ENCYCLICAL LETTER
OF POPE PIUS XI ON THE FEAST OF CHRIST
THE KING
Issued on December 11,
1925.
To Our Venerable Brethren the Patriarchs,
Primates, Archbishops, Bishops, and
other Ordinaries in Peace and Communion
with the Apostolic See.
Venerable Brethren, Greeting and
the Apostolic Benediction
1. In the first Encyclical Letter
which We addressed at the beginning
of Our Pontificate to the Bishops of
the universal Church, We referred to
the chief causes of the difficulties
under which mankind was laboring. And
We remember saying that these manifold
evils in the world were due to the fact
that the majority of men had thrust
Jesus Christ and his holy law out of
their lives; that these had no place
either in private affairs or in politics:
and we said further, that as long as
individuals and states refused to submit
to the rule of our Savior, there would
be no really hopeful prospect of a lasting
peace among nations. Men must look for
the peace of Christ in the Kingdom of
Christ; and that We promised to do as
far as lay in Our power. In the Kingdom
of Christ, that is, it seemed to Us
that peace could not be more effectually
restored nor fixed upon a firmer basis
than through the restoration of the
Empire of Our Lord. We were led in the
meantime to indulge the hope of a brighter
future at the sight of a more widespread
and keener interest evinced in Christ
and his Church, the one Source of Salvation,
a sign that men who had formerly spurned
the rule of our Redeemer and had exiled
themselves from his kingdom were preparing,
and even hastening, to return to the
duty of obedience.
2. The many notable and memorable
events which have occurred during this
Holy Year have given great honor and
glory to Our Lord and King, the Founder
of the Church.
3. At the Missionary Exhibition
men have been deeply impressed in seeing
the increasing zeal of the Church for
the spread of the kingdom of her Spouse
to the most far distant regions of the
earth. They have seen how many countries
have been won to the Catholic name through
the unremitting labor and self-sacrifice
of missionaries, and the vastness of
the regions which have yet to be subjected
to the sweet and saving yoke of our
King. All those who in the course of
the Holy Year have thronged to this
city under the leadership of their Bishops
or priests had but one aim--namely,
to expiate their sins--and at the tombs
of the Apostles and in Our Presence
to promise loyalty to the rule of Christ.
4. A still further light of
glory was shed upon his kingdom, when
after due proof of their heroic virtue,
We raised to the honors of the altar
six confessors and virgins. It was a
great joy, a great consolation, that
filled Our heart when in the majestic
basilica of St. Peter Our decree was
acclaimed by an immense multitude with
the hymn of thanksgiving, Tu Rex gloriae
Christe. We saw men and nations cut
off from God, stirring up strife and
discord and hurrying along the road
to ruin and death, while the Church
of God carries on her work of providing
food for the spiritual life of men,
nurturing and fostering generation after
generation of men and women dedicated
to Christ, faithful and subject to him
in his earthly kingdom, called by him
to eternal bliss in the kingdom of heaven.
5. Moreover, since this jubilee
Year marks the sixteenth centenary of
the Council of Nicaea, We commanded
that event to be celebrated, and We
have done so in the Vatican basilica.
There is a special reason for this in
that the Nicene Synod defined and proposed
for Catholic belief the dogma of the
Consubstantiality of the Onlybegotten
with the Father, and added to the Creed
the words "of whose kingdom there
shall be no end," thereby affirming
the kingly dignity of Christ.
6. Since this Holy Year therefore
has provided more than one opportunity
to enhance the glory of the kingdom
of Christ, we deem it in keeping with
our Apostolic office to accede to the
desire of many of the Cardinals, Bishops,
and faithful, made known to Us both
individually and collectively, by closing
this Holy Year with the insertion into
the Sacred Liturgy of a special feast
of the Kingship of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
This matter is so dear to Our heart,
Venerable Brethren, that I would wish
to address to you a few words concerning
it. It will be for you later to explain
in a manner suited to the understanding
of the faithful what We are about to
say concerning the Kingship of Christ,
so that the annual feast which We shall
decree may be attended with much fruit
and produce beneficial results in the
future.
