else has a council ever been, in fact, but a renewal
of this meeting with the countenance of the risen Christ, glorious

and immortal King, radiant for the whole Church, for the
salvation, the joy and the splendor of mankind?

It is in the light of this apparition that the ancient psalm
comes very seasonably: “E xtolle super nos lumen vultus tui Domine

.

Dedisti laetiiiam in cor meum.** [Q Lord, let the light of your coun-
tenance shine upon us! You put gladness into my heart. ](3)

A true joy for the universal Church of Christ is what the
ecumenical council intends to be. Its reason for existence is
the continuation, or better still the most energetic revival, of
the response of the entire world, of the modern world, to the

(3) Cfr. Ps. 4

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testament of the Lord, formulated in those words which He
pronounced with divine solemnity and with hands stretched out
towards the farthest ends of the world: *'Euntes eryo-docete omnes

gentes — ba'ptizantes eos in nomine Patris etFilii e t Spin tun Sancti-docentes eoa

servare omnia quaecumque dixi vobis.” [Go, therefore, and make dis-
ciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe
all that I have commanded you.](4)

The Church wishes to be sought again as she is, in her
internal structure—vitality in her own behalf—in the act of
presenting anew, above all to her children, the treasures of

enlightening faith and of sanctifying grace, which take their

inspiration from those final words of Christ. They are words
which express the preeminent task of the Church, her titles of
service and of honor, namely, to vivify, to teach and to pray.

Considered in the relations of her vitality in her own behalf,
that is, in face of the needs and demands of peoples- -those
human circumstances which turn them towards the esteem and
enjoyment of earthly goods—the Church considers it her sacred
duty to live up to her teaching: ^^To pass through earthly goods
in such a way as not to lose those which are eternal. (5)

It is from this sense of responsibility before the duties of
the Christian called to live as a man among men, as a Christian
among Christians, that so many others, who although not
Christians, in reality ought to feel themselves drawn by good
example to become Christians.

This is the door that leads to that so-called activity, ex-
terior yes, but entirely apostolic, of the Church, from which
those words take their vigor and radiating power: “Docentes eos
servare omnia quaecumque mandavi vobis.” [Teaching them tO Observe
all that I have commanded you.]

The world indeed has need of Christ, and it is the Church
which must bring Christ to the world. The world has its prob-
lems and it is with anguish at times that it seeks a solution.
It goes without saying that the busy preoccupation to solve them
with timeliness, but also with rectitude, can be an obstacle to
the spread of the whole truth and of that grace which santifies.

Man seeks the love of a family around the domestic hearth.
He seeks daily bread for himself and for his dear ones, his wife
and his children. He aspires toward and feels the duty to live in

(4) Cfr. Matt. 28, 19-20

(5) Cfr. Third Sunday After Pentecost; Collect.

- 15 -



peace both within the national community and in relation with the
rest of the world. He is aware of the attractions of the spirit
which leads him to educate and raise himself. Jealous of his
liberty, he does not refuse to accept its legitimate limitations
in order to correspond more fully with his social duties.

These most grave problems press ever upon the heart of
the Church.

Hence, she has made them an object of attentive study. The
ecumenical council will be able to present, in clear language,
solutions which are demanded by the dignity of man and of his
vocation as a Christian. Here are some of them: The funda-
mental equality of all peoples in the exercise of rights and

duties within the entire family of nations; The strenuous de-
fense of the sacred character of matrimony (which imposes upon
the married couple an understanding and generous love, from
which results the procreation of the children), considered in its
religious and moral aspect, within the framework of the gravest
responsibilities of a social nature, in time and for eternity.

Those doctrines which favor religious indifference or denial
of God and of the supernatural order and those doctrines which
ignore Providence in history and exalt out of all proportion the

person of the individual man, with the danger of removing him
from his social responsibilities, should hear again from the
Church those courageous and sublime words already expressed
in the important document Mater et Magistra. in which is summed
up the thoughtof two thousand years of the history of Christianity.

Another Point of Enlightenment

Where the underdeveloped countries are concerned, the
Church presents herself as she is. She wishes to be the church
of all, and especially the church of the poor.

Every offense against and violation of the Fifth and Sixth
Commandments of the Holy Decalogue; the neglect of tasks
which flow from the Seventh Commandment; the miseries of
social life which cry for vengeance in the sight of God; all this

must be recalled and deplored.
The duty of every man, the impelling duty of the Christian,

is to look upon what is superfluous in the light of the needs of

others, and to see to it that the administration and distribution

of created goods are placed at the advantage of all.

- 16 -



This is called the spread of the social and community
sense which is innate in true Christianity. And this is to be
energetically put into action.

What is to be said concerning the relations between the
Church and civil society?

We are living in the midst of a new political world. One
of the fundamental rights which the Church can never renounce

is that of religious liberty, which is not merely freedom of
worship.

The Church vindicates and teaches this liberty, and on that
account, she continues to suffer anguishing pain in many
countries.

The Church cannot renounce this liberty, because it is
inseparable from the service she is bound to fulfill. This
service does not stand as the corrective or the complement of
what other institutions ought to do, or have appropriated to

themselves, but it is an essential and irreplaceable element of

the design of Providence to place man upon the path of truth
and liberty which are the building stones upon which human
civilization is raised.

