S.PIO X APÓSTOLO EMINENTE DA MISSA GREGORIANA

segunda-feira, 3 de setembro de 2012

St. Pius X

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Pius X

St. Pius X

Era: 1903-1914

Giuseppe Sarto was born in Riese in 1835 into a large family of limited means. He studied in Castelfranco, displaying remarkable academic abilities while still very young. From 1850 – 1858, he studied at the seminary in Padua and was ordained at twenty-three years of age. As a country priest in a cattle town called Tombolo, he taught the illiterate people how to read and write. For a fee, he asked them to stop swearing. He was later transferred to Salzano and in 1875, to the town of Treviso where he preferred to wear a worn black cassock rather than one bordered in silk. Sarto not only identified with the poor but wished to live as they lived. The cassock was one indication of his humility, which along with his unending charity, were his hallmarks as a young priest and bishop. In 1893, Leo XIII made him Patriarch of Venice and cardinal priest of St. Bernardo alle Terme. He chose his predecessor’s old cape, patched by his sisters, and pawned his gold watch. Sarto worked tirelessly to care for his priests and people. In a spirit of poverty he ran his diocese and was known for his pastoral and administrative abilities.

Pius was deeply concerned about the growth of socialism and equally distrusted liberal thinking and modernist intellectuals and philosophy. Decidedly conservative, he told his priests in Venice to be proud of being called papists, clerics, retrogrades and intransigents. Although formally at odds with the government, he found ways to work with them and with moderate Catholics to try to keep the Socialists in check.

Shortly before his death, Leo XIII predicted Sarto would succeed him. In 1903, he proved to be correct. When a conclave gathered upon Leo’s death, it appeared that his Secretary of State, Cardinal Rampolla would be the likely candidate. This would have signaled the continuation of Leo’s policies in the Rerum Novarum social justice encyclical. Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria vetoed Rampolla through the Cracow (Poland) cardinal. There ensued a strong showing for the deeply religious Sarto. He was a warm-hearted peasant with a lifetime of pastoral ministry to his credit. Leo had been an aristocrat and was considered to be remote. Giuseppe Sarto was the opposite. A French cardinal told Sarto he’d never be elected since he didn’t speak French. Sarto humbly and humorously retorted that he had bought a round-trip ticket to Venice, so that was okay. When it became apparent the election was moving towards him, he tried very hard to dissuade the cardinals, believing he did not possess qualities that enabled him to be pope. On the seventh ballot, they elected him and with intense emotion he accepted their wishes. He chose to be called Pius X in solidarity with the recent popes of that name who had suffered so much in the preceding century. The choice of his name was also a clear indication of his philosophical and spiritual preferences, rejecting those of Leo XIII’s papacy known for its intellectual and diplomatic strengths. Pius was sixty-eight years of age and would rule for eleven years.

The cardinals chose Pius X in 1903 and by May 29th, 1954, Pius XII had canonized him—the last pope to be canonized. There were many reasons for this occurring. Pius made it clear from the beginning of his papacy that he intended to be a religious pope, not a political one. He remained a prisoner of the Vatican. Like Pius IX and Leo XIII, he refused to acknowledge the unlawful usurpation of the Papal States by the Kingdom of Italy in 1860 and 1870. Not as adept at diplomacy as his predecessor, Pius soon was at odds with European governments. He believed Leo XIII’s policies of appeasement were a failure. Together with his Secretary of State, Rafael Merry del Val (1865 – 1930), he proceeded in an unyielding manner with governments regarding the Church’s rights. In 1904, diplomatic relations with France failed. The 1801 concordat was annulled and church property was confiscated. In 1906, against the advice of most bishops, he denounced the Law of Separation and refused any compromise. Materially the Church in France was ruined but its values were not compromised. He narrowly avoided a similar situation in Portugal. In 1911 a formal separation of church and state occurred there. In Italy, aware that he needed to come to some agreement with the government he began to permit Catholics to participate in elections, hopefully to vote against the socialists who were gaining prominence. He angered Russian and British governments when he supported the Catholic minorities in Ireland and Poland. He offended Americans by refusing to receive former President Teddy Roosevelt after he had lectured in a Methodist church in Rome.