7. It has long been a common
custom to give to Christ the metaphorical
title of "King," because of
the high degree of perfection whereby
he excels all creatures. So he is said
to reign "in the hearts of men,"
both by reason of the keenness of his
intellect and the extent of his knowledge,
and also because he is very truth, and
it is from him that truth must be obediently
received by all mankind. He reigns,
too, in the wills of men, for in him
the human will was perfectly and entirely
obedient to the Holy Will of God, and
further by his grace and inspiration
he so subjects our free-will as to incite
us to the most noble endeavors. He is
King of hearts, too, by reason of his
"charity which exceedeth all knowledge."
And his mercy and kindness[1] which
draw all men to him, for never has it
been known, nor will it ever be, that
man be loved so much and so universally
as Jesus Christ. But if we ponder this
matter more deeply, we cannot but see
that the title and the power of King
belongs to Christ as man in the strict
and proper sense too. For it is only
as man that he may be said to have received
from the Father "power and glory
and a kingdom,"[2] since the Word
of God, as consubstantial with the Father,
has all things in common with him, and
therefore has necessarily supreme and
absolute dominion over all things created.
8. Do we not read throughout
the Scriptures that Christ is the King?
He it is that shall come out of Jacob
to rule,[3] who has been set by the
Father as king over Sion, his holy mount,
and shall have the Gentiles for his
inheritance, and the utmost parts of
the earth for his possession.[4] In
the nuptial hymn, where the future King
of Israel is hailed as a most rich and
powerful monarch, we read: "Thy
throne, O God, is for ever and ever;
the scepter of thy kingdom is a scepter
of righteousness."[5] There are
many similar passages, but there is
one in which Christ is even more clearly
indicated. Here it is foretold that
his kingdom will have no limits, and
will be enriched with justice and peace:
"in his days shall justice spring
up, and abundance of peace...And he
shall rule from sea to sea, and from
the river unto the ends of the earth."[6]
9. The testimony of the Prophets
is even more abundant. That of Isaias
is well known: "For a child is
born to us and a son is given to us,
and the government is upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called Wonderful,
Counselor, God the mighty, the Father
of the world to come, the Prince of
Peace. His empire shall be multiplied,
and there shall be no end of peace.
He shall sit upon the throne of David
and upon his kingdom; to establish it
and strengthen it with judgment and
with justice, from henceforth and for
ever."[7] With Isaias the other
Prophets are in agreement. So Jeremias
foretells the "just seed"
that shall rest from the house of David--the
Son of David that shall reign as king,
"and shall be wise, and shall execute
judgment and justice in the earth."[8]
So, too, Daniel, who announces the kingdom
that the God of heaven shall found,
"that shall never be destroyed,
and shall stand for ever."[9] And
again he says: "I beheld, therefore,
in the vision of the night, and, lo!
one like the son of man came with the
clouds of heaven. And he came even to
the Ancient of days: and they presented
him before him. And he gave him power
and glory and a kingdom: and all peoples,
tribes, and tongues shall serve him.
His power is an everlasting power that
shall not be taken away, and his kingdom
shall not be destroyed."[10] The
prophecy of Zachary concerning the merciful
King "riding upon an ass and upon
a colt the foal of an ass" entering
Jerusalem as "the just and savior,"
amid the acclamations of the multitude,[11]
was recognized as fulfilled by the holy
evangelists themselves.
