NV-Pope St Pius X

NOVENA TO POPE ST. PIUS X
Feast Day September 3rd
For his feast day, the Novena starts on August 26th ends on the Feast itself, September 3rd
Otherwise it may be said at any time

What is a Novena?
A novena is a traditional devotion consisting of specific prayers recited on nine successive days. Besides being a form of praise, a novena is frequently offered for a particular intention. The first novena took place in the Cenacle, during the nine days preceding Pentecost, or the coming of the Holy Ghost. As a regular popular custom, this practice began in 12th century Christianity and continues to be beneficial today as a way of praying for healing, protection or other blessings for ourselves or others.

This particular novena is prayed to God in honor of Pope St. Pius X, one of greatest popes of the modern era, who was a great combatant of Modernism and other errots besieging the Church in our times. He was also a great restorer of the Church in many areas. He reduced the age at which children could make their FIrst Holy Communion. He also had a great devotion to Our Lady, having made the True Devotion Consecration to Mary according to the manner recommended by St. Louis de Montfort. September 3rd is the feast of Pope St. Pius X. The purpose of this novena is to try to help us acquire St. Pius X's love of God, love of Our Lady, love of truth and hatred of error and zeal in fighitng error.

In praying this Novena, as in the case of all prayer, it is good to begin by opening ourselves wholeheartedly to God's will, offering a simple act of trust in God's wisdom and in His providential love for us all, that disposes all things for the ultimate benefit of our souls and their salvation.

How to Pray This Novena
This novena is based on upon the life of Pope St. Pius X and the Encyclucals he wrote. Each day of the novena is divided into the following parts:
(1) a quote from Holy Scripture that pertains to the papacy. (2) an excerpt from the life of Pope St. Pius X; (3) a reading from one of his papal encyclicals; (4) a Meditation on either his life or the quoted extract from his encycals;(5) a Prayer followed by (5) the mentioning your intention, (6) after which you will pray the Our Father and the Hail Mary; (7) a Closing Prayer.

LITANY IN HONOR OF
POPE SAINT PIUS X

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 Ghost,
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,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, wise bishop,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, humble cardinal and patriarch, Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, zealous Pope for his flock,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, pious teacher,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, devoted to the poor,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, consoler of the sick,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, lover of poverty,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, humble of heart,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, faithful to duty,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, heroic in the practice of all virtues,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, filled with the spirit of self-sacrifice,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst aim to restore all things in Christ,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst bring little children to the Altar rail,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst counsel daily and frequent Communion for all,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst urge us to know and to love the Holy Mass,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst seek everywhere the diffusion of Christian teaching,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst withstand and reprove all heresies,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst teach us righteous Catholic Action,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst consecrate the faithful to the lay apostolate,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst wish to be known as a poor pastor of souls,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who answereth the prayers of those who cry to thee, Pray for us.

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 and called him to be the Vicar of Christ, grant that through his intercession we may follow in the footsteps of Jesus, Our Divine Master; and may our prayers to this saintly Pope be fruitful for life both here and hereafter, through the same Christ Our Lord. R. Amen.

FIRST DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted for each day)

Theme: The Love of Learning, The Love of the Faith

Holy Scripture
“And I say to thee that thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).

The Life of Pope St. Pius X
Giuseppe (= Joseph in English) Sarto, the future Pope Pius X, was born June 2nd, 1835, in the village of Riese, Province of Treviso, in Venice. His parents were Giovanni Battista Sarto and Margarita (née Sanson). Both parents were humble, and remarkable for their godliness and piety. His father, a postman, died in 1852, but Margarita lived to see her son a cardinal.

He enrolled among the students in the seminary of Padua, where he exhibited such piety and learning that he was both an example to his fellow students and the admiration of his teachers.

After finishing his elementary education, Giuseppe at first received private lessons in Latin from the arch-priest of his town, Don Tito Fusaroni, after which he studied for four years at the gymnasium of Castelfranco Veneto, walking to and fro every day. In 1850 he received the tonsure from the Bishop of Treviso, and was given a scholarship of the Diocese of Treviso in the seminary of Padua, where he finished his classical, philosophical, and theological studies with distinction.

He was ordained in 1858, and, for nine years was chaplain at Tombolo, having to assume most of the functions of parish priest, as the pastor was old and an invalid.

He sought to prefect his knowledge of theology by assiduously studying Saint Thomas and Canon Law; at the same time he established a night school for adult students, and devoted himself of the ministry of preaching in other towns to which he was called. In 1867 he was named arch-priest of Salzano, a large borough of the Diocese of Treviso, where he restored the church, and provided for the enlargement and maintenance of the hospital by his own means, consistently with his habitual generosity to the poor; he especially distinguished himself by his abnegation during the cholera. He showed great solicitude for the religious instruction of adults.

In 1875 he was made a canon of the cathedral of Treviso, and filled several offices, among them those of spiritual director and rector of the seminary, examiner of the clergy, and vicar-general; moreover, he made it possible for the students of the public schools to receive religious instruction.

In 1878, on the death of Bishop Zanelli, he was elected vicar-capitular. On November 10th, 1884, he was named Bishop of Mantua, then a very troublesome see, and consecrated on November 20th. His chief care in his new position was for the formation of the clergy at the seminary, where, for several years, he himself taught dogmatic theology, and for another year moral theology.

He wished the doctrine and method of St. Thomas to be followed, and to many of the poorer students he gave copies of the “Summa Theologica”; at the same time he cultivated the Gregorian Chant in company with the seminarians. The temporal administration of his see imposed great sacrifices upon him. In 1887 he held a diocesan synod. By his attendance at the confessional, he gave the example of pastoral zeal. The Catholic organization of Italy, then known as the "Opera dei Congressi", found in him a zealous propagandist from the time of his ministry at Salzano.

Reading From an Encyclical of Pope St. Pius X :
Acerbo Nimis, 1905, On Ignorance and Teaching Christian Doctrine
At this very troublesome and difficult time, the hidden designs of God have conducted Our poor strength to the office of Supreme pastor, to rule the entire flock of Christ. The enemy has, indeed, long been prowling about the fold and attacking it with such subtle cunning that now, more than ever before, the prediction of the Apostle to the elders of the Church of Ephesus seems to be verified: “I know that ... fierce wolves will get in among you, and will not spare the flock.” ... It is a common complaint, unfortunately too well founded, that there are large numbers of Christians in our own time who are entirely ignorant of those truths necessary for salvation ... We refer to those especially who do not lack culture or talents and, indeed, are possessed of abundant knowledge regarding things of the world but live rashly and imprudently with regard to religion ... They rarely give thought to God ... They show no anxiety to avoid sin or to renounce it ... And so Our Predecessor, Benedict XIV, had just cause to write: “We declare that a great number of those who are condemned to eternal punishment suffer that everlasting calamity because of ignorance of those mysteries of Faith which must be known and believed in order to be numbered among the elect.” ... How many and how grave are the consequences of ignorance in matters of religion! And on the other hand, how necessary and how beneficial is religious instruction! It is indeed vain to expect a fulfillment of the duties of a Christian by one who does not even know them ...

The obligation to dissipate this most pernicious ignorance rests upon all who are pastors of souls ... The first duty of all those who are entrusted in any way with the government of the Church is to instruct the faithful in the things of God ... For this reason the Council of Trent, treating of the duties of pastors of souls, decreed that their first and most important work is the instruction of the faithful. It therefore prescribes that they shall teach the truths of religion on Sundays and on the more solemn feast days; moreover during the holy seasons of Advent and Lent they are to give such instruction every day or at least three times a week. This, however, was not considered enough. The Council provided for the instruction of youth by adding that the pastors, either personally or through others, must explain the truths of religion at least on Sundays and feast days to the children of the parish, and inculcate obedience to God and to their parents ... Perhaps there are some who, wishing to lessen their labors, would believe that the homily on the Gospel can take the place of catechetical instruction. But for one who reflects a moment, such is obviously impossible. The sermon on the holy Gospel is addressed to those who should have already received knowledge of the elements of Faith. It is, so to speak, bread broken for adults. Catechetical instruction, on the other hand, is that milk which the Apostle Peter wished the faithful to desire in all simplicity like newborn babes. The task of the catechist is to take up one or other of the truths of Faith or of Christian morality and then explain it in all its parts; and since amendment of life is the chief aim of his instruction, the catechist must needs make a comparison between what God commands us to do and what is our actual conduct. After this, he will use examples appropriately taken from the Holy Scriptures, Church history, and the lives of the saints

Meditation

If 1905, as the Pope says, was a “very troublesome and difficult time”, then what would he say of our times? In fact, Pope St. Pius X was given a vision of our times. In 1909, four years after writing this encyclical, in the midst of an audience with members of the Franciscan Order, he seemed to fall into a trance. Moments passed, then his eyes sprung open and he jumped to his feet. “What I have seen is terrifying!” he cried out. “Will I be the one, or will it be a successor? What is certain is that the Pope will leave Rome and, in leaving the Vatican, he will have to pass over the dead bodies of his priests!” Later, shortly before his death, another vision came to him, of which he said: “I have seen one of my successors, of the same name, who was fleeing over the bodies of his brethren. He will take refuge in some hiding place; but after a brief respite, he will die a cruel death. Respect for God has disappeared from human hearts. They wish to efface even God's memory. This perversity is nothing less than the beginning of the last days of the world.”

Taking that above connection to a “very troublesome and difficult time” and the Franciscan Order, in the presence of whose members Pope St. Pius X had that trance-like experience and vision―let us tie that in to the vision St. Francis of Assisi had shortly before his death, of which he said:

“The time is fast approaching in which there will be great trials and afflictions; perplexities and dissensions, both spiritual and temporal, will abound; the charity of many will grow cold, and the malice of the wicked will increase. The devils will have unusual power, the immaculate purity of our Order, and of others, will be so much obscured that there will be very few Christians who will obey the true Sovereign Pontiff and the Roman Church with loyal hearts [loyal to the traditional teaching of the Church and not loyal to the teachings of Modernism and Liberalism] and perfect charity. At the time of this tribulation a man, not canonically elected, will be raised to the Pontificate, who, by his cunning, will endeavor to draw many into error and death. Then scandals will be multiplied, our Order will be divided, and many others will be entirely destroyed, because they will consent to error instead of opposing it. [How can you oppose error if you are ignorant of truths? How can you oppose errors in the Faith if you barely know your Faith?] There will be such diversity of opinions and schisms among the people, the religious and the clergy, that, except those days were shortened, according to the words of the Gospel, even the elect would be led into error, were they not specially guided, amid such great confusion, by the immense mercy of God. Those who preserve their fervor and adhere to the truth with love and zeal, will suffer injuries and, persecutions as rebels and schismatics; for their persecutors, urged on by the evil spirits, will say they are rendering a great service to God by destroying such pestilent men from the face of the Earth. But, in order to be like their Head [Jesus Christ], these, the elect, will act with confidence, and by their death will purchase for themselves eternal life; choosing to obey God rather than man, they will fear nothing, and they will prefer to perish [physically] rather than consent to falsehood and perfidy [perfidy = deliberate betrayal; a sell-out; state of being faithless or disloyal]. Some preachers will keep silence about the truth, and others will trample it under foot and deny it. In those days Jesus Christ will send them not a true Pastor, but a destroyer!” (Works of the Seraphic Father St. Francis Of Assisi, pp. 248-250).

Prayer to Pope Pius X
O glorious St. Pius X, hammer of modernists, humble shepherd of souls and pastor of the universal Church, pray for us and for the Holy Catholic Church in this dire hour and terrible crisis.

Pray to the Lord for us, poor sinners, who have not fully appreciated your teachings and have rejected your counsels. We have seen your vision of where we are and where we are going and have shrunk back, preferring compromise with the world to the robust combat with the forces of evil that our Lord calls us to.

Intercede for your Church, that her pastors and princes will come to a profound realization of the truths enunciated in your great encyclical teachings Pascendi, Lamentabili Sane and the Oath Against Modernism. Pray that we will all see Modernism for what it is and understand what chaos it has already wrought in the Church and world.