Pius was opposed both theologically and socially to a liberal movement known as Modernism which he viewed with great alarm. This was a movement begun in France that sought to reconcile liberal philosophy and ideas with Catholic teaching. Pius not only denounced the movement calling it a synthesis of all heresies, but also placed the writings on the Index and condemned sixty-five modernist propositions in the encyclical, Pascendi in 1907. In 1910, in a final attempt at suppression he imposed an oath on all clergy requiring them to disavow modernism. What followed was widespread harassment of intellectuals and scholars. Some of the finest scholars in the Church were silenced if they deviated from the orthodox point of view set forth by the pope and his confidantes. This oath was in effect until 1964. Clearly the direction of the papacy had assumed a markedly conservative tone.

Alongside this decidedly debatable orientation, Pius was also responsible for renewing the internal life of the Church in remarkable ways and introducing new and innovative changes. His administrative abilities were highly admirable as he reorganized the Curia, streamlining its central administration. He sought the advice of Catholic universities and revised and codified Canon Law (published in 1917, though nearly complete at the time of his death). One of its revisions was the elimination of the veto traditionally exercised by Catholic powers during papal elections. His interest in pastoral care led him to reform the seminaries and to improve the spiritual and moral level of the clergy. He worked to prepare a new catechism and catechetical instruction. He was the forerunner of the Catholic Action groups that sought to involve the laity in the apostolic life of the church. He reintroduced Gregorian chant as a model of church music and reformulated the breviary to make it more accessible to hard-working clergy.

Pius X was obviously interested in the spiritual well-being of Catholics. Known as the Eucharistic Pope, he not only encouraged daily reception of the Eucharist, but also sought to allow children to receive it at the age of reason (seven years of age) rather than the customary twelve to fourteen years. In 1914, he also revised the missal. In total, his initiatives were so far-reaching he was hailed as a pioneer.

A deeply conservative man who was so transparently good and humble, he was highly regarded for his holiness during his own lifetime. Many miracles were credited to him even while still alive. He died at the beginning of World War I and was devastated at its outbreak. Rather than bless the Austrian troops who sought his blessing, he simply stated, I will bless peace. He was seventy-nine years of age and was buried initially in the Vatican grottoes. In the 1950’s his body was transferred, along with Blessed Innocent XI’s and (eventually) Blessed John XXIII’s to three altars in St. Peter’s Basilica where their relics are venerated in glass sarcophagi.

The Church celebrates his memorial feast day on August 21st.