10. This same doctrine of the
Kingship of Christ which we have found
in the Old Testament is even more clearly
taught and confirmed in the New. The
Archangel, announcing to the Virgin
that she should bear a Son, says that
"the Lord God shall give unto him
the throne of David his father, and
he shall reign in the house of Jacob
for ever; and of his kingdom there shall
be no end."[12]
11. Moreover, Christ himself
speaks of his own kingly authority:
in his last discourse, speaking of the
rewards and punishments that will be
the eternal lot of the just and the
damned; in his reply to the Roman magistrate,
who asked him publicly whether he were
a king or not; after his resurrection,
when giving to his Apostles the mission
of teaching and baptizing all nations,
he took the opportunity to call himself
king,[13] confirming the title publicly,[14]
and solemnly proclaimed that all power
was given him in heaven and on earth.[15]
These words can only be taken to indicate
the greatness of his power, the infinite
extent of his kingdom. What wonder,
then, that he whom St. John calls the
"prince of the kings of the earth"[16]
appears in the Apostle's vision of the
future as he who "hath on his garment
and on his thigh written 'King of kings
and Lord of lords!'."[17] It is
Christ whom the Father "hath appointed
heir of all things";[18] "for
he must reign until at the end of the
world he hath put all his enemies under
the feet of God and the Father."[19]
12. It was surely right, then,
in view of the common teaching of the
sacred books, that the Catholic Church,
which is the kingdom of Christ on earth,
destined to be spread among all men
and all nations, should with every token
of veneration salute her Author and
Founder in her annual liturgy as King
and Lord, and as King of Kings. And,
in fact, she used these titles, giving
expression with wonderful variety of
language to one and the same concept,
both in ancient psalmody and in the
Sacramentaries. She uses them daily
now in the prayers publicly offered
to God, and in offering the Immaculate
Victim. The perfect harmony of the Eastern
liturgies with our own in this continual
praise of Christ the King shows once
more the truth of the axiom: Legem credendi
lex statuit supplicandi. The rule of
faith is indicated by the law of our
worship.
13. The foundation of this power
and dignity of Our Lord is rightly indicated
by Cyril of Alexandria. "Christ,"
he says, "has dominion over all
creatures, a dominion not seized by
violence nor usurped, but his by essence
and by nature."[20] His kingship
is founded upon the ineffable hypostatic
union. From this it follows not only
that Christ is to be adored by angels
and men, but that to him as man angels
and men are subject, and must recognize
his empire; by reason of the hypostatic
union Christ has power over all creatures.
But a thought that must give us even
greater joy and consolation is this
that Christ is our King by acquired,
as well as by natural right, for he
is our Redeemer. Would that they who
forget what they have cost their Savior
might recall the words: "You were
not redeemed with corruptible things,
but with the precious blood of Christ,
as of a lamb unspotted and undefiled."[21]
We are no longer our own property, for
Christ has purchased us "with a
great price";[22] our very bodies
are the "members of Christ."[23]
14. Let Us explain briefly the
nature and meaning of this lordship
of Christ. It consists, We need scarcely
say, in a threefold power which is essential
to lordship. This is sufficiently clear
from the scriptural testimony already
adduced concerning the universal dominion
of our Redeemer, and moreover it is
a dogma of faith that Jesus Christ was
given to man, not only as our Redeemer,
but also as a law-giver, to whom obedience
is due.[24] Not only do the gospels
tell us that he made laws, but they
present him to us in the act of making
them. Those who keep them show their
love for their Divine Master, and he
promises that they shall remain in his
love.[25] He claimed judicial power
as received from his Father, when the
Jews accused him of breaking the Sabbath
by the miraculous cure of a sick man.
"For neither doth the Father judge
any man; but hath given all judgment
to the Son."[26] In this power
is included the right of rewarding and
punishing all men living, for this right
is inseparable from that of judging.
Executive power, too, belongs to Christ,
for all must obey his commands; none
may escape them, nor the sanctions he
has imposed.
15. This kingdom is spiritual
and is concerned with spiritual things.
That this is so the above quotations
from Scripture amply prove, and Christ
by his own action confirms it. On many
occasions, when the Jews and even the
Apostles wrongly supposed that the Messiah
would restore the liberties and the
kingdom of Israel, he repelled and denied
such a suggestion. When the populace
thronged around him in admiration and
would have acclaimed him King, he shrank
from the honor and sought safety in
flight. Before the Roman magistrate
he declared that his kingdom was not
of this world. The gospels present this
kingdom as one which men prepare to
enter by penance, and cannot actually
enter except by faith and by baptism,
which, though an external rite, signifies
and produces an interior regeneration.