Through your glorious intercession, may God, in His mercy, avert His wrath from us and instead turn and heal us. Let our hearts be turned that we can repent; let our minds be flooded with light that we may reject the errors of our age. May God in His mercy say that our exile is at an end, that our cup has been drunk to the dregs, that debt has been paid in full.

May we again value truth above all else, and reject the imprudent and false dichotomy that seeks to erode truth and virtue at the expense of a false tolerance of error and sin. May our sacred liturgies be ceremonies of reverence and humble adoration of our Creator. May our theology be grounded in sound principles following the path laid out by the great St. Thomas Aquinas and the perennial Tradition of the Church. May our witness for the Faith be bold and sure. May our charity be fervent, and may souls flood back into the Church, full of penitence and desires to make amends. May our leaders in the Church and State be deeply moved by the vision you set for the Church, and may God, in His great mercy, lead us towards a true repentance and restoration of the Catholic Church.

[Mention Intention]

Pray:
Glorious Pope of the Eucharist, Saint Pius X, you sought “to restore all things in Christ.” Obtain for me a true love of Jesus so that I may live only for Him. Help me to acquire a lively fervor and a sincere will to strive for sanctity of life, and that I may avail myself of the riches of the Holy Eucharist from both the Sacrifice and the Sacrament. By your love for Mary, Mother and Queen of all, inflame my heart with tender devotion to her.

Then say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
St. Pius the X pray for me and for those I love. I beg of you, by your love for Jesus and Mary, do not abandon us in our needs. May we experience the peace and joy of your holy death. Amen.

LITANY IN HONOR OF
POPE SAINT PIUS X

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 Ghost,
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,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, wise bishop,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, humble cardinal and patriarch, Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, zealous Pope for his flock,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, pious teacher,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, devoted to the poor,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, consoler of the sick,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, lover of poverty,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, humble of heart,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, faithful to duty,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, heroic in the practice of all virtues,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, filled with the spirit of self-sacrifice,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst aim to restore all things in Christ,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst bring little children to the Altar rail,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst counsel daily and frequent Communion for all,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst urge us to know and to love the Holy Mass,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst seek everywhere the diffusion of Christian teaching,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst withstand and reprove all heresies,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst teach us righteous Catholic Action,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst consecrate the faithful to the lay apostolate,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst wish to be known as a poor pastor of souls,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who answereth the prayers of those who cry to thee, Pray for us.

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 and called him to be the Vicar of Christ, grant that through his intercession we may follow in the footsteps of Jesus, Our Divine Master; and may our prayers to this saintly Pope be fruitful for life both here and hereafter, through the same Christ Our Lord. R. Amen.

SECOND DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted for each day)

Theme: Pope St. Pius X's Zeal for Teaching the Faith

Holy Scripture
“And I say to thee that thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).

The Life of Pope St. Pius X
At the secret consistory of June, 1893, Pope Leo XIII created him a cardinal under the title of San Bernardo alle Terme; and in the public consistory, three days later, he was publicly announced as the Patriarch of Venice, retaining meanwhile the title of Apostolic Administrator of Mantua. Cardinal Sarto was obliged to wait eighteen months before he was able to take possession of his new diocese, because the Italian government refused its exequatur, claiming the right of nomination as it had been exercised by the Emperor of Austria.

This matter was discussed with bitterness in the newspapers and in pamphlets; the Government, by way of reprisal, refused its exequatur to the other bishops who were appointed in the meantime, so that the number of vacant sees grew to thirty. Finally, the minister Crispi having returned to power, and the Holy See having raised the mission of Eritrea to the rank of an Apostolic Prefecture in favor of the Italian Capuchins, the Government withdrew from its position. Its opposition had not been caused by any objection to Sarto personally.

At Venice the cardinal found a much better condition of things than he had found at Mantua. There, also, he paid great attention to the seminary, where he obtained the establishment of the faculty of canon law. In 1898 he held the diocesan synod. He promoted the use of the Gregorian Chant, and was a great patron of Lorenzo Perosi; he favored social works, especially the rural parochial banks; he discerned and energetically opposed the dangers of certain doctrines and the conduct of certain Christian-Democrats.

The international Eucharistic Congress of 1897, the centenary of St. Gerard Sagredo (1900), and the blessing of the corner-stone of the new belfry of St. Mark's, also of the commemorative chapel of Mt. Grappa (1901), were events that left a deep impression on him and his people. Meanwhile, Leo XIII having died, the cardinals entered into conclave and after several ballots Giuseppe Sarto was elected on 4 August by a vote of 55 out of a possible 60 votes. His coronation took place on the following Sunday, August 9th, 1903.

Reading From an Encyclical of Pope St. Pius X
Acerbo Nimis, 1905, On Ignorance and Teaching Christian Doctrine
We are indeed aware that the work of teaching the Catechism is unpopular with many because as a rule it is deemed of little account and for the reason that it does not lend itself easily to the winning of public praise. But this in Our opinion is a judgment based on vanity and devoid of truth. We do not disapprove of those pulpit orators who, out of genuine zeal for the glory of God, devote themselves to defense of the Faith and to its spread, or who eulogize the saints of God. But their labor presupposes labor of another kind, that of the catechist. And so if this be lacking, then the foundation is wanting; and they labor in vain who build the house.

Too often it happens that ornate sermons which receive the applause of crowded congregations serve but to tickle the ears and fail utterly to touch the hearts of the hearers. Catechetical instruction, on the other hand, plain and simple though it be, is the word of which God Himself speaks through the lips of the prophet Isaias: “And as the rain and the snow come down from Heaven, and return no more thither, but soak the Earth and water it, and make it to spring and give seed to the sower and bread to the eater: so shall my word be, which shall go forth from my mouth. It shall not return to me void, but it shall do whatsoever I please and shall prosper in the things for which I sent it.”

We believe the same may be said of those priests who work hard to produce books which explain the truths of religion. They are surely to be commended for their zeal, but how many are there who read these works and take from them a fruit commensurate with the labor and intention of the writers? The teaching of the Catechism, on the other hand, when rightly done, never fails to profit those who listen to it

In order to enkindle the zeal of the ministers of God, We again insist on the need to reach the ever-increasing numbers of those who know nothing at all of religion, or who possess at most only such knowledge of God and Christian truths as befits idolaters. How many there are, alas, not only among the young, but among adults and those advanced in years, who know nothing of the chief mysteries of Faith; who on hearing the name of Christ can only ask? “Who is he. . . that I may believe in him?”

In consequence of this ignorance, they do not consider it a crime to excite and nourish hatred against their neighbor, to enter into most unjust contracts, to do business in dishonest fashion, to hold the funds of others at an exorbitant interest rate, and to commit other iniquities no less reprehensible.

They are, moreover, ignorant of the law of Christ which, not only condemns immoral actions, but also forbids deliberate immoral thoughts and desires. Even when, for some reason or other, they avoid sensual pleasures, they nevertheless entertain evil thoughts without the least scruple, thereby multiplying their sins above the number of the hairs of the head.

These persons are found, we deem it necessary to repeat, not merely among the poorer classes of the people or in sparsely settled districts, but also among those in the higher walks of life, even, indeed, among those puffed up with learning, who, relying upon a vain erudition, feel free to ridicule religion and to “deride whatever they do not know.” [19]

Now, if we cannot expect to reap a harvest when no seed has been planted, how can we hope to have a people with sound morals if Christian doctrine has not been imparted to them in due time? It follows, too, that if Faith languishes in our days, if among large numbers it has almost vanished, the reason is that the duty of catechetical teaching is either fulfilled very superficially or altogether neglected.

Meditation
Religion and matters of the Faith perhaps only make up 1% of the knowledge human beings have―the other 99% of their knowledge consists of worldly matters, earthly occupations, etc. That 1% of religious knowledge, for most people, consists of a mere infantile knowledge of religion, whereas in other subjects their knowledge is on the level of an adult. Most Catholics cannot even give you the Ten Commandments in the correct order―or in any order for that matter! They cannot give the number nor name the Chief Commandments of the Church (they are six in number in case you didn’t know). Nor can they list the Corporal and Spiritual Acts of Mercy―upon which a life of charity is largely founded. Nor can they give you the number and the name of the conditions required for a good confession, nor can they name the number and name of the conditions required for a sin to be mortal. Nor can they give you several quotes from the Bible giving the name of the book, the chapter and the verse―never mind telling you how many books there are in the Old and New Testament, and getting pretty close to naming them all (perhaps not in the right order). Many cannot distinguish a mortal sin from a venial sin―and there a lots of venial sins that they think are not even sins. They have little or no clue of the stages of the spiritual life and the main characteristics of each stage―which is our road-map to Heaven―yet they somehow hope to stumble into Heaven with a road-map!

Prayer to Pope Pius X
O glorious St. Pius X, hammer of modernists, humble shepherd of souls and pastor of the universal Church, pray for us and for the Holy Catholic Church in this dire hour and terrible crisis.

Pray to the Lord for us, poor sinners, who have not fully appreciated your teachings and have rejected your counsels. We have seen your vision of where we are and where we are going and have shrunk back, preferring compromise with the world to the robust combat with the forces of evil that our Lord calls us to.

Intercede for your Church, that her pastors and princes will come to a profound realization of the truths enunciated in your great encyclical teachings Pascendi, Lamentabili Sane and the Oath Against Modernism. Pray that we will all see Modernism for what it is and understand what chaos it has already wrought in the Church and world.

Through your glorious intercession, may God, in His mercy, avert His wrath from us and instead turn and heal us. Let our hearts be turned that we can repent; let our minds be flooded with light that we may reject the errors of our age. May God in His mercy say that our exile is at an end, that our cup has been drunk to the dregs, that debt has been paid in full.

May we again value truth above all else, and reject the imprudent and false dichotomy that seeks to erode truth and virtue at the expense of a false tolerance of error and sin. May our sacred liturgies be ceremonies of reverence and humble adoration of our Creator. May our theology be grounded in sound principles following the path laid out by the great St. Thomas Aquinas and the perennial Tradition of the Church. May our witness for the Faith be bold and sure. May our charity be fervent, and may souls flood back into the Church, full of penitence and desires to make amends. May our leaders in the Church and State be deeply moved by the vision you set for the Church, and may God, in His great mercy, lead us towards a true repentance and restoration of the Catholic Church.

[Mention Intention]

Pray:
Glorious Pope of the Eucharist, Saint Pius X, you sought “to restore all things in Christ.” Obtain for me a true love of Jesus so that I may live only for Him. Help me to acquire a lively fervor and a sincere will to strive for sanctity of life, and that I may avail myself of the riches of the Holy Eucharist from both the Sacrifice and the Sacrament. By your love for Mary, Mother and Queen of all, inflame my heart with tender devotion to her.

Then say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
St. Pius the X pray for me and for those I love. I beg of you, by your love for Jesus and Mary, do not abandon us in our needs. May we experience the peace and joy of your holy death. Amen.

LITANY IN HONOR OF
POPE SAINT PIUS X

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 Ghost,
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,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, wise bishop,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, humble cardinal and patriarch, Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, zealous Pope for his flock,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, pious teacher,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, devoted to the poor,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, consoler of the sick,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, lover of poverty,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, humble of heart,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, faithful to duty,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, heroic in the practice of all virtues,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, filled with the spirit of self-sacrifice,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst aim to restore all things in Christ,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst bring little children to the Altar rail,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst counsel daily and frequent Communion for all,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst urge us to know and to love the Holy Mass,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst seek everywhere the diffusion of Christian teaching,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst withstand and reprove all heresies,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst teach us righteous Catholic Action,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst consecrate the faithful to the lay apostolate,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst wish to be known as a poor pastor of souls,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who answereth the prayers of those who cry to thee, Pray for us.

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 and called him to be the Vicar of Christ, grant that through his intercession we may follow in the footsteps of Jesus, Our Divine Master; and may our prayers to this saintly Pope be fruitful for life both here and hereafter, through the same Christ Our Lord. R. Amen.

THIRD DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted for each day)

Theme: The Humility of Pope St. Pius X

Holy Scripture
“And I say to thee that thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).

