DIVINUM ILLUD MUNUS
Encyclical Letter on the Holy Spirit
H.H. Leo XIII
May 9, 1897
To Our
Venerable Brethren, The Patriarchs, Primates,
Archbishops, Bishops, and other Local Ordinaries having
Peace and Communion with the Holy See.
Venerable Brethren, Health and the Apostolic
Benediction.
That divine office which Jesus Christ received from His
Father for the welfare of mankind, and most perfectly
fulfilled, had for its final object to put men in
possession of the eternal life of glory, and proximately
during the course of ages to secure to them the life of
divine grace, which is destined eventually to blossom
into the life of heaven. Wherefore, our Saviour never
ceases to invite, with infinite affection, all men, of
every race and tongue, into the bosom of His Church:
"Come ye all to Me," "I am the Life," "I am the Good
Shepherd." Nevertheless, according to His inscrutable
counsels, He did not will to entirely complete and
finish this office Himself on earth, but as He had
received it from the Father, so He transmitted it for
its completion to the Holy Ghost. It is consoling to
recall those assurances which Christ gave to the body of
His disciples a little before He left the earth: "It is
expedient to you that I go: for if I go not, the
Paraclete will not come to you: but if I go, I will send
Him to you" (1 John xvi., 7). In these words He gave as
the chief reason of His departure and His return to the
Father, the advantage which would most certainly accrue
to His followers from the coming of the Holy Ghost, and,
at the same time, He made it clear that the Holy Ghost
is equally sent by-and therefore proceeds from-Himself
and the Father; that He would complete, in His office of
Intercessor, Consoler, and Teacher, the work which
Christ Himself had begun in His mortal life. For, in the
redemption of the world, the completion of the work was
by Divine Providence reserved to the manifold power of
that Spirit, who, in the creation, "adorned the heavens"
(Job xxvi., 13), and "filled the whole world" (Wisdom i.,
7).
The Two Principal Aims of Our Pontificate
2. Now We have earnestly striven, by the help of His
grace, to follow the example of Christ, Our Saviour, the
Prince of Pastors, and the Bishop of our Souls, by
diligently carrying on His office, entrusted by Him to
the Apostles and chiefly to Peter, "whose dignity
faileth not, even in his unworthy successor" (St. Leo
the Great, Sermon ii., On the Anniversary of his
Election). In pursuance of this object We have
endeavoured to direct all that We have attempted and
persistently carried out during a long pontificate
towards two chief ends: in the first place, towards the
restoration, both in rulers and peoples, of the
principles of the Christian life in civil and domestic
society, since there is no true life for men except from
Christ; and, secondly, to promote the reunion of those
who have fallen away from the Catholic Church either by
heresy or by schism, since it is most undoubtedly the
will of Christ that all should be united in one flock
under one Shepherd. But now that We are looking forward
to the approach of the closing days of Our life, Our
soul is deeply moved to dedicate to the Holy Ghost, who
is the life-giving Love, all the work We have done
during Our pontificate, that He may bring it to maturity
and fruitfulness. In order the better and more fully to
carry out this Our intention, We have resolved to
address you at the approaching sacred season of
Pentecost concerning the indwelling and miraculous power
of the Holy Ghost; and the extent and efficiency of His
action, both in the whole body of the Church and in the
individual souls of its members, through the glorious
abundance of His divine graces. We earnestly desire
that, as a result, faith may be aroused in your minds
concerning the mystery of the adorable Trinity, and
especially that piety may increase and be inflamed
towards the Holy Ghost, to whom especially all of us owe
the grace of following the paths of truth and virtue;
for, as St. Basil said, "Who denieth that the
dispensations concerning man, which have been made by
the great God and our Saviour, Jesus Christ, according
to the goodness of God, have been fulfilled through the
grace of the Spirit?" (Of the Holy Ghost, c. xvi., v.
39).