This kingdom is opposed to none other
than to that of Satan and to the power
of darkness. It demands of its subjects
a spirit of detachment from riches and
earthly things, and a spirit of gentleness.
They must hunger and thirst after justice,
and more than this, they must deny themselves
and carry the cross.
16. Christ as our Redeemer purchased
the Church at the price of his own blood;
as priest he offered himself, and continues
to offer himself as a victim for our
sins. Is it not evident, then, that
his kingly dignity partakes in a manner
of both these offices?
17. It would be a grave error,
on the other hand, to say that Christ
has no authority whatever in civil affairs,
since, by virtue of the absolute empire
over all creatures committed to him
by the Father, all things are in his
power. Nevertheless, during his life
on earth he refrained from the exercise
of such authority, and although he himself
disdained to possess or to care for
earthly goods, he did not, nor does
he today, interfere with those who possess
them. Non eripit mortalia qui regna
dat caelestia.[27]
18. Thus the empire of our Redeemer
embraces all men. To use the words of
Our immortal predecessor, Pope Leo XIII:
"His empire includes not only Catholic
nations, not only baptized persons who,
though of right belonging to the Church,
have been led astray by error, or have
been cut off from her by schism, but
also all those who are outside the Christian
faith; so that truly the whole of mankind
is subject to the power of Jesus Christ."[28]
Nor is there any difference in this
matter between the individual and the
family or the State; for all men, whether
collectively or individually, are under
the dominion of Christ. In him is the
salvation of the individual, in him
is the salvation of society. "Neither
is there salvation in any other, for
there is no other name under heaven
given to men whereby we must be saved."[29]
He is the author of happiness and true
prosperity for every man and for every
nation. "For a nation is happy
when its citizens are happy. What else
is a nation but a number of men living
in concord?"[30] If, therefore,
the rulers of nations wish to preserve
their authority, to promote and increase
the prosperity of their countries, they
will not neglect the public duty of
reverence and obedience to the rule
of Christ. What We said at the beginning
of Our Pontificate concerning the decline
of public authority, and the lack of
respect for the same, is equally true
at the present day. "With God and
Jesus Christ," we said, "excluded
from political life, with authority
derived not from God but from man, the
very basis of that authority has been
taken away, because the chief reason
of the distinction between ruler and
subject has been eliminated. The result
is that human society is tottering to
its fall, because it has no longer a
secure and solid foundation."[31]
19. When once men recognize,
both in private and in public life,
that Christ is King, society will at
last receive the great blessings of
real liberty, well-ordered discipline,
peace and harmony. Our Lord's regal
office invests the human authority of
princes and rulers with a religious
significance; it ennobles the citizen's
duty of obedience. It is for this reason
that St. Paul, while bidding wives revere
Christ in their husbands, and slaves
respect Christ in their masters, warns
them to give obedience to them not as
men, but as the vicegerents of Christ;
for it is not meet that men redeemed
by Christ should serve their fellow-men.
"You are bought with a price; be
not made the bond-slaves of men."[32]
If princes and magistrates duly elected
are filled with the persuasion that
they rule, not by their own right, but
by the mandate and in the place of the
Divine King, they will exercise their
authority piously and wisely, and they
will make laws and administer them,
having in view the common good and also
the human dignity of their subjects.
The result will be a stable peace and
tranquillity, for there will be no longer
any cause of discontent. Men will see
in their king or in their rulers men
like themselves, perhaps unworthy or
open to criticism, but they will not
on that account refuse obedience if
they see reflected in them the authority
of Christ God and Man. Peace and harmony,
too, will result; for with the spread
and the universal extent of the kingdom
of Christ men will become more and more
conscious of the link that binds them
together, and thus many conflicts will
be either prevented entirely or at least
their bitterness will be diminished.