The Life of Pope St. Pius X
In his first Encyclical, wishing to develop his program to some extent, he said that the motto of his pontificate would be “Instaurare Omnia in Christo” ― which was inspired by the text: “That He might make known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure, which He hath purposed in Him, in the dispensation of the fullness of times, to re-establish all things in Christ, that are in Heaven and on Earth, in Him” (Ephesians 1:9-10).

Accordingly, his greatest care always turned to the direct interests of the Church. Before all else his efforts were directed to the promotion of piety among the faithful, and he advised all (Decr. S. Congr. Concil., December 20th, 1905) to receive Holy Communion frequently and, if possible, daily, dispensing the sick from the obligation of fasting to the extent of enabling them to receive Holy Communion twice each month, and even more often (Decr. S. Congr. Rit., December 7th, 1906). Finally, by the Decree “Quam Singulari” (August 15th, 1910), he recommended that the first Communion of children should not be deferred too long after they had reached the age of reason or discretion.

It was by his desire that the Eucharistic Congress of 1905 was held at Rome, while he enhanced the solemnity of subsequent Eucharistic congresses by sending to them cardinal legates. The fiftieth anniversary of the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception was an occasion of which he took advantage to enjoin devotion to Mary (Encyclical “Ad illum diem”, February 2nd, 1904); and the Marian Congress, together with the coronation of the image of the Immaculate Conception in the choir of St. Peter's, was a worthy culmination of the solemnity.

As a simple chaplain, a bishop, and a patriarch, Giuseppe Sarto was a promoter of sacred music; as pope, he published, on November 22nd, 1903, a Motu Proprio on sacred music in churches, and at the same time ordered the authentic Gregorian Chant to be used everywhere, while he caused the choir books to be printed with the Vatican font of type under the supervision of a special commission. In the Encyclical “Acerbo nimis” (April 15th, 1905) he treated of the necessity of catechetical instruction, not only for children, but also for adults, giving detailed rules, especially in relation to suitable schools for the religious instruction of students of the public schools, and even of the universities. He caused a new catechism to be published for the Diocese of Rome.

As bishop, his chief care had been for the formation of the clergy, and in harmony with this purpose, an Encyclical to the Italian episcopate (July 28th, 1906) enjoined the greatest caution in the ordination of priests, calling the attention of the bishops to the fact that there was frequently manifested among the younger clergy a spirit of independence that was a menace to ecclesiastical discipline. In the interest of Italian seminaries, he ordered them to be visited by the bishops, and promulgated a new order of studies, which had been in use for several years at the Roman Seminary. On the other hand, as the dioceses of Central and of Southern Italy were so small that their respective seminaries could not prosper, Pius X established the regional seminary which is common to the sees of a given region; and, as a consequence, many small, deficient seminaries were closed.

For the more efficient guidance of souls, by a Decree of the Sacred Congregation of the Consistory (August 20th, 1910), instructions were given concerning the removal of parish priests, as administrative acts, when such procedure was required by grave circumstances that might not constitute a canonical cause for the removal. At the time of the jubilee in honor of his ordination as a priest, he addressed a letter full of affection and wise council to all the clergy. By a Decree (November 18th, 1910), the clergy were been barred from the temporal administration of social organizations, which was often a cause of grave difficulties.

Reading From an Encyclical of Pope St. Pius X
E Supremi Apostolatus, 1903, On Restoring All Things in Christ
Who can fail to see that society is at the present time, more than in any past age, suffering from a terrible and deep-rooted malady which, developing every day and eating into its inmost being, is dragging it to destruction? You understand, Venerable Brethren, what this disease is — apostasy from God, than which in truth nothing is more allied with ruin, according to the word of the Prophet: “For behold they that go far from Thee shall perish” (Psalm 72:17) ... We must hasten to find a remedy for this great evil ... We take courage in Him who strengthens Us; and setting Ourselves to work, relying on the power of God, We proclaim that We have no other program in the Supreme Pontificate but that “of restoring all things in Christ” (Ephesians 1:10), so that “Christ may be all and in all” (Colossians 3:2) ... .” In undertaking this glorious task, We are greatly quickened by the certainty that We shall have all of you, Venerable Brethren, as generous co-operators. Did We doubt it We should have to regard you, unjustly, as either unconscious or heedless of that sacrilegious war which is now, almost everywhere, stirred up and fomented against God. For in truth, “The nations have raged and the peoples imagined vain things” (Psalm 2:1), against their Creator, so frequent is the cry of the enemies of God: “Depart from us” (Job 21:14). And as might be expected we find extinguished among the majority of men all respect for the Eternal God, and no regard paid in the manifestations of public and private life to the Supreme Will — nay, every effort and every artifice is used to destroy utterly the memory and the knowledge of God.

When all this is considered there is good reason to fear lest this great perversity may be as it were a foretaste, and perhaps the beginning of those evils which are reserved for the last days; and that there may be already in the world the “Son of Perdition” of whom the Apostle speaks (2 Thessalonians 2:3). Such, in truth, is the audacity and the wrath employed everywhere in persecuting religion, in combating the dogmas of the faith, in brazen effort to uproot and destroy all relations between man and the Divinity! While, on the other hand, and this according to the same apostle is the distinguishing mark of Antichrist, man has with infinite temerity put himself in the place of God, raising himself above all that is called God; in such wise that although he cannot utterly extinguish in himself all knowledge of God, he has contemned God's majesty and, as it were, made of the universe a temple wherein he himself is to be adored. “He sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself as if he were God” (2 Thessalonians 2:2). Truly no one of sound mind can doubt the issue of this contest between man and the Most High. Man, abusing his liberty, can violate the right and the majesty of the Creator of the Universe; but the victory will ever be with God.

Meditation
From the outset of the election of Pius X, public opinion had it that this new Pope was a religious Pope, in contrast to his immediate predecessor, Leo XIII. Pius X brought to the See of Peter a spirit quite different from that of his predecessor. For all that the latter delighted in those subtle political and diplomatic maneuvers, Pius X had no taste at all for them, since he would in no way bow to the compromises necessarily implicated in such dealings; he had taken the firm decision of concentrating himself on the problems concerning the apostolate and Christian life. After his election, he wrote: "There are many, We are well aware, who, in their yearning for peace, that is, for the tranquility of order, band themselves into societies and parties, which they style parties of order. Hope and labor lost. For there is but one party of order capable of restoring peace in the midst of all this turmoil, and that is the party of God. It is this party, therefore, that We must advance!" Another one of St. Pius X’s encyclicals, Jucunda Sane (March 12th, 1904), is just as expressive of his concern to restore the spiritual life amongst the faithful. St. Pius X was a true pastor of souls, a pope who concerned himself first and foremost with the care of souls, a spiritual rather than a politically-wise pope. It would, however, be false to pretend that St. Pius X’s pontificate was of an exclusively religious character, where politics had no part to play whatsoever. Aventino states positively:

"Pius X’s eminently religious pontificate cannot be seen as completely detached from all political activity whatsoever. Anxious as he was in pursuing an essentially religious goal, Pius X’s actions would never be of an exclusively political nor diplomatic character; it could never be but politico-religious; and under no circumstances whatsoever would moral or religious questions be subordinate to any worldly conditions; this he proved when he fearlessly raised the cross against the politics of religious interference in France and in Spain, as well as against the Russian government’s arbitrary pretensions or claims. Far from dealing a death-blow to his courage, drawn from the everflowing supernatural sources of the Faith, the most dreadful obstacles simply served to redouble his energy and to give him the strength to rekindle everyone else’s courage.".

Prayer to Pope Pius X
O glorious St. Pius X, hammer of modernists, humble shepherd of souls and pastor of the universal Church, pray for us and for the Holy Catholic Church in this dire hour and terrible crisis.

Pray to the Lord for us, poor sinners, who have not fully appreciated your teachings and have rejected your counsels. We have seen your vision of where we are and where we are going and have shrunk back, preferring compromise with the world to the robust combat with the forces of evil that our Lord calls us to.

Intercede for your Church, that her pastors and princes will come to a profound realization of the truths enunciated in your great encyclical teachings Pascendi, Lamentabili Sane and the Oath Against Modernism. Pray that we will all see Modernism for what it is and understand what chaos it has already wrought in the Church and world.

Through your glorious intercession, may God, in His mercy, avert His wrath from us and instead turn and heal us. Let our hearts be turned that we can repent; let our minds be flooded with light that we may reject the errors of our age. May God in His mercy say that our exile is at an end, that our cup has been drunk to the dregs, that debt has been paid in full.

May we again value truth above all else, and reject the imprudent and false dichotomy that seeks to erode truth and virtue at the expense of a false tolerance of error and sin. May our sacred liturgies be ceremonies of reverence and humble adoration of our Creator. May our theology be grounded in sound principles following the path laid out by the great St. Thomas Aquinas and the perennial Tradition of the Church. May our witness for the Faith be bold and sure. May our charity be fervent, and may souls flood back into the Church, full of penitence and desires to make amends. May our leaders in the Church and State be deeply moved by the vision you set for the Church, and may God, in His great mercy, lead us towards a true repentance and restoration of the Catholic Church.

[Mention Intention]

Pray:
Glorious Pope of the Eucharist, Saint Pius X, you sought “to restore all things in Christ.” Obtain for me a true love of Jesus so that I may live only for Him. Help me to acquire a lively fervor and a sincere will to strive for sanctity of life, and that I may avail myself of the riches of the Holy Eucharist from both the Sacrifice and the Sacrament. By your love for Mary, Mother and Queen of all, inflame my heart with tender devotion to her.

Then say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
St. Pius the X pray for me and for those I love. I beg of you, by your love for Jesus and Mary, do not abandon us in our needs. May we experience the peace and joy of your holy death. Amen.

LITANY IN HONOR OF
POPE SAINT PIUS X

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 Ghost,
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,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, wise bishop,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, humble cardinal and patriarch, Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, zealous Pope for his flock,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, pious teacher,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, devoted to the poor,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, consoler of the sick,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, lover of poverty,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, humble of heart,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, faithful to duty,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, heroic in the practice of all virtues,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, filled with the spirit of self-sacrifice,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst aim to restore all things in Christ,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst bring little children to the Altar rail,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst counsel daily and frequent Communion for all,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst urge us to know and to love the Holy Mass,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst seek everywhere the diffusion of Christian teaching,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst withstand and reprove all heresies,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst teach us righteous Catholic Action,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst consecrate the faithful to the lay apostolate,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst wish to be known as a poor pastor of souls,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who answereth the prayers of those who cry to thee, Pray for us.

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 and called him to be the Vicar of Christ, grant that through his intercession we may follow in the footsteps of Jesus, Our Divine Master; and may our prayers to this saintly Pope be fruitful for life both here and hereafter, through the same Christ Our Lord. R. Amen.

FOURTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted for each day)

Theme: The Charity of Pope St. Pius X

Holy Scripture
“And I say to thee that thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).

The Life of Pope St. Pius X
In our day, the toleration of errors and the enabling of sinful acts and behaviors has become practically synonymous with charity. Pope Saint Pius X, however, would have none of it. Pope Saint Pius X makes it absolutely clear that all definitions of love and charity outside of Catholic Faith are false, blind alleys. “Catholic charity alone can lead the people in the march of progress towards the ideal civilization” (Pope Saint Pius X). He adds: “Whilst Jesus was kind to sinners and to those who went astray, He did not respect their false ideas, however sincere they might have appeared. He loved them all, but He instructed them in order to convert them and save them” (Pope Saint Pius X). “Catholic doctrine tells us that the primary duty of charity does not lie in the toleration of false ideas, however sincere they may be, nor in the theoretical or practical indifference towards the errors and vices in which we see our brethren plunged, but in the zeal for their intellectual and moral improvement as well as for their material well-being. Catholic doctrine further tells us that love for our neighbor flows from our love for God, Who is Father to all, and goal of the whole human family; and in Jesus Christ whose members we are, to the point that in doing good to others we are doing good to Jesus Christ Himself. Any other kind of love is sheer illusion, sterile and fleeting.” (Pope Saint Pius X).