The Catholic Doctrine of the Blessed Trinity
3. Before We enter upon this subject, it will be both
desirable and useful to say a few words about the
Mystery of the Blessed Trinity. This dogma is called by
the doctors of the Church "the substance of the New
Testament," that is to say, the greatest of all
mysteries, since it is the fountain and origin of them
all. In order to know and contemplate this mystery, the
angels were created in Heaven and men upon earth. In
order to teach more fully this mystery, which was but
foreshadowed in the Old Testament, God Himself came down
from the angels unto men: "No man bath seen God at any
time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the
Father, He bath declared Him" (John i., 18). Whosoever
then writes or speaks of the Trinity must keep before
His eyes the prudent warning of the Angelic Doctor:
"When we speak of the Trinity, we must do so with
caution and modesty, for, as St. Augustine saith,
nowhere else are more dangerous errors made, or is
research more difficult, or discovery more fruitful" (Summ.
Th. la., q. xxxi. De Trin. 1 L, c. 3). The danger that
arises is lest the Divine Persons be confounded one with
the other in faith or worship, or lest the one Nature in
them be separated: for "This is the Catholic Faith, that
we should adore one God in Trinity and Trinity in
Unity." Therefore Our predecessor Innocent XII,
absolutely refused the petition of those who desired a
special festival in honour of God the Father. For,
although the separate mysteries connected with the
Incarnate Word are celebrated on certain fixed days, yet
there is no special feast on which the Word is honoured
according to His Divine Nature alone. And even the Feast
of Pentecost was instituted in the earliest times, not
simply to honour the Holy Ghost in Himself, but to
commemorate His coming, or His external mission. And all
this has been wisely ordained, lest from distinguishing
the Persons men should be led to distinguish the Divine
Essence. Moreover the Church, in order to preserve in
her children the purity of faith, instituted the Feast
of the Most Holy Trinity, which John XXII. afterwards
extended to the Universal Church. He also permitted
altars and churches to be dedicated to the Blessed
Trinity, and, with the divine approval, sanctioned the
Order for the Ransom of Captives, which is specially
devoted to the Blessed Trinity and bears Its name. Many
facts confirm its truths. The worship paid to the saints
and angels, to the Mother of God, and to Christ Himself,
finally redounds to the honour of the Blessed Trinity.
In prayers addressed to one Person, there is also
mention of the others; in the litanies after the
individual Persons have been separately invoked, a
common invocation of all is added: all psalms and hymns
conclude with the doxology to the Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost; blessings, sacred rites, and sacraments are
either accompanied or concluded by the invocation of the
Blessed Trinity. This was already foreshadowed by the
Apostle in those words: "For of Him, and by Him, and in
Him, are all things: to Him be glory for ever" (Rom.
xi., 36), thereby signifying both the Trinity of Persons
and the Unity of Nature: for as this is one and the same
in each of the Persons, so to each is equally owing
supreme glory, as to one and the same God. St. Augustine
commenting upon this testimony writes: "The words of the
Apostle, of Him, and by Him, and in Him are not to be
taken indiscriminately; of Him refers to the Father, by
Him to the Son, in Him to the Holy Ghost" (De Trin. 1.
vi., c. 10; 1. i., c. 6). The Church is accustomed most
fittingly to attribute to the Father those works of the
Divinity in which power excels, to the Son those in
which wisdom excels, and those in which love excels to
the Holy Ghost. Not that all perfections and external
operations are not common to the Divine Persons; for
"the operations of the Trinity are indivisible, even as
the essence of the Trinity is indivisible" (St. Aug., De
Trin., I. 1, cc. 4-5); because as the three Divine
Persons "are inseparable, so do they act inseparably"
(St. Aug., i6.). But by a certain comparison, and a kind
of affinity between the operations and the properties of
the Persons, these operations are attributed or, as it
is said, "appropriated" to One Person rather than to the
others. "Just as we make use of the traces of similarity
or likeness which we find in creatures for the
manifestation of the Divine Persons, so do we use Their
essential attributes; and this manifestation of the
Persons by Their essential attributes is called
appropriation" (St. Th. la., q. 39, xxxix., a. 7). In
this manner the Father, who is "the principle of the
whole God-head" (St. Aug. De Trin. 1 iv., c. 20) is also
the efficient cause of all things, of the Incarnation of
the Word, and the sanctification of souls; "of Him are
all things": of Him, referring to the Father. But the
Son, the Word, the Image of God is also the exemplar
cause, whence all creatures borrow their form and
beauty, their order and harmony. He is for us the Way,
the Truth, and the Life; the Reconciles of man with God.