20. If the kingdom of Christ,
then, receives, as it should, all nations
under its way, there seems no reason
why we should despair of seeing that
peace which the King of Peace came to
bring on earth--he who came to reconcile
all things, who came not to be ministered
unto but to minister, who, though Lord
of all, gave himself to us as a model
of humility, and with his principal
law united the precept of charity; who
said also: "My yoke is sweet and
my burden light." Oh, what happiness
would be Ours if all men, individuals,
families, and nations, would but let
themselves be governed by Christ! "Then
at length," to use the words addressed
by our predecessor, Pope Leo XIII, twenty-five
years ago to the bishops of the Universal
Church, "then at length will many
evils be cured; then will the law regain
its former authority; peace with all
its blessings be restored. Men will
sheathe their swords and lay down their
arms when all freely acknowledge and
obey the authority of Christ, and every
tongue confesses that the Lord Jesus
Christ is in the glory of God the Father."[33]
21. That these blessings may
be abundant and lasting in Christian
society, it is necessary that the kingship
of our Savior should be as widely as
possible recognized and understood,
and to the end nothing would serve better
than the institution of a special feast
in honor of the Kingship of Christ.
For people are instructed in the truths
of faith, and brought to appreciate
the inner joys of religion far more
effectually by the annual celebration
of our sacred mysteries than by any
official pronouncement of the teaching
of the Church. Such pronouncements usually
reach only a few and the more learned
among the faithful; feasts reach them
all; the former speak but once, the
latter speak every year--in fact, forever.
The church's teaching affects the mind
primarily; her feasts affect both mind
and heart, and have a salutary effect
upon the whole of man's nature. Man
is composed of body and soul, and he
needs these external festivities so
that the sacred rites, in all their
beauty and variety, may stimulate him
to drink more deeply of the fountain
of God's teaching, that he may make
it a part of himself, and use it with
profit for his spiritual life.
22. History, in fact, tells
us that in the course of ages these
festivals have been instituted one after
another according as the needs or the
advantage of the people of Christ seemed
to demand: as when they needed strength
to face a common danger, when they were
attacked by insidious heresies, when
they needed to be urged to the pious
consideration of some mystery of faith
or of some divine blessing. Thus in
the earliest days of the Christian era,
when the people of Christ were suffering
cruel persecution, the cult of the martyrs
was begun in order, says St. Augustine,
"that the feasts of the martyrs
might incite men to martyrdom."[34]
The liturgical honors paid to confessors,
virgins and widows produced wonderful
results in an increased zest for virtue,
necessary even in times of peace. But
more fruitful still were the feasts
instituted in honor of the Blessed Virgin.
As a result of these men grew not only
in their devotion to the Mother of God
as an ever-present advocate, but also
in their love of her as a mother bequeathed
to them by their Redeemer. Not least
among the blessings which have resulted
from the public and legitimate honor
paid to the Blessed Virgin and the saints
is the perfect and perpetual immunity
of the Church from error and heresy.
We may well admire in this the admirable
wisdom of the Providence of God, who,
ever bringing good out of evil, has
from time to time suffered the faith
and piety of men to grow weak, and allowed
Catholic truth to be attacked by false
doctrines, but always with the result
that truth has afterwards shone out
with greater splendor, and that men's
faith, aroused from its lethargy, has
shown itself more vigorous than before.
23. The festivals that have
been introduced into the liturgy in
more recent years have had a similar
origin, and have been attended with
similar results. When reverence and
devotion to the Blessed Sacrament had
grown cold, the feast of Corpus Christi
was instituted, so that by means of
solemn processions and prayer of eight
days' duration, men might be brought
once more to render public homage to
Christ. So, too, the feast of the Sacred
Heart of Jesus was instituted at a time
when men were oppressed by the sad and
gloomy severity of Jansenism, which
had made their hearts grow cold, and
shut them out from the love of God and
the hope of salvation.
24. If We ordain that the whole
Catholic world shall revere Christ as
King, We shall minister to the need
of the present day, and at the same
time provide an excellent remedy for
the plague which now infects society.