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Image	Item Title	Era
	Cardinal Giuseppe Sarto, the Future St. Pius X: A Signed Photograph of Him This is a very rare item. It is a small photo of him signed as Cardinal. It is the only one Father Kunst has seen autographed by him prior to his papacy. He is standing in his cardinal garb with his hand on the throne and his... read more »	1903-1914
	Leo XIII and St. Pius X: A Biscuit Tin Commemorating the Death of Pope Leo XIII and the Election of St. Pius X, Dated 1903 This very colorful tin held a biscuit mix at the turn of the century when Pope Leo XIII died and Pope St. Pius X was elected. The tin has both their images and the additional images of St. Peter’s Square and a view of ... read more »	1903-1914
	Several Annual Vatican Medals From the Pontificates of St. Pius X, Pius XI, Venerable Pius XII , Blessed John XXIII and Paul VI The Vatican medals displayed here are from the pontificates of St. Pius X, Pius XI, Venerable Pius XII, Blessed John XXIII and Paul VI, and Cardinal Merry del Val. The are in small cases with their coats of arms. These medals... read more »	1914-1978
	St. Pius X and Venerable Pius XII: Pro Ecclesia Honors These are medals with ribbons on them. They are papal honors given to people who have been nominated by their local bishops because they have been extremely helpful to their local church. These are in their original cases. On... read more »	1903-1958
	St. Pius X: A Blessing Signed For the Anniversary of Father John Trobec A blessing signed by St. Pius X May 13, 1909 including a couple of lines in his own hand It is signed for the anniversary of Father John Trobec, the nephew of an early Bishop from the St. Cloud diocese. This was given to Fath... read more »	1903-1914
	St. Pius X: A Business Card as Bishop of Mantua, Italy Giuseppe Sarto was the bishop of Mantua, Italy. This is a business card from that time. It is undated and unsigned. It contains several lines in his own hand and is untranslated. The content refers to potential marriages in h... read more »	1903-1914
	St. Pius X: A Commemorative First Edition of the Catholic Encyclopedia Signed by Him in 1917 A signed, commemorative first edition of the Catholic Encyclopedia. It is dated 1917 and is in its original slipcase. The cover is vellum, that is, lambskin and is stamped and hand-painted. This volume is the letter C. On the... read more »	1903-1914
	St. Pius X: A Complete Series of Annual Medals in a Presentation Case from the Pontificate of St. Pius X Every year the Vatican creates an annual medal with the image of the pope. This artifact is a complete set of medals from the pontificate of St. Pius X in a presentation case. It may have been presented as a gift, possibly gi... read more »	1903-1914
	St. Pius X: A Framed Article of His Clothing and A Wax Seal of His Coat of Arms This is a unique item, a second class relic (meaning it is a piece of clothing from the saint).His coat of arms is on the right-hand side in wax. It appears that the notation on the reverse side refers to the relic as a piece... read more »	1903-1914
	St. Pius X: A Hand-Carved Ivory Bust A hand-carved ivory bust of St. Pius X dating from his pontificate. read more »	1903-1914

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St. Pius X – September 3

St. Pius X – September 3

Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira

The life of St. Pius X speaks to us in so many ways that it is difficult to choose the one with a more formative character. But we can begin by stressing a curious facet of his life that also signifies an aspect of the life of the Church.

The times of Pius IX and Leo XIII

We know that Pius IX, the predecessor of St. Pius X, was a prototype of a counter-revolutionary Pope. He proclaimed the dogmas of Papal Infallibility and the Immaculate Conception; he fought on every front of combat and was attacked on all of them by the Revolution. His pontificate closed at the apex of his confrontation with the Revolution, with the troops of Garibaldi and Victor Emmanuel taking Rome as well as the Pontifical Territories from the Pope.

Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, St. Pius X

After Pius IX, whose process of canonization is ongoing, came Leo XIII. I have never heard anyone propose a process of canonization for him. There is no record that even his greatest enthusiasts ever considered this possibility. Recently (these comments were made in 1966), an ensemble of letters by Leo XIII to his family was published by a German scholar, who, with that delightful naiveté of many Germans, presented them exactly as they were written. I believe that those letters destroyed any possibility of the canonization of Leo XIII.

From a small perspective – because those letters reflect only a very small part of his life – Leo XIII revealed in them his great concern about the glory of the Pecci family, that is, his own family. He had been Count Pecci. So, there are letters to his sister, his mother, and other members of the family remarking how he did this and that as Pope, and that his actions would bring great glory for the Pecci family. The lackluster name of the Pecci family, he noted, would now be immortal! The publication of these candid letters found an icy reception from the Italian press, and given its inconvenience, the book was more or less set aside and forgotten.

To show how such an attitude is unbefitting the role of a Pope, let me remind you of an episode that took place in the Middle Ages. Pope Innocent III was reigning. His pontificate was praiseworthy in many aspects. But he had the weakness to construct a tower in honor of his family, the Conti family. He built the Torre dei Conti over a site where Roman Emperors used to erect historical monuments for their personal glory. Perhaps Innocent III was trying to compare himself to them. The tower is still there, near the Coliseum.