The ecumenical council is about to assemble seventeen
years after the end of the Second World War. For the first
time in history, the Fathers of the Council belong, in reality,

to all peoples and nations. Each of them will bring his contri-
bution of intelligence and of experience, to cure and heal the

wounds of the two conflicts which have changed profoundly the
face of all countries.

The mothers and fathers of families detest war. The Church,
mother of all without distinction, will raise once more that plea
which rises from the depth of the ages and from Bethlehem and
from there on Calvary, in the hope that it may spread abroad in
a prayerful precept of peace: a peace that prevents armed
conflicts; peace which should have its roots and its guarantee
in the heart of each man.

It is natural that the council in its doctrinal structure, and
in the pastoral action it promotes, should wish to express that
yearning of peoples to travel upon the path which Providence has
assigned to each one; to cooperate in the triumph of peace and
to render it more noble, more just and more meritorious for all
this earthly existence.

17



The bishops, pastors of Christas flock, “e® omninatione quae
sub coelo est” [Devont men from every nation under heaven](6)
will recall the concept of peace, not only in its negative aspect,
which is the detesting of armed conflicts, but even more in its
positive demands which require from every man a knowledge
and constant practice of his own duties: hierarchy, harmony
and service of spiritual values open to all; possession and use

of the powers of nature and science, use which is directed only
and exclusively to the aim of elevating the standard of the
spiritual as well as the economical welfare of all nations.

Living together, coordination and integration are the noblest

of ideals which echo in the international gathering, bringing
hope, instilling courage.

The council desires to exalt, in a holier and more solemn
form, the deeper application of fellowship and love which are
natural needs of man and imposed on the Christian as rules for
his relationship between man and man, between people and
people.

O mystery of Divine Providence, by which the imminent
celebration of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council once
again uncovers and exalts, in an incomparable light, the duty of
service and spiritual dominion of the apostolic chair, a duty
which embraces the destiny of all humanity!

Rightly did Prudentius, the ancient Christian poet, sing in

his day of the triumph of the Divine Redeemer in the act of
designating Rome the center of the new era in the history of the
world, an era which had taken its inspiration and name from
Christ. (7)

During this preparation for the council, it has been possible
to prove this.

The precious links in the chain of love, which already from
the first centuries of the Christian era, the grace of Our Lord
had forged with the different countries of Europe and of the
then-known world for the' perfection of Catholic unity, and which
through various circumstances seemed, later on, to grow weak
and in fact to break, now attract the attention of all those who
are not insensitive to the new breath which the project of the
council has aroused here and there, in anxious desire of

fraternal reunion in the embrace of the ancient common mother,
Sancta et universalis mater ecclesia.

(6) Cfr. Act. 2,5

(7) Cfr. Prud, Peristeph. Hymn. II, VV 461-470: P.L. 60, Col. 324.

18



Here is the reason of Our serene joy which surpasses the
first spark which We had when We first began the preparation of
this world gathering.

O the beauty of the petition in the liturgy: "C/no cuncto -populo
Christiano pacem et unitatem largiri digneris [Deign tO grant peace

and unity to a united Christian people.]

O the overflowing joy of the heart on reading the 17th
chapter of St. John: "C/^ omnes unum sint.*' [That all may be one.]
Vnum: One in thought, in word and in work.

The ancient bard of the glorious deeds of Christendom(8)
returning to his stimulating motive for universal cooperation

in justice and fellowship among all the nations, with telling
force loves io recall to all the children of the Church that at
Rome the two princes of the apostolate, Peter and Paul, are
always in attendance.

Paul, is the great vessel of election specially reserved to

announce the Gospel to those who have not yet received it and
Simon Peter, who for twenty centuries, seated in the first chair,
is ready to open and to shut the door of Heaven: to open, you
understand, dear children, to open the door in this life and for
eternity.

With forceful words, he addresses the pagan idols- -begone
from your places, leave the people of Christ in perfect liberty.
It is Paul who drives you out. It is the blood of Peter and Paul
which cries out against you.

In milder tone, the humble successor of Peter and Paul in
the government and apostolate of the Catholic Church, on this
vigil of the council, loves to address all his children throughout
the world, ex oriente et occidente (from the East and the West), of
every rite, of every language, with the prayer of the Twelfth
Sunday after Pentecost.

It would not be possible to find a happier expression more
in accord with the individual and collective preparation for the
success of the ecumenical council.

We desire all throughout the world to repeat and to get
others to repeat with insistence this prayer during these weeks
from September 11 to October 11, the opening day of that great
conciliar assembly. These words seem to come from Heaven.

They give the note to the choral chant of the Pope, the
bishops, the clergy and the people. One canticle alone rises up,

(8) Cfr. Prud. Ibid.

19



mighty, harmonious, penetrating: “Lumen ChHsti, Deo gratias.“ This
light shines and will shine throughout the ages. Yes, Lumen
Christi, Ecclesia Christi, Lumen gentium.