We refer to the plague of anti-clericalism,
its errors and impious activities. This
evil spirit, as you are well aware,
Venerable Brethren, has not come into
being in one day; it has long lurked
beneath the surface. The empire of Christ
over all nations was rejected. The right
which the Church has from Christ himself,
to teach mankind, to make laws, to govern
peoples in all that pertains to their
eternal salvation, that right was denied.
Then gradually the religion of Christ
came to be likened to false religions
and to be placed ignominiously on the
same level with them. It was then put
under the power of the state and tolerated
more or less at the whim of princes
and rulers. Some men went even further,
and wished to set up in the place of
God's religion a natural religion consisting
in some instinctive affection of the
heart. There were even some nations
who thought they could dispense with
God, and that their religion should
consist in impiety and the neglect of
God. The rebellion of individuals and
states against the authority of Christ
has produced deplorable consequences.
We lamented these in the Encyclical
Ubi arcano; we lament them today: the
seeds of discord sown far and wide;
those bitter enmities and rivalries
between nations, which still hinder
so much the cause of peace; that insatiable
greed which is so often hidden under
a pretense of public spirit and patriotism,
and gives rise to so many private quarrels;
a blind and immoderate selfishness,
making men seek nothing but their own
comfort and advantage, and measure everything
by these; no peace in the home, because
men have forgotten or neglect their
duty; the unity and stability of the
family undermined; society in a word,
shaken to its foundations and on the
way to ruin. We firmly hope, however,
that the feast of the Kingship of Christ,
which in future will be yearly observed,
may hasten the return of society to
our loving Savior. It would
be the duty of Catholics to do all
they can to bring about this happy result.
Many of these, however, have neither
the station in society nor the authority
which should belong to those who bear
the torch of truth. This state of things
may perhaps be attributed to a certain
slowness and timidity in good people,
who are reluctant to engage in conflict
or oppose but a weak resistance; thus
the enemies of the Church become bolder
in their attacks. But if the faithful
were generally to understand that it
behooves them ever to fight courageously
under the banner of Christ their King,
then, fired with apostolic zeal, they
would strive to win over to their Lord
those hearts that are bitter and estranged
from him, and would valiantly defend
his rights.
25. Moreover, the annual and
universal celebration of the feast of
the Kingship of Christ will draw attention
to the evils which anticlericalism has
brought upon society in drawing men
away from Christ, and will also do much
to remedy them. While nations insult
the beloved name of our Redeemer by
suppressing all mention of it in their
conferences and parliaments, we must
all the more loudly proclaim his kingly
dignity and power, all the more universally
affirm his rights.
26. The way has been happily
and providentially prepared for the
celebration of this feast ever since
the end of the last century. It is well
known that this cult has been the subject
of learned disquisitions in many books
published in every part of the world,
written in many different languages.
The kingship and empire of Christ have
been recognized in the pious custom,
practiced by many families, of dedicating
themselves to the Sacred Heart of Jesus;
not only families have performed this
act of dedication, but nations, too,
and kingdoms. In fact, the whole of
the human race was at the instance of
Pope Leo XIII, in the Holy Year 1900,
consecrated to the Divine Heart. It
should be remarked also that much has
been done for the recognition of Christ's
authority over society by the frequent
Eucharistic Congresses which are held
in our age. These give an opportunity
to the people of each diocese, district
or nation, and to the whole world of
coming together to venerate and adore
Christ the King hidden under the Sacramental
species. Thus by sermons preached at
meetings and in churches, by public
adoration of the Blessed Sacrament exposed
and by solemn processions, men unite
in paying homage to Christ, whom God
has given them for their King. It is
by a divine inspiration that the people
of Christ bring forth Jesus from his
silent hiding-place in the church, and
carry him in triumph through the streets
of the city, so that he whom men refused
to receive when he came unto his own,
may now receive in full his kingly rights.
