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Holy Father Elucidates Doctrine of the Mystical Body in New Encyclical . .
individually destined for the vision of
The Church Lives the Very Life of Christ
God. The same adjective distinguishes the Church from the moral and juridical body, such as society, because as believers we are united, not only through a common, supernatural end, and by the bond of authority, which directs the wills of one and all towards that end, but we are made one in a much closer way by an inward element, active and life-giving from
Papal Warning Against False Mysticism Errors Concerning Confession and Private Prayer . . . In an Encyclical Letter made public on June 3, His Holiness Pope Pius XII. gave to the faithful throughout the world a profound discourse on the Mystical Body of Christ, which is the Church, cited Catholic doctrine, and exposed certain modern errors which have crept into the ranks of believers.
The Holy Father called all to adherence to the true teaching "for all Christians for all those who will build the world of to -morrow for the leaders who will be called upon to re-establish, through the spirit of God, what has been demolished through the spirit of destruction." The Encyclical, which begins with the words "Mystici Corporis," by which it will be known, is dated June 29, the Feast of the Holy Apostles, Peter and Paul. The first part of the Encyclical Lx plains and comments on the words of St. Paul, who was the first to call the It conChurch the Body of Christ. tinues: Resembling the human body, the Church is entitled to be celled the Body because of the different members which compose it, organic in structure and interdependent in their the Under this aspect activity. Church is necessarily visible and recognisable, and, though liable to the defects of the human element within it, as a divine institution, it is perishable and infallible. While under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit within, its life is continually renewed, adapting itself always The to the new needs of humanity. Church is the Body of Christ, because Christ was its Founder when He invested the Apostles with supernatu-
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ral powers, having already called and instructed them in their high office of propagating it throughout the world. When with His death, the old era was closed, and the new law sealed with blood, the Redeemer came into force when, on Pentecost, He publicly proclaimed His Church, enriching it with miraculous gifts from His Divine Spirit. But, because being the Founder of the Church, Christ is also its Head, primarily in virtue of His Supreme dignity and pre-eminence and because, while exercising power invisibly and directly over the minds and hearts of men, He also exercises visible power over the Universal Church through the Roman Pontiff, His Vicar on earth, and over every single diocese through the Bishops; finally, because of the plenitude of graces He bestows
on the Church for its unity and holiness. Christ is also the support of His Mystical Body, both because He sus-
tains the Church juridically through the three -fold commission of the Apostles to teach, sanctify and govern. and because He is continually communicating to the Church His Holy Spirit, which is, as it were, the soul of the Mystical Body. For these two reasons the Church comes to live the very life of Christ, and, almost as another Christ, to perpetuate through the centuries the work of redemption begun on the Cross.
The Mystical Body of Christ. Finally, Christ is also the Saviour and Sanctifier of the Mystical Body because, day after day, He continues in the Church, and shares with the Church the work begun on the Cross. That Church is made up of men who not only rejoice in having a Saviour, but are themselves called to be saviour. But that remarkable phrase of St. Paul, "the Church, the Body of Christ," might be understood as it First, the early Christian should be. writers, then Christian theology, characterised the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ, to distinguish it from the physical body, in which members have no individual existence distinct from that of the organism, whereas members of the Church are persons each with complete individuality, and
within us, a supernatural element which is the Holy Spirit Himself with His gifts and extraordinary graces. In the second part of the Encyclical, the Pope speaks of our union with Christ in and through the Church. This is first effected by theological virtues, which bring us to accept the truths revealed by God, and guarded by the Church; to hope for the good that Jesus Christ has promised to His followers, and which may he attained along the paths marked out by the Church, and with the strength which she bestows; to love with supernatural love God and neighbour, and in a special way those belonging to the Church. But this union is realised in yet a deeper way -first, in the Heart of Our Saviour, where He keeps all members present to His saving love; secondly, in the souls of the just through the in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit; finally, in the Holy Eucharist, the symbol of unity, food for the wayfarer, and earnest of life eternal. Errors Pointed Out. Here the Encyclical calls attention to a number of errors that have been current recently in regard to the Mystical Body, a certain confounding of the relations existing between Jesus Christ and the faithful, even approaching heresy in the sense of a false mysticism, which, apparently, would unite us to Christ substantially and divinise us in Him, a kind of quietism which eliminates Christian activity and zeal, as though there were nothing for the creature to do in matter of salvation. There has been a certain disapproval of frequent Confession, as though the Sacrament of Penance were helpful only to a soul in mortal sin, a liturgical movement not wholly sound that denies value of private prayer to give value only to the liturgical and common prayer of the Church; finally, a tendency to see in Jesus Christ only a mediator and intercessor, and to forget that He is also the Supreme Judge and the True God, and that, consequently, our prayers may and should be directed not only to the Father, but also to our Divine Redeemer. (Cont3nued on Back Cover.)
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