Innocent III commanded that the Tower of the Conti, above, be built to glorify his own family

A holy religious woman, whose name I don’t recall at this moment, had a vision that she communicated to the Pope about this tower. In the revelation Our Lord ordered her to tell Innocent III that because he made that tower to glorify his family, he would remain in Purgatory until the last day of the world. Here is a criterion to understand what Leo XIII’s vainglory regarding his family probably represented in the eyes of God.

Leo XIII was a Pope whose pontificate could be symbolized by the ralliement [in French, re-uniting], the policy of uniting Catholic social-political views with the Masonic ideals of the French Revolution, until then strongly condemned by the Church. That is, a policy diametrically opposed to that of Pius IX.

St. Pius X was the counter-revolutionary Pope who condemned the Sillon, condemned Modernism, and re-established the Catholic position in France that had been shaken by the ralliement. He was also the one who instituted the policy of permitting First Communion for children at the age of reason, among many other splendid things he did.

Leo XIII had a very long pontificate, so long that he saw the deaths of all the Cardinals who had elected him. When the last of these Cardinals died, he had a medal stamped saying to the body of Cardinals he had created: “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you.” It was another manifestation of vainglory. It was this body of Cardinals created by Leo XIII that, after he died, elected Pope St. Pius X.

A mysterious inner force that restores the Church

The fact of his election illustrates something of a mystery that exists in the life of the Church. Given her intrinsic sanctity, everything follows in accord with the plans of God when the hour of Divine Providence arrives. At the hour when God wants to intervene, even in the darkest, more incomprehensible, and almost hopeless situation, a force acts in the Church and it moves the action of men and the reaction of the Catholic grassroots in the most unexpected and inconceivable ways.

The surprise election of Giuseppe Sarto announced in the Observatorre Romano the next day

The election of St. Pius X was like this, and it shows us that we should always consider the possibility that this institutional force will intervene and do something that we could not imagine. This force comes from the presence of Our Lord in the Church. More than in any other domain of creation, in the Church a word from Him has a decisive weight and can change everything. When things go awry in the Church, it is because God chooses not to intervene. Our Lord sleeps in the bark of the Church, like He slept in the boat with the Apostles. Our Lord was sleeping as the storm reached its apex. The Apostles became fearful and awakened Him. Then He ordered the storm to stop, and there was a great calm. How many times in the History of the Church has Our Lord seemed to be sleeping! Perhaps if we would pray more for Him to awaken, things would be different.

With the election of St. Pius X, this happened. Cardinal Sarto made no effort to be elected. On the contrary, he made a resistance to his own election, perhaps because he perceived the overwhelming weight that he would have to carry on his shoulders. Finally he accepted, but he lacked some of the many capacities necessary to exercise the pontifical function. He was not an accomplished diplomat, for example, and was unfamiliar with the great political questions of the time. He needed someone to help him govern with regard to these important matters.

Then he became acquainted with Cardinal Merry del Val. When St. Pius X accepted the Papacy, he had no idea how he would be able to deal with those questions, but God put the necessary man near him. This is just one highlight of his glorious pontificate.

Fulmination of Modernism

When St. Pius X rose to the Pontifical Throne, a large part of the good Catholic press was so discouraged and defeated that it was near death. Almost all the elements of the Counter-Revolution were in an analogous state. I read a report of a Catholic French ultramontane of that time in which he described how his movement was so devastated that they did not even realize during the first years of St. Pius X’s pontificate that he was their champion. The nightmare they had endured under Leo XIII had lasted so long that it took some time for them to awaken from that dark night, and begin to marvel at the true dawn St. Pius X represented for the good cause.

It is good for us to consider what his condemnation of Modernism represented. A conspiracy had been established inside the Church, like a conspiracy inside a country, in order to usurp the supreme power. It intended to submit the Church to a series of reforms in order to adapt her to the errors of the Revolution. It wanted to establish democracy throughout the Church; it wanted the Church to support and collaborate with all the political leftist parties and movements; it prepared a false ecumenism to be made with all false religions in order to spread religious indifferentism everywhere so that no one would have certainty about the one true Faith. For Modernism the faith inside of each person was sufficient. In brief, it wanted the Catholic Church to stop being herself.

