Draw the living waters - 50 years of Haurietis Aquas - III Pope Benedict's letter on Haurietis Aquas

[Parts I and II.]

This Tuesday's Bollettino publishes the letter (in Italian) Pope Benedict XVI sent last May 15 to the Superior-General of the Society of Jesus, Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, for the 50th anniversary of that bright light of the Pontificate of Pius XII, of most glorious memory, the Encyclical Letter Haurietis Aquas, on devotion to the Sacred Heart.

The Society of Jesus has been, of course, the historical custodian of this most venerable devotion. Below, excerpts of Pope Benedict's beautiful letter:

The words of prophet Isaias - "You shall draw waters with joy out of the Savior's fountain" (Is 12,3) - which open the Encyclical with which Pius XII recalled the first centennial of the extension to the entire Church of the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus - have not lost today, 50 years later, any of their significance. ...

The worship of the love which renders itself visible in the mystery of the Cross, re-presented in every Eucharistic Celebration, becomes thus the foundation by which we may become people capable of loving and giving (cfr Enc. Haurietis aquas, 69), becoming instruments in the hands of Christ: only thus becoming credible announcers of his love. This opening up of oneself to the will of God, however, must renew itself at every moment: "love is never 'finished' and complete"(cfr Enc. Deus caritas est, 17). ... the adoration of the love of God, which has found in the symbol of the "pierced Heart" its historical-devotional expression, remains indispensable for a living relationship with God (cfr Enc. Haurietis aquas, 62).

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COR IESU SACRATISSIMUM,
miserere nobis.

Draw the living waters - 50 years of Haurietis Aquas - II The Three Great Gifts of the Sacred Heart

Exactly 50 years ago today, Pope Pius XII signed Haurietis Aquas, the landmark document on the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

In the first part of this series, Haurietis Aquas and its prominent place among the writings of Pius XII were properly introduced, as well as the need for the encyclical: to present again to all the faithful why the Sacred Heart is such a noble and inherently Traditional object of adoration for all Catholics.

The Sacred Heart is also, Pope Pius reminds the faithful, the origin of the three most sublime gifts of the Lord to mankind: "Himself in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, His most holy Mother, and the office of the priesthood shared with us".

His ardent heart beat with intense Love as He was about to institute the eternal miracle of the Most Holy Sacrament:

Even before He ate the Last Supper with His disciples Christ Our Lord, since He knew He was about to institute the sacrament of His body and blood by the shedding of which the new covenant was to be consecrated, felt His heart roused by strong emotions, which He revealed to the Apostles in these words: "With desire have I desired to eat this Pasch with you before I suffer." And these emotions were doubtless even stronger when "taking bread, He gave thanks, and broke, and gave to them, saying, 'This is My body which is given for you, this do in commemoration of Me.' Likewise the chalice also, after He had supped, saying, 'This chalice is the new testament in My blood, which shall be shed for you.'"

Naturally, the Priesthood of the New Covenant, established to perpetuate this most august Sacrament, is also a fruit of this same ever-loving Heart:

It can therefore be declared that the divine Eucharist, both the sacrament which He gives to men and the sacrifice in which He unceasingly offers Himself "from the rising of the sun till the going down thereof," and likewise the priesthood, are indeed gifts of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

And what a wondrous gift the Most Sacred Heart gave the world in the Blessed Lady, source of immaculate and unlimited maternal love:

Another most precious gift of His Sacred Heart is... Mary the beloved Mother of God and the most loving Mother of us all. She who gave birth to our Savior according to the flesh and was associated with Him in recalling the children of Eve to the life of divine grace has deservedly been hailed as the spiritual Mother of the whole human race. And so St. Augustine writes of her: "Clearly She is Mother of the members of the Savior (which is what we are), because She labored with Him in love that the faithful who are members of the Head might be born in the Church."

Which is why the adoration of the Most Sacred Heart is linked, in an absolutely inseparable way, to the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of the Mother of God:

It is, then, entirely fitting that the Christian people - who received the divine life from Christ through Mary - after they have paid their debt of honor to the Sacred Heart of Jesus should also offer to the most loving Heart of their heavenly Mother the corresponding acts of piety affection, gratitude and expiation.

Draw the living waters - 50 years of Haurietis Aquas - I

100 years after Pope Blessed Pius IX had extended the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to the Universal Church, Pope Pius XII, of most glorious memory, decided to celebrate the occasion with one of the brightest lights of his pontificate, the Encyclical Letter Haurietis Aquas, signed on May 15, 1956 (also available in Dutch, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish).

As he usually did with the greatest themes (the Church, in Mystici Corporis Christi; the Sacred Liturgy, in Mediator Dei), he presented a true guidebook to the subject: one may safely say that all one needs to know and admire, all doubts and misunderstandings, all issues related to this most august object of adoration, the Sacred Heart of Our Lord, are answered in this Encyclical.

Are you in trouble? Draw the waters of Haurietis Aquas. Are you distressed? Read a few pages of this document bursting with love. Are you desperate regarding the interminable crisis of Holy Mother Church? Feel the balm of Divine Charity expressed by the elegant and assuring words of a great Pontiff.

Alas, many faithful have never read the whole Encyclical (these days, one may safely say many have not even heard of it). Therefore, as we are wont to do in these anniversaries, we will present little aspects of this encyclical in a series so you may feel encouraged to meditate on the wonders of the Sacred Heart and read the entire document -- or re-read it, if that should be the case.

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The text of the encyclical is particularly dedicated to those who view the devotion to the Sacred Heart as something quaint and distant. It is dedicated to those men who view this devotion as "more suited to the use of women", when it is truly a universal devotion of adoration of Divine Charity incarnate, suited to all. It is dedicated to the learned who believe this devotion is "not quite suitable for educated men".

"We therefore urge all Our children in Christ, both those who are already accustomed to drink the saving waters flowing from the Heart of the Redeemer and, more especially those who look on from a distance like hesitant spectators, to eagerly embrace this devotion. Let them carefully consider, as We have said, that it is a question of a devotion which has long been powerful in the Church and is solidly founded on the Gospel narrative. It received clear support from tradition and the sacred liturgy and has been frequently and generously praised by the Roman Pontiffs themselves. These were not satisfied with establishing a feast in honor of the most Sacred Heart of the Redeemer and extending it to the Universal Church; they were also responsible for the solemn acts of dedication which consecrated the whole human race to the same Sacred Heart."

It is a particularly appropriate devotion for this age in which "the machinations of evil men" abound; evil men "who, as if instigated by Satan himself, are now more than ever zealous in their open and implacable hatred against God, against the Church and above all against him who on earth represents the Person of the divine Redeemer and exhibits His love towards men", the Roman Pontiff, "the Vicar of His Love".

It is a devotion necessary in this age in which the Church seems to be filthy; that is not so: she remains spotless and young, but "not a few children of the Church mar, by their too many sins and imperfections, the beauty of this Mother's features which they reflect in themselves".

"When so many evils meet Our gaze - such as cause sharp conflict among individuals, families, nations and the whole world, particularly today more than at any other time - where are We to seek a remedy, venerable brethren?"

"Can a form of devotion surpassing that to the most Sacred Heart of Jesus be found, which corresponds better to the essential character of the Catholic faith, which is more capable of assisting the present-day needs of the Church and the human race?"

"What religious practice is more excellent, more attractive, more salutary than this, since the devotion in question is entirely directed towards the love of God itself?"

None. This devotion to the Love Who became flesh, that Heart which first beat in the Immaculate Ark, is more than ever necessary.

Cor Iesu Sacratissimum, miserere nobis!