August 21 2019 - St. Pius X - To restore all things in Christ

At his election as Pope in 1903, Saint Pius X took as his papal motto “Instaurare Omnia in Christo”—“To Restore all things in Christ”. He saw as his mission, building up the Church, strengthening the faith, especially in the face of the modernist philosophical errors of the 19th century.

His plan for restoring faith in the Church involved building up the piety of the laity and their love and devotion for Our Lord in the Eucharist and for His Blessed Mother.

My first parish assignment at St. Columbkille in Parma has a statue of St. Pius X, holding the chalice and host as the priest does at mass. For in 1910, Pius X issued his famous decree Quam singulari which lowered the age for first communion for Latin Catholics and advocated frequent communion.
Then in regard to Our Lady, on the 50th anniversary of the proclamation of her Immaculate Conception, he wrote an encyclical in her honor.

And we saw in the early and mid-20th century the fruits of his labors: wonderful Marian movements like the Legion of Mary.

Pius X also encouraged strong Catechesis for both children and adults, and promoted sacred music, particularly Gregorian Chant for the liturgy.

But what Pius X is probably best known for was his condemnation of the heresy of modernism in his two documents Lamentabili and Pascendi. Modernism is so insidious for it says, all that came before doesn’t matter, all that we’ve received from the Apostles doesn’t matter, objective moral truth really doesn’t exist, forms of sacred beauty, art, architecture, sacred liturgy doesn’t really matter. All that matters is my own personal experience, my own subjective sense of truth and goodness and beauty.

And though Pius X, sternly warned the Church against modernism, that most insidious heresy ran rampant throughout the 20th century, continues into our own day, in many segments of the Church.
Instaurare Omnia in Christo”—“To Restore all things in Christ” we prayed in the Collect for this memorial. May St. Pius X help us to be purified of modernism, to love and revere Christ in the Eucharist, to turn assiduously to the intercession of his Blessed Mother, and to seek faithful catechesis, and the truth, goodness, and beauty that comes from God for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That our Holy Father, all the bishops, priests, and deacons of the Church will courageously preach the Truth of the Gospel in its fullness.
For the purification of Holy Church from all error and heresy, especially among those who preach and teach.
That the young students of our school beginning classes today may know the love of Christ in their families, that each school family may seek to practice right religion to the honor of God.
For mercy and peace for all those who suffer: for the sick and diseased, for those undergoing surgery this week, for the destitute and despairing, for all victims of war, violence, and abuse, and for those who will die today and the consolation of their families.
For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, and for N., for whom this mass is offered.
O God, who know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.