Personally, Pius combined within himself a strong sense of compassion, benevolence, poverty, but also stubbornness, and a certain stiffness. He wanted to be pastor and was the only pope in the 20th century who gave Sunday sermons every week. His charity was extraordinary, filling the Vatican with refugees from the 1908 Messina quake, long before the Italian government began to act on its own. He rejected any kind of favors for his family; his brother remained a postal clerk, his favorite nephew stayed on as village priest without being promoted by the Pope, and his three sisters lived together close to poverty in Rome. He often referred to his own humble origins, taking up the causes of poor people. He would say shortly before his death: "I was born poor, I have lived poor, and I wish to die poor."

Pope Pius X believed that real peace could be achieved only through social justice and charity. He sponsored and sheltered refugees with his own resources. He wrote an encyclical encouraging Latin American bishops to improve the treatment of native people working on plantations. He worked to stop the world from going to war. When Europe entered World War I, Pius was heartbroken and said, “I would gladly give up my life to save my poor children from this ghastly scourge.”

Cardinal Mercier, in his Lenten Pastoral letter of February 2nd, 1915, wrote the following regarding Pope St. Pius X:

"The winning kindness of the Holy Father had none of the soft sentimentality of the weak. Pius X was strong—a wonderful combination of fatherly tenderness with a force of character that made him master of himself and imparted to his soul steadiness of equilibrium, filling his expression with that blending of gravity, serenity, condescension, and almost of playfulness, which so strongly attracted everyone by its charm. Pius was a man of keen insight and decision. He would not let himself be seduced by the cajoleries of reformers, naively ambitious of infusing the veins of the Church with new blood, and dreaming of modernizing her to suit the fancies and errors of up-to-date Protestantism and Rationalism. His plan once laid down, the Pope pursued it, both as a whole and in detail, in the sphere of doctrine and also of discipline, in scientific works, in the Press, in literature, in the teaching of Seminaries and of Universities and even in the persons of those whom he loved most; he pursued its fullest realization, I say, with an energy and perseverance that were sometimes disconcerting. When we survey from afar this line of action, many-sided yet one, broad, and yet penetrating, we are unanimous in our admiration of our great Pope’s force of character, and in thanking Providence for saving Christianity from an immense peril, not only of a single heresy but of all heresies combined, amalgamated together in a more or less treacherous way.”

Reading From an Encyclical of Pope St. Pius X
Pope St. Pius X, talking about how we should present the Faith to others, writes in his encyclical, E Supremi, the following:

“But in order that the desired fruit may be derived from this apostolate and this zeal for teaching, and that Christ may be formed in all, be it remembered, Venerable Brethren, that no means is more efficacious than charity. “For the Lord is not in the earthquake” (3 Kings 19:11 ) — it is vain to hope to attract souls to God by a bitter zeal. On the contrary, harm is done more often than good by taunting men harshly with their faults, and reproving their vices with sharpness … This charity, “patient and kind” (1 Corinthians 13:4), will extend itself also to those who are hostile to us and persecute us. “We are reviled,” thus did St. Paul protest, “and we bless; we are persecuted and we suffer it; we are blasphemed and we entreat” (1 Corinthians 4:12 ff). They perhaps seem to be worse than they really are. Their associations with others, prejudice, the counsel, advice and example of others, and finally an ill-advised shame have dragged them to the side of the impious; but their wills are not so depraved as they themselves would seek to make people believe. Who will prevent us from hoping that the flame of Christian charity may dispel the darkness from their minds and bring to them light and the peace of God? It may be that the fruit of our labors may be slow in coming, but charity wearies not with waiting, knowing that God prepares His rewards not for the results of toil but for the good will shown in it.”

Meditation
For a pope who was known to have a pretty severe attitude―who once remarked that the only way to stamp out modernism was to “beat them [the modernists] with fists”―one might find these remarks surprising. Bitterness is a popular commodity today, whether it be in political talk radio/cable news, our favorite catholic blogs, etc. Everyone loves seeing what the latest person had to say, or how they rallied the troops against this or that latest evil. While this makes people feel good, it often doesn’t make a difference, and Pope St. Pius X helps us understand why.

God rarely manifests himself in anger. Even when He does, it is always as limited as possible. Why? Ultimately, God wants us to follow him. You won’t get someone to follow you by constantly displaying your anger and outrage at their conducts and beliefs. Sometimes that outrage is necessary, but it should only be used sparingly and to make your point. After that, it should be dropped.

This is because we never have all the facts in front of us. We can’t read minds and souls. Even those who believe in the worst things might not be the worst of people in doing so. When we don’t know all the facts, charity and prudence is the best course. When you adopt that course, you might not succeed in “converting” the individual to your point of view. But you will at least get a chance to present that message! Once you’ve done that, who knows what might happen in the future?

When one gives St. Pius X a serious hearing, his words are hard. They would probably entail the shuttering of most blogs and websites, especially a lot of the popular ones. Yet Holy Mother Church has canonized Giuseppe Sarto for a reason. As a man with extensive experience as a parish priest (a rarity in the papacy), he had a keen insight into how to reach people with the Gospel.

Prayer to Pope Pius X
O glorious St. Pius X, hammer of modernists, humble shepherd of souls and pastor of the universal Church, pray for us and for the Holy Catholic Church in this dire hour and terrible crisis.

Pray to the Lord for us, poor sinners, who have not fully appreciated your teachings and have rejected your counsels. We have seen your vision of where we are and where we are going and have shrunk back, preferring compromise with the world to the robust combat with the forces of evil that our Lord calls us to.

Intercede for your Church, that her pastors and princes will come to a profound realization of the truths enunciated in your great encyclical teachings Pascendi, Lamentabili Sane and the Oath Against Modernism. Pray that we will all see Modernism for what it is and understand what chaos it has already wrought in the Church and world.

Through your glorious intercession, may God, in His mercy, avert His wrath from us and instead turn and heal us. Let our hearts be turned that we can repent; let our minds be flooded with light that we may reject the errors of our age. May God in His mercy say that our exile is at an end, that our cup has been drunk to the dregs, that debt has been paid in full.

May we again value truth above all else, and reject the imprudent and false dichotomy that seeks to erode truth and virtue at the expense of a false tolerance of error and sin. May our sacred liturgies be ceremonies of reverence and humble adoration of our Creator. May our theology be grounded in sound principles following the path laid out by the great St. Thomas Aquinas and the perennial Tradition of the Church. May our witness for the Faith be bold and sure. May our charity be fervent, and may souls flood back into the Church, full of penitence and desires to make amends. May our leaders in the Church and State be deeply moved by the vision you set for the Church, and may God, in His great mercy, lead us towards a true repentance and restoration of the Catholic Church.

[Mention Intention]

Pray:
Glorious Pope of the Eucharist, Saint Pius X, you sought “to restore all things in Christ.” Obtain for me a true love of Jesus so that I may live only for Him. Help me to acquire a lively fervor and a sincere will to strive for sanctity of life, and that I may avail myself of the riches of the Holy Eucharist from both the Sacrifice and the Sacrament. By your love for Mary, Mother and Queen of all, inflame my heart with tender devotion to her.

Then say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
St. Pius the X pray for me and for those I love. I beg of you, by your love for Jesus and Mary, do not abandon us in our needs. May we experience the peace and joy of your holy death. Amen.

LITANY IN HONOR OF
POPE SAINT PIUS X

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 Ghost,
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,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, wise bishop,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, humble cardinal and patriarch, Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, zealous Pope for his flock,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, pious teacher,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, devoted to the poor,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, consoler of the sick,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, lover of poverty,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, humble of heart,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, faithful to duty,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, heroic in the practice of all virtues,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, filled with the spirit of self-sacrifice,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst aim to restore all things in Christ,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst bring little children to the Altar rail,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst counsel daily and frequent Communion for all,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst urge us to know and to love the Holy Mass,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst seek everywhere the diffusion of Christian teaching,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst withstand and reprove all heresies,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst teach us righteous Catholic Action,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst consecrate the faithful to the lay apostolate,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst wish to be known as a poor pastor of souls,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who answereth the prayers of those who cry to thee, Pray for us.

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 and called him to be the Vicar of Christ, grant that through his intercession we may follow in the footsteps of Jesus, Our Divine Master; and may our prayers to this saintly Pope be fruitful for life both here and hereafter, through the same Christ Our Lord. R. Amen.

FIFTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted for each day)

Theme: Warrior of Truth Against Error

Holy Scripture
“And I say to thee that thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).

The Life of Pope St. Pius X
Pope Pius was a Marian Pope, whose encyclical Ad Diem Illum expresses his desire through Mary to renew all things in Christ, which he had defined as his motto in his first encyclical. Pius believed that there is no surer or more direct road than by Mary to achieve this goal. His most outstanding achievements followed from the two great devotions he sought to renew in increased measure.

One was to the Blessed Mother. The Golden Jubilee of the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception provided Pius with the opportunity to urge this intensified devotion in his second encyclical, issued in 1904. The encyclical was as beautiful and inspiring as Saint Louis Marie de Montfort’s True Devotion to The Blessed Virgin. (In fact the language of both writings is strikingly similar, which is not surprising, since Saint Pius highly esteemed True Devotion and granted an Apostolic Blessing to all who read it.) His Holiness said, “There is no surer or easier way than Mary in uniting all men with Christ….It is necessary to recognize that upon Her, as upon the noblest after Christ, is built the Faith of all ages….It is chiefly through Her that a way has been opened to obtain the knowledge of Christ; as no one ever knew so profoundly as she did, so no one can be more competent as a guide and teacher in knowing Christ.”

Reading from an Encyclical of Pope St. Pius X
Ad Diem Illum Laetissimum (On the Immaculate Conception)

Is not Mary the Mother of Christ? Then she is our Mother also. And we must in truth hold that Christ, the Word made Flesh, is also the Savior of mankind. He had a physical body like that of any other man: and again as Savior of the human family, he had a spiritual and mystical body, the society, namely, of those who believe in Christ. “We are many, but one sole body in Christ” (Romans 12:5).

Now the Blessed Virgin did not conceive the Eternal Son of God merely in order that He might be made man taking His human nature from her, but also in order that by means of the nature assumed from her He might be the Redeemer of men. For which reason the Angel said to the Shepherds: “Today there is born to you a Savior who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). Wherefore in the same holy bosom of his most chaste Mother Christ took to Himself flesh, and united to Himself the spiritual body formed by those who were to believe in Him.

Hence Mary, carrying the Savior within her, may be said to have also carried all those whose life was contained in the life of the Savior. Therefore all we who are united to Christ, and as the Apostle says are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones (Ephesians 5:30), have issued from the womb of Mary like a body united to its head. Hence, though in a spiritual and mystical fashion, we are all children of Mary, and she is Mother of us all. Mother, spiritually indeed, but truly Mother of the members of Christ, who are we (St. Augustine, L. de S. Virginitate, c. 6).

If then the most Blessed Virgin is the Mother at once of God and men, who can doubt that she will work with all diligence to procure that Christ, Head of the Body of the Church (Colossians 1:18), may transfuse His gifts into us, His members, and above all that of knowing Him and living through Him (I John 4:9)?

Moreover it was not only the prerogative of the Most Holy Mother to have furnished the material of His flesh to the Only Son of God, Who was to be born with human members (S. Bede Ven. L. Iv. in Luc. xl.), of which material should be prepared the Victim for the salvation of men; but hers was also the office of tending and nourishing that Victim, and at the appointed time presenting Him for the sacrifice. Hence that uninterrupted community of life and labors of the Son and the Mother, so that of both might have been uttered the words of the Psalmist “My life is consumed in sorrow and my years in groans” (Psalm 30:11).

When the supreme hour of the Son came, beside the Cross of Jesus there stood Mary His Mother, not merely occupied in contemplating the cruel spectacle, but rejoicing that her Only Son was offered for the salvation of mankind, and so entirely participating in His Passion, that if it had been possible she would have gladly borne all the torments that her Son bore (St. Bonaventure, 1. Sent d. 48, ad Litt. dub. 4). And from this community of will and suffering between Christ and Mary she merited to become most worthily the Reparatrix of the lost world (Eadmeri Mon. De Excellentia Virg. Mariae, c. 9) and Dispensatrix of all the gifts that Our Savior purchased for us by His Death and by His Blood.