"By Him are all things": by Him, referring to the Son.
The Holy Ghost is the ultimate cause of all things,
since, as the will and all other things finally rest in
their end, so He, who is the Divine Goodness and the
Mutual Love of the Father and Son, completes and
perfects, by His strong yet gentle power, the secret
work of man's eternal salvation. "In Him are all
things": in Him, referring to the Holy Ghost.
The Holy Ghost and the Incarnation
4. Having thus paid the due tribute of faith and worship
owing to the Blessed Trinity, and which ought to be more
and more inculcated upon the Christian people, we now
turn to the exposition of the power of the Holy Ghost.
And, first of all, we must look to Christ, the Founder
of the Church and the Redeemer of our race. Among the
external operations of God, the highest of all is the
mystery of the Incarnation of the Word, in which the
splendour of the divine perfections shines forth so
brightly that nothing more sublime can even be imagined,
nothing else could have been more salutary to the human
race. Now this work, although belonging to the whole
Trinity, is still appropriated especially to the Holy
Ghost, so that the Gospels thus speak of the Blessed
Virgin: "She was found with child of the Holy Ghost,"
and "that which is conceived in her is of the Holy
Ghost" (Matt. i., 18, 20). And this is rightly
attributed to Him who is the love of the Father and the
Son, since this "great mystery of piety" (1 Tim. iii.,
16) proceeds from the infinite love of God towards man,
as St. John tells us: "God so loved the world as to give
His only begotten Son" (John iii., 16). Moreover, human
nature was thereby elevated to a personal union with the
Word; and this dignity is given, not on account of any
merits, but entirely and absolutely through grace, and
therefore, as it were, through the special gift of the
Holy Ghost. On this point St. Augustine writes: "This
manner in which Christ was born of the Holy Ghost,
indicates to us the grace of God, by which humanity,
with no antecedent merits, at the first moment of its
existence, was united with the Word of God, by so
intimate a personal union, that He, who was the Son of
Man, was also the Son of God, and He who was the Son of
God was also the Son of Man" (Enchir., c. xl. St. Th.,
3a., q. xxxii., a. 1). By the operation of the Holy
Spirit, not only was the conception of Christ
accomplished, but also the sanctification of His soul,
which, in Holy Scripture, is called His "anointing"
(Acts x., 38). Wherefore all His actions were "performed
in the Holy Ghost" (St. Basil de Sp. S., c. xvi.), and
especially the sacrifice of Himself: "Christ, through
the Holy Ghost, offered Himself without spot to God"
(Heb. ix., 14). Considering this, no one can be
surprised that all the gifts of the Holy Ghost inundated
the soul of Christ. In Him resided the absolute fullness
of grace, in the greatest and most efficacious manner
possible; in Him were all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge, graces gratis datae, virtues, and all other
gifts foretold in the prophecies of Isaias (Is. iv., I;
xi., 23), and also signified in that miraculous dove
which appeared at the Jordan, when Christ, by His
baptism, consecrated its waters for a new sacrament. On
this the words of St. Augustine may appropriately be
quoted: "It would be absurd to say that Christ received
the Holy Ghost when He was already thirty years of age,
for He came to His baptism without sin, and therefore
not without the Holy Ghost. At this time, then (that is,
at His baptism), He was pleased to prefigure His Church,
in which those especially who are baptized receive the
Holy Ghost" (De. Trin. 1., xv., c. 26). Therefore, by
the conspicuous apparition of the Holy Ghost over Christ
and by His invisible power in His soul, the twofold
mission of the Spirit is foreshadowed, namely, His
outward and visible mission in the Church, and His
secret indwelling in the souls of the just.
The Holy Ghost and the Church
5. The Church which, already conceived, came forth from
the side of the second Adam in His sleep on the Cross,
first showed herself before the eyes of men on the great
day of Pentecost. On that day the Holy Ghost began to
manifest His gifts in the mystic body of Christ, by that
miraculous outpouring already foreseen by the prophet
Joel (ii., 28-29), for the Paraclete "sat upon the
apostles as though new spiritual crowns were placed upon
their heads in tongues of fire" (S. Cyril Hier. Catech.
