Saint Pius X‘s decree to settle the controversy concerning Holy Communion
“(…) after the publication of this Decree, all ecclesiastical writers are to cease from contentious controversy concerning the dispositions requisite for frequent and daily Communion.“
Pope Saint Pius X, On frequent and daily reception of Holy Communion
What exactly was the controversy about, which Pope Saint Pius X (1835-1914) wished to finally settle by this decree he approved of in December 1905? It was the dispute about whether certain conditions need to be met by the baptized in order to receive Holy Communion frequently or even daily.
What did Saint Pius X decree? Encouraging frequent and daily Communion
In 1905, Saint Pius X, who had become pope in 1903, asked the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship to study the question of frequent and daily reception of the Holy Eucharist. Their declaration was then issued and approved by him.
The decree strongly recommends that the faithful receive the sacrament of Holy Communion often, and states that the practice of frequent and daily Communion “should be open to all the faithful, of whatever rank and condition of life“ and that “no one who is in the state of grace, and who approaches the Holy Table with a right and devout intention can be prohibited therefrom“ (ibid.).
In supporting this position, the decree presents the following arguments:
“The Holy Council of Trent, having in view the ineffable riches of grace which are offered to the faithful who receive the Most Holy Eucharist, makes the following declaration: ‘The Holy Council wishes indeed that at each Mass the faithful who are present should communicate, not only in spiritual desire, but sacramentally, by the actual reception of the Eucharist.‘ These words declare plainly enough the wish of the Church that all Christians should be daily nourished by this heavenly banquet and should derive therefrom more abundant fruit for their sanctification. This wish of the Council fully conforms to that desire wherewith Christ our Lord was inflamed when He instituted this Divine Sacrament. For He Himself, more than once, and in clarity of word, pointed out the necessity of frequently eating His flesh and drinking His blood (…).“
Pope Saint Pius X, On frequent and daily reception of Holy Communion
“Moreover, the desire of Jesus Christ and of the Church that all the faithful should daily approach the sacred banquet is directed chiefly to this end, that the faithful, being united to God by means of the Sacrament, may thence derive strength to resist their sensual passions, to cleanse themselves from the stains of daily faults, and to avoid these graver sins to which human frailty is liable (…).“
“The will of God in this respect was well understood by the first Christians; and they daily hastened to this Table of life and strength.“
“(…) so that this practice, so salutary and so pleasing to God, not only might suffer no decrease among the faithful, but rather that it increase and everywhere be promoted, especially in these days when religion and the Catholic faith are attacked on all sides, and the true love of God and piety are so frequently lacking.“
The only condition the faithful must meet to receive Holy Communion frequently or daily is “to be free from mortal sin, with the purpose of never sinning in the future“ (ibid.). They should take care to prepare themselves carefully for the reception of the Sacrament and to let it be followed “by an appropriate thanksgiving“ (ibid.). The “right and devout intention“ they should have when approaching the Eucharist consists in the following:
“(…) not out of routine, or vain glory, or human respect, but that he wish to please God, to be more closely united with Him by charity, and to have recourse to this divine remedy for his weakness and defects.“
Pope Saint Pius X, On frequent and daily reception of Holy Communion
Why was it necessary to issue the decree? Defeating “Jansenism“
The decree mentions the fact that the “poison of Jansenism“ survived previous decrees by the Holy See, and alludes to the opinion that the “widespread plague of Jansenism“ – which “had infected the minds even of good men“ – has not been defeated yet.
But what is meant by the term “Jansenism“?
There was a Dutch theologian by the name Cornelius Jansen, whose work Augustinus (1640), published after his death, started of the movement, which the Jesuits then termed “Jansenism“.
This movement within the Catholic Church was critical of the Jesuit approach which had begun to appear during their counter-reformation efforts of fighting back against the heresies of Luther and Calvin. The Jesuits encouraged the frequent reception of the sacraments of both Confession and Communion. The Jansenists opposed this practice.
While the Jesuits taught that it is enough to be free from mortal sin in order to licitly receive Communion, the Jansenists were of the opinion that one must also be free from all venial sin. From the viewpoint of the Jansenists, the Jesuits were introducing moral laxity into the Church. The famous mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal, by the way, was a supporter of the Jansenist movement and attacked the Jesuits in his polemical writing Lettres Provinciales.
Jansenism was especially strong in France. There, Saint Vincent de Paul (1581-1660) encountered it during its early phase in the person of the priest Jean Duvergier de Hauranne, who became the spiritual director of the abott of a Cistercian women‘s convent at Port-Royal, turning this place into a Jansenist stronghold. Duvergier had once studied theology at at Jesuit college. But together with Jansen, he had turned into a critic of the Jesuit spirituality. Saint Vincent de Paul was, at first, impressed by the outward piety and austerity of Duvergier‘s life. But as he was taking a closer look at Duvergier‘s beliefs and practices, he became a strong opponent of Jansenism:
“He said to me one day that it was God’s intention to destroy the Church as it is now, and that all who labor to uphold it are working against His will; and when I told him that these were the statements made by heretics such as Calvin, he replied that Calvin had not been altogether in the wrong, but that he had not known how to make a good defense.“
Saint Vincent de Paul
The brother of the abbot of Port-Royal, Antoine Arnauld, published an influential Jansenist treatise titled On frequent Communion, directed against the Jesuits. Concerning this book, Saint Vincent de Paul remarked:
“It may be, as you say, that certain people in France and Italy have drawn benefit from the book; but for a hundred to whom it has been useful in teaching more reverence in approaching the Sacrament, ten thousand have been driven away… For my part, I tell you that if I paid the same attention to M. Arnauld’s book as you do, I should give up both Mass and Communion from a sense of humility, and I should be in terror of the Sacrament, regarding it, in the spirit of the book, as a snare of Satan and as poison to the souls of those who receive it under the usual conditions approved by the Church. Moreover, if we confine ourselves only to what he says of the perfect disposition without which one should not go to Communion, is there anyone on earth who has such a high idea of his own virtue as to think himself worthy? Such an opinion seems to be held by M. Arnauld alone, who, having made the necessary conditions so difficult that St. Paul himself might have feared to approach, does not hesitate to tell us repeatedly that he says Mass daily.“
Saint Vincent de Paul
Saint Vincent de Paul founded an order, the “Congegration of the Mission“, or the Vincentians, which had as one of its main goals “to inspire others to receive the Sacraments of Penance and of the Eucharist frequently and worthily“.
Obviously, the “battle“ between the Jansenists on the one hand and the Jesuits as well as other Catholic priests who rejected the Jansenist ideas on the other hand was about the worthy reception of the sacraments, especially about the issue of proper respect toward the Eucharist.
One could maybe sum up their controversy like this: While the Jansenists taught that proper respect toward the Most Blessed Sacrament is shown by rarely receiving it, receiving it only in a state free from all sin and from all affection to it, their opponents ruled that one honors the body and blood of Christ the most by receiving this necessary “antidote to sin“ and life-giving “medicine of immortality“ as often as possible, like a man “poor in spirit“ who is never worthy enough of Christ and always in need of the rich graces contained in Him and His sacraments.
The decree issued by Saint Pius X contains two very interesting little remarks. Speaking of the “poison of Jansenism“ it states that it spread “under the pretext of showing due honor and reverence to the Eucharist“, thereby implying that one should not assume that true reverence for the Eucharist, true piety, is