Maria Angela Grow

October, Month of the Holy Rosary Daily Prayer. . O Queen of the Holy Rosary, in these times of such brazen impiety, manifest thy power with the signs of thine ancient victories, and from thy throne, whence thou dost dispense pardon and graces, mercifully regard the Church of thy Son, His Vicar on earth and every order of clergy and laity, who are sore oppressed in the mighty conflict. . Do thou, who are the powerful vanquisher of all heresies, hasten the hour of mercy, even though the hour of God's justice is every day provoked by the countless sins of men. For me, who am the least of men, kneeling before thee in supplication, do thou obtain the grace I need to live righteously upon earth and to reign among the just in heaven, while in company with all faithful Christians throughout the world, I salute thee and acclaim thee as Queen of the most holy Rosary. . O Mary, Queen of the most holy Rosary, pray for us. Amen. . The Raccolta

October 28 Our Lady of Vivonne, Savoy, France. . The Abbot Mathieu Orsini wrote: “Our Lady of Vivonne, in Savoy, where a miraculous image is venerated, which was found by a ploughman while preparing his field for the spring planting.” . Vivonne is a village in France having a population of somewhat less than 5,000 inhabitants and located about 20 kilometers south of Poitiers. It is situated on a rocky height looking down upon the three rivers that flow through the region. There are apparently two churches in the village, the better known church being the church of Saint George, on which construction began in the twelfth century. The other church is Our Lady of Sais-les-Vivonne. . According to tradition, a farmer was plowing his field when he overturned something peculiar in the sod. To his great surprise, the man found the object was a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The good farmer took the statue now known as Our Lady of Vivonne, or Notre-Dame de Vivonne, that he had found back to his home. After lovingly cleaning the debris from the statue, the farmer took the statue to the local church and gave it to the pastor of the parish. The pastor immediately placed the statue that had just been discovered in the church later that same day. . The next morning when the priest returned to the church, he found that the statue was missing. After much inquiry and searching for the statue, the farmer found the statue was once again in his field. The man returned the statue to the church, but once again it disappeared from its place, only to be found again in the field. This occurred a total of three times before it was decided to build a shrine in the field where the statue had first been found. The strange phenomenon brought people from near and far to the shrine. Soon the image proved to be miraculous and pilgrimages were formed. The church which was built to honor the image of Our Lady was given to the Carmelite Order.

October 25 Dedication of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Toledo, Spain (1070) . The Abbot Orsini wrote: “Dedication of Our Lady of Toledo, in Spain, about the year 1075, by Bernard, archbishop of that city. This cathedral has a revenue of more than 300,000 livres.” . The city of Toledo in Spain was not reconquered until 1085, when King Alfonso VI, King of Leon and Castile, took the city from the Moors. This was an important step in the Reconquista, as Toledo had once been the capital of Visigothic Spain. The church had been a mosque, and was not actually consecrated until the year 1087. It was placed under the advocacy of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as King Alfonso wrote: . “I, Alfonso, Emperor of all Spain by God’s Providence, convened with the bishops, namely, that for these ten will I preserve the papal honor of Saint Mary of the City of Toledo, which was formerly the See…” . In 1225 a new cathedral was begun to replace the older one, for which King Fernando III laid the cornerstone. Fernando’s good friend, the Archbishop Rodrigo Ximenez de Rada worked very enthusiastically for the completion of the new cathedral where he was bishop. . There are so many masterpieces of art and beautiful shrines in the city of Toledo, Spain, that a visitor may easily miss the White Virgin. She stands atop an altar in the choir of Toledo’s magnificent cathedral. . The sacred image of Our Lady is a polychromed alabaster statue of French origin from the twelfth century. Both Mother and Child are clothed in white, their garments bordered with jeweled gold. Their faces darkened by time are framed with curly, strawberry-blond hair. . The statue has also been called the “smiling Virgin of Toledo;” for the Child’s right hand caresses His Mother’s face. She responds with a smile that gives this image its popular name. It is also called the “Virgin of Prima,” and the “Virgen Blanca.” . There is also another artifact worthy of special mention, and that is the ten foot tall great Monstrance of Arfe. It is made of both silver and gold, inset with precious gems. It took nearly 8 years to construct, and is done in a Gothic style that is truly a magnificent work of art.

October 27 Dedication of the Basilica of Our Lady Help of Christians, Turin, Italy, built by St. John Bosco (1868) . The vast and magnificent basilica of Our Lady in Turin, Italy, built by Saint John Bosco between 1863 and 1868, was inspired by a dream-vision which he had in October 1844. The Blessed Virgin showed Don Bosco a vast and lofty church and said: “This is my house; from it my glory shines forth. You will understand everything when, with your material eyes, you will see in actual fact what you now see with the eyes of your mind.” . Nineteen years later, Don Bosco finally set to work on the basilica of Our Lady Help of Christians. Our Lady, in a second vision, chose the location as that of the place of the martyrdom of Saint Adventer Solutor and Saint Octavious, who were both soldiers under the Emperor Maximianus in the fourth century. When the foundation of the church was laid, Don Bosco went to the contractor, Charles Buzzetti, and told him: “I want to pay you at once for this fine work. I don’t know if it will be much, but this is all I have.” He then took out his little purse and emptied the contents into the hand of the contractor, who was expecting a handful of gold coins. His jaw dropped in dismay when he saw in his hand only eight pennies. . “Don’t be alarmed,” Don Bosco quickly added with a smile, “the Madonna will see to the payment of her church. I am just the instrument, the cashier.” And to those standing by he concluded, “You will see!” “The whole church was put up by means of graces granted by Mary,” Don Bosco often said. One sixth of the cost, about one million lire in those days, was borne by the generous contributors, devout persons; the rest came from the small offering of those who had been aided by Mary either in health, in business, in family matters, or in some other way. “Every stone, every ornament, represents one of her graces,” insisted Don Bosco. The original contractor, who received the eight cents, later testified that, “The Church was paid for to the last cent.” . Among the monuments of the Church, the most splendid is the painting above the main altar. Our Blessed Lady Help of Christians occupies the central position, and is surrounded by symbols: God the Father, the Holy Spirit, the Apostles and Evangelists. It measures more than 33 yards square, and is bordered with gold. There was much opposition to the project of building a church dedicated to and in honor of Our Lady Help of Christians, but Don Bosco insisted. It appears he had a supernatural knowledge that the future of his own congregation, and that of the whole world in the not too distant future, depended on the powerful protection of Mary, Help of Christians, just as it had needed and obtained that protection at Lepanto on October 7, 1571, and at Vienna, on September 12, 1683. Don Bosco won out, and the vast church was consecrated and dedicated on June 9, 1868. The dedication festivities lasted nine days, and on each day a Bishop preached while another took part in the religious ceremonies. . By the turn of the nineteenth century the Church of Our Lady Help of Christians in Turin had become famous, and in 1911, Pope Saint Pius X gave it the crowning glory by raising it to the rank of a Basilica – The Basilica of Our Lady Help of Christians!

October 9 Miraculous Cure of Saint John Damascene by Our Lady (723) (restored severed hand) . The Abbot Orsini wrote: “In the year 723, in the night following the day when the prince of the Saracens had unjustly ordered the hand of Saint John Damascene to be cut off, Our Lady reunited it miraculously to his wrist, after this faithful servant had prayed to her for it with the design of continuing to write in defense of holy images.” . Saint John of Damascus (645-749), also known as Saint John Damascene, was a priest and Doctor of the Church, who is sometimes also referred to as the Doctor of the Assumption, as he wrote on the Assumption of Mary into heaven. During the time of the iconoclasm in the east, Saint John Damascene also wrote in defense of holy images. . According to tradition, a Muslim caliph unjustly ordered that Saint John’s right hand should be cut off and hung up for public display. Some days after this despicable act took place, Saint John prayed for the restoration of his hand. Saint John had an icon of the Blessed Virgin before which he fervently prayed, and soon his hand is said to have been miraculously restored. To recognize the miracle, and in appreciation for the return of his right hand, Saint John had a replica of his restored hand produced in silver, which he then placed at the bottom of the icon. Those who came after him, and saw the third hand on the icon, subsequently named it “Three-handed,” or Tricheirousa. . The Bogorodica Trojerucica is considered the most important icon of the Serbian Orthodox Church. It is currently located in a monastery of Hilandar on Mount Athos, Greece. The portrait is of the Blessed Virgin Mary with the Divine Child in her right arm. It is thought to have possibly been painted by Saint John Damascene himself, but however that may be, it is the very same image before which he prayed for the restoration of his severed hand. . “Gratitude for the benefits received at the hands of the Lord is a virtue so noble, that by means of it we may preserve our intercourse and correspondence with God Himself: He, as rich, generous and powerful conferring upon us his gifts; we, as poor, humble and aware of our needs, returning for them our thanks. He desires to give us plentifully, but at the same time He wishes us to be grateful, rendering Him the glory, honor and praise contained in gratitude.” * . *from The City of God, by Ven. Mary of Agreda.