17). Then the apostles "descended from the mountain," as
St. John Chrysostom writes, "not bearing in their hands
tables of stone like Moses, but carrying the Spirit in
their mind, and pouring forth the treasure and the
fountain of doctrines and graces" (In Matt. Hom. L, 2
Cor. iii., 3). Thus was fully accomplished that last
promise of Christ to His apostles of sending the Holy
Ghost, who was to complete and, as it were, to seal the
deposit of doctrine committed to them under His
inspiration. "I have yet many things to say to you, but
you cannot bear them now; but when He, the Spirit of
Truth, shall come, He will teach you all truth" (John
xvi., 12-13). For He who is the Spirit of Truth,
inasmuch as He proceedeth both from the Father, who is
the eternally True, and from the Son, who is the
substantial Truth, receiveth from each both His essence
and the fullness of all truth. This truth He
communicates to His Church, guarding her by His all
powerful help from ever falling into error, and aiding
her to foster daily more and more the germs of divine
doctrine and to make them fruitful for the welfare of
the peoples. And since the welfare of the peoples, for
which the Church was established, absolutely requires
that this office should be continued for all time, the
Holy Ghost perpetually supplies life and strength to
preserve and increase the Church. "I will ask the
Father, and He will give you another Paraclete, that He
may abide with you for ever, the Spirit of Truth" (john
xiv., 16, 17).
6. By Him the bishops are constituted, and by their
ministry are multiplied not only the children, but also
the fathers-that is to say, the priests-to rule and feed
the Church by that Blood wherewith Christ has redeemed
Her. "The Holy Ghost hath placed you bishops to rule the
Church of God, which He bath purchased with His own
Blood" (Acts xx., 28). And both bishops and priests, by
the miraculous gift of the Spirit, have the power of
absolving sins, according to those words of Christ to
the Apostles: "Receive ye the Holy Ghost; whose sins you
shall forgive they are forgiven them, and whose you
shall retain they are retained" (John xx., 22, 23). That
the Church is a divine institution is most clearly
proved by the splendour and glory of those gifts and
graces with which she is adorned, and whose author and
giver is the Holy Ghost. Let it suffice to state that,
as Christ is the Head of the Church, so is the Holy
Ghost her soul. "What the soul is in our body, that is
the Holy Ghost in Christ's body, the Church" (St. Aug.,
Serm. 187, de Temp.). This being so, no further and
fuller "manifestation and revelation of the Divine
Spirit" may be imagined or expected; for that which now
takes place in the Church is the most perfect possible,
and will last until that day when the Church herself,
having passed through her militant career, shall be
taken up into the joy of the saints triumphing in
heaven.
The Holy Ghost in the Souls of the Just
7. The manner and extent of the action of the Holy Ghost
in individual souls is no less wonderful, although
somewhat more difficult to understand, inasmuch as it is
entirely invisible. This outpouring of the Spirit is so
abundant, that Christ Himself, from whose gift it
proceeds, compares it to an overflowing river, according
to those words of St. John: "He that believeth in Me, as
the Scripture saith, out of his midst shall flow rivers
of living water"; to which testimony the Evangelist adds
the explanation: "Now this He said of the Spirit which
they should receive who believed in Him" (John vii., 38,
39). It is indeed true that in those of the just who
lived before Christ, the Holy Ghost resided by grace, as
we read in the Scriptures concerning the prophets,
Zachary, John the Baptist, Simeon, and Anna; so that on
Pentecost the Holy Ghost did not communicate Himself in
such a way "as then for the first time to begin to dwell
in the saints, but by pouring Himself forth more
abundantly; crowning, not beginning His gifts; not
commencing a new work, but giving more abundantly" (St.