It cannot, of course, be denied that the dispensation of these treasures is the particular and peculiar right of Jesus Christ, for they are the exclusive fruit of His Death, who by His nature is the mediator between God and man. Nevertheless, by this companionship in sorrow and suffering already mentioned between the Mother and the Son, it has been allowed to the august Virgin to be the most powerful mediatrix and advocate of the whole world with her Divine Son (Pius IX, Ineffabilis).

The source, then, is Jesus Christ “of whose fullness we have all received” (John 1:16), “from whom the whole body, being compacted and fitly joined together by what every joint supplieth, according to the operation in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in charity” (Ephesians iv., 16). But Mary, as St. Bernard justly remarks, is the channel (Serm. de temp on the Nativ. B. V. De Aquaeductu n. 4); or, if you will, the connecting portion the function of which is to join the body to the head and to transmit to the body the influences and volitions of the head ― We mean the neck. Yes, says St. Bernardine of Sienna, “she is the neck of Our Head, by which He communicates to His mystical body all spiritual gifts” (Quadrag. de Evangel. aetern. Serm. x., a. 3, c. iii.).

We are then, it will be seen, very far from attributing to the Mother of God a productive power of grace – a power which belongs to God alone. Yet, since Mary carries it over all in holiness and union with Jesus Christ, and has been associated by Jesus Christ in the work of redemption, she merits for us de congruo, in the language of theologians, what Jesus Christ merits for us de condigno, and she is the supreme Minister of the distribution of graces. Jesus “sitteth on the right hand of the majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:6). Mary sitteth at the right hand of her Son ― a refuge so secure and a help so trusty against all dangers that we have nothing to fear or to despair of under her guidance, her patronage, her protection.

Prayer to Pope Pius X
O glorious St. Pius X, hammer of modernists, humble shepherd of souls and pastor of the universal Church, pray for us and for the Holy Catholic Church in this dire hour and terrible crisis.

Pray to the Lord for us, poor sinners, who have not fully appreciated your teachings and have rejected your counsels. We have seen your vision of where we are and where we are going and have shrunk back, preferring compromise with the world to the robust combat with the forces of evil that our Lord calls us to.

Intercede for your Church, that her pastors and princes will come to a profound realization of the truths enunciated in your great encyclical teachings Pascendi, Lamentabili Sane and the Oath Against Modernism. Pray that we will all see Modernism for what it is and understand what chaos it has already wrought in the Church and world.

Through your glorious intercession, may God, in His mercy, avert His wrath from us and instead turn and heal us. Let our hearts be turned that we can repent; let our minds be flooded with light that we may reject the errors of our age. May God in His mercy say that our exile is at an end, that our cup has been drunk to the dregs, that debt has been paid in full.

May we again value truth above all else, and reject the imprudent and false dichotomy that seeks to erode truth and virtue at the expense of a false tolerance of error and sin. May our sacred liturgies be ceremonies of reverence and humble adoration of our Creator. May our theology be grounded in sound principles following the path laid out by the great St. Thomas Aquinas and the perennial Tradition of the Church. May our witness for the Faith be bold and sure. May our charity be fervent, and may souls flood back into the Church, full of penitence and desires to make amends. May our leaders in the Church and State be deeply moved by the vision you set for the Church, and may God, in His great mercy, lead us towards a true repentance and restoration of the Catholic Church.

[Mention Intention]

Pray:
Glorious Pope of the Eucharist, Saint Pius X, you sought “to restore all things in Christ.” Obtain for me a true love of Jesus so that I may live only for Him. Help me to acquire a lively fervor and a sincere will to strive for sanctity of life, and that I may avail myself of the riches of the Holy Eucharist from both the Sacrifice and the Sacrament. By your love for Mary, Mother and Queen of all, inflame my heart with tender devotion to her.

Then say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
St. Pius the X pray for me and for those I love. I beg of you, by your love for Jesus and Mary, do not abandon us in our needs. May we experience the peace and joy of your holy death. Amen.

LITANY IN HONOR OF
POPE SAINT PIUS X

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 Ghost,
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,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, wise bishop,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, humble cardinal and patriarch, Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, zealous Pope for his flock,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, pious teacher,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, devoted to the poor,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, consoler of the sick,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, lover of poverty,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, humble of heart,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, faithful to duty,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, heroic in the practice of all virtues,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, filled with the spirit of self-sacrifice,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst aim to restore all things in Christ,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst bring little children to the Altar rail,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst counsel daily and frequent Communion for all,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst urge us to know and to love the Holy Mass,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst seek everywhere the diffusion of Christian teaching,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst withstand and reprove all heresies,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst teach us righteous Catholic Action,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst consecrate the faithful to the lay apostolate,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst wish to be known as a poor pastor of souls,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who answereth the prayers of those who cry to thee, Pray for us.

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 and called him to be the Vicar of Christ, grant that through his intercession we may follow in the footsteps of Jesus, Our Divine Master; and may our prayers to this saintly Pope be fruitful for life both here and hereafter, through the same Christ Our Lord. R. Amen.

SIXTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted for each day)

Theme: A Marian Pope

Holy Scripture
“And I say to thee that thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).

The Life of Pope St. Pius X
Pope Pius was a Marian Pope, whose encyclical Ad Diem Illum expresses his desire through Mary to renew all things in Christ, which he had defined as his motto in his first encyclical. Pius believed that there is no surer or more direct road than by Mary to achieve this goal. His most outstanding achievements followed from the two great devotions he sought to renew in increased measure.

One was to the Blessed Mother. The Golden Jubilee of the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception provided Pius with the opportunity to urge this intensified devotion in his second encyclical, issued in 1904. The encyclical was as beautiful and inspiring as Saint Louis Marie de Montfort’s True Devotion to The Blessed Virgin. (In fact the language of both writings is strikingly similar, which is not surprising, since Saint Pius highly esteemed True Devotion and granted an Apostolic Blessing to all who read it.) His Holiness said, “There is no surer or easier way than Mary in uniting all men with Christ….It is necessary to recognize that upon Her, as upon the noblest after Christ, is built the Faith of all ages….It is chiefly through Her that a way has been opened to obtain the knowledge of Christ; as no one ever knew so profoundly as she did, so no one can be more competent as a guide and teacher in knowing Christ.”

Reading From an Encyclical of Pope St. Pius X
Is not Mary the Mother of Christ? Then she is our Mother also. And we must in truth hold that Christ, the Word made Flesh, is also the Savior of mankind. He had a physical body like that of any other man: and again as Savior of the human family, he had a spiritual and mystical body, the society, namely, of those who believe in Christ. “We are many, but one sole body in Christ” (Romans 12:5).

Now the Blessed Virgin did not conceive the Eternal Son of God merely in order that He might be made man taking His human nature from her, but also in order that by means of the nature assumed from her He might be the Redeemer of men. For which reason the Angel said to the Shepherds: “Today there is born to you a Savior who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). Wherefore in the same holy bosom of his most chaste Mother Christ took to Himself flesh, and united to Himself the spiritual body formed by those who were to believe in Him.

Hence Mary, carrying the Savior within her, may be said to have also carried all those whose life was contained in the life of the Savior. Therefore all we who are united to Christ, and as the Apostle says are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones (Ephesians 5:30), have issued from the womb of Mary like a body united to its head. Hence, though in a spiritual and mystical fashion, we are all children of Mary, and she is Mother of us all. Mother, spiritually indeed, but truly Mother of the members of Christ, who are we (St. Augustine, L. de S. Virginitate, c. 6).

If then the most Blessed Virgin is the Mother at once of God and men, who can doubt that she will work with all diligence to procure that Christ, Head of the Body of the Church (Colossians 1:18), may transfuse His gifts into us, His members, and above all that of knowing Him and living through Him (I John 4:9)?

Moreover it was not only the prerogative of the Most Holy Mother to have furnished the material of His flesh to the Only Son of God, Who was to be born with human members (S. Bede Ven. L. Iv. in Luc. xl.), of which material should be prepared the Victim for the salvation of men; but hers was also the office of tending and nourishing that Victim, and at the appointed time presenting Him for the sacrifice. Hence that uninterrupted community of life and labors of the Son and the Mother, so that of both might have been uttered the words of the Psalmist “My life is consumed in sorrow and my years in groans” (Psalm 30:11).

When the supreme hour of the Son came, beside the Cross of Jesus there stood Mary His Mother, not merely occupied in contemplating the cruel spectacle, but rejoicing that her Only Son was offered for the salvation of mankind, and so entirely participating in His Passion, that if it had been possible she would have gladly borne all the torments that her Son bore (St. Bonaventure, 1. Sent d. 48, ad Litt. dub. 4). And from this community of will and suffering between Christ and Mary she merited to become most worthily the Reparatrix of the lost world (Eadmeri Mon. De Excellentia Virg. Mariae, c. 9) and Dispensatrix of all the gifts that Our Savior purchased for us by His Death and by His Blood.

It cannot, of course, be denied that the dispensation of these treasures is the particular and peculiar right of Jesus Christ, for they are the exclusive fruit of His Death, who by His nature is the mediator between God and man. Nevertheless, by this companionship in sorrow and suffering already mentioned between the Mother and the Son, it has been allowed to the august Virgin to be the most powerful mediatrix and advocate of the whole world with her Divine Son (Pius IX, Ineffabilis).

The source, then, is Jesus Christ “of whose fullness we have all received” (John 1:16), “from whom the whole body, being compacted and fitly joined together by what every joint supplieth, according to the operation in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in charity” (Ephesians iv., 16). But Mary, as St. Bernard justly remarks, is the channel (Serm. de temp on the Nativ. B. V. De Aquaeductu n. 4); or, if you will, the connecting portion the function of which is to join the body to the head and to transmit to the body the influences and volitions of the head ― We mean the neck. Yes, says St. Bernardine of Sienna, “she is the neck of Our Head, by which He communicates to His mystical body all spiritual gifts” (Quadrag. de Evangel. aetern. Serm. x., a. 3, c. iii.).

We are then, it will be seen, very far from attributing to the Mother of God a productive power of grace – a power which belongs to God alone. Yet, since Mary carries it over all in holiness and union with Jesus Christ, and has been associated by Jesus Christ in the work of redemption, she merits for us de congruo, in the language of theologians, what Jesus Christ merits for us de condigno, and she is the supreme Minister of the distribution of graces. Jesus “sitteth on the right hand of the majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:6). Mary sitteth at the right hand of her Son ― a refuge so secure and a help so trusty against all dangers that we have nothing to fear or to despair of under her guidance, her patronage, her protection.

Meditation
True devotion to Our Lady is interior; that is, it comes from the mind and the heart. It flows from the esteem we have for her, the high idea we have formed of her greatness, and the love which we have for her.

It is tender; that is, full of confidence in her, like a child’s confidence in his loving mother. This confidence makes the soul have recourse to her in all its bodily and mental necessities, with much simplicity, trust and tenderness. It implores the aid of its good Mother at all times, in all places and above all things: in its doubts, that it may be enlightened; in its wanderings, that it may be brought into the right path; in its temptations, that it may be supported; in its weaknesses, that it may be strengthened; in its falls, that it may be lifted up; in its discouragements, that it may be cheered; in its scruples, that they may be taken away; in the crosses, toils and disappointments of life, that it may be consoled under them. In a word, in all the evils of body and mind, the soul ordinarily has recourse to Mary, without fear of annoying her or displeasing Jesus Christ.

True devotion to Our Lady is holy; that is to say, it leads the soul to avoid sin and to imitate the virtues of the Blessed Virgin, particularly her profound humility, her lively Faith, her blind obedience, her continual prayer, her universal mortification, her divine purity, her ardent charity, her heroic patience, her angelic sweetness and her divine wisdom. These are the ten principal virtues of the most holy Virgin.