October 21 Our Lady of Talan, near Dijon, France. . In my search for information about Our Lady of Talan, I can find very little even about the town of Talan, France. It is a small town estimated in the year 2007 to have perhaps 50 inhabitants. It appears to also go by Talon, and was once the capital of the duchy of Burgundy. It is located a short distance from Dijon, as noted, and there is a Forest of Talon that can also be seen on the map. During the Middle Ages there was a castle of Talan that seems always to be mentioned with the castle of Dijon. Perhaps there was also once a chapel there to which this date refers, but I can find no other information. . For your edification, I offer the following segment from The City of God. . The three Divine Persons conferred with each other saying: “On earth the Word shall have a Mother without a father, as in heaven He has a Father without a mother. And in order that there may be the proper correspondence, proportion and consonance in calling God His Father and this Woman His Mother, We desire that the highest correspondence and approach possible between a creature and its God be established. Therefore at no time shall the dragon boast of being superior to this Woman, whom God will obey as His true Mother. This dignity of being free from sin is due and corresponds to that of being Mother of the Word, and it is in itself even more estimable and useful. It is a greater good to be holy than to be only mother; but all sanctity and perfection is nevertheless due to the motherhood of God. The human flesh, from which He is to assume form, must be free from sin. Since He is to redeem in it the sinners, He must not be under the necessity of redeeming His own flesh, like that of sinners. Being united to the Divinity His humanity is to be the price of Redemption, wherefore it must before all be preserved from sin, and We have already foreseen and accepted the merits of the Word in this very flesh and human nature. We wish that for all eternities the Word should be glorified through this tabernacle and habitation of the human nature.” . “She is to be a daughter of the first man; but in the order of grace She is to be singularly free and exempt from fault; and in the order of nature She is to be most perfect, and to be formed according to a special providence. And since the incarnate Word is to be the Teacher of humility and holiness and for this end is to endure labors, confounding the vanity and deceitful fallacies of mortals by choosing for Himself sufferings as the treasure most estimable in our eyes, We wish that She, who is to be his Mother, experience the same labors and difficulties, that She be singularly distinguished in patience, admirable in sufferings, and that She, in union with the Onlybegotten, offer the acceptable sacrifices of sorrow to Us for her greater glory.” . “This was the decree which the three divine Persons made known to the holy angels, exalting the glory and honor of their high and inscrutable judgments. And since His Divinity is a mirror in which He at the same time manifests new mysteries to the blessed who yield obedience, this explanation revealed in a new light the admirable order and marvelous harmony of His works. All this follows from that which we have said in the preceding chapters concerning the works of the Almighty in the creation of the angels, telling them to reverence as their superiors the incarnate Word and His most holy Mother.”

October 16 Dedication of the Church of Our Lady of Milan (1417) by Pope Martin V. . The Abbot Orsini wrote: “Dedication of Our Lady of Milan, by Pope Martin V, in the year 1417. This church was built in 1388 by John Galleas, Duke of Milan.” . The magnificent Milan Cathedral is a Gothic cathedral that has its roots in the fourth century AD when Milan was a Christian religious center. Today it is one of the most famous and celebrated structures in all of Europe. . Dedicated to the Mother of God, the present cathedral was begun in the 14th century, but was not completed until the 20th century when the last gate was completed in 1965. Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte himself ordered that the façade be finished in the year 1805, as he desired to see the beautiful structure completed. He guaranteed that the French would pay for the work, although they never actually did. Even so, it took seven years to complete the work. There were other additions that followed, including stain glass windows and various arches and lace-like spires. There is a large statue of the Blessed Virgin made of gilded bronze which stands atop the cathedral’s main spire. In the end it can be said that the cathedral required 6 centuries to complete, and is one of the largest cathedrals in the entire world. . The first church thought to occupy the location was built by Saint Ambrose, although there is an old baptistery which was constructed in about 335. The good abbot appears to have been incorrect in dating the cathedral from 1388, as there is a plate attached to a stone on the church which states: “El Principio del Duomo di Milano Nel Anno 1386.” . The Milan Cathedral houses a Holy Nail which was used to crucify Christ. It is marked by a tiny red light located in the dome above the apse. . Due to the long time that it took to complete the cathedral, it is a breathtaking mixture of styles that was worth the loving labor of the workmen throughout the ages!

October 15 Dedication of the Church of Our Lady of Terouenne (1133) . The Abbot Orsini wrote : “Dedication of Our Lady of Terouenne, in the year 1133, by Milo, its thirteenth bishop. This church was built by Lothair II, and consecrated to the Blessed Virgin several centuries later. . The town of Terouenne, or Therouanne, no longer exists. Although it was once an intellectual, religious, and cultural center that had flourished in the Middle Ages, it was completely destroyed by Charles V, so much so that not one stone remained upon another. . When the region was conquered by Julius Caesar, Therouanne was known by the Gauls as Tarwanna or Tervanna. Later, sometime in the 7th century, Saint Audomar, whose name has since been corrupted to Saint Omer, by which he is better known, converted the native Morini to the True Faith. He was quite successful, and with the support of Saint Achaire Noyon, set up a large bishopric bounded on the north by the Yser, the south by the Canche, and the east by the Lys rivers. Included were the prosperous cities of Arras and Ypres, making it financially possible for a cathedral dedicated to Our Lady to be built at Terouenne in 1133, which was the largest in all of France at that time. . The town of Terouenne was seized from the control of rebels by imperial troops of the Holy Roman Empire in 1553. Emperor Charles V ordered the city to be razed to the ground, which included the cathedral, two parish churches and several monasteries and abbeys, and even the city walls. The work was completed so well that today archaeologists are struggling to piece together what can be found buried beneath the earth. The site of the cathedral once dedicated to Our Lady has been discovered and cleared, but it is little more than a pile of broken stones. A statue of Christ, known as the Great God of Therouanne, somehow survived the destruction, and it is currently on display in the cathedral of Saint Omer. And so, the diocese of Therouanne, which was once the richest and most extensive of all in Western Europe, has disappeared from the map and even the memory of the local population.

October 6 Our Lady of All Help (1640) . This shrine of Our Lady dates back to the year 1640, although the statue had been in the same abbey for probably two centuries before any miraculous occurrence was noticed. As the statue was rather faded, it was not thought stylish enough to be displayed in the chapel. It was therefore placed under a staircase near the infirmary, where its most frequent visitor was the old lay sister who had charge of sweeping the corridor. . One day as the sister was busy about her work, the statue spoke to her and told her to hurry up to the infirmary because one of the sisters needed her right away. The sister the statue named was not one of the patients, but was actually the nurse who cared for them. The lay sister thought the nurse had seemed perfectly well a short time before, and saw no particular reason to think that she was in any danger of dying. Still, she went as she was told and found the nurse as she was dying. She had arrived just in time to summon the priest to administer the last rights to the dying nurse. . Shortly after this miracle became known, there was a second one just as remarkable. There was a community benefactor whose son was at death’s door with a high fever. Invoking Our Lady before this same statue the man saw his son instantly cured. . After this second incident the statue was moved into the chapel, and there were many miracles that followed. One miracle was worked in favor of a sister who had been terribly burned; she was instantly cured. A priest, falsely accused of a crime, was acquitted after special prayers to the “miracle lady.” The statue had had no name before this, but the parishioners decided now to call her Our Lady of All Help, Quick Help, or Our Lady of Good Remedy. . At the time of the French Revolution and during the accompanying Reign of Terror, the abbey was destroyed. A pious lady took the statue of Our Lady of All Help and safeguarded it until the trouble was over. After her death the statue was restored to the community. The statue of Our Lady of All Help has survived several wars since. . The statue itself is only about two feet tall. The Blessed Virgin Mary is crowned, and holds her Infant Son in one arm, and a scepter in the other. . There is a short and very lovely prayer which for centuries has been associated with this statue. It is, “Oh, Mother of All Help, say but one word in our behalf to Thy Divine Son, for he cannot refuse thee any favor. Amen.”

October 3 Madonna della Ghianda (Our Lady of the Fruit of the Oak), Mezzana Superiore, Somma Lombardo, Varese, Italy. . A deaf and mute shepherdess used to rest in the shade of an oak tree while watching the sheep of her father. One morning, as she was preparing to return home, she saw a light in a great oak tree. Among the branches she saw a lady dressed in blue. Then she was able to hear a soft voice telling her, "Go back to your village, call your father" . . The shepherdess raced home and told her amazed father. Father and daughter with a group of people who had heard the news, hastened to the oak, but the lady was no longer there. But the evidence of her presence was clear: the formerly deaf and mute shepherdess now could hear and speak. . This story spread, and Our Lady was invoked as Madonna della Ghianda, working many miracles. The graces and miracles of Santa Maria del Ghianda were rigorously investigated in an examination in 1570 requested by Cardinal Carlo Borromeo to resolve the doubts cast by the Protestants. Over 60 miracles were validated and documented. . Madonna della Ghianda is patroness of the deaf, people with hearing and speech impairments, and, since 1630, young husbands and families. Bishop Scipione Visconti bequethed funds for marriage dowries for poor young women who had none, and who had prayed to Our Lady of Ghianda for her aid.