St. Pius X discovered this conspiracy, and fulminated against it with his documents. This is the first great characteristic of his pontificate, which would be enough to immortalize him. Imagine if he had failed to do so. Today, any reaction against Communism and Progressivism would be impossible. We are still in this fight because he smashed Modernism at the beginning of the 20th century. We are here now, because of the fierce energy of St. Pius X.

He inherited from his predecessor a notable work, the restoration of Scholasticism. However, as soon as Leo XIII died, Scholasticism began to be distorted in order to accommodate Modernism. St. Pius X elaborated a summary of the fundamental thesis of Thomism – a kind of appendix to the Encyclical Aeterni Patris – which he obliged all teachers and professors of theology and philosophy to accept under oath. With this he preserved the great edifice of Scholasticism from corruption.

Against the ideals of the French Revolution

At that time, France was the most influential nation in the world. The political and social life of France, the pro and con positions of anti-clericalism, the confrontation between Revolution and Counter-Revolution were followed and imitated by almost the whole world. Years before, the Prince of Metternich, a famous Austrian minister, expressed this well in a very picturesque way, saying, “When France has a cold, all Europe sneezes.” This influence continued into the time of St. Pius X.

The beatification of St. Joan of Arc recalled the Catholic support for the monarchy in France

In the France of those days, there was a strong tendency, even among the Bishops, to accept the separation between the Church and the State, along with other principles of the French Revolution. St. Pius X prepared a bomb to destroy this position. It was his Encyclical Vehementer Nos, in which he laid to rest all the hopes of Laicism in France, the compromises being proposed by the French government and the Liberal clergy, and initiated a true ideological war against the revolutionary French regime. This bomb stopped or slowed down the march of Revolution in its ensemble for a long time in France.

He gave another important blow against the ideals of the French Revolution when he announced the the beatification of St. Joan of Arc, an action that strongly displeased the Revolution, because St. Joan of Arc represented Catholic France holding a sword for the restoration of the legitimate monarchy. She also fought to maintain the integrity of the French borders. The announcement of her beatification caused a tremendous joy among the French people, and it considerably strengthened the Catholic ultramontane cause.

The importance of early Communion for children

Another great thing that St. Pius X did was to allow Communion for children at age 7 and encourage daily Communion. I sustain that this measure, besides having all the spiritual advantages we know, created an enormous difficulty for the Devil and his cohorts to have power over many souls.

Permitting early First Communion for children struck a strong blow to the Revolution

Let me explain this point. Before this measure of St. Pius X, Catholics would make their First Communion only in their late childhood or adolescence, after many mortal sins would have already been committed, giving the Devil a special power over them. For this reason, many souls abandoned the Catholic Faith even before they received First Communion, making them an easy prey for the Devil and Secret Societies.

On the contrary, in a child who receives his First Communion in the state of his first innocence and has the possibility of making frequent Communions, Our Lord establishes Himself with a special power over the soul and, consequently, diminishes the power of the Devil. This also diminishes the power of Masonry and other Secret Societies over those Catholics who become members of such organizations. Their power over those members will never be as great as it would have been had they not received First Communion as children.

I consider this measure of St. Pius X as a fundamental cause for the loss of influence and dominion of Masonry over its members. I am not talking about its control over world events, where Masonry became more powerful, but rather its control over the interior of souls, where it became weaker.

A Prophet who was rejected

St. Pius X was not only a good Pope; he was a saint and a counter-revolutionary. In a certain way he was also a prophet. He made a last appeal for the people of his era to persevere and prevent the chastisements that could come. If the world would not listen to his appeal, then World War I would come as a chastisement. Cardinal Merry del Val reported in his memoirs that St. Pius X predicted the war as the end of an era. One can see that there is a link between St. Pius X and Fátima. Since his pontificate was not well accepted, the war came, and this was a principle cause for the rise of Communism in Russia, and afterward, the dissemination of its errors all over the world. One thing is linked to the other.