Almighty and merciful God, through whose grace your faithful

are able to serve you with dignity and joy, grant, we beseech you,

that we may run without any hindrance towards the attainment of

your promises. We, from all parts of the earth and from Heaven, thus

implore you. Through the merits of Jesus Christ, Master and Saviour

of all. Amen.”

* * *

(9) C/r. Prayer of 12th Sunday after Pentecost



SEPTIMO HOC CONVENTU
Address of June 20, 1962

With this seventh session of the components of the central
commission, the period of preparation of our Second Vatican
Ecumenical Council draws to a close in great joy and common
satisfaction.

It is a source of consolation to the humble Servant of the
servants of the Lord to recall the first and spontaneous flicker
of the small flame which animated the ecumenical council as it
was made known to your eyes and hearts. We conveyed it in
fraternal confidence to the Lord Cardinals there in that Basilica
of St. Paul Outside the Walls near the tomb of the Apostle of the
Gentiles on the feast of his conversion, January 25, 1959.

Three years of good labor and of faithful cooperation have
passed. They have been three years—from the constitution of
the antepreparatory commission (May 17, 1959) to the constitu-
tion of the ten commissions and the three secretariats (June 5,
1959)- -persevering and silent but very prodigious labor during

all of 1960, until the advent in its turn of the noble service of

the great and superior Central Preparatory Commission under
the presidency of the Pope, beginning on June 12, 1961, and
continuing until today.

Truly, We are pleased to repeat, they were three years of
magnificent, devoted, ardent and edifying activity. A few hours
still remain. Tomorrow during the solemnity of the feast of
Corpus Christi we will again see the flame which once humbly
appeared at the tomb of St. Paul.

We will see it grown now into a great blaze in the splendid
vastness of St. Peter's Square, where an immense throng will
take it up like a torch, chanting the praise of Jesus Christ in the
glory of the august Sacrament, invoked here in this chosen place
on earth as the ^'mystery of faith—mystery of unity- -mystery
of peace."

The celebration of these days, namely, the completion of
the three years, beginning at the Temple of St. Paul, first
preacher of the Gospel, and brought to the Basilica of St. Peter,

- 21 -



Prince of the Apostles and head of the Universal Church, could
not be more happy nor more solemn.

The first and most important undertaking for the success
of an ecumenical council is in its detailed and accurate prepara-
tion. Therefore, let these words flow constantly from our lips:
''Let us bless the Lord and give thanks to God.'' For what better
could we have expected in the measure of human possibility?
We thank the Lord abundantly for it.

After having arrived at this point in the official and final

preparation, three months of recollection will follow. In that
time many tasks must be performed by the Office of the General
Secretariat and by the Technical Commission to prepare all
things and set them in right order.

The particular cooperation of the individual Fathers of the
council scattered through the world will be even more intense
and lively. Furthermore, they will have time to dispose their
minds, reading, meditating and annotating the projects which
will be sent to each of them shortly.

No more welcome service than this could be rendered for
the full success of the council in its solemn deliberation from
October 11 onward: namely, that whatever any of the Fathers
may consider opportune should be carefully noted and made
known by transmitting it to the new General Secretariat- -or to
the person of the Cardinal Secretary of State of His Holiness

—

by means of a private letter.
Let all these things, however, contribute toward a measured

wisdom and a spirit of clarity, and let them be done with the
best possible dispositions, so that difficulties may be overcome
and everything be dealt with in a spirit of greatest peace.

During these last meetings, projects prepared by the
preparatory commission have been examined which deal with
important theological problems: relations between Church and
State; the needs of the Church; ecumenism; ecclesiastical
discipline; relations between bishops and Religious; the forma-
tion of clerics; Catholic schools; Catholic associations; and the

apostolate.

The subcommissions for amendments and for interrelated
material are working to perfect the projects discussed at this
last session of the Central Commission. The subcommission
for regulations has also reached its last phase.

Following the complex work of the past three years. Our
spirit has experienced so much joy and serenity in seeing and
daily admiring the intelligent, fervent and joyful effort of all the

- 22 -



lord cardinals, bishops, general moderators of orders and

religious congregations, rectors of universities and of ecclesias-

tical atheneums, prelates and members of the secular and
regular clergy—and personalities of the laity to a certain
extent—who have shared in the constructive preparation of this
‘'mystical tower'' which is worthy of the wish of peace and

abundance expressed in psalm 121.
Our intentions are forthright and clear.
This Holy Church, founded by Jesus as a City of God, rises

peacefully among the towers built by men. The latter do not
tend to seek the glory of the Lord- -which We say without taking
away from personal and perhaps good intentions--and they tend
instead to become a source of anxiety and permanent danger for
the peace of the world.

But We intend to continue in Our good work, with all the
more enthusiasm now that We see the elements designed to
assure its definite success being drawn up and composed with
decision and joy.

According to a dictum of ancient wisdom, "a work well
begun is completed by half." We are still at the beginning, to
tell the truth, but the excellent performances which have been
multiplied through the works and discussions of these past three
years, first by the individual commissions and then by the great
Central Commission, all have given the whole world an edifying
spectacle of great living devotion to the Holy Church.