27. For the fulfillment of the
plan of which We have spoken, the Holy
Year, which is now speeding to its close,
offers the best possible opportunity.
For during this year the God of mercy
has raised the minds and hearts of the
faithful to the consideration of heavenly
blessings which are above all understanding,
has either restored them once more to
his grace, or inciting them anew to
strive for higher gifts, has set their
feet more firmly in the path of righteousness.
Whether, therefore, We consider the
many prayers that have been addressed
to Us, or look to the events of the
Jubilee Year, just past, We have every
reason to think that the desired moment
has at length arrived for enjoining
that Christ be venerated by a special
feast as King of all mankind. In this
year, as We said at the beginning of
this Letter, the Divine King, truly
wonderful in all his works, has been
gloriously magnified, for another company
of his soldiers has been added to the
list of saints. In this year men have
looked upon strange things and strange
labors, from which they have understood
and admired the victories won by missionaries
in the work of spreading his kingdom.
In this year, by solemnly celebrating
the centenary of the Council of Nicaea.
We have commemorated the definition
of the divinity of the word Incarnate,
the foundation of Christ's empire over
all men.
28. Therefore by Our Apostolic
Authority We institute the Feast of
the Kingship of Our Lord Jesus Christ
to be observed yearly throughout the
whole world on the last Sunday of the
month of October--the Sunday, that is,
which immediately precedes the Feast
of All Saints. We further ordain that
the dedication of mankind to the Sacred
Heart of Jesus, which Our predecessor
of saintly memory, Pope Pius X, commanded
to be renewed yearly, be made annually
on that day. This year, however, We
desire that it be observed on the thirty-first
day of the month on which day We Ourselves
shall celebrate pontifically in honor
of the kingship of Christ, and shall
command that the same dedication be
performed in Our presence. It seems
to Us that We cannot in a more fitting
manner close this Holy Year, nor better
signify Our gratitude and that of the
whole of the Catholic world to Christ
the immortal King of ages, for the blessings
showered upon Us, upon the Church, and
upon the Catholic world during this
holy period.
29. It is not necessary, Venerable
Brethren, that We should explain to
you at any length why We have decreed
that this feast of the Kingship of Christ
should be observed in addition to those
other feasts in which his kingly dignity
is already signified and celebrated.
It will suffice to remark that although
in all the feasts of our Lord the material
object of worship is Christ, nevertheless
their formal object is something quite
distinct from his royal title and dignity.
We have commanded its observance on
a Sunday in order that not only the
clergy may perform their duty by saying
Mass and reciting the Office, but that
the laity too, free from their daily
tasks, may in a spirit of holy joy give
ample testimony of their obedience and
subjection to Christ. The last Sunday
of October seemed the most convenient
of all for this purpose, because it
is at the end of the liturgical year,
and thus the feast of the Kingship of
Christ sets the crowning glory upon
the mysteries of the life of Christ
already commemorated during the year,
and, before celebrating the triumph
of all the Saints, we proclaim and extol
the glory of him who triumphs in all
the Saints and in all the Elect. Make
it your duty and your task, Venerable
Brethren, to see that sermons are preached
to the people in every parish to teach
them the meaning and the importance
of this feast, that they may so order
their lives as to be worthy of faithful
and obedient subjects of the Divine
King.
30. We would now, Venerable
Brethren, in closing this letter, briefly
enumerate the blessings which We hope
and pray may accrue to the Church, to
society, and to each one of the faithful,
as a result of the public veneration
of the Kingship of Christ.
31. When we pay honor to the
princely dignity of Christ, men will
doubtless be reminded that the Church,
founded by Christ as a perfect society,
has a natural and inalienable right
to perfect freedom and immunity from
the power of the state; and that in
fulfilling the task committed to her
by God of teaching, ruling, and guiding
to eternal bliss those who belong to
the kingdom of Christ, she cannot be
subject to any external power. The State
is bound to extend similar freedom to
the orders and communities of religious
of either sex, who give most valuable
help to the Bishops of the Church by
laboring for the extension and the establishment
of the kingdom of Christ. By their sacred
vows they fight against the threefold
concupiscence of the world; by making
profession of a more perfect life they
render the holiness which her divine
Founder willed should be a mark and
characteristic of his Church more striking
and more conspicuous in the eyes of
all.