October 26 Our Lady of Victory, near Senlis, France (1225) . The Abbot Orsini wrote: “Dedication of Our Lady of Victory, near Senlis, in the year 1225, by Guarin, Bishop of Senlis, and Chancellor of France. This abbey was built by Philip Augustus, in thanksgiving for the victory which he gained over the Emperor Otho IV, at Bouvines, in the year 1214.” . The Battle of Bouvines took place on July 27th 1214, and although it is no longer much remembered as a famous battle, it is one in which the world was changed in its aftermath. Easily one of the most significant battles to take place in the Middle Ages, there were combatants from several European countries taking part on one side or the other. . With the death of King Richard the Lion-hearted, his brother John claimed the lands of Normandy along with England, even though he had no right to them, as they rightfully belonged to his nephew, a boy named Arthur. John probably killed Arthur, as he was the one with the most to gain. When King Philip Augustus heard that John was claiming to be the Duke of Normandy, he called him to account for his nephew. When John refused, King Philip took away his right to rule Normandy. Rather than submit, John joined forces with the German Emperor and the Count of Flanders in open rebellion. . King Philip went to Mass with his troops just prior to the battle. His army probably numbered in total about 15,000 men, while the allied forces arrayed against him were nearly double that size. Knowing that his noblemen were anxious about the upcoming battle, King Philip took off his crown and placed it upon the altar, saying: “If anyone here thinks he can wear this crown more worthily than I, let him step forward to take it.” Philip’s men loudly reaffirmed their faith in their king and went enthusiastically to the battle. . The battle was hotly contested, and both King Philip and Otto IV of Germany had several horses killed beneath them. At one point when King Philip was unhorsed he was surrounded by Flemish pikemen. It is related that his life was only saved due to the superior plate mail armor he wore, but later events came to demonstrate that it was also because of the intervention of the Blessed Virgin Mary. . King Philip captured the Count of Flanders and took him back to France to display him to his nobles like a pet in an iron cage. The victory did much more than bring an end to the king of England’s claims to Brittany and Normandy, it also helped strengthen the monarchy in France as it simultaneously weakened the monarchy in England. When King John returned to England, his position was so weakened that he felt compelled to sign the Magna Carta, which greatly limited his power over his subjects. Otto IV of Germany was deposed soon after he returned to his own realm. . In thanksgiving for his victory, King Philip Augustus founded the Abbey of Victory between Senlis and the Bishop Mount, to honor the Mother of God for this signal victory.

October 10 Our Lady of the Cloister, Citeaux, France (1624) . The Abbot Orsini wrote for this feast on October 10th: “Our Lady of the Cloister, at Besancon. The image of Our Lady, placed in the cloister of La Madeleine, was preserved from a fire, in the year 1624, though the niche where it stood was reduced to ashes.” Our Lady of the Cloister, also known as Notre-Dame de Le Cloitre, was the name of an abbey at Citeaux, and not at Besancon, as recorded by the Abbot Orsini, although the two towns are not far from each other. The abbey was forcibly emptied and the structures almost completely destroyed during the ravages of the French Revolution, but in 1898 Citeaux was restored by the Cistercians and the rebuilding began. Although only portions of a 15th century library and two other structures dating from the 17th and 18th century remained, Citeaux, with its new church and about 35 monks, is once again the mother house for the order. . March 22: Our Lady of Citeaux, France, built by Saint Robert (1098) The Abbot Orsini wrote: “On Palm Sunday, in the year 1098, Saint Robert, Abbot of Moleme, retired with twenty-one of his monks to the diocese of Chalops-sur-Saone, where he built, in honor of Our Lady, the celebrated monastery of Citeaux, the head house of the order.” . The original abbey dates back to 1098 when Saint Robert of Molesme left Molesme to found another monastery. They ended up at Citeaux, and the new monastery was one dedicated to honor the Blessed Mother under the rule of Saint Benedict. Their magnificent church was not completed for nearly another 100 years in the year 1193. The famous Saint Bernard of Clairvaux actually left Citeaux to found his monastery at Clairvaux in the year 1115. It was from this place that new Cistercian abbeys sprung up all over Europe for the benefit of all mankind. . The monastery at Citeaux suffered pillaging several times throughout the Hundred Year’s War, and the monks were often forced to take refuge elsewhere during those perilous times. It was not until the 16th century before the community once again numbered over 200 monks, but then with the Wars of Religion the number of monks began to decrease again. Finally, in 1791, the abbey was struck by the French Revolution as the property was illegally seized and sold by the government. . Perhaps because of the Revolution, I can find no other reference to the miracle related by the Abbot Orsini.

The Kingship of Christ According to the Principles of St. Thomas Aquinas Part 5 Rev. Denis Fahey, C.S.SP., B.A., D. Pa., D.D. Professor of Philosophy and Church History, Senior Scholasticate, Blackrock College, Dublin 1931. With Nihil Obstat and Imprimi Potest. . Pope Leo XIII on Tolerance: . The Pope wants all Catholics to be of one mind with regard to the so-called modern "Liberties," and urges all to strive unceasingly for the return of the civil society to the acceptance of God's plan. A text already quoted is worth repeating here: "Especially with reference to the so-called 'liberties' which are so greatly coveted in these days, all must stand by the judgment of the Apostolic See, and have the same mind. . Let no man be deceived by the outward; appearance of these liberties, but let each one reflect whence these have had their origin, and by what efforts they are everywhere: upheld and promoted. Experience has made us well acquainted with their results to the State, since everywhere they have borne fruits which the good and wise bitterly deplore. If there really exist anywhere, or if we in imagination conceive, a State waging wanton and tyrannical war against Christianity, and if we compare with it the modern form of government just described, the latter may seem the more endurable of the two. Yet, undoubtedly, the principles on which such a government is grounded are, as We have said, of a nature which no one can approve" (Encyclical Letter "Immortale Dei," On the Christian Constitution of States, November 1st, 1888). . Pope Leo called for a reaction against the so-called ("rights of man" in the Encyclical Letter "Tametsi," November 1st, 1900, On Christ Our Redeemer: "Think it the chief part of your duty to engrave in the hearts of your people the true knowledge, and We might almost say the Image, of Jesus Christ, and to illustrate in your letters, your discourses, your schools and colleges, your public assemblies, whenever occasion serves, His charity, His benefits and institutions. About the 'rights of man,' as they are called, the people have heard enough; it is time they should hear of the rights of God." . This reaction he again appealed for in the touching review of his Pontificate given in the Apostolical Letter of March 19th, 1902: "In point of fact, and there is no one who does not see it, liberty as it is no understood, wider to crime, to suicide, and to a multitude of the most degrading passions. ... When an organism perishes and corrupts, it is because it had ceased to be under the action of the causes which had given it its form and constitution. To make it healthy and flourishing again it is necessary to restore it to the vivifying action of those same causes. So society, in its foolhardy effort to escape from God, has rejected the Divine order and revelation; and it is thus withdrawn from the salutary efficacy of Christianity, which is manifestly the most solid guarantee of order, the strongest bond of fraternity, and the inexhaustible source of all public and private virtue. This sacrilegious divorce has resulted in bringing about that trouble which now disturbs the world. Hence it is the pale of the Church which this lost society must re-enter, if it wishes to recover its well-being, its repose, and its salvation. . "Just as Christianity cannot penetrate into the soul without making it better, so it cannot enter in public life without establishing order. ...If it has transformed pagan society. ..so, after the terrible shocks which unbelief has given to the world in our days, it will be able to put that world again on the true road, and bring back 'to order the States and peoples of modern times. But the return of Christianity will not be efficacious and complete if it does not restore the world to a sincere love of the one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. In the Catholic Church Christianity is incarnate. It identifies itself with that perfect, spiritual, and, in its own order, sovereign society, which is the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, and which has for its visible head the Roman Pontiff, successor of the Prince of the Apostles. It is the continuation of the mission of the Saviour, the daughter and heiress of His Redemption."