Leo the Great, Hom. iii., de Pentec.). But if they also
were numbered among the children of God, they were in a
state like that of servants, for "as long as the heir is
a child he differeth nothing from a servant, but is
under tutors and governors" (Gal. iv., I, 2). Moreover,
not only was their justice derived from the merits of
Christ who was to come, but the communication of the
Holy Ghost after Christ was much more abundant, just as
the price surpasses in value the earnest and the reality
excels the image. Wherefore St. John declares: "As yet
the Spirit was not given, because Jesus was not yet
glorified" (John vii., 39). So soon, therefore, as
Christ, "ascending on high," entered into possession of
the glory of His Kingdom which He had won with so much
labour, He munificently opened out the treasures of the
Holy Ghost: "He gave gifts to men" (Eph. iv., 8). For
"that giving or sending forth of the Holy Ghost after
Christ's glorification was to be such as had never been
before; not that there had been none before, but it had
not been of the same kind" (St. Aug., De Trin., 1. iv.
c. 20).
8. Human nature is by necessity the servant of God: "The
creature is a servant; we are the servants of God by
nature" (St. Cyr. Alex., Thesaur. I. v., c. 5). On
account, however, of original sin, our whole nature had
fallen into such guilt and dishonour that we had become
enemies to God. "We were by nature the children of
wrath" (Eph. ii., 3). There was no power which could
raise us and deliver us from this ruin and eternal
destruction. But God, the Creator of mankind and
infinitely merciful, did this through His only begotten
Son, by whose benefit it was brought about that man was
restored so that rank and dignity whence he had fallen,
and was adorned with still more abundant graces. No one
can express the greatness of this work of divine grace
in the souls of men. Wherefore, both in Holy Scripture
and in the writings of the fathers, men are styled
regenerated, new creatures, partakers of the Divine
Nature, children of God, god-like, and similar epithets.
Now these great blessings are justly attributed as
especially belonging to the Holy Ghost. He is "the
Spirit of adoption of sons, whereby we cry: Abba,
Father." He fills our hearts with the sweetness of
paternal love: "The Spirit Himself giveth testimony to
our spirit that we are the sons of God" (Rom. viii.,
15-16). This truth accords with the similitude observed
by the Angelic Doctor between both operations of the
Holy Ghost; for through Him "Christ was conceived in
holiness to be by nature the Son of God," and "others
are sanctified to be the sons of God by adoption" (St.
Th. 3a, q. xxxii., a. I). This spiritual generation
proceeds from love in a much more noble manner than the
natural: namely, from the untreated Love.
9. The beginnings of this regeneration and renovation of
man are by Baptism. In this sacrament, when the unclean
spirit has been expelled from the soul, the Holy Ghost
enters in and makes it like to Himself. "That which is
born of the Spirit, is spirit" (John iii., 6). The same
Spirit gives Himself more abundantly in Confirmation,
strengthening and confirming Christian life; from which
proceeded the victory of the martyrs and the triumph of
the virgins over temptations and corruptions. We have
said that the Holy Ghost gives Himself: "the charity of
God is poured out into our hearts by the Holy Ghost who
is given to us" (Rom. v., 5). For He not only brings to
us His divine gifts, but is the Author of them and is
Himself the supreme Gift, who, proceeding from the
mutual love of the Father and the Son, is justly
believed to be and is called "Gift of God most High." To
show the nature and efficacy of this gift it is well to
recall the explanation given by the doctors of the
Church of the words of Holy Scripture. They say that God
is present and exists in all things, "by His power, in
so far as all things are subject to His power; by His
presence, inasmuch as all things are naked and open to
His eyes; by His essence, inasmuch as he is present to
all as the cause of their being." (St. Th. Ia, q. viii.,
a. 3). But God is in man, not only as in inanimate
things, but because he is more fully known and loved by
him, since even by nature we spontaneously love, desire,
and seek after the good. Moreover, God by grace resides
in the just soul as in a temple, in a most intimate and
peculiar manner. From this proceeds that union of
affection by which the soul adheres most closely to God,
more so than the friend is united to his most loving and
beloved friend, and enjoys God in all fulness and
sweetness. Now this wonderful union, which is properly
called "indwelling," differing only in degree or state
from that with which God beatifies the saints in heaven,
although it is most certainly produced by the presence
of the whole Blessed Trinity-"We will come to Him and
make our abode with Him," (John xiv. 23.)-nevertheless
is attributed in a peculiar manner to the Holy Ghost.