True devotion to Our Lady is constant. It confirms the soul in good, and does not let it easily abandon its spiritual exercises. It makes it courageous in opposing the world in its fashions and maxims, the flesh in its weariness and passions, and the devil in his temptations; so that a person truly devout to our Blessed Lady is neither changeable, irritable, scrupulous nor timid. It is not that such a person does not fall, or change sometimes in the sensible feeling of devotion. But when he falls, he rises again by stretching out his hand to his good Mother. When he loses the taste and relish of devotion, he does not become disturbed because of that; for the just and faithful client of Mary lives by the Faith (Hebrews 10:38) of Jesus and Mary, and not by natural sentiment.

Lastly, true devotion to Our Lady is disinterested; that is to say, it inspires the soul not to seek itself but only God, and God in His holy Mother. A true client of Mary does not serve that august Queen from a spirit of lucre and interest, nor for his own good, whether temporal or eternal, corporal or spiritual, but exclusively because she deserves to be served, and God alone in her. He does not love Mary just because she obtains favors for him, or because he hopes she will, but solely because she is so worthy of love. It is on this account that he loves and serves her as faithfully in his disgusts and dryness as in his sweetness and sensible fervor. He loves her as much on Calvary as at the marriage of Cana.

Oh, how agreeable and precious in the eyes of God and of His holy Mother is such a client of our Blessed Lady, who has no self-seeking in his service of her! But in these days how rare is such a sight! It is that it may be less rare that I have taken my pen in hand to put on paper what I have taught with good results, in public and in private, during my missions for many years.

Prayer to Pope Pius X
O glorious St. Pius X, hammer of modernists, humble shepherd of souls and pastor of the universal Church, pray for us and for the Holy Catholic Church in this dire hour and terrible crisis.

Pray to the Lord for us, poor sinners, who have not fully appreciated your teachings and have rejected your counsels. We have seen your vision of where we are and where we are going and have shrunk back, preferring compromise with the world to the robust combat with the forces of evil that our Lord calls us to.

Intercede for your Church, that her pastors and princes will come to a profound realization of the truths enunciated in your great encyclical teachings Pascendi, Lamentabili Sane and the Oath Against Modernism. Pray that we will all see Modernism for what it is and understand what chaos it has already wrought in the Church and world.

Through your glorious intercession, may God, in His mercy, avert His wrath from us and instead turn and heal us. Let our hearts be turned that we can repent; let our minds be flooded with light that we may reject the errors of our age. May God in His mercy say that our exile is at an end, that our cup has been drunk to the dregs, that debt has been paid in full.

May we again value truth above all else, and reject the imprudent and false dichotomy that seeks to erode truth and virtue at the expense of a false tolerance of error and sin. May our sacred liturgies be ceremonies of reverence and humble adoration of our Creator. May our theology be grounded in sound principles following the path laid out by the great St. Thomas Aquinas and the perennial Tradition of the Church. May our witness for the Faith be bold and sure. May our charity be fervent, and may souls flood back into the Church, full of penitence and desires to make amends. May our leaders in the Church and State be deeply moved by the vision you set for the Church, and may God, in His great mercy, lead us towards a true repentance and restoration of the Catholic Church.

[Mention Intention]

Pray:
Glorious Pope of the Eucharist, Saint Pius X, you sought “to restore all things in Christ.” Obtain for me a true love of Jesus so that I may live only for Him. Help me to acquire a lively fervor and a sincere will to strive for sanctity of life, and that I may avail myself of the riches of the Holy Eucharist from both the Sacrifice and the Sacrament. By your love for Mary, Mother and Queen of all, inflame my heart with tender devotion to her.

Then say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
St. Pius the X pray for me and for those I love. I beg of you, by your love for Jesus and Mary, do not abandon us in our needs. May we experience the peace and joy of your holy death. Amen.

LITANY IN HONOR OF
POPE SAINT PIUS X

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 Ghost,
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,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, wise bishop,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, humble cardinal and patriarch, Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, zealous Pope for his flock,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, pious teacher,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, devoted to the poor,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, consoler of the sick,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, lover of poverty,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, humble of heart,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, faithful to duty,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, heroic in the practice of all virtues,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, filled with the spirit of self-sacrifice,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst aim to restore all things in Christ,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst bring little children to the Altar rail,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst counsel daily and frequent Communion for all,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst urge us to know and to love the Holy Mass,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst seek everywhere the diffusion of Christian teaching,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst withstand and reprove all heresies,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst teach us righteous Catholic Action,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst consecrate the faithful to the lay apostolate,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst wish to be known as a poor pastor of souls,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who answereth the prayers of those who cry to thee, Pray for us.

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 and called him to be the Vicar of Christ, grant that through his intercession we may follow in the footsteps of Jesus, Our Divine Master; and may our prayers to this saintly Pope be fruitful for life both here and hereafter, through the same Christ Our Lord. R. Amen.

SEVENTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted for each day)

Theme: The Rebuilder Pope, The Maintenance Pope

Holy Scripture
“And I say to thee that thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).

The Life of Pope St. Pius X
In his first Encyclical, wishing to develop his program to some extent, he said that the motto of his pontificate would be “Instaurare Omnia in Christo” ― which was inspired by the text: “That He might make known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure, which He hath purposed in Him, in the dispensation of the fullness of times, to re-establish all things in Christ, that are in Heaven and on Earth, in Him” (Ephesians 1:9-10).

Accordingly, his greatest care always turned to the direct interests of the Church. Before all else his efforts were directed to the promotion of piety among the faithful, and he advised all (Decr. S. Congr. Concil., December 20th, 1905) to receive Holy Communion frequently and, if possible, daily, dispensing the sick from the obligation of fasting to the extent of enabling them to receive Holy Communion twice each month, and even more often (Decr. S. Congr. Rit., December 7th, 1906). Finally, by the Decree “Quam Singulari” (August 15th, 1910), he recommended that the first Communion of children should not be deferred too long after they had reached the age of reason or discretion.

It was by his desire that the Eucharistic Congress of 1905 was held at Rome, while he enhanced the solemnity of subsequent Eucharistic congresses by sending to them cardinal legates. The fiftieth anniversary of the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception was an occasion of which he took advantage to enjoin devotion to Mary (Encyclical “Ad illum diem”, February 2nd, 1904); and the Marian Congress, together with the coronation of the image of the Immaculate Conception in the choir of St. Peter’s, was a worthy culmination of the solemnity.

As a simple chaplain, a bishop, and a patriarch, Giuseppe Sarto was a promoter of sacred music; as pope, he published, on November 22nd, 1903, a Motu Proprio on sacred music in churches, and at the same time ordered the authentic Gregorian Chant to be used everywhere, while he caused the choir books to be printed with the Vatican font of type under the supervision of a special commission. In the Encyclical “Acerbo nimis” (April 15th, 1905) he treated of the necessity of catechetical instruction, not only for children, but also for adults, giving detailed rules, especially in relation to suitable schools for the religious instruction of students of the public schools, and even of the universities. He caused a new catechism to be published for the Diocese of Rome.

As bishop, his chief care had been for the formation of the clergy, and in harmony with this purpose, an Encyclical to the Italian episcopate (July 28th, 1906) enjoined the greatest caution in the ordination of priests, calling the attention of the bishops to the fact that there was frequently manifested among the younger clergy a spirit of independence that was a menace to ecclesiastical discipline. In the interest of Italian seminaries, he ordered them to be visited by the bishops, and promulgated a new order of studies, which had been in use for several years at the Roman Seminary. On the other hand, as the dioceses of Central and of Southern Italy were so small that their respective seminaries could not prosper, Pius X established the regional seminary which is common to the sees of a given region; and, as a consequence, many small, deficient seminaries were closed.

For the more efficient guidance of souls, by a Decree of the Sacred Congregation of the Consistory (August 20th, 1910), instructions were given concerning the removal of parish priests, as administrative acts, when such procedure was required by grave circumstances that might not constitute a canonical cause for the removal. At the time of the jubilee in honor of his ordination as a priest, he addressed a letter full of affection and wise council to all the clergy. By a Decree (November 18th, 1910), the clergy were been barred from the temporal administration of social organizations, which was often a cause of grave difficulties.

The pope has at heart above all things the purity of the Faith. On various occasions, as in the Encyclical regarding the centenary of Saint Gregory the Great, Pius X had pointed out the dangers of certain new theological methods, which, based upon Agnosticism and upon Immanentism, necessarily divest the doctrine of the Faith of its teachings of objective, absolute, and immutable truth, and all the more, when those methods are associated with subversive criticism of the Holy Scriptures and of the origins of Christianity.

Reading From an Encyclical of Pope St. Pius X
In his first encyclical, E Supremi Apostolatus, St. Pius X declares:

We take courage in Him Who strengthens Us; and setting Ourselves to work, relying on the power of God, We proclaim that we have no other program in the Supreme Pontificate but that of “restoring all things in Christ” (Eph. 1:10), so that “Christ may be all and in all” (Col. 3:2)....The desire for peace is harbored in every breast, and there is no one who does not ardently invoke it. But to want peace without God is an absurdity, seeing that where God is absent thence too justice flies, and when justice is taken away, it is vain to cherish the hope of peace. “Peace is the work of justice” (Is. 22:17). There are many, We are well aware, who, in their yearning for peace, that is, for the tranquility of order, band themselves into societies and parties, which they style parties of order. Hope and labor lost. For there is but one party of order capable of restoring peace in the midst of all this turmoil, and that is the party of God. It is this party, therefore, that We must advance."

Meditation
His Holiness Pope Pius X issued his first encyclical letter on October 4th, 1903, recalling “with what tears and urgent prayers” he had tried “to fend off the formidable burden of the Papacy.” “We were terrified beyond all else,” He explained, “by the disastrous state of human society today. For who can fail to see that society at the present time, more than in any age past, is suffering from a terrible and deep-rooted malady, which, developing every day and eating into its inmost being, is dragging it to destruction?” One senses in these remarks a foreknowledge of World War I, which immediately was to follow the saint’s death, and the coming of still greater horrors, which were revealed at Fatima fourteen years later. “You understand, Venerable Brethren, what this disease is: apostasy from God…”

His language becomes more prophetic: “All who consider these matters have a right to fear that such perversion of mind may be the beginning of the evils predicted for the end of Time — their first contact, as it were, with the world — and that in very truth the son of perdition, of whom the Apostle speaks, may have already appeared in our midst. . .Without any doubt there is a desire in all hearts for peace….But how foolish is he who seeks this peace apart from God; for if God be driven out, justice is banished, and once justice fails, all hope of peace is lost. . . We know well that there are many who…unite together on the side of order, as they call it. Alas, their hopes are vain, their labours wasted! Only those can be on the side of order and have the power to restore calm in the midst of this upheaval, who are on the side of God ... This return of nations to reverence for the Divine Majesty and Sovereignty, whatever other efforts may be made to bring it about, can only come through Jesus Christ….Now what is the way that will lead us to Jesus Christ? We have it before us: the Church. Behold, therefore, Venerable Brethren, the great work that is entrusted to Us, to Us and to you also. We have to bring back mankind, now straying far from the Wisdom of Christ, to obedience to the Church….”

By “the Church,” His Holiness did not mean some vague, unspecified entity, generally defined today by modern theologians as the boundless “spirit” of Christianity. When Bishop Delany of Manchester, New Hampshire, met in audience with Pius X, the Pope asked him how many Catholics there were in his diocese. “Their number is about one-third of the population,” the bishop replied. ‘You must strive to make the remaining two-thirds Catholics also,” said Pius, and “good Catholics” at that. Thus the Shepherd of mankind set down in his first encyclical the goal he would pursue to his last breath: “The sole aim of Our Pontificate will be to restore all things in Christ (instaurare omnia in Christo).”

In this purpose the holy Pontiff’s efforts were directed before all else at restoring piety among the faithful — the same remedy he had used so often and so effectively in the past. And toward that end his most outstanding achievements followed from the two great devotions he sought to renew in increased measure. One was to the Blessed Mother.The other great devotion, by which to restore holiness in the faithful and thus “restore all things in Christ,” was to Christ Himself, in the Blessed Sacrament.