Therefore We harbor the hope that God in the abundance of
His blessings will deign to reward the fraternal accord and
sincere will which demonstrate the exceptional forces in the
Church, the heritage of Jesus Christ, which still now exists,
visible and invisible, natural and supernatural, temporal and
eternal.

Now that we have arrived at the point of your departure,
venerable brothers and beloved sons, each of you to your own
diocese or to the different forms of your own episcopal and
priestly ministry, and also as akindof rest from your prolonged
efforts and as a preparation for the new work which awaits you.
We ask you to kindly transmit, above all to the souls with whom
you will come in contact, not only the excellent impressions of
all that which your eyes have seen, and of the contribution
which each one may have given toward the preparation of the
council here in Rome, but also of the clear light- -a light. We
say, not of a peaceful twilight, but of a happy dawn--which has

- 23 -



been announced for the coming October under the auspices of
the Mother of Jesus and our Mother.

Admonish all that prayers be said in union with Us in greater
number and more zealously in these days. Urge prayers in the
different forms which your pastoral care will suggest to you as
being most fitting.

This contribution of prayer on the part of the priests and
the faithful, whether said in private or in common, is of sub-
stantial importance for the council. May it be welcomed by
all if to the frequent communications already made We add
invitation upon invitation. The Holy Mass, the Breviary, the
Rosary: these are great resources for nourishment in which
religous fervor is promoted in Christian people, souls are
confirmed and stimulated to pious joy.

Venerable brothers and beloved sons. We ask you in con-
clusion to accept another paternal suggestion. The imminent
ecumenical council continues to enrich a literature which We
like to consider as its own, and which is pleasing to the spirit
and worthy of respect. We follow it with great pleasure as much
as Our circumstances allow.

But We would like to see you join Us in placing a splendid
crown upon these writings, as a daily reminder of the great and
providential event which is about to take place and as a special

preparation for it.

We refer to the pages of the Gospel of St. John. Read these
and meditate upon them. Read chapter one, where the heavens
are opened, as it were, and the mystery of the Word of God is
exposed to contemplation. Read there also where John the
Baptist, the Precursor of the Lord, makes the earth tremble
and shake with the sound of his preaching. See how the testimony
of his personal austerity, his word and his blood accompany and
enliven the whole narration of the evangelists.

Read also the tenth chapter of this Gospel with its parable
of the Good Shepherd, from which We summarized the hopes of
Our pontificate in the discourse of November 4, 1958, the day of
Our solemn coronation in the Vatican basilica.

And, finally, read the last discourses of the Lord, which

are contained in chapters 14, 15, 16 and 17; above all the great

prayer of Jesus which is in chapter 17, '"That they all may
be one.^^

Allow Us a short memory which is a moving reference to
Our humble person. At the beginning of Our supreme pontificate

- 24 -



We decided to call Ourself John, a name which had been almost
completely ignored for the past six centuries (1316-1958).

We decided on this name, which is very dear to Us and to
the whole Church, because it was the name of two personalities
who were and who are closest to Christ, the Divine Redeemer
to mankind and the Founder of the Church.

John the Precursor of the Lord, We repeat, offers the
testimony of true light. He offers it still and sounds loudly
the eternal testimony of justice and truth- -to the clergy, to the

people, and to the whole world.

May this most holy prophet also assist us in the carrying
out of the Vatican council, and may he give a worthy contribution
to it, that a perfect people may be prepared for God, that straight
paths be opened and the rough ways be made smooth, by which
to reach Christ the King, that all mankind may see the salvation
of God.

To the other John, the beloved disciple, fell the task of
reviving forever the great confidences which Jesus made to His
apostles. The whole evangelical message breathes in those
sublime pages.

It is Jesus who in the hour of separation wishes to perpetu-
ate the great teaching with His intimates. At that last point of

His earthly life, before pronouncing the '‘Arise, let us go^^

which opens the way to Calvary, the Master reviews the funda-
mental lines of the divine plan by which men should recognize
in themselves their dignity as sons of God and turn with de-
termined will toward perfection of life and works.

At this point, which is the highest in the evangelical
narration, between the institution of the Most Holy Eucharist
and the Sacrifice of Golgotha, the Church, humble and sublime,
draws those characteristics, almost as a reflection from the face
of its Divine Founder, which mark it and accent in it the man-
date to enlighten nations, save men and sanctify society.

From this simple reference you can draw good inspiration;
truth and charity shine in all its pages. They are the indispens-
able elements for a holy and sanctifying priestly life, and are
the same for every good Christian.

Whoever trusts in the Lord Jesus receives this light, this
comfort, this tender exhortation, in the assurance of the victory
of His Church, one, holy, catholic and apostolic, here on earth

and for endless ages.

To all of you: greetings, blessings and peace. Amen.

- 25 -



Pentecost Address

Following is the text of an address on Pentecost,

June 10, 1962 in St. Peter^s Basilica

^^You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon
you, and you shall be witnesses for Me in Jerusalem and in all
Judea and Samaria and even to the very ends of the earth’^(l)

Venerable brothers and beloved sons:

The last meeting of the risen Jesus with His apostles and
disciples was truly a banquet of grace and of joy. The words of
St. Luke, ‘*Convescens,** ^Hoquens de regno Dei,** SUm up all its beauty
and delight.