The Kingship of Christ According to the Principles of St. Thomas Aquinas: Part 3 Rev. Denis Fahey, C.S.SP., B.A., D. Pa., D.D. Professor of Philosophy and Church History, Senior Scholasticate, Blackrock College, Dublin 1931. With Nihil Obstat and Imprimi Potest . What the Church Has Said About the State's Putting All Religions on the Same Level: . A. PIUS VII . After the restoration of the French Monarchy in the person of Louis VIII, Pius VII (1800-1823), faced with a proposed French Constitution, wrote his famous letter, "Post tam diuturnas," 29th April, 1814, to Mgr. de Boulogne, Bishop of Troyes. The following extracts are especially important: ---"We had hoped that, thanks to the happy change which has taken place, the Catholic religion would without any delay not only be delivered from all the shackles imposed on it in France in spite of our continual remonstrances, but that so faourable an occasion would be utilized to restore to it its ancient splendour and dignity. We have been struck, first of all, by the fact that in the Constitution in question no mention is made of the Catholic religion. . ...You, Venerable Brother, will easily be able to understand what pain, suffering and bitterness this caused Us, to Whom Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has committed the charge of the supreme government of the Catholic Church. How can We view with equanimity that the Catholic religion, which France embraced even in the first centuries of the Church, which in that very realm so many glorious martyrs sealed with their blood, which is the religion of the great majority of Frenchmen, clung to by them with courage and constancy in the midst of the terrible calamities, persecutions and dangers of recent years, and which the family of the designated Sovereign itself professes and has always defended with so much zeal, is not only not declared the only one in the whole of France having a right to the favour of the laws and the protection of governmental authority, but is even completely left out of account in the very inauguration of the new reign! . "But Our heart is more grievously and even most vehemently afflicted by the 22nd Article of the Constitution, by which We confess that We are pained, oppressed and grieved. By this Article We see that liberty of worship and liberty of conscience, to use the words of the Article in question, are not only permitted, but that help and protection are promised to those who are called the ministers of the different forms of worship. There is certainly no need of a long discourse, when speaking to you, to get you to see clearly what a deadly blow is thus dealt to the Catholic Religion in France. By the fact that the freedom of all forms of worship without distinction is proclaimed, truth is confused with error, and the holy and immaculate Spouse of Christ, outside of which there can be no salvation, is placed on the same level as heretical sects and even as Jewish perfidy. Besides, when aid and protection are guaranteed to heretical sects and their ministers, not only are their persons tolerated and favoured, but even their very errors. This attitude involves that awful and ever lamentable heresy referred to by St. Augustine in the following terms: 'This heresy affirms that all heretics are on the right path and that all teach the truth. This is so monstrous an absurdity that it seems to me to be incredible'" (De Haeresibus, No. 72). . Certainly, the teaching of Pius VII on the attitude of a State which refuses to profess publicly the one True Religion and proclaims itself so completely indifferent to all forms of religion that it is ready to show favour equally to them all is quite clear and definite. This example of Catholic teaching on this subject is taken from the first twenty years of the nineteenth century. Let us now add to it another authoritative statement from the last twenty years of the same period. . B.LEO XIII . In the letter sent to the Archbishop of Bogota on April 6th, 1900, by the Secretary of State, Cardinal Rampolla, the Cardinal uses the words of Pope Leo XIII, when treating of the different degrees to be met with amongst those who do not profess integral Catholicism, and says of the third and last degree that to it belong those who affirm "that the life and conduct of private citizens should be regulated by the Divine Laws but not the life and conduct of the State. According to them, it is lawful in public affairs to depart from God's commands and to take no account of them in legislation. From this follows that pernicious conclusion that Church and State should be separated." . The Cardinal then quotes the Pope to the effect that "there are many who do not approve of the separation of Church and State, but, nevertheless, think that the Church should be got to yield to circumstances and bend to and accommodate herself to what prudence demands at the present day in the government of realms." This opinion is declared by the Sovereign Pontiff to be worthy and respectable "if it be maintained thereby, in a manner in conformity with truth and justice, that the Church in view of the hope of some great benefit should show herself indulgent and should concede to the circumstances of an epoch what it can do so without violating the sanctity of her mission. But, on the contrary, this opinion is to be held unworthy and productive of evil, if thereby it is maintained that the Church should practise dissimulation with regard to error or injustice or shut her eyes at what is harmful to religion." [Emphasis added by the Web Master.] The Cardinal then adds: "From these principles, which the Holy See has very often condemned as false and opposed to Catholic doctrine, follow naturally as from an impure source what are called modern liberties, namely, freedom of worship, freedom of speech, freedom of teaching and freedom of conscience. The Pope has treated of these liberties in the Encyclical "Immortale Dei," On the Catholic Constitution of States, Nov. 1st, 1885, and "Libertas," On Human Liberty (Libertas Præstantissmum, 20th June, 1888), in the clearest possible fashion." We shall therefore have recourse to these Encyclicals, so that we may be able to set forth Pope Leo's teaching in its purity. . After having in the beginning of the Letter "Immortale Dei" sketched the Catholic organization of society in opposition to that modern "plan which, it is maintained, is the outcome of an age arrived at full stature and the result of the evolution of liberty," the Pope goes on to say that in the Catholic "organization of State there is nothing that can be thought to infringe upon the dignity of rulers, and nothing unbecoming them; nay, so far from degrading the sovereign power in its due rights, it adds to it permanence and lustre." He then gives an outline of the course of history upon which has been based what has been written in these pages on the subject. . "There was once a time when States were governed by the principles of Gospel teaching. Then it was that the power and Divine virtue of Christian wisdom had diffused itself throughout the laws, institutions and morals of the people; permeating all ranks and relations of civil society. Then, too, the religion instituted by Jesus Christ, established firmly in befitting dignity, flourished everywhere by the favour of princes and the legitimate protection of magistrates; and Church and State were happily united in concord and friendly interchange of good offices. The State; constituted in this wise, bore fruits important beyond all expectation, whose remembrance is still and always will be in renown, witnessed to as they are by countless proofs which can never be blotted out or even obscured by any craft of any enemies. ... A similar state of things would certainly have continued had the agreement of the two powers been lasting. More important results even might have been justly looked for had obedience waited upon the authority, teaching and counsels of the Church, and had this submission been specially marked by greater and more answering loyalty. [Emphasis added by the Web Master.] Sad it is to call to mind how the harmful and lamentable rage for innovation which rose to a climax in the sixteenth century, threw first of all into confusion the Christian religion, and next, by natural sequence, invaded the domain of philosophy, whence it spread amongst all classes of society. From this source, as from a fountain-head, burst forth all those later tenets of unbridled license, which, in the midst of the terrible upheavals of the last century, were wildly conceived and boldly proclaimed as the principles and foundation of that new jurisprudence which was not merely previously unknown, but was at variance on many points with not only the Christian, but even with the natural law." . Having thus outlined the origin of the principles based on the so-called Rights of Man and gradually embodied in the Constitutions of modern States in this, the post-revolutionary era, advanced, Pope Leo XIII proceeds to deal with some of these false principles of Rousseauist democracy in particular: "Amongst these principles the main one lays down that as all men are alike by race and nature, so in like manner all are equal in the control of their life; that each one is so far his own master as to be in no sense under the rule of any other individual; that each is free to think on every subject just as he may choose, and to do whatever he may like to do; that no man has any right to rule over other men. In a society grounded upon such maxims, all government is nothing more nor less than the will of the people, and the people being under the power of itself alone is alone its own ruler. It does choose, nevertheless, some to whose charge it may commit itself, but in such wise that it makes over to them not the right so much as the business of governing, to be exercised, however, in its name. The authority of God is passed over in silence, just as if there were no God. . . . And since the people is declared to contain within itself the spring-head of all right and of all power, it follows that the State does not consider itself bound by any kind of duty towards God. Moreover, it believes that it is not obliged to make public profession of any religion; or to inquire which of the very many religions is the only true one; or to prefer one religion to all the rest; or to show to any form of religion special favour; but, on the contrary, is bound to grant equal right to every creed, so that public order may not be disturbed by any particular form of religious belief. And it is a part of this theory that all questions that concern religion are to be referred to private judgment; that everyone is to be free to follow whatever religion he prefers, or none at all, if he disapproves of all. From this the following consequences logically flow: that the judgment of each one's conscience is independent of all law; that the most unrestrained opinions may be openly expressed as to the practice or omission of Divine worship; and that everyone has unbounded license to think whatever he chooses and to publish abroad whatever he thinks. . "Now when the State rests on foundations like those just named -----and for the time being they are greatly in favour-----it readily appears into what and how unrightful a position the Church is driven. For when the management of public business is in harmony with doctrines of such a kind, the Catholic religion is allowed a standing in civil society equal only, or inferior, to societies alien from it, ... to hold, therefore, that there is no difference in matters of religion between forms that are unlike each other, and even contrary to each other, most clearly leads in the end to the rejection of all religion in both theory and practice, and this is the same thing as Atheism, however it may differ from it in name. Men who really believe in the existence of God must, in order to be consistent with themselves and to avoid absurd conclusions, understand that differing modes of Divine worship, involving dissimilarity and conflict even on most important points, cannot all be equally probable, equally good, and equally acceptable to God. [Ibid.] . "So, too, the liberty of thinking, and of publishing, whatever each one likes, without any hindrance, is not in itself an advantage over which society can wisely rejoice. On the contrary, it is the fountain-head and origin of many evils. Liberty is a power perfecting man, and hence should have truth and goodness for its object. [Emphasis added by the Web Master.] But the character of goodness and truth cannot be changed at option. These remain ever one and the same, and are no less unchangeable than nature herself. If the mind assents to false opinions, and the will chooses and follows after what is wrong, neither can attain its native fulness, but both must fall from their native dignity into an abyss of corruption. Whatever, therefore, is opposed to virtue and truth, may not rightly be brought temptingly before the eye of man, much less sanctioned by the favour and protection of the law. A well-spent life is the only passport to Heaven, whither all are bound, and on this account the State is acting against the laws and dictates of nature whenever it permits the license of opinion and of action to lead minds astray from truth and souls away from the virtue. ... . "From these pronouncements of the Popes Gregory XVI and Pius IX], it is evident ... that it is not lawful for the State, any more than for the individual, either to disregard all religious duties or to hold in equal favour different kinds of religion; that the unrestrained freedom of thinking and of openly making known one's thoughts is not inherent in the rights of citizens, and is by no means to be reckoned worthy of favour and support... . Especially with reference to the so-called liberties which are so greatly desired in these days, all must stand by the judgment of the Apostolic See, and have the same mind. Let no man be deceived by the outward appearance of these liberties, but let each one reflect whence these have had their origin, and by what efforts they are everywhere upheld and promoted. . Experience has made us well acquainted with their results to the State, since everywhere they have borne fruits which the good and wise bitterly deplore. If there really exist anywhere, or if we in imagination conceive, a State, waging wanton and tyrannical war against Christianity, and if we compare with it the modern form of government just described, the latter may seem the more endurable of the two. Yet, undoubtedly, the principles on which such a government is grounded are, as we have said, of a nature which no one can approve." [Ibid.] . Not to lengthen these citations unduly, only a few passages from the Encyclical Letter, On Human Liberty, 26th June, 1888, will be quoted. The Pope deals first with the so-called modern liberties and says: "We have shown (in the Letter Immortale Dei) that whatsoever is good in these liberties is as ancient as truth itself, and that the Church has always most willingly approved and practiced that good; but whatsoever has been added as new is, to tell the plain truth, of a vitiated kind, the fruit of the disorders of the age, and of an insatiate longing after novelties. Seeing, however, that many cling so obstinately to their own opinion in this matter as to imagine these modern liberties, cankered as they are, to be the greatest glory of our age, and the very basis of civil life, without which no perfect government can be conceived, We feel it a pressing duty, for the sake of the common good, to treat separately of this subject . . . Let us examine that liberty in individuals which is so opposed to the virtue of religion, namely, the liberty of worship, as it is called. [Ibid.] This is based on the principle, that every man is free to profess as he may choose any religion or none. But assuredly of all the duties which man has to fulfill, that, without doubt, is the chiefest and holiest which commands him to worship God with devotion and piety. . . . Wherefore, when a liberty such as We have described is offered to man, the power is given him to pervert or abandon with impunity the most sacred of duties, and to exchange the unchangeable good for evil; which, as We have said, is no liberty, but its degradation, and the abject submission of the soul to sin. This kind of liberty, if considered in relation to the State, clearly implies that there is no reason why the State should offer any homage to God, or should desire any public recognition of Him; that no one form of worship is to be preferred to another, but that all stand on an equal footing, no account being taken of the religion of the people, even if they profess the Catholic faith. But to justify this, it must needs be taken as true that the State has no duties to God, or that such duties, if they exist, can be abandoned with impunity, both of which assertions are manifestly false. . . . God it is Who had made man for society, and has placed him in the company of others like himself, so that what was wanting to his nature and beyond his attainment, if left to his own resources, he might obtain by association with others. Wherefore, civil society must acknowledge God as its Founder and Parent, and must obey and reverence His power and authority. Justice, therefore, forbids, and reason itself forbids, the State to be godless; or to adopt a line of action which would end in godlessness-----namely, to treat the various religions (as they call them) alike, and to bestow upon them promiscuously equal rights and privileges. Since, then, the profession of one religion is necessary in the State, that religion must be professed which alone is true, and which can be recognized without difficulty, especially in Catholic States, because the marks of truth are, as it were, engraven upon it. This religion, therefore, the rulers of the State must preserve and protect, if they would provide-----as they should do-----with prudence and usefulness for the good of the community. [Ibid] For public authority exists for the welfare of those whom it governs; and although its proximate end is to lead men to the prosperity found in this life, yet, in so doing, it ought not to diminish but rather to increase man's capability of attaining to the supreme good in which his everlasting happiness consists: which never can be attained if religion be disregarded. . . . . "Another liberty is widely advocated, namely, liberty of conscience. If by this is meant that everyone may, as he chooses, worship God or not, it is sufficiently refuted by the arguments already adduced. But it may also be taken to mean that every man in the State may follow the Will of God, and from a consciousness of duty and free from every obstacle, obey His commands. This, indeed, is true liberty, a liberty worthy of the sons of God, which nobly maintains the dignity of man, and is stronger than all violence or wrong -----a liberty which the Church has always desired and held most dear. This is the kind of liberty the Apostles claimed for themselves with intrepid constancy, which the apologists of Christianity confirmed by their writings, and which the Martyrs in vast numbers consecrated by their blood. And deservedly so; for this Christian liberty bears witness to the absolute and most just dominion of God over man, and to the chief and supreme duty of man towards God." . We have given the teaching of Pope Leo XIII at some length, that it may be clearly seen how fundamentally opposed to the Divine plan for the organization of human life is the attitude of modern States to the Catholic religion, and therefore to the real progress of the world. . There is a further incongruous result of the State's putting itself above all forms of worship or all religious denominations, as they are usually styled, namely, that the state, of itself, claims to settle questions of morality, for the free profession and practice of religion are, subject to public order and morality, guaranteed to every citizen of the" modem State. In the Encyclical "Immortale Dei," Pope Leo XIII lays down that "the Church of Christ is the true and sole teacher of virtue and guardian of morals", while the condemned Proposition 44 of the Syllabus of Pius IX runs as follows: "The civil power can interfere in matters which belong to religion, morals and spiritual government." We have seen above the protest of Pius VII against a Constitution involving a similar attitude on the part of the French State at the beginning of the nineteenth century. It may be interesting for readers, who are not accustomed to following the evolution of State-action in this, the post-revolutionary period of the world's history, as it must be again and again called, to have a few instances of what the French State considers opposed to public order and immoral at the beginning of the twentieth century. On 7th June, 1917, therefore, during the terrible war, when France was fighting for her very existence, the French Minister for War, Painlevé, issued a confidential instruction to the general in command of the French army as follows: . "General -----I have been informed that ceremonies having for object the consecration of the Catholic soldiers of the allied armies to the Sacred Heart are to take place about 15th June, on the occasion of the Feast of the Sacred Heart. ... Now, by the terms of Article 357 of the Decree of 22nd August, 1913, the public manifestation in any form of political or religious opinions capable of injuring the general interests of the country, compromising discipline, or creating difficulties for the authorities is considered either as conduct unbecoming a soldier or as a breach of discipline. I, therefore, request you to remind the military authorities under your command that all religious propaganda of the kind in question is expressly forbidden, especially at the present time, when manifestations, calculated to lessen the existing close union of all the forces of the nation, should be carefully avoided." In accordance with this instruction a notice was issued by General Headquarters the following day. It is especially sad to learn that eight days before, on 31st May, 1917, the Minister for War gave detailed orders for arrangements to permit the Mohammedan troops to celebrate their great annual fast of Ramadhan, [Ibid] from from June 21St to July 21st. And the Minister for War, Maginot, on August 14th, 1930, carried on the tradition by issuing the following instruction to the generals commanding the different sections of the French army: "It has come to my knowledge that certain associations, counting on their organizing committees officers of high rank belonging to the Army Reserve, send circulars annually to the pupils of our military schools and to the officers who have passed through these schools, inviting them to come together for religious worship in common. This religious propaganda is absolutely opposed to the principles which should be observed in the army. In the army ... any act of proselytism in favour of any religion must be rigorously excluded. ... In the domain of religion, any constraint, any pressure, any invitation to collective worship cannot be tolerated. ... These principles inspired the circulars of July 5th, 1844, 20th February, 1845, etc." Of the process by which modern Constitutions, in spite of the lofty indifference professed by them with regard to all religions, have been used to justify persecution of the Catholic Church, something will be said further on.