Prayer to Pope Pius X
O glorious St. Pius X, hammer of modernists, humble shepherd of souls and pastor of the universal Church, pray for us and for the Holy Catholic Church in this dire hour and terrible crisis.

Pray to the Lord for us, poor sinners, who have not fully appreciated your teachings and have rejected your counsels. We have seen your vision of where we are and where we are going and have shrunk back, preferring compromise with the world to the robust combat with the forces of evil that our Lord calls us to.

Intercede for your Church, that her pastors and princes will come to a profound realization of the truths enunciated in your great encyclical teachings Pascendi, Lamentabili Sane and the Oath Against Modernism. Pray that we will all see Modernism for what it is and understand what chaos it has already wrought in the Church and world.

Through your glorious intercession, may God, in His mercy, avert His wrath from us and instead turn and heal us. Let our hearts be turned that we can repent; let our minds be flooded with light that we may reject the errors of our age. May God in His mercy say that our exile is at an end, that our cup has been drunk to the dregs, that debt has been paid in full.

May we again value truth above all else, and reject the imprudent and false dichotomy that seeks to erode truth and virtue at the expense of a false tolerance of error and sin. May our sacred liturgies be ceremonies of reverence and humble adoration of our Creator. May our theology be grounded in sound principles following the path laid out by the great St. Thomas Aquinas and the perennial Tradition of the Church. May our witness for the Faith be bold and sure. May our charity be fervent, and may souls flood back into the Church, full of penitence and desires to make amends. May our leaders in the Church and State be deeply moved by the vision you set for the Church, and may God, in His great mercy, lead us towards a true repentance and restoration of the Catholic Church.

[Mention Intention]

Pray:
Glorious Pope of the Eucharist, Saint Pius X, you sought “to restore all things in Christ.” Obtain for me a true love of Jesus so that I may live only for Him. Help me to acquire a lively fervor and a sincere will to strive for sanctity of life, and that I may avail myself of the riches of the Holy Eucharist from both the Sacrifice and the Sacrament. By your love for Mary, Mother and Queen of all, inflame my heart with tender devotion to her.

Then say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
St. Pius the X pray for me and for those I love. I beg of you, by your love for Jesus and Mary, do not abandon us in our needs. May we experience the peace and joy of your holy death. Amen.

LITANY IN HONOR OF
POPE SAINT PIUS X

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 Ghost,
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,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, wise bishop,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, humble cardinal and patriarch, Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, zealous Pope for his flock,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, pious teacher,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, devoted to the poor,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, consoler of the sick,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, lover of poverty,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, humble of heart,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, faithful to duty,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, heroic in the practice of all virtues,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, filled with the spirit of self-sacrifice,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst aim to restore all things in Christ,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst bring little children to the Altar rail,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst counsel daily and frequent Communion for all,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst urge us to know and to love the Holy Mass,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst seek everywhere the diffusion of Christian teaching,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst withstand and reprove all heresies,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst teach us righteous Catholic Action,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst consecrate the faithful to the lay apostolate,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst wish to be known as a poor pastor of souls,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who answereth the prayers of those who cry to thee, Pray for us.

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 and called him to be the Vicar of Christ, grant that through his intercession we may follow in the footsteps of Jesus, Our Divine Master; and may our prayers to this saintly Pope be fruitful for life both here and hereafter, through the same Christ Our Lord. R. Amen.

EIGHTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted for each day)

Theme: Strong Cardinal and Strong Pope

Holy Scripture
“And I say to thee that thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).

The Life of Pope St. Pius X
The Masons for years had been waging a relentless war on the Church in Italy, making use of such militant fanatics and revolutionaries as Socialists, Communists, and the Carbonari to do much of their evil handiwork for them. Veiling their insidious designs behind the subtle and elusive doctrine of Rationalism and Liberalism, they passed laws forbidding religious teaching in the schools. Charity was “laicized,” meaning state socialism or, more aptly, legal extortion. And, in short, everywhere and in all phases of life God and religion were being replaced by Naturalism and its unholy cult of worship called Reason.

Cardinal Sarto summarized the appalling state, in terms equally well suited to the present day, as follows: “God is driven out of politics by this theory of the separation of Church and state. He is driven out of learning by systematized doubt; from art by the degrading influence of realism; from law by a morality which is guided by the senses alone; from the schools by the abolition of religious instruction; from the Christian marriage, which they want to deprive of the grace of the sacrament; from the cottage of the poor peasant, who disdains the help of Him Who alone can made his hard life bearable; from the palaces of the rich, who no longer fear the eternal Judge Who will one day ask from them an account of their stewardship….We must fight this great contemporary error, the enthronement of man in the place of God. The solution of this, as of all other problems, lies in the Church and the teaching of the Gospel.”

His Eminence was prompt to take up this fight personally. In his first pastoral letter to the Venetians, he began by identifying the faceless enemy within — that is, those nominal Catholics who, having little or no real Faith in the Church’s teaching infallibility, would try to compromise her eternal values and principles so as to make them compatible with “Modern” science and knowledge: “Let priests be on their guard against accepting any doctrines of the Liberalism which under the pretext of good, aims at effecting a reconciliation between right and wrong….Liberal Catholics are wolves in sheep’s clothing; and therefore the true priest is bound to unmask them, and to disclose to the people entrusted to his care their dangerous snares and evil designs.” He added, “The whole body of society is sick; all of its noble parts are affected, the very sources of life have been tainted. The one refuge, the one remedy is in the Pope.” Never did he suspect that he soon would serve to provide that refuge and that, in his capacity as Pope, one of his remedies would be to require all priests in the world to take an oath against Modernism, which requirement tragically as been dispensed with in recent years.

The future Pius X, as we have seen, did not rest on mere rhetoric. He was a fighter whose actions spoke even louder then his words, and his adversaries soon were recognizing him as “the cardinal with the mailed fist in the velvet glove.” In Venice, as in Mantua, he was convinced the that proliferation of Masonically conceived subversive ideologies was successful only because of the failure of the clergy to oppose them. The truth is that many priests themselves were imbued with the Modernist spirit. If, then, Venice was to be rid of the conspiratorial enemies of God in its midst, the advocates of their perfidious doctrines first would have to be driven out of the Church.

“He began by sending a rousing letter to the priests,” relates Father McAuliffe, “in which he enunciated the fact that ignorance of Christian teaching is the greatest enemy of the Faith….” For there was, in Cardinal Sarto’s words, “too much preaching” on secular and social matters, frequently inspired by erroneous ideologies, “and too little teaching.” He insisted that simple, clear catechetical instruction be given regularly to young and old alike, in the schools and from the pulpits, and that this duty take major preference. “The people are thirsting for truth; give them what they need for their souls’ health, for this is the first duty of a priest.”

Next he focused on the seminary. A number of professors were promptly dismissed and replaced by teachers untainted by theories of Naturalism and Socialism. Courses of social studies were added to the curriculum “to meet the sophistries of the demagogues of political liberalism.” Giuseppe himself devoted much time to instructing the students. He also set up regular conferences for all the clergy. Finally, in the face of blasphemous demonstrations by Masonic lodges and their associated secret societies, he inaugurated an imposing International Eucharistic Congress to make reparation for the sacrileges against Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, whence all the life of the Church must flow.

The Patriarch, furthermore, took a direct interest in those social issues in which the people were being seriously misled. Again we quote Father McAuliffe: “Alert to the menace of Socialism, and its affinity to Communism, he warned the working people of its dangers. He was ever ready to meet the inherent challenge to the Faith. He….went into the factories and workshops, and there exposed the false principles of the agitator.” And where labor grievances — the fodder for Socialists and Communists — were found to be legitimate, he lent his influence to have them corrected in a morally proper and fair manner. A true father to his congregation, Giuseppe organized a savings bank, hospital projects, and mutual benefit societies. But above all, he taught the people self-respect and gave them a sense of dignity for their laboring class.

Reading From an Encyclical of Pope St. Pius X
Pascendi Dominici Gregis
The office divinely committed to Us of feeding the Lord's flock has especially this duty assigned to it by Christ, namely, to guard with the greatest vigilance the deposit of the Faith delivered to the saints, rejecting the profane novelties of words and oppositions of knowledge falsely so called. There has never been a time when this watchfulness of the supreme pastor was not necessary to the Catholic body; for, owing to the efforts of the enemy of the human race, there have never been lacking “men speaking perverse things” (Acts 20:30), “vain talkers and seducers” (Titus 1:10), “erring and driving into error” (2 Timothy 3:13). Still it must be confessed that the number of the enemies of the cross of Christ has in these last days increased exceedingly, who are striving, by arts, entirely new and full of subtlety, to destroy the vital energy of the Church, and, if they can, to overthrow utterly Christ's kingdom itself. Wherefore We may no longer be silent... That We make no delay in this matter is rendered necessary especially by the fact that the partisans of error are to be sought not only among the Church's open enemies; they lie hid, a thing to be deeply deplored and feared, in her very bosom and heart, and are the more mischievous, the less conspicuously they appear.

We allude, Venerable Brethren, to many who belong to the Catholic laity, nay, and this is far more lamentable, to the ranks of the priesthood itself, who, feigning a love for the Church, lacking the firm protection of philosophy and theology, nay more, thoroughly imbued with the poisonous doctrines taught by the enemies of the Church, and lost to all sense of modesty, vaunt themselves as reformers of the Church; and, forming more boldly into line of attack, assail all that is most sacred in the work of Christ, not sparing even the person of the Divine Redeemer, whom, with sacrilegious daring, they reduce to a simple, mere man ... Though they express astonishment themselves, no one can justly be surprised that We number such men among the enemies of the Church, if, leaving out of consideration the internal disposition of soul, of which God alone is the judge, he is acquainted with their tenets, their manner of speech, their conduct. Nor indeed will he err in accounting them the most pernicious of all the adversaries of the Church. For as We have said, they put their designs for her ruin into operation not from without but from within; hence, the danger is present almost in the very veins and heart of the Church, whose injury is the more certain, the more intimate is their knowledge of her.

Moreover they lay the axe not to the branches and shoots, but to the very root, that is, to the Faith and its deepest fibers. And having struck at this root of immortality, they proceed to disseminate poison through the whole tree, so that there is no part of Catholic truth from which they hold their hand, none that they do not strive to corrupt. Further, none is more skillful, none more astute than they, in the employment of a thousand noxious arts; for they double the parts of rationalist and Catholic, and this so craftily that they easily lead the unwary into error; and since audacity is their chief characteristic, there is no conclusion of any kind from which they shrink or which they do not thrust forward with pertinacity and assurance. To this must be added the fact, which indeed is well calculated to deceive souls, that they lead a life of the greatest activity, of assiduous and ardent application to every branch of learning, and that they possess, as a rule, a reputation for the strictest morality. Finally, and this almost destroys all hope of cure, their very doctrines have given such a bent to their minds, that they disdain all authority and brook no restraint; and relying upon a false conscience, they attempt to ascribe to a love of truth that which is in reality the result of pride and obstinacy.

Meditation
No Catholic worthy of the name can look on with indifference. Everything that the Christian holds dear is, it appears, gravely challenged. Our most earnest and sacred beliefs, our most ardent Christian hopes, our most cherished religious and devotional institutions―the whole divine economy of the Christian Faith―is at one stroke obliterated, and man is again rudderless on the ocean of life.

It is, indeed, startling to be told by an authority, which there is no questioning, that there are men within the bosom of the Church―and who, strange to say, wish to stay there―who would persuade us that Christ was but a mere man, who deny His resurrection, who would obliterate from the world all supernatural dealing of God with His creatures, who would exclude all revelation and all miracle, who at a single stroke would wipe out all the sacred parables and divine teachings of Jesus Christ, all the dogmatic teachings of the Church, all the sacraments, all supernaturalism, and who would degrade religion to the rank of handmaid to a blundering science-men who will tell us there has been no external revelation from God to man; that not even from the things that are seen can we conclude the existence of God; that all religion is born of a sentiment inherent in man; that solely by the evolution of this sentiment―as the tree is developed from the seed―has there been a growth of religion; that all the religious phenomena to be met with in the world’s history means nothing more than the development of this sentiment; that consequently all religions are equally true; that the wild vagaries of the human mind that have been palmed on deluded disciples as direct from heaven― everything from the excesses of the Lollards to Mormonism and Mrs. Eddy―have been equally true with the teachings and virtues of Christianity; that all have fulfilled their own legitimate and useful part in the development and evolution of society in general and of religion in particular, and consequently we suppose that they were the best religion for the time ― as the evolutionists have it ― being simply links in the chain of development.