A command was given to those close to Him not to leave
the city but to remain on Zion, to await the Holy Spirit whom
the Father would send, ''whom the Father will send in My
name^'(2); the assurance of the testimony they would render to

the Divine Rabbi, the Victor over death and the Ruler of the fu-

ture. "You shall be witnesses for Me in Jerusalem and in all
Judea and Samaria and even to the very ends of the earth" (3).

Oh, what words! What words these were that were spoken
by Jesus to the first confidants of His thoughts and of His heart.
What a bright and colorful insight into the future of His Church:

"You shall be My witnesses": words pronounced in a tone
of prophecy and of solemnity, as an investiture for the continu-
ation of the apostolate which He entrusted to His own, for the
coming of His kingdom of redemption and of salvation among all
nations and throughout the centuries.

THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST
AND THE HISTORY OF THE CHURCH

The kingdom of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Word
Incarnate, the Lord of the universe, began in fact then. It was
the starting point for the testimony of history of the Catholic

Apostolic Church, one and holy.

( 1) Acts 1,8

(2) John 14,26

(3) Acts 1,8

- 26 -



Twenty centuries have elapsed. Grave and dangerous events
created by human weakness have often threatened, here and
there, the consistency of this noble institution. The difficulties
of its progress, the trials and uncertainties created by the dis-

persal of some peoples, have sometimes seemed to threaten
seriously the seal of its unity.

But the apostolic succession was never broken. The robe
of Christ has remained seamless, even though the anxiety of a
few dangerous rents have not been wanting in difficult times.

The fact is that the word of Jesus is still life-giving in the
Church. The miracle is repeated through a constant beneficial
outpouring of grace on each individual member of the faithful,
and sometimes in a mysterious and grandiose manner on the
entire social group.

Beloved sons. It is again the reassuring words, ''you shall

be witnesses for Me^^ which harmonize with divine tones the
chords of the whole living substance of the two Testaments: the
mysterious successions of the past, present and of the future.
Jesus, the Divine Rabbi, is in the center and combines in His
person, in His teachings, in His blood, the glory of His kingship.

"You shall be witnesses for Me," a twofold testimony.
That of Christ toward those closest to Him: always the Lord
and Master, as shown by the sublime teaching, by the succes-
sion of miracles performed, by the cruel sacrifice, by the vic-
torious Resurrection, by the constant profusion of grace and of
love, by the forgiveness of man, by the whole of humanity, re-
deemed and raised again to the level of divine kinship, "born of
a Virgin, He has given to us, that is to the world. His divinity."

TWOFOLD TESTIMONY OF ELEVATION
AND SALUTATION

The other testimony is that of the disciples of Jesus and of
their successors, rendered to the Divine Master through the cen-
turies, for the continuation of His work of redemption, from
Jerusalem to the most distant boundaries of the world.

Yes, "you shall be witnesses for Me" are still the words
and the sublime tones which harmonize the chords of the Old
Testament with all of the New Testament.

And it is to these words that, as in a divine and human
poem, there responds in echo the apostles and evangelists, the
popes and martyrs, the Fathers and Doctors of the Church, the

- 27 -



holy heroes and virgins, the young people and those more ex-
perienced, both of ancient and recent times, the sons of every

race and color, of every social and ethnical origin, all singing
the praise of Christ, Who had announced '‘with His lips the
promise of the Father, which was to give to His Church, by
means of the Holy' Spirit, every grace of the apostolate "to the
end of time/^

This first Pentecost, which We commemorate today, behold
it spreading its light over our heads still after twenty cen-

turies, kindling in our hearts the same flame in which the first
disciples of the Lord rejoiced at even the announcement of the
Holy Spirit, which the Father was to send, responding to the
prayers which rose from the Cenacle, together with the prayer
of Mary, the Mother of Jesus.

Yes, venerable brothers and beloved sons, (the words)

"you shall be witnesses for Me" are about to assume a new and
more solemn application of the promise made by Jesus to His
disciples who, after 2,000 years, are more alive than ever be-
fore, who are more numerous than ever before and whose
hearts still throb with tenderness and apostolic enthusiasm

around Him.
Todays s liturgical gathering—the sight of which delights

the eye and gladdens the heart- -is, tiirough the presence of

venerable elders and of young people, engaged in practicing the

duties of the priestly ministry, representative of the whole

world.

It is barely the outline and the first hint of the spectacle

which the grace of the Lord intends to gather together on this
Vatican Hill on October 11, in order to promote here a new spur
for the sanctification of the hierarchy, of the clergy and of the

people, for the enlightenment of people and as a life-giving

breath for the whole of humanity.

THE REDEEMER, THE LIGHT OF ALL PEOPLE

It will soon be possible for the world to see with its own
eyes what the council is. It will be able to see the wonders that

the Holy Catholic Church can offer in the light of Jesus its
Divine Founder, as He wanted it, as He made it, and to which
He has continued to give life through the centuries for the sal-
vation of all souls and of all peoples, radiating the splendor of

heavenly teaching and the treasures of grace and, through

- 28 -



sacrifice, the beginnings of peace on earth and of immortal

glory for the eternal centuries.