32. Nations will be reminded
by the annual celebration of this feast
that not only private individuals but
also rulers and princes are bound to
give public honor and obedience to Christ.
It will call to their minds the thought
of the last judgment, wherein Christ,
who has been cast out of public life,
despised, neglected and ignored, will
most severely avenge these insults;
for his kingly dignity demands that
the State should take account of the
commandments of God and of Christian
principles, both in making laws and
in administering justice, and also in
providing for the young a sound moral
education.
33. The faithful, moreover,
by meditating upon these truths, will
gain much strength and courage, enabling
them to form their lives after the true
Christian ideal. If to Christ our Lord
is given all power in heaven and on
earth; if all men, purchased by his
precious blood, are by a new right subjected
to his dominion; if this power embraces
all men, it must be clear that not one
of our faculties is exempt from his
empire. He must reign in our minds,
which should assent with perfect submission
and firm belief to revealed truths and
to the doctrines of Christ. He must
reign in our wills, which should obey
the laws and precepts of God. He must
reign in our hearts, which should spurn
natural desires and love God above all
things, and cleave to him alone. He
must reign in our bodies and in our
members, which should serve as instruments
for the interior sanctification of our
souls, or to use the words of the Apostle
Paul, as instruments of justice unto
God.[35] If all these truths are presented
to the faithful for their consideration,
they will prove a powerful incentive
to perfection. It is Our fervent desire,
Venerable Brethren, that those who are
without the fold may seek after and
accept the sweet yoke of Christ, and
that we, who by the mercy of God are
of the household of the faith, may bear
that yoke, not as a burden but with
joy, with love, with devotion; that
having lived our lives in accordance
with the laws of God's kingdom, we may
receive full measure of good fruit,
and counted by Christ good and faithful
servants, we may be rendered partakers
of eternal bliss and glory with him
in his heavenly kingdom.
34. Let this letter, Venerable
Brethren, be a token to you of Our fatherly
love as the Feast of the Nativity of
Our Lord Jesus Christ draws near; and
receive the Apostolic Benediction as
a pledge of divine blessings, which
with loving heart, We impart to you,
Venerable Brethren, to your clergy,
and to your people.
Given at St. Peter's Rome, on the eleventh
day of the month of December, in the
Holy Year 1925, the fourth of Our Pontificate.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ENDNOTES
1. Eph. iii, 9.
2. Dan. vii, 13-14.
3. Num. xxiv, 19.
4. Ps. ii.
5. Ps. xliv.
6. Ps. Ixxi.
7. Isa. ix, 6-7.
8. Jer. xxiii, 5.
9. Dan. ii, 44.
10. Dan. vii, 13-14.
11. Zach. ix, 9.
12. Luc. i, 32-33.
13. Matt. xxv, 31-40.
14. Joan. xviii, 37.
15. Matt. xxviii, 18.
16. Apoc. 1, 5.
17. Apoc. xix, 16.
18. Heb. 1, 2.
19. Cf. 1 Cor. xv, 25.
20. In huc. x.
21. I Pet. i, 18-19.
22. 1 Cor. vi, 20.
23. I Cor. vi, 15.
24. Conc. Trid. Sess. Vl, can.
21.
25. Joan. xiv, 15; xv, 10.
26. Joan. v, 22.
27. Hymn for the Epiphany.
28. Enc. Annum Sacrum, May 25,
1899.
29. Acts iv, 12.
30. S. Aug. Ep. ad Macedonium,
c. iii.
31. Enc. Ubi Arcano.
32. I Cor.vii,23.
33. Enc. Annum Sanctum, May
25, 1899.
34. Sermo 47 de Sanctis.
35. Rom. vi, 13.