This is indeed strange Catholic doctrine. God is unknowable. Revelation is impossible. Miracles are unphilosophical. Christ was a mere man. He died and His body rotted in a pit like that of other men. And still the expounders of these theories wish to stay in the Catholic Church and maintain their preposterous speculations. What wonder that the world should be startled! What wonder that in this country, where we have had no such vagaries broached, the news should come as a genuine surprise and should be received with commingled pity and indignation.

And what is the cause of all this commotion and new religious enlightenment? Has there been a new revelation? No. Has there been a disproof of the revelation which we have? No. Has there been a disproof of all the doctrines and tenets of Christianity? No. Has there been a disproof of even one of these doctrines? No. It is not claimed that there has been. Has there been any invention or discovery which has discredited our Christian beliefs? Again no. But the encyclical leaves no room for doubt about the reason. We are asked to cast aside the whole Christian teaching and to overturn the whole Christian fabric simply, it appears, because there are men who want to be in the forefront of a shouting, braying, shallow age. Thus for the first time in the Church’s history do we find men calling themselves Catholics who have undertaken to blot out the name of Jesus Christ as the Son of God in the true meaning of the term, who mingle blasphemy, heresy and piety in equal proportions, and who would take away the sign of man’s salvation and redemption; for if Christ be not God, as they would persuade us, what meaning can be attached to His life or to His Cross?

Prayer to Pope Pius X
O glorious St. Pius X, hammer of modernists, humble shepherd of souls and pastor of the universal Church, pray for us and for the Holy Catholic Church in this dire hour and terrible crisis.

Pray to the Lord for us, poor sinners, who have not fully appreciated your teachings and have rejected your counsels. We have seen your vision of where we are and where we are going and have shrunk back, preferring compromise with the world to the robust combat with the forces of evil that our Lord calls us to.

Intercede for your Church, that her pastors and princes will come to a profound realization of the truths enunciated in your great encyclical teachings Pascendi, Lamentabili Sane and the Oath Against Modernism. Pray that we will all see Modernism for what it is and understand what chaos it has already wrought in the Church and world.

Through your glorious intercession, may God, in His mercy, avert His wrath from us and instead turn and heal us. Let our hearts be turned that we can repent; let our minds be flooded with light that we may reject the errors of our age. May God in His mercy say that our exile is at an end, that our cup has been drunk to the dregs, that debt has been paid in full.

May we again value truth above all else, and reject the imprudent and false dichotomy that seeks to erode truth and virtue at the expense of a false tolerance of error and sin. May our sacred liturgies be ceremonies of reverence and humble adoration of our Creator. May our theology be grounded in sound principles following the path laid out by the great St. Thomas Aquinas and the perennial Tradition of the Church. May our witness for the Faith be bold and sure. May our charity be fervent, and may souls flood back into the Church, full of penitence and desires to make amends. May our leaders in the Church and State be deeply moved by the vision you set for the Church, and may God, in His great mercy, lead us towards a true repentance and restoration of the Catholic Church.

[Mention Intention]

Pray:
Glorious Pope of the Eucharist, Saint Pius X, you sought “to restore all things in Christ.” Obtain for me a true love of Jesus so that I may live only for Him. Help me to acquire a lively fervor and a sincere will to strive for sanctity of life, and that I may avail myself of the riches of the Holy Eucharist from both the Sacrifice and the Sacrament. By your love for Mary, Mother and Queen of all, inflame my heart with tender devotion to her.

Then say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
St. Pius the X pray for me and for those I love. I beg of you, by your love for Jesus and Mary, do not abandon us in our needs. May we experience the peace and joy of your holy death. Amen.

LITANY IN HONOR OF
POPE SAINT PIUS X

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 Ghost,
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,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, wise bishop,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, humble cardinal and patriarch, Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, zealous Pope for his flock,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, pious teacher,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, devoted to the poor,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, consoler of the sick,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, lover of poverty,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, humble of heart,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, faithful to duty,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, heroic in the practice of all virtues,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, filled with the spirit of self-sacrifice,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst aim to restore all things in Christ,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst bring little children to the Altar rail,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst counsel daily and frequent Communion for all,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst urge us to know and to love the Holy Mass,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst seek everywhere the diffusion of Christian teaching,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst withstand and reprove all heresies,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst teach us righteous Catholic Action,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst consecrate the faithful to the lay apostolate,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who didst wish to be known as a poor pastor of souls,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who answereth the prayers of those who cry to thee, Pray for us.

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 and called him to be the Vicar of Christ, grant that through his intercession we may follow in the footsteps of Jesus, Our Divine Master; and may our prayers to this saintly Pope be fruitful for life both here and hereafter, through the same Christ Our Lord. R. Amen.

NINTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted for each day)

Theme: A Disliked Pope and Hated Pope

Holy Scripture
“And I say to thee that thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).

The Life of Pope St. Pius X
At the beginning of time a snake slithered into a Garden called Eden. He entered quietly and quite unobtrusively, as is his wont. And he wreaked havoc on the human race. That same serpent slithered into the supernatural Garden of Eden, which is the Holy Catholic Church, in the closing years of the nineteenth century. Back in 1907, one man possessed the grace to spot the serpent. This man was a priest and a pope--St. Pius X. This saint named the serpent: Modernism.

Pope Pius X understood that the easy religion Modernism proposed would tickle the ears of modern man like the sirens that seduced Odysseus’ soldiers. Modernism drained the life from Catholicism, leaving only an embalmed Church. Under cover of becoming more ‘friendly’ to the world, Modernism would wed the Church to the world leaving its Savior as only a noble historical footnote.

The great pope would have none of this and set about purifying the Church. From Peter’s throne he hurled thunderbolts that shook the Church east to west, north to south.

The encyclical’s dense 87 pages exposed a heresy of startling depth, prompting the Pontiff to tag it “the synthesis of all heresies.” Where other errors in the Church’s history had threatened branches of the supernatural vine, Modernism attacked the trunk and root. Over and over, the Modernist partisans protested that an obscurantist Rome was once again impeding progress. A peasant pope lacked the sophistication to delicately parse anew a revised Gospel more congenial to men come of age. When the excommunicated Father Alfred Loisy (one of Modernism’s founders and most brilliant defenders) was approached at the end of his life for the Last Rites and reconciliation with the Church, he snapped: “Reconciled to the Church of Rome? To Pius X? A man more stupid and embarrassing than the Curé of Ars? No!”

Pope St. Pius X saw tha it was not just one aspect of the Faith was threatened, but the very Faith itself. Not just one aspect of God’s truth disappeared, but God himself. No wonder Pius X knew he must count no cost too great in addressing this malignancy. He mandated every one of his bishops around the globe to hunt down this heresy and crush it. The saint commanded that every priest solemnly proclaim an oath against Modernism as a prerequisite for reception of Holy Orders. That oath remained in effect till 1978, when it was thought to be an embarrassing fossil from a crouched and paranoid Catholic past, a relic of a Fortress Church. Today, echoes of Modernism resound in not a few parishes and university lecture halls. Its resuscitated apologists preach an open church that will make possible the easy dissemination of the old theological errors along with their newer variations.

During the Modernist crisis, Pope Pius X was approached by some cardinal advisers to reconsider his condemnation of the Modernist heresy. Shouldn’t he adopt a more conciliatory tone? Wouldn’t the Church be better served by fruitful dialogue? The humble yet Herculean pope famously retorted: “You want them to be treated with oil, soap and caresses. But they should be beaten with fists. In a duel, you don’t count or measure the blows, you strike as you can.” Isn’t this how we expect fathers to sound when his children are at risk? Especially Holy Fathers? Wouldn’t it be nice to think that Winston Churchill was inspired by that remonstrance of Pius X when, faced with advisers who pleaded negotiation with Hitler, he bellowed, “One does not reason with a tiger when one’s head is in his mouth!”

Reading From an Encyclical of Pope St. Pius X
In his first encyclical, E Supremi Apostolatus, St. Pius X declares:

We take courage in Him Who strengthens Us; and setting Ourselves to work, relying on the power of God, We proclaim that we have no other program in the Supreme Pontificate but that of “restoring all things in Christ” (Eph. 1:10), so that “Christ may be all and in all” (Col. 3:2)....The desire for peace is harbored in every breast, and there is no one who does not ardently invoke it. But to want peace without God is an absurdity, seeing that where God is absent thence too justice flies, and when justice is taken away, it is vain to cherish the hope of peace. “Peace is the work of justice” (Is. 22:17). There are many, We are well aware, who, in their yearning for peace, that is, for the tranquility of order, band themselves into societies and parties, which they style parties of order. Hope and labor lost. For there is but one party of order capable of restoring peace in the midst of all this turmoil, and that is the party of God. It is this party, therefore, that We must advance,....(Documents Pontificaux de Sa Sainteté St. Pie X; Ed. Courrier de Rome, 1993).

Meditation
Perhaps nowhere in the history of the Church is there a better example of a man possessed of so many of the saintly virtues—piety, charity, deep humility, pastoral zeal, and simplicity—than in one of the newest of God's elect, St. Pius X. Yet the parish priest of Tombolo, who remained a country priest at heart throughout his life, faced the problems and evils of a strife-torn world with the spiritual fervor of a crusader. The inscription on his tomb in the crypt of the basilica of St. Peter's gives the most eloquent testimony to a life spent in the service of God:

“Born poor and humble of heart,
Undaunted champion of the Catholic Faith,
Zealous to restore all things in Christ,
Crowned a holy life with a holy death.”

Prayer to Pope Pius X
O glorious St. Pius X, hammer of modernists, humble shepherd of souls and pastor of the universal Church, pray for us and for the Holy Catholic Church in this dire hour and terrible crisis.

Pray to the Lord for us, poor sinners, who have not fully appreciated your teachings and have rejected your counsels. We have seen your vision of where we are and where we are going and have shrunk back, preferring compromise with the world to the robust combat with the forces of evil that our Lord calls us to.

Intercede for your Church, that her pastors and princes will come to a profound realization of the truths enunciated in your great encyclical teachings Pascendi, Lamentabili Sane and the Oath Against Modernism. Pray that we will all see Modernism for what it is and understand what chaos it has already wrought in the Church and world.

Through your glorious intercession, may God, in His mercy, avert His wrath from us and instead turn and heal us. Let our hearts be turned that we can repent; let our minds be flooded with light that we may reject the errors of our age. May God in His mercy say that our exile is at an end, that our cup has been drunk to the dregs, that debt has been paid in full.

May we again value truth above all else, and reject the imprudent and false dichotomy that seeks to erode truth and virtue at the expense of a false tolerance of error and sin. May our sacred liturgies be ceremonies of reverence and humble adoration of our Creator. May our theology be grounded in sound principles following the path laid out by the great St. Thomas Aquinas and the perennial Tradition of the Church. May our witness for the Faith be bold and sure. May our charity be fervent, and may souls flood back into the Church, full of penitence and desires to make amends. May our leaders in the Church and State be deeply moved by the vision you set for the Church, and may God, in His great mercy, lead us towards a true repentance and restoration of the Catholic Church.

[Mention Intention]

Pray:
Glorious Pope of the Eucharist, Saint Pius X, you sought “to restore all things in Christ.” Obtain for me a true love of Jesus so that I may live only for Him. Help me to acquire a lively fervor and a sincere will to strive for sanctity of life, and that I may avail myself of the riches of the Holy Eucharist from both the Sacrifice and the Sacrament. By your love for Mary, Mother and Queen of all, inflame my heart with tender devotion to her.

Then say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
St. Pius the X pray for me and for those I love. I beg of you, by your love for Jesus and Mary, do not abandon us in our needs. May we experience the peace and joy of your holy death. Amen.