For, whilst traces of divine power and wisdom appear
even in the wicked man, charity, which, as it were, is
the special mark of the Holy Ghost, is shared in only by
the just. In harmony with this, the same Spirit is
called Holy, for He, the first and supreme Love, moves
souls and leads them to sanctity, which ultimately
consists in the love of God. Wherefore the apostle when
calling us to the temple of God, does not expressly
mention the Father or the Son, or the Holy Ghost: "Know
ye not that your members are the temple of the Holy
Ghost, who is in you, whom you have from God?" (1 Cor.
vi. 19). The fullness of divine gifts is in many ways a
consequence of the indwelling of the Holy Ghost in the
souls of the just. For, as St. Thomas teaches, "when the
Holy Ghost proceedeth as love, He proceedeth in the
character of the first gift; whence Augustine with that,
through the gift which is the Holy Ghost, many other
special gifts are distributed among the members of
Christ." (Summ. Th., la. q. xxxviii., a. 2. St. Aug. de
Trin., xv., c. 19). Among these gifts are those secret
warnings and invitations, which from time to time are
excited in our minds and hearts by the inspiration of
the Holy Ghost. Without these there is no beginning of a
good life, no progress, no arriving at eternal
salvation. And since these words and admonitions are
uttered in the soul in an exceedingly secret manner,
they are sometimes aptly compared in Holy Writ to the
breathing of a coming breeze, and the Angelic Doctor
likens them to the movements of the heart which are
wholly hidden in the living body. "Thy heart has a
certain hidden power, and therefore the Holy Ghost, who
invisibly vivifies and unites the Church, is compared to
the heart." (Summ. Th. 3a, q. vii., a. I, ad 3). More
than this, the just man, that is to say he who lives the
life of divine grace, and acts by the fitting virtues as
by means of faculties, has need of those seven gifts
which are properly attributed to the Holy Ghost. By
means of them the soul is furnished and strengthened so
as to obey more easily and promptly His voice and
impulse. Wherefore these gifts are of such efficacy that
they lead the just man to the highest degree of
sanctity; and of such excellence that they continue to
exist even in heaven, though in a more perfect way. By
means of these gifts the soul is excited and encouraged
to seek after and attain the evangelical beatitudes,
which, like the flowers that come forth in the spring
time, are the signs and harbingers of eternal beatitude.
Lastly there are those blessed fruits, enumerated by the
Apostle (Gal. v., 22), which the Spirit, even in this
mortal life, produces and shows forth in the just;
fruits filled with all sweetness and joy, inasmuch as
they proceed from the Spirit, "who is in the Trinity the
sweetness of both Father and Son, filling all creatures
with infinite fullness and profusion." (St. Aug. de Trin.
1. vi., c. 9). The Divine Spirit, proceeding from the
Father and the Word in the eternal light of sanctity,
Himself both Love and Gift, after having manifested
Himself through the veils of figures in the Old
Testament, poured forth all his fullness upon Christ and
upon His mystic Body, the Church; and called back by his
presence and grace men who were going away in wickedness
and corruption with such salutary effect that, being no
longer of the earth earthy, they relished and desired
quite other things, becoming of heaven heavenly.
On Devotion to the Holy Ghost
10. These sublime truths, which so clearly show forth
the infinite goodness of the Holy Ghost towards us,
certainly demand that we should direct towards Him the
highest homage of our love and devotion. Christians may
do this most effectually if they will daily strive to
know Him, to love Him, and to implore Him more
earnestly; for which reason may this Our exhortation,
flowing spontaneously from a paternal heart, reach their
ears. Perchance there are still to be found among them,
even nowadays, some, who if asked, as were those of old
by St. Paul the Apostle, whether they have received the
Holy Ghost, might answer in like manner: "We have not so
much as heard whether there be a Holy Ghost" (Acts xix.,
2). At least there are certainly many who are very
deficient in their religious practices, but their faith
is involved in much darkness. Wherefore all preachers
and those having care of souls should remember that it
is their duty to instruct their people more diligently
and more fully about the Holy Ghost-avoiding, however,
difficult and subtle controversies, and eschewing the
dangerous folly of those who rashly endeavour to pry
into divine mysteries. What should be chiefly dwelt upon
and clearly explained is the multitude and greatness of
the benefits which have been bestowed, and are
constantly bestowed, upon us by this Divine Giver, so
that errors and ignorance concerning matters of such
moment may be entirely dispelled, as unworthy of "the
children of light." We urge this, not only because it
affects a mystery by which we are directly guided to
eternal life, and which must therefore be firmly
believed; but also because the more clearly and fully
the good is known the more earnestly it is loved. Now we
owe to the Holy Ghost, as we mentioned in the second
place, love, because He is God: "Thou shalt love the
Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole
soul, and with thy whole strength" (Deut. vi., 5). He is
also to be loved because He is the substantial, eternal,
primal Love, and nothing is more lovable than love. And
this all the more because He has overwhelmed us with the
greatest benefits, which both testify to the benevolence
of the Giver and claim the gratitude of the receiver.