Allow Us, dear sons, to refer further to these relations be-

tween the Holy Church and Christ who preserves it as He
founded it, in order that Our words may serve the purpose of
mutual edification, and at the same time, for individual and col-
lective preparation for the great event, which is awaited with

such joy and eagerness.

In a spontaneous manner and with very vast applications,
the Second Vatican Council seeks to succeed in expressing that

which Christ still represents, that which He represents today
more than ever before, as light and as wisdom, as guidance and
encouragement, as comfort and as merit for human suffering in
this life and as an assurance for the life to come.

The testimony of the Universal Church seeks to turn to
Jesus, as to the "'Lord and Master'' of each individual and of

all people; as to the '‘Good Shepherd," always supplying His

flock with the food of grace, the spiritual bread and protection
against dangers and, finally, as to the "Priest and Host" as a
reminder and continuation of His sacrifice, for humanity and
for the sufferings of life, which are grave in every age, but

which are still more grave when they are the cause or conse-
quence of oppressions of the human being and of fundamental
and inalienable freedom.

It is in this light of teaching, of certainty and of merit that

the perfect fidelity of the Christian to his profession of sincere

faith and of absolute coherence between thought and action is
encouraged and through which there is touched the heart of Him
who aspires to dignified conduct of life, for the defense of com-
mon ideals, for the achievement of lawful aspirations.

This threefold ray of heavenly light, which Jesus Christ-

-

Master, Shepherd and Priest—reflects on the face of His
Church, has a significance which escapes no one and which can
indeed be an invitation to all to place themselves in the proper
perspective to understand, according to the most reliable hier-
archy of values, what life is worth to man, even to the ordinary
man, and more than to man, what it is worth to perfect
Christians.

CONFIDENT ANTICIPATION OF HUMANITY

With a sense of confident anticipation. We are witnessing
today new phenomena. It is certain, that, with distance almost

- 29 -



eliminated, with the road open to the conquest of space, with the
progress of scientific research and the advancement of techni-
cal production, We perceive now in man an unexpected and truly
surprising state of mind.

We believe that We can say that the man of study and of
action of this afflicted century—afflicted by two world wars and
by innumerable other conflicts of other types—is not so confi-
dent in himself and in his conquests. He is not so certain as he
was in the 18th and 19th centuries of being able to achieve hap-
piness on earth.

He is still less confident of being able, through his genius
and through his energies alone, to allay the anxieties, to dis-

perse the fears and to overcome the weaknesses which con-
stantly threaten to overpower him.

We say more specifically that there is something like a
lament that rises out of practically all the manifestations of
contemporary literature. We say that the powerful ones of the
earth admit that they do not know how to raise man up and
transport him to that condition of happiness and prosperity
which continues to be the goal of his tireless research.

The Catholic Church has never told humanity that it wishes
to protect it against the painful law of sorrow and of death. And
it has not tried to deceive humanity, neither has it administered

to it the painful drug of illusion.

It has continued to say instead that life is a pilgrimage and

it has taught its sons to join in the hymn of hope which echoes,
nevertheless, in the world.

Now that man, almost dismayed by the scientific progress
achieved, is finally conscious that no conquest can give him
happiness; now that those people who promised in vain eternal
youth and easy prosperity follow one on the other, alternating

and eliminating each other, it is providential and quite natural

that the Church should raise its solemn and persuasive voice
and should offer to all men the comfort of that doctrine and of
that Christian coexistence which is the preparation for the

splendors of eternal joy for which man was made.
Not in the least intimidated by the difficulties encountered

by its sons which interfere in the service it seeks to render to

truth, justice and to love; always faithful to the commandments
of its Divine Founder, the Church seeks to speak again to
humanity about Him, about Jesus Christ the Master, about Him
the Shepherd, about Him the Victim and Sacrifice of expiation
and of redemption.

- 30 -



THE LORD AND MASTER

Not all the points of Catholic teaching]: will be illustrated

again, one by one, at the forthcoming council. But special at-

tention will be given to those points which refer to the funda-

mental truths, which are contested or which are in conflict with

the contradictions of modern thought, the results of old errors,
but which are now expressed differently.

The man who scrutinizes the innermost recesses of science
and seeks the point of contact between heaven and earth knows
that the apostolic teaching leaves no question unanswered. He
knows that no solution is offered with polemical intentions or
with presumptions ease. Truth shines from above, but to reach
its summit there is not entailed a great effort for the person
who is animated by a determined will and who is free from op-
pressive bonds.

Continuing to render testimony to Jesus Christ, the Church
does not wish to take anything away from man. It does not deny
him the possession of his conquests and the merits of the efforts
he has made.

But it wishes to help him to find himself again and to know
himself; to achieve that fulness of knowledge and of conviction
which has always been the aspiration of wise men, even when
not part of divine revelation.

In this immense sphere of activity which opens before it,
the Church embraces every man with maternal solicitude and
seeks to persuade him to welcome the divine Christian message
which gives secure guidance to individual and social life.