Pope St. Pius X

The magazine La Critique du Liberalisme [The Critique of Liberalism] published an article about the death of St Pius X. The author sustains the thesis that St. Pius X was murdered on the order of Masonry. He affirms that St. Pius X caught a simple cold, but suddenly and inexplicably that cold would cause his death. One morning when he awakened, he could no longer speak, which was not proportional to that cold; he tried to write in order to communicate something, but also found himself unable to write. Soon afterward he died.

The author also tells about a young, brilliant naval officer in Prussia who became a Jesuit. After being ordained, he became a nurse and was named to take care of the Pope during that cold. On that final night of the life of St. Pius X, he was closely attending the Pope. After the Pope died, the Jesuit returned to Prussia, left the Order, and returned to a brilliant career as a naval officer. During the war he became a submarine commander. The author affirms that St. Pius X was killed on the order of the German Masonry, and therefore, would be a martyr. I repeat the thesis of this article without having formed my own opinion on it.

In his memoirs Cardinal Merry del Val confirms that St. Pius X could not speak or write, and he adds: “No one will ever know what happened that night.” It is a mysterious phrase.

In 1950, I followed the funeral ceremonies for Marc Sangnier in the French press. Sangnier had been the leader of the Sillon movement, which was condemned by St. Pius X in the Encyclical Notre charge apostolique. The burial of Sangnier was a veritable apotheosis. His body was exposed for public viewing in the Cathedral of Notre Dame, the burial cortege was followed by members of the French government, Senate, House of Representatives, diplomatic body, and numerous ecclesiastics. All this was done in a spirit of protest against the condemnation St. Pius X made of Modernism.

One year later, St. Pius X was beatified. There were no celebrations in France, at least nothing that came close to those for Sangnier. This shows how St. Pius X was rejected.

Even with this hatred, Divine Providence made the memory of St. Pius X shine above the firmament of the Church to illuminate the dark days that would come after him. He is an astral body, like a moon, that prolongs the glimmer of the Papacy amid the darkness that fell over the Church after his death.

What should we ask of St. Pius X? There are so many things to ask that the best advice is to ask for everything: the unexpected victories, perseverance, the gift of raising the fury of the enemies, astuteness, and the courage to walk even to a martyr’s death if necessary.


Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira source

The Saint of the Day features highlights from the lives of saints based on comments made by the late Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira. Following the example of St. John Bosco who used to make similar talks for the boys of his College, each evening it was Prof. Plinio’s custom to make a short commentary on the lives of the next day’s saint in a meeting for youth in order to encourage them in the practice of virtue and love for the Catholic Church.

Feast of Pope St. Pius X

Quotes from the writings of Pope St. Pius X (born Guiseppe Sarto in 1835; elected Sovereign Pontiff in 1903 and died in 1914 on the eve of World War I), who was Pope when St. Mary’s Church, Salem was consecrated by Bishop Thomas O’Gorman in 1907:

“Truly we are passing through disastrous times, when we may well make our own the lamentation of the Prophet: ‘There is no truth, and there is no mercy, and there is no knowledge of God in the land’ (Hosea 4:1). Yet in the midst of this tide of evil, the Virgin most merciful rises before our eyes like a rainbow, as the arbiter of peace between God and man.

“God could have given us the Redeemer of the human race, and the Founder of the Faith, in another way than through the Virgin, but since Divine Providence has been pleased that we should have the Man-God through Mary, who conceived Him by the Holy Spirit and bore Him in her womb, it only remains for us to receive Christ from the hands of Mary.
“My hope is in Christ, who strengthens the weakest by His Divine help. I can do all in Him who strengthens me. His Power is infinite, and if I lean on him, it will be mine. His Wisdom is infinite, and if I look to Him for counsel, I shall not be deceived. His Goodness is infinite, and if my trust is stayed in Him, I shall not be abandoned.