This love has a twofold and most conspicuous utility. In
the first place it will excite us to acquire daily a
clearer knowledge about the Holy Ghost; for, as the
Angelic Doctor says, "the lover is not content with the
superficial knowledge of the beloved, but striveth to
inquire intimately into all that appertains to the
beloved, and thus to penetrate into the interior; as is
said of the Holy Ghost, Who is the Love of God, that He
searcheth even the profound things of God" (1 Cor. ii.,
10; Summ. Theol., la. 2ae., q. 28, a. 2). In the second
place it will obtain for us a still more abundant supply
of heavenly gifts; for whilst a narrow heart contracteth
the hand of the giver, a grateful and mindful heart
causeth it to expand. Yet we must strive that this love
should be of such a nature as not to consist merely in
dry speculations or external observances, but rather to
run forward towards action, and especially to fly from
sin, which is in a more special manner offensive to the
Holy Spirit. For whatever we are, that we are by the
divine goodness; and this goodness is specially
attributed to the Holy Ghost. The sinner offends this
his Benefactor, abusing His gifts; and taking advantage
of His goodness becomes more hardened in sin day by day.
Again, since He is the Spirit of Truth, whosoever
faileth by weakness or ignorance may perhaps have some
excuse before Almighty God; but he who resists the truth
through malice and turns away from it, sins most
grievously against the Holy Ghost. In our days this sin
has become so frequent that those dark times seem to
have come which were foretold by St. Paul, in which men,
blinded by the just judgment of God, should take
falsehood for truth, and should believe in "the prince
of this world," who is a liar and the father thereof, as
a teacher of truth: "God shall send them the operation
of error, to believe lying (2 Thess. ii., 10). In the
last times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed
to spirits of error and the doctrines of devils" (1 Tim.
iv., 1). But since the Holy Ghost, as We have said,
dwells in us as in His temple, We must repeat the
warning of the Apostle: "Grieve not the Holy Spirit of
God, whereby you are sealed" (Eph. iv., 30). Nor is it
enough to fly from sin; every Christian ought to shine
with the splendour of virtue so as to be pleasing to so
great and so beneficent a guest; and first of all with
chastity and holiness, for chaste and holy things befit
the temple. Hence the words of the Apostle: "Know you
not that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit
of God dwelleth in you? But if any man violate the
temple of God, him shall God destroy. For the temple of
God is holy, which you are" (1 Cor. iii., 16-17): a
terrible, indeed, but a just warning.
11. Lastly, we ought to pray to and invoke the Holy
Spirit, for each one of us greatly needs His protection
and His help. The more a man is deficient in wisdom,
weak in strength, borne down with trouble, prone to sin,
so ought he the more to fly to Him who is the
never-ceasing fount of light, strength, consolation, and
holiness. And chiefly that first requisite of man, the
forgiveness of sins, must be sought for from Him: "It is
the special character of the Holy Ghost that He is the
Gift of the Father and the Son. Now the remission of all
sins is given by the Holy Ghost as by the Gift of God" (Summ.