Twenty ecumenical councils, innumerable national and
provincial councils as well as diocesan synods have made valu-
able contributions toward making known one or more truths of a
theological and moral nature.

The Vatican council presents itself to catholicity and to
humanity in the steadfastness of the apostolic creed proclaimed
by an immense assembly, with the experience of a doctrinal
illustration which is almost universal, and in a vision of the
whole ensemble (of Catholic teaching), responding more to the
spirit of modern times.

And this will be a happy testimony of the teaching of Christ
recalled by the Church in the special tradition, particularly of
the First Vatican Council, of the Council of Trent, the Fourth
Lateran Council, the eminent glory of Innocent III (1215); in the
tradition of all the councils that marked the triumph of truth

-31 -



which has been profoundly examined and made to penetrate
energetically the social body.

CHRIST, THE SHEPHERD

We can assure you, beloved sons, that this, Our Second
Vatican Council, is Intended above all to be a great testimony to
and for the search for the characteristic traits of the Good
Shepherd.

The immense Christian and Catholic flock has never lacked
the sustenance which the Divine Founder provided for the
crowds: prayer, liturgy, evangelical teaching, the sacraments
and manifold manifestations of pastoral activity.

The invitation to live a Christian life, and through it the
divine life, which consists in the penetration of grace, is ad-
dressed to all.

Christ, through the services of the Apostle Peter and of his
successors and collaborators, the bishops and clergy, still
raises men to the dignity of adopted sons of God. The sources
opened by Him are inexhaustible; the means of communication
with the individual souls are sometimes inscrutable.

He who wishes to direct the desires of his intellect, knows
that he can rest in the contemplation of eternal truths; but he

who feels the need for expressing the feelings of the mind,
pours them forth in prayer and song.

May he who really hungers and thirsts for justice turn with
serene confidence toward the sacraments, which are the visible
signs which produce grace. Through them everything is sancti-
fied, that is, man, from the beginning to the end of his earthly
pilgrimage in all his individual and collective aspects.

The Church follows in the footsteps of the Good Shepherd in
His mystic pilgrimage from village to village and from home to
home.

It emerges from the enclosed confinement of its cenacles
and, in imitation of its Divine Founder and bearing witness to
Him, it travels all the roads of the world. And it cannot contain
the fervor of the unending Pentecost, which pervades it and

leads it to guide the flock toward the fertile pastures of eternal
life.

This is the duty of the Catholic and Apostolic Church: to

gather together men who, through selfishness and weariness,
could remain scattered; to teach them to pray; to lead them to
repent their sins and to forgiveness; to nourish them with the

- 32 -



Eucharistic bread; to strengthen reciprocal union through the

bond of charity.
The Church does not expect to witness every day the

miraculous transformation which was performed in the apostles
and in the disciples on the first Pentecost. It does not expect it,

but it works for this and prays God constantly for a renewal of
that remarkable event.

The Church is not surprised that men do not understand
immediately its language; that they may be tempted to reduce
the perfect code of individual salvation and of social progress

to the narrow outline of their lives and of their personal inter-
ests, nor that they sometimes slacken in their strides forward.
It continues to exhort, to implore and to encourage.

The Church teaches that there can be no lack of continuity,
no break between individual religious practice and the events of
social life.

As the depository of truth it seeks to penetrate everything
and to obtain the grace of sanctifying everything in the domes-
tic, civil and international spheres.

One reason which gives comfort to the humble successor of
St. Peter in these months of preparation for the council is that
he has been able to notice the festive welcome with which the
whole world continues to pay tribute to the encyclical
Mater et Magistra.

The encyclical can indeed be considered a wealthy and val-
uable sample of moral and pastoral teaching and an excellent
introduction to those precepts which are addressed to Christian
consciences in matters of economics, based on principles of
human and evangelical justice and charity.

The Holy Church justly asks its sons not to withdraw from
their grave obligation of cooperating in the establishment of this
brotherly coexistence for which the Divine Savior, the Good
Shepherd of souls, provided teaching and examples of incompar-
able significance.

CHRIST, THE PRIEST AND HOST

Beloved sons! Our pious talk has allowed Us to look for-
ward from the brilliance of Pentecost toward the threshold of
the counciPs convocation next October.

The mind, which is happy in feeling united with Christ in
remembering the good and faithful apostolate which, like the
passing of Jesus through the streets of Jerusalem, corresponds

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to the crowds which cheered Him for His teaching and His
miracles, must turn unfortunately to feelings of sadness which
are created by other spectacles from which one^s eyes cannot
turn away and which move the heart to pity.

Let us consider the topographical names in the words of
Jesus with reference to present day conditions: Jerusalem,
Judea, Samaria ‘‘and even to the very ends of the earth^^(4).

Palestine, where His voice was heard, has barely a trace
of His earthly passing. His teachings spread from there and the
Book of the two Testaments still resound throughout the world
with the names of those places which never belonged to Christ or
which no longer belong to Him.

Jerusalem, the holy city of divine promises, and those re-
gions which surround it and the territories bordering on it, still
remain to a great extent as alien to the sacred call as when it
was first announced to them.

