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.