Th. 3a, q. iii., a. 8, ad 3m). Concerning this Spirit
the words of the Liturgy are very explicit: "For He is
the remission of all sins" (Roman Missal, Tuesday after
Pentecost). How He should be invoked is clearly taught
by the Church, who addresses Him in humble supplication,
calling upon Him by the sweetest of names: "Come, Father
of the poor! Come, Giver of gifts! Come, Light of our
hearts! O, best of Consolers, sweet Guest of the soul,
our refreshment!" (Hymn, Veni Sancte Spiritus). She
earnestly implores Him to wash, heal, water our minds
and hearts, and to give to us who trust in Him "the
merit of virtue, the acquirement of salvation, and joy
everlasting." Nor can it be in any way doubted that He
will listen to such prayer, since we read the words
written by His own inspiration: "The Spirit Himself
asketh for us with unspeakable groanings" (Rom. viii.,
26). Lastly, we ought confidently and continually to beg
of Him to illuminate us daily more and more with His
light and inflame us with His charity: for, thus
inspired with faith and love, we may press onward
earnestly towards our eternal reward, since He "is the
pledge of our inheritance" (Eph. i. 14).
12. Such, Venerable Brethren, are the teachings and
exhortations which We have seen good to utter, in order
to stimulate devotion to the Holy Ghost. We have no
doubt that, chiefly by means of your zeal and
earnestness, they will bear abundant fruit among
Christian peoples. We Ourselves shall never in the
future fail to labour towards so important an end; and
it is even Our intention, in whatever ways may appear
suitable, to further cultivate and extend this admirable
work of piety. Meanwhile, as two years ago, in Our
Letter Provida Matris, We recommended to Catholics
special prayers at the Feast of Pentecost, for the
Re-union of Christendom, so now We desire to make
certain further decrees on the same subject.
An Annual Novena Decreed
13. Wherefore, We decree and command that throughout the
whole Catholic Church, this year and in every subsequent
year, a Novena shall take place before Whit-Sunday, in
all parish churches, and also, if the local Ordinaries
think fit, in other churches and oratories. To all who
take part in this Novena and duly pray for Our
intention, We grant for each day an Indulgence of seven
years and seven quarantines; moreover, a Plenary
Indulgence on any one of the days of the Novena, or on
Whit-Sunday itself, or on any day during the Octave;
provided they shall have received the Sacraments of
Penance and the Holy Eucharist, and devoutly prayed for
Our intention. We will that those who are legitimately
prevented from attending the Novena, or who are in
places where the devotions cannot, in the judgment of
the Ordinary, be conveniently carried out in church,
shall equally enjoy the same benefits, provided they
make the Novena privately and observe the other
conditions. Moreover We are pleased to grant, in
perpetuity, from the Treasury of the Church, that
whosoever, daily during the Octave of Pentecost up to
Trinity Sunday inclusive, offer again publicly or
privately any prayers, according to their devotion, to
the Holy Ghost, and satisfy the above conditions, shall
a second time gain each of the same Indulgences. All
these Indulgences We also permit to be applied to the
suffrage of the souls in Purgatory.
14. And now Our mind and heart turn back to those hopes
with which We began, and for the accomplishment of which
We earnestly pray, and will continue to pray, to the
Holy Ghost. Unite, then, Venerable Brethren, your
prayers with Ours, and at your exhortation let all
Christian peoples add their prayers also, invoking the
powerful and ever-acceptable intercession of the Blessed
Virgin. You know well the intimate and wonderful
relations existing between her and the Holy Ghost, so
that she is justly called His Spouse. The intercession
of the Blessed Virgin was of great avail both in the
mystery of the Incarnation and in the coming of the Holy
Ghost upon the Apostles. May she continue to strengthen
our prayers with her suffrages, that, in the midst of
all the stress and trouble of the nations, those divine
prodigies may be happily revived by the Holy Ghost,
which were foretold in the words of David: "Send forth
Thy Spirit and they shall be created, and Thou shalt
renew the face of the earth" (Ps. ciii., 30).
15. As a pledge of Divine favour and a testimony of Our
affection, Venerable Brethren, to you, to your Clergy,
and people, We gladly impart in the Lord the Apostolic
Benediction.
Given at St. Peter's, in Rome, on the 9th day of May,
1897, in the 20th year of Our Pontificate.
LEO XIII