The Kingship of Christ According to the Principles of St. Thomas Aquinas: Rev. Denis Fahey, C.S.SP., B.A., D. Pa., D.D. Professor of Philosophy and Church History, Senior Scholasticate, Blackrock College, Dublin 1931, Part 2 With Nihil Obstat and Imprimi Potest . The Kingship of Christ: . OUR supernatural life of Divine Grace comes to us from Our Lord Jesus Christ, Head of His Mystical Body, the Catholic Church, while we continue to receive our disordered natural life from the first Adam. "For, if by one man's offence, death reigned through one: much more they who receive abundance of grace, and of the gift, and of justice, shall reign in life through one Jesus Christ" (Rom. v. 17). Our Lord is then our Head. Now St. Thomas distinguishes a twofold function of the grace of Headship, analogous to the double role exercised by the head with regard to the members of the body. "The head," he says, "has a twofold influence upon the members: an interior influence, because the head transmits to the other members the power of moving and feeling; and an exterior influence of government, because by the sense of sight and the other senses which reside in it, the head directs a man in his exterior actions." (III. P. Q. 8. a. 6) St. Thomas then goes on to remark that Christ also, by His grace of Headship, has a twofold influence upon souls: an interior influence of supernatural life, because His Humanity, united to His Divinity has the power of justification; an exterior influence by His government of His subjects. The role of justification and sanctification is that of Christ as Priest, while the second prerogative of government and direction constitutes the spiritual Kingship of Christ. We have said the "spiritual" Kingship of Christ, for we must distinguish between the spiritual and the temporal Kingship of Christ or between His Primacy in the supernatural order and His Primacy in the natural order. . "That this Kingdom, indeed, is in a special manner spiritual and concerned with things spiritual is quite plain from the extracts from Scripture above quoted; and Christ's own line of action confirms this view. He, however, would be guilty of shameful error who would deny to Christ as man authority over civil affairs no matter what their nature, since, by virtue of the absolute dominion over all creatures He holds from His Father, all things are in His Power. Nevertheless, during His life on earth He refrained altogether from exercising such dominion and, despising the possession and administration of earthly goods, He left them to their possessors then, and He does so today" (Encyclical Letter, Quas Primas, of His Holiness Pope Pius XI) . Christ's Kingship is, above all, Spiritual. . To Jesus Christ then as King, Spiritual Ruler, it appertains to set before the faithful the common end they should attain and to point out to them the means of attaining it, thus guiding the exterior and visible movement of the whole mystical Body to Eternal Happiness. . To Jesus Christ as King, it belongs also to determine the proper sanction for the precepts He imposes, to reward and punish His subjects according to their deserts. Finally, it is for Jesus Christ as King, in virtue of the work of Redemption which He must accomplish, to conquer His Kingdom and defend His faithful subjects against the enemies who strive to overthrow His reign here below. Christ's Spiritual Kingship is militant and the struggle against moral evil must go on as long as men remain here below exposed to suffering and death, to corruption and sin. Only in eternity shall the triumph be complete, by the victory of the good and the defeat of the wicked. Of course it must not be forgotten that this struggle against evil on the part of Christ the King is in close relation with His Priesthood: for it is by sanctifying souls and uniting them to God that He withdraws them from sin and conquers them for His Kingdom. As has been pointed out above, we must here keep in mind the twofold aspect of Christ's Headship: the negative aspect of His combat against sin and His warring down of evil, which belongs to His Kingship, and the positive one of uniting souls to God, which is the function of His Priesthood. . Spiritual Kingship comprises the Right of Intervention in Temporal Affairs. . Our Lord, as has been said, came down to restore to men the Divine Life of grace, their highest and most real life, and this mission of salvation confers on Him full power of governing in the spiritual order. But, though we have been raised to the life of grace, we must, nevertheless, continue to live our human life, and the organization demanded by this life remains always necessary. Our human or natural life must, however, be in subordination to our Divine Life, so that instead of hindering its development, it may, on the contrary, indirectly contribute thereto. Grace gives to our activity a new elevation by lifting it up to the God of Revelation, known and loved in Himself, but we have to work out our salvation in the conditions of existence imposed on us by our situation in the world and in contact with the lowly realities of daily life. The temporal order, with the rulers appointed to maintain it, subsists along with the supernatural order and the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy. In both spheres authority is exercised in its proper domain. . But, because the temporal is in subordination to the spiritual and because the final end of man, the end which dominates all others, is supernatural, we must concede to the ruler in the supernatural order a right of intervention in the strictly natural sphere, a right which must be measured by the necessity or utility of maintaining and developing the Divine Life of grace in souls. The Spiritual Kingship of Christ, then, comprises the power of intervention in human affairs and, in fact, we see Our Lord in the Gospel making use of it, when, for example, He drove the traffickers from the Temple, thus proclaiming the right of God to be honoured in becoming fashion, even though that meant imposing restrictions upon the commercial liberty of men. It must, however, be borne in mind that this power of intervention in the temporal order does not confer a new royal dignity upon Christ, but is comprised in the attributes of His spiritual Royalty. For it is not here question of commanding and legislating in view of conducting human society to its common good in the natural order, which belongs to the civil power, but of opposing everything that could hinder the progress of the supernatural life and of the social order consonant with it, and of obtaining from the rulers in the civil order the co-operation necessary therefor. This power forms part of the attributes of the Spiritual Kingship, for it is at its service and is so to say its instrument. . Temporal Kingship of Christ. . Here we are no longer concerned with a right of intervention in temporal affairs for the sake of the higher interests of His Mystical Body. Temporal kingship supposes that he who is invested with it pursues a temporal end and that he has directly in view the common good, in the natural order, of the society confided to him and the temporal welfare of his people. Of course there is no question of Our Lord having taken over or being about to take over the government of any particular country or people. The kings and rulers of the earth need not fear that they shall be deprived of their authority: Our Lord's Royalty is universal. But is not Christ the sovereign and judge of all kings and rulers? Has He not a right to rule them as a body, to dictate His laws to them, to reward or punish them for the good or bad use of their power? The Encyclical Quas Primas, in the passage above quoted, answers these questions decisively in the affirmative. To the rulers of the earth it belongs to legislate in civil affairs, to determine sanctions for their laws and to judge their subjects guilty of transgressions of these laws. Our Lord reserves to Himself the right of pronouncing final judgment on the Last Day on the civil administration of all earthly rulers as well as on their attitude to the supernatural order. For rulers will have to render an account both of the manner in which they sought the natural common good of their subjects and of the way in which they observed the objective order of the world that belongs to Christ, by their acknowledgment of the Indirect Power of the supernatural society founded by Him, the Catholic Church, in temporal affairs. [Emphasis added by the Web Master.] This power is, as we shall see immediately, a part of the Church's participation in the spiritual Kingship of Christ. The Church's Participation in the Spiritual Kingship of Christ. . The title makes it clear that the Temporal Kingship of Christ has not to be considered here. The mission of the Catholic Church, supernatural and supra-national, is the spiritual one of the outpouring of the Divine Life. The Church has not received purely temporal Royalty from her Divine Founder, so it is here question of Spiritual Kingship only. But the Spiritual Kingship of Our Lord could not be exercised in an efficacious manner without a visible, permanent intermediary, capable of giving to souls at all times and in all places the directions needed for the safeguard and diffusion of the Divine Life. This mission has been confided only to the Catholic Church. Accordingly, in order to form an adequate idea of the Spiritual Kingship of Christ, we must consider its radiation down the centuries in the Church and through the Church in the world. The Pope and the Bishops are the representatives of Christ, the lieutenants of His Spiritual Royalty. They have the charge of holding up before the world the supernatural ideal of life to be lived by all men and laying down the laws and precepts to be observed, in order that that life may not be lost: to them it belongs to regulate the distribution of all the means confided to the Church by Our Lord for the development of the Divine Life, to establish fitting sanctions for all offences that jeopardize the interests of that life, and, finally, to carryon the struggle against the powers of evil by every form of missionary effort, following the example of Christ. . Here we must carefully distinguish between the Church's participation in Our Lord's Priesthood and her participation in His Kingship. "The interior influence of grace can come from Christ alone, Whose Humanity united to the Divinity has the power of justifying. But the influence which Our Lord exercises by His exterior government can be communicated to others. Those others are the heads of the Church ... they are heads because they take Christ's place" (Summ. Theol., III. P. Q. 8. a. 6). In other words, when the Church governs in the name of Christ she is truly a proper and principal, though subordinate, cause of her government. Thus, as Spouse of Christ and True Regent of souls on earth, she has the right that we should recognize her authority and should bow down before her. When, on the other hand, through her priesthood and the Sacraments, she communicates grace to us, she is in this, only the instrument used by Christ to vivify our souls. It must, however, be remembered at once that, since the Sacred Humanity of Christ is immediately united to the Word, His Royalty and His Priesthood receive thereby a fullness, a universality and a perfection which can be participated in by the Church only in a limited fashion. St. Thomas points out that Christ rules the men of all places, times, and states, while the heads of the Church either govern only in certain places for a limited time as Bishops, or without limit as to place, but only for a limited time as is the case with the Pope, the rule of both Pope and Bishops being limited to those living on the earth (III. P. Q. 8. a. 6). Besides, Christ commands by His own authority, for all things are subject to Him. The Rulers of the Church have only the authority communicated to them by Christ. . The influence, then, which Christ exercises on the world, by His Priesthood and His Kingship, surpasses in extent and compass, even here below, the influence of the visible Church. All men, St. Thomas teaches (III. P. Q. 8. a. 3. c. et ad I), belong to Christ, even though they be heretics or pagans, and on them Christ can act in an invisible manner, by providing them with the help they need, in order to be converted, by even raising them to the Divine Life, if their invincible ignorance keeps them outside the one True Church. The Church always remains the centre from which the Divine Life, which is found in its fullness in Christ, radiates throughout the world. By right the Church is universal and her influence here below ever seeks to be co-extensive with that of her Divine Head and Founder. Men are subject to the Priesthood and Kingship of Christ while yet outside the Church, but in order to reap the full benefit, for the spiritual life, of this subjection to Our Lord, one must be fully incorporated into Christ, in accordance with the order He Himself has established. One must be a child of the Church, to which He has confided the infinite riches of the Redemption. We have previously seen that the Spiritual Kingship of Christ comprises the right of intervention in temporal affairs, in so far as the interests of the Divine Life of souls demand it. Charged by Our Lord with the continuance of His mission here below, the Church, though without direct power in temporal affairs as such, has, nevertheless, by her participation in the Kingship of Christ, the right of intervening in temporal affairs in order to safeguard the interests of the Divine Life. [Emphasis added by the Web Master.] This is the Divine origin of what has been usually called, since the time of St. Robert Bellarmine and Suarez, the Indirect Power of the Pope. Here it may be well to open a parenthesis concerning the Temporal Sovereignty of the Pope in his own State, so as to preclude any confusion in minds between this Temporal Sovereignty and the Indirect Power of which we are speaking. The Temporal Sovereignty of the Pope in the Vatican State is completely different from his Indirect Power in temporal affairs. It is, however, a consequence of the Pope's participation in the Spiritual Kingship of Christ as His Vicar on earth. The Temporal Sovereignty of the Pope in the Papal States or in the Vatican City is the condition by which alone in normal fashion obstacles and hindrances are removed to the enjoyment of that full immunity bestowed on him by Our Divine Lord when He made St. Peter His Vicar on earth, with the charge of spiritually governing the whole Church. That particular Temporal Sovereignty is the normal condition which Divine Providence has provided for the exercise of the Spiritual Kingship of Our Lord's Vicar. Accordingly, the Pope, who is supreme judge, the world over, directly of spiritual matters, indirectly of temporal affairs, by reason of the spiritual interests involved, is also temporal and civil ruler of a small State. In the latter capacity he stands in a special relation to his civil subjects.