The great mystery, which afflicts Our soul, is contained
therefore in the history of the people who welcomed and then
repudiated Christ, in the history of some where Christ and His
doctrine are denied the right of citizenship because of state
laws which have never been revoked, not even now that the re-
spect of all liberties is proclaimed in international agreements.

And what can be said of those nations where the apostolate
has been reduced or is being reduced to a plaintive memory,
where discouraged spirits dare not soon expect the success of a
renewed .movement of pastoral action for the illumination of
souls, the guidance of families and of nations?

This throws light on the significance of another truth which
the disciples of Christ do not wish to forget: that is that true

joy for a Christian, even when joined to wise intentions, easily
finds its answer in sadness and contradictions.

It is written in the Holy Book that Jesus, contemplating
Jerusalem from above, felt His heart and eyes dissolve in tears.

How many cities and nations, looking back through the pages
of their history and in the light of the wonders of the past, won-
ders of sanctity and of heroism, of religious piety and of tri-

umphant charity, which made them famous, recall in an echo of
sadness the words: ‘'there was darkness. . .and the curtain of
the temple was rent^^(5).

(4) Acts 1,8

(5) Luke 23, A4, 45

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You understand, venerable brothers and beloved sons, the
meaning of the painful reality which these grave words still

have. And the Catholic Church extends the law of forgiveness,
applied as an expression of expiation, of mercy and of hope to
all this, as aperfecttestimony of the example of Christ.

THE VISION OF THE CENACLE WITH MARY
AND WITH THE APOSTLES

‘

There is renewed today the vision of the Cenacle, where
Mary prayed and waited for the Holy Spirit along with the
Apostles and disciples. It is this touching reminder of the Holy
Book which leads us to seek throughout the world, and particu-
larly in the Christian East, the churches erected in the name
and honor of the Mother of God.

Whether they be open or closed to worship, these churches
contain in their stones the prayer of centuries, the heartrending

prayer of our times, asking God to grant that men may continue
to or may again raise their eyes to heaven. And they await from
heaven the blessing and the consecration of their work and
progress here on earth, following in the footsteps of the great

ancient traditions which are still imprinted in the heart.
Just think, beloved sons, Christ, the Word of God made

man, announced words of truth and of love to the world. And
this blessed Christ, who spread His love and dispensed the
gifts of heavenly grace, this same Christ is reduced to silence
through the denial and the sins of men and of nations.

This silence which recalls the loftiest moment of the litur-
gical rite of the Eucharist, is sometimes a heartrending prayer
and at other times a discipline and prudence.

The third testimony of Christ, to be taken to '‘even the
very ends of the earth,^’ corresponds to this sorrow which is
made acute and speakable through the entwining of many causes
which are often alien and contradictory among themselves.

There is no need for any other explanation. We are called
upon, therefore, to render testimony to Christ, who renews the
sacrifice of Calvary in the sacrifice of the Eucharist.

The devotion to the Cross and to the cruel and mystical
sacrifice is also to be confirmed through the celebration and
success of the council. In this way our testimony to the Divine
Master will assume its proper place.

Having reached this point, venerable brothers, there re-
mains for Us to unite with you the holy poetry of Pentecost, the

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heartbeats felt for the forthcoming council and the reminder of
the threefold testimony which must be rendered to Jesus Christ.

We wish to communicate these sentiments particularly to
you, young candidates for the priesthood and newly ordained
priests, whose hearts responded with joy to His voice, which
called on you to t^e part in His apostolate and in His sacrifice.

Representing all peoples, how bright is your beautiful youth
offered as sacrifice to Him, the Word of God, the glorious and
immortal King of centuries and nations. The words of the Lord
are: "'You shall be witnesses for Me’^ and are therefore ad-
dressed to you.

May you be blessed, may you be welcomed well by your
brothers and may you show the world, through your immaculate
stole (of innocence) the most lofty and expressive nature of your
consecration in life and beyond, for the salvation of souls.

Our prayer to the Holy Spirit wishes to join now in the
prayer of Our heavenly Mother Mary, who witnessed the joys of
the childhood of Jesus and the sorrows of His sacrifice. In this
the prayer acquires value and assumes a note of enthusiasm.

PRAYER
Oh, Spirit of the Holy Paraclete, perfect in us the work be-

gun by Jesus. Make strong and constant the prayer which we
raise in the name of the whole world. Give drive to our aposto-
late which seeks to reach all men and all nations, all those
people redeemed by the Blood of Christ, all of them His heirs.

Mortify in us natural presumption and raise us to the re-
gions of holy humility, of real fear of God, of generous courage.

May no earthly tie prevent us from doing honor to our vocation.
May no interest impair, through our laziness, the requirements
of justice. May no calculation reduce the immense regions of
charity to the narrowness of petty selfishness.

May everything in us be great: the search for and worship
of truth, the readiness to bear sacrifice even to the extent of
the Cross and death.

And finally, may everything correspond to the supreme
prayer of the Son to the heavenly Father, and to that effusion
which. Oh, Holy Spirit of Love, the Father and the Son wishes
you to spread over the Church and its institutions, over indivi-
dual souls and over nations.

Amen, amen, alleluia, alleluia.

* * * *

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