“Let the storm rage and the sky darken – not for that shall we be dismayed. If we trust as we should in Mary, we shall recognize in her, the Virgin Most Powerful “who with virginal foot did crush the head of the serpent.

“Holy Communion is the shortest and safest way to Heaven.”

___________________

from the apostolic constitution of Pope Saint Pius X on Sacred Scripture:

“The collection of psalms found in Scripture, composed as it was under divine inspiration, has, from the very beginnings of the Church, shown a wonderful power of fostering devotion among Christians as they offer “to God a continuous sacrifice of praise, the harvest of lips blessing his name.” Following a custom already established in the Old Law, the psalms have played a conspicuous part in the sacred liturgy itself, and in the divine office. Augustine expresses this well when he says: ‘God praised himself so that man might give him fitting praise; because God chose to praise himself man found the way in which to bless God.’ …

“The psalms have also a wonderful power to awaken in our hearts the desire for every virtue. Athanasius says: ‘The psalms seem to me to be like a mirror, in which the person using them can see himself, and the stirrings of his own heart; he can recite them against the background of his own emotions.’ Augustine says in his Confessions: ‘How I wept when I heard you hymns and canticles, being deeply moved by the sweet singing of your Church. Those voices flowed into my earts, truth filtered into my heart, and from my heart surged waves of devotion.’

“Indeed, who could fail to be moved by those many passages in the psalms which set forth so profoundly the infinite majesty of God, his omnipotence, his justice and goodness and clemency, too deep for words, and all the other infinite qualities of his that deserve our praise? Who could fail to be roused to the same emotions by the prayers of thanksgiving to God for blessings received by the petitions, so humble and confident, for blessings still awaited, by the cries of a soul in sorrow for sin committed? Who would not be fired wiht love as he looks on the likeness of Christ, the redeemer, here so lovingly foretold? His was ‘the voice’ Augustine heard in every psalm, the voice of praise, of suffering, of joyful expectation, of present distress.”

FONTE

September 3rd: Pope St. Pius X

One of the shining beacons of modern times, Pope St. Pius X, left a legacy and a warning particularly important for the modern world. Born Giuseppe Sarto, the second of ten children in Riese, Italy in 1835, Pope Pius X was a pastoral pope, with a father's concern for the spiritual lives of his flock throughout the world, but he was also a militant pope, fighting early and long against the seeds of theological error sprouting in his day. He foresaw the dangers of our day, and defended the Church against the evils of modernism, and its twin progeny, indifferentism and relativism. He codified Catholic doctrine, promoted the teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas as the basis for all Catholic education, and developed the idea of a universally used Catechism for the Faithful.

A practical man, this first new pope of the twentieth century, kept a keen watch over the theological and political interests of the Church, but he was also a pious Catholic of the highest order. He had a tender devotion to the Blessed Mother and his favorite ambition, "to restore all things in Christ," he directed through the hands of the Mother of God. Pope St. Pius X also had a particular dedication to the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist and is in fact known by the title: Pope of the Blessed Sacrament. It was through his intervention that children were permitted to receive Holy Communion at the age of reason, instead of waiting until the customary age of thirteen or fourteen. He also encouraged the reception of frequent Communion, a practice discouraged in former times, saying, "Holy Communion is the shortest and safest way to Heaven." Also known for his charity, Pope St. Pius X permitted the Vatican to be crowded with the poor that he fed, yet he lived in the greatest humility, himself. He said, "I was born poor, I have lived poor, and I wish to die poor."