The Kingship of Christ According to the Principles of St. Thomas Aquinas: Rev. Denis Fahey, C.S.SP., B.A., D. Pa., D.D. Professor of Philosophy and Church History, Senior Scholasticate, Blackrock College, Dublin 1931, Part 1 With Nihil Obstat and Imprimi Potest . Man's Fallen State . As man is historically, he has never been destined by God to be endowed with merely natural life. God poured supernatural life into the soul of Adam, with a view to drawing the whole human race into the cycle of His Inner Life in Three Divine Persons. Having done so, He treated our first Parents in accordance with their rational nature, by asking them to answer freely His loving question: Do you accept My Inner Life for yourselves and your descendants? That question they could have easily answered in the affirmative, for their whole being was in order, their reason being subject by grace to God and consequently their sense-life to their reason and their bodies to their souls (Ia. P. Q. 95 a. I). The revolt of the passions against reason, disease, and death would have been unknown to us if they had assented. . Their refusal to accept God's plan meant that we all come into the world in disorder, deprived of our most Real Life, the supernatural life of grace, exposed to moral corruption and subject to physical decay. God, however, undid the evil in His own sublime way, through the Incarnation, Passion and Death of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity made Man. The Word, Who was God and is God, became man, like unto us in everything except disorder of any kind. The Supernatural Life in Person, True God and True Man, walked the earth, met in perfect order and with perfect love all the consequences of the disorder introduced 'by the first Adam, and by His death became for the human race the second Adam. Through Our Lord, Crucified and Risen from the dead, God again pours His Inner Life into us. The following diagrammatic representation of God's plan for man's return to Him may help to a better understanding of what has been said in this section and of what follows:

Hallowed Be Thy Name, Thy Kingdom Come by St. Teresa of Avila. . What person, however careless, who had to address someone of importance, would not spend time in thinking how to approach him so as to please him and not be considered tedious? He would also think what he was going to ask for and what use he would make of it, especially if his petition were for some particular thing, as our good Jesus tells us our petitions must be. This point seems to me very important. Couldst Thou not, my Lord, have ended this prayer in a single sentence, by saying: “Give us, Father, whatever is good for us”? For, in addressing One Who knows everything, there would seem to be no need to say any more. . Eternal Wisdom! Between Thee and Thy Father this was quite sufficient. This is how Thou madest Thy request of him in the garden of Gethsemane. Thou didst show Him what Thou didst wish for and what Thou didst fear, but left it all in His hands. But Thou knowest us, my Lord, and Thou knowest that we have not given ourselves up to the will of Thy Father as completely as Thou didst. For us, it is best to pray for specific things, so that as each of them comes to mind we can pause to consider whether it is something good that we are asking for; so that if it is not, we should refrain from asking for it. Otherwise (being what we are, free will and all) we will not accept what God chooses to give us even if it is far better than what we asked for, simply because it is not exactly what we asked for. We are the sort of people who cannot feel rich unless we feel the weight of the actual coins in our hand. . Now the good Jesus bids us say these words, in which we pray that the Kingdom may come in us: Hallowed be Thy name, Thy Kingdom come. See how great our Master’s wisdom is! I am thinking of what it is we are asking for when we ask for the Kingdom: it is important that we should understand this. His Majesty saw that because of our weakness we could not hallow or praise or magnify or glorify the Holy Name of the Eternal Father in a way adequate to its greatness. We could not, that is, do it by ourselves, if His Majesty did not help us by giving us His kingdom here on earth. And so the good Jesus places these two petitions – Hallowed be Thy name and Thy kingdom come next to each other, so that we can understand what we are asking for and why it is important to beg for it and to do all we can to please the One who is able to give it to us. Let me explain how I understand it. . Now, then. The greatest joy in the kingdom of heaven (the greatest among many) seems to me to be that we will no longer be tied up with earthly concerns but will have rest and glory within us – rejoicing that gives joy to everyone, peace that lasts for ever – satisfaction in ourselves, a satisfaction that comes from seeing how everyone is praising the Lord and blessing and hallowing His Name, while no-one offends Him. Everyone loves Him. Each soul has no wish other than to love Him: it cannot stop loving Him because it knows Him truly. . If only we knew Him like that even here on earth, we would love Him in the same way – not with that degree of perfection, of course, but in a very different way from the way we love Him now.

The Origins of The laudes regiae: Christ conquers. . Christus vincit. Also called the laudes regiae throughout history, Christus vincit is an acclamation which asserts Christ as the king of kings. It pulls no punches, calling out: Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Christus imperat. "Christ conquers, Christ reigns, Christ commands. . Christus vincit is an acclamation of a style that reaches back to ancient Rome. Praises of victory and honor were shouted or chanted to Roman generals, consuls, or emperors who entered the Eternal City in triumph after a great battle. Charlemagne, a barbarian king who fashioned himself a ruler in the tradition of the old Empire, adopted Roman traditions such as the acclamations for his own use. It's said that at his coronation as Emperor of the Romans in A.D. 800, he adopted Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Christus imperat for his own personal motto. Those words formed a chant which was used in the coronations of the Holy Roman Emperors for centuries hence. . It's no surprise that the laudes regiae were most popular in Charlemagne's native France. Not only was it sung during the holy anointings of the French kings, it was also featured every year at the Cathedral of Notre-Dame-de-Paris. On Easter Sunday, the King himself would process into the cathedral (considered the King's own parish), with the royal praises made both for him and the risen Christ. The French tradition then made its way to England courtesy of the Norman Conquest. Thus, the laudes regiae would also be heard in the coronations of the Kings of England from the time of the Conquest to the Reformation. The oldest manuscript we have of laudes regiae in England is for the coronation of William the Conqueror's wife, Matilda, as queen in 1068. . Christus vincit continued to appear in the coronations of the Popes well after most of the crowns of Europe had fallen.... The feast was originally established in 1925 by Pope Pius XI in the encyclical Quas Primas. It was a response to the growing trends of communism, fascism, nationalism, and all the other -isms that would blow up into World War II. The date was to be on the last Sunday of October for two reasons: first, on a Sunday to ensure maximum attendance by the laity, and second, at the end of October so it would complement All Saints and All Souls Day, making a sort of triduum of holy days. . From The Modern Medievalist

Laudes Regiae: Christus vincit!: Christ conquers. . Christus vincit! Christus regnat! Christus imperat! Christus vincit! Christus regnat! Christus imperat! . Exaudi, Christe Exaudi, Christe Ecclesiae sanctae Dei salus perpetua Redemptor mundi, tu illam adiuva Sancta Maria, tu illam adiuva Sancta Mater Ecclesiae, tu illam adiuva Regina Apostolorum, tu illam adiuva Sancti Michael, Gabriel et Raphael vos illam adiuvate Sancte Ioannes Baptista, tu illam adiuva Sancte Ioseph, tu illam adiuva . Christus vincit! Christus regnat! Christus imperat! . Exaudi, Christe Exaudi, Christe N., Summo Pontifici et universali Papae, vita! Salvator mundi, tu illum adiuva Sancte Petre, tu illum adiuva Sancte Paule, tu illum adiuva . Christus vincit! Christus regnat! Christus imperat! . Exaudi, Christe Exaudi, Christe Episcopis catholicae et apostolicae fidei cultoribus, eorumque curis fidelibus, vita! Salvator mundi, tu illos adiuva Sancte Andrea, tu illos adiuva Sancte Iacobe, tu illos adiuva Sancte Ioannes, tu illos adiuva Sancte Thoma, tu illos adiuva Sancte Iacobe, tu illos adiuva Sancte Philippe, tu illos adiuva Sancte Bartholomaee, tu illos adiuva Sancte Matthaee, tu illos adiuva Sancte Simon, tu illos adiuva Sancte Thaddaee, tu illos adiuva Sancte Matthia, tu illos adiuva Sancte Barnaba, tu illos adiuva Sancte Luca, tu illos adiuva Sancte Marce, tu illos adiuva Sancti Timothee et Tite, vos illos adiuvate . Christus vincit! Christus regnat! Christus imperat! . Exaudi, Christe Exaudi, Christe Sancti Protomartyres Romani, vos illos adiuvate Sancte Ignati, tu illos adiuva Sancte Polycarpe, tu illos adiuva Sancte Cypriane, tu illos adiuva Sancte Bonifati, tu illos adiuva' Sancte Stanislae, tu illos adiuva Sancte Thoma, tu illos adiuva Sancti Ioannes et Thoma vos illos adiuvate Sancte Iosaphat, tu illos adiuva Sancte Paule, tu illos adiuva Sancte Ioannes et Isaac, vos illos adiuvate Sancte Petre, tu illos adiuva Sancte Carole, tu illos adiuva Sancta Agnes, tu illos adiuva Sancta Caecilia, tu illos adiuva Omnes sancti martyres, vos illos adiuvate Sancte Clemens tu illos adiuva Sancte Athanasi, tu illos adiuva Sancte Leo Magne, tu illos adiuva Sancte Gregori Magne, tu illos adiuva Sancte Ambrosi, tu illos adiuva Sancte Augustine, tu illos adiuva Sancti Basili et Gregori, vos illos adiuvate Sancte Ioannes, tu illos adiuva Sancte Martine, tu illos adiuva Sancte Patrici, tu illos adiuva Sancti Cyrille et Methodi, vos illos adiuvate Sancte Carole, tu illos adiuva Sancte Roberte, tu illos adiuva Sancte Francisce, tu illos adiuva Sancte Ioannes Nepomucene, tu illos adiuva Sancte Pie, tu illos adiuva Omnes sancti pontifices et doctores, vos illos adiuvate . Christus vincit! Christus regnat! Christus imperat! . Exaudi, Christe Exaudi, Christe Populis cunctis et omnibus hominibus bonae voluntatis: pax a Deo, rerum ubertas morumque civilium rectitudo. Sancte Antoni, tu illos adiuva Sancte Benedicte, tu illos adiuva Sancte Bernarde, tu illos adiuva Sancte Francisce, tu illos adiuva Sancte Dominice, tu illos adiuva Sancte Philippe, tu illos adiuva Sancte Vincenti, tu illos adiuva Sancte Ioannes Maria, tu illos adiuva Sancta Catharina, tu illos adiuva Sancta Teresia a Iesu, tu illos adiuva Sancta Rosa, tu illos adiuva Omnes sancti presbyteri et religiosi, vos illos adiuvate Omnes sancti laici, vos illos adiuvate . Christus vincit! Christus regnat! Christus imperat! . Ipsi soli imperium, laus et iubilatio per infinita saecula saeculorum. Amen. . Christus vincit! Christus regnat! Christus imperat! . Tempora bona habeant! Tempora bona habeant redempti sanguine Christi! Feliciter! Feliciter! Feliciter! Pax Christi veniat! Regnum Christi veniat! Deo gratias! Amen ---------------------------- Christ conquers! Christ reigns! Christ commands! Christ conquers! Christ reigns! Christ commands! . Hear, O Christ Hear, O Christ For the Church of God, everlasting safety! Redeemer of the world, come to her aid Holy Mary, come to her aid Holy Mother of the Church, come to her aid Queen of Apostles, come to her aid Saint Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, come to her aid Saint John the Baptist, come to her aid Saint Joseph, come to her aid Christ conquers! Christ reigns! Christ commands! Hear, O Christ Hear, O Christ For N., Supreme Pontiff and universal Father [Pope], life! Savior of the world, come to his aid Saint Peter, come to his aid Saint Paul, come to his aid. . Christ conquers! Christ reigns! Christ commands! . Hear, O Christ Hear, O Christ For the bishops, custodians of the catholic and apostolic faith, and for the faithful in their care, life! Savior of the world, come to their aid Saint Andrew, come to their aid Saint James, come to their aid Saint John, come to their aid Saint Thomas, come to their aid Saint James, come to their aid Saint Philip, come to their aid Saint Bartholomew, come to their aid Saint Matthew, come to their aid Saint Simon, come to their aid Saint Jude, come to their aid Saint Matthias, come to their aid Saint Barnabas, come to their aid Saint Luke, come to their aid Saint Mark, come to their aid Saint Timothy and Titus, come to their aid . Christ conquers! Christ reigns! Christ commands! . Hear, O Christ Hear, O Christ First Martyrs of the Church of Rome, come to their aid Saint Ignatius, come to their aid Saint Polycarp, come to their aid Saint Cyprian, come to their aid Saint Boniface, come to their aid Saint Stanislas, come to their aid Saint Thomas, come to their aid Saints John and Thomas, come to their aid Saint Josaphat, come to their aid Saint Paul, come to their aid Saint John and Isaac, come to their aid Saint Peter, come to their aid Saint Charles, come to their aid Saint Agnes, 'come to their aid Saint Cecilia, come to their aid All ye holy martyrs, come to their aid Saint Clement, come to their aid Saint Athanasius, come to their aid Saint Leo the Great, come to their aid Saint Gregory the Great, come to their aid Saint Ambrose, come to their aid Saint Augustine, come to their aid Saints Basil and Gregory, come to their aid Saint John, come to their aid Saint Martin, come to their aid Saint Patrick, come to their aid Saints Cyril and Methodius, come to their aid Saint Charles, come to their aid Saint Robert, come to their aid Saint Francis, come to their aid Saint John of Nepomuk, come to their aid Saint Pius [X], come to their aid All ye holy bishops and doctors, come to their aid. . Christ conquers! Christ reigns! Christ commands! . Hear, O Christ Hear, O Christ For all peoples and for all men of good will, God's peace! Saint Anthony, come to their aid Saint Benedict, come to their aid Saint Bernard, come to their aid Saint Francis, come to their aid Saint Dominic, come to their aid Saint Philip, come to their aid Saint Vincent, come to their aid Saint John Mary, come to their aid Saint Catherine, come to their aid Saint Teresa of Jesus, come to their aid Saint Rose, come to their aid All ye holy priests and religious, come to their aid All ye holy lay people, come to their aid Christ conquers! Christ reigns! Christ commands! To him alone be authority, praise and rejoicing, through endless ages of ages. Amen. . Christ conquers! Christ reigns! Christ commands! . May they have favorable times! May they have favorable times, those redeemed by the Blood of Christ! Happily! Happily! Happily! May the peace of Christ come! May the reign of Christ come! Thanks be to God. Amen.