Before he died of a heart attack on August 20th, 1914, Pope St. Pius X had beatified ten holy souls and canonized four. He also left with us sixteen encyclicals, among which were:

Pascendi Dominici Gregism, On the Doctrine of the Modernists, September 8, 1907

Preaestantia Scripturae, the Biblical argument against modernism, November 18th, 1907

Tra le Sollecitudini, on sacred music, November 22, 1903

Acerbi Nimis, on teaching Christian doctrine, April 15, 1905

E Supremi, on the "restoration of all things in Christ," October 4, 1903

Une Fois Encore, on the separation of Church and state, January 6, 1907

The Oath Against Modernism, an encyclical given to the Church on September 1, 1910, was to be sworn by "all clergy, pastors, confessors, preachers, religious superiors, and professors in philosophical-theological seminaries" and was a mandatory requirement of Pope St. Pius X. This oath continued to be required by all popes until, 1967, when it was rescinded by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Pope St. Pius X is the patron of:

First Communicants;
Pilgrims;
Archdiocese of Atlanta, Georgia;
Diocese of Des Moines, Iowa;
Diocese of Great Falls-Billings, Montana;
Archdiocese of Kottayam, India;
Santa Luċija, Malta;
Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, Missouri;
Achdiocese of Zamboanga, Philippines

Teacher's Helps:
For the feast day, you can find a wonderful coloring page here.

Ideas for celebrating the day gastronomically, can be found at Catholic Cuisine, under their First Holy Communion recipes and dinner plans, since Pope St. Pius X is the Pope of the Blessed Sacrament.
The children might enjoy drawing the coat of arms of this saint of the day, shown here (click to enlarge, and copy).
Topics to discuss -- Older students: 1) What is modernism? How did Pope St. Pius X try to stem the tide of modernism? Was he successful? 2) Why was the Blessed Sacrament so important to Pope St. Pius X, and what did he do to increase devotion to it? 3)Research and discuss the origins and history of the formalized Catechism of the Church, and Pope St. Pius X's role in it.
Younger students: 1) At what age do children usually receive Holy Communion today? 3) Before the time of Pope St. Pius X, children had to wait until they were teenagers to receive Holy Communion. How would it make you feel if you had to wait that long? 4) Why do you think Pope St. Pius lowered the age? 5) Do you think this was a good idea? 6) Make sure to say a prayer today to thank Pope St. Pius for allowing young children to approach Our Lord at the altar.
Litany of Pope Saint Pius X
For private use only.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, Have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, Pray for us.
Saint Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church, Pray for us.
Saint Pius X, model for priests, etc.
Saint Pius X, wise bishop,
Saint Pius X, humble cardinal and patriarch,
Saint Pius X, zealous Pope for his flock,
Saint Pius X, pious teacher,
Saint Pius X, devoted to the poor,
Saint Pius X, consoler of the sick,
Saint Pius X, lover of poverty,
Saint Pius X, humble of heart,
Saint Pius X, faithful to duty,
Saint Pius X, heroic in the practice of all virtues,
Saint Pius X, filled with the spirit of self-sacrifice,
Saint Pius X, who didst aim to restore all things in Christ,
Saint Pius X, who didst bring little children to the the Altar rail,
Saint Pius X, who didst counsel daily and frequent Communion for all,
Saint Pius X, who didst urge us to know and to love the Holy Mass,
Saint Pius X, who didst seek everywhere the diffusion of Christian teaching,
Saint Pius X, who didst withstand and reprove all heresies,
Saint Pius X, who didst teach us righteous Catholic Action,
Saint Pius X, who didst consecrate the faithful to the lay apostolate,
Saint Pius X, who didst wish to be known as a poor pastor of souls,
Saint Pius X, who answereth the prayers of those who cry to thee,
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.
V. Pray for us, Saint Pius X,
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let Us Pray.
O God, who didst fill the soul of Saint Pius X with a burning charity andcalled him to be the Vicar of Christ, grant that through his intercessionwe may follow in the footsteps of Jesus, Our Divine Master; and mayour prayers to this saintly Pope be fruitful for life both here and hereafter,through the same Christ Our Lord.
R. Amen.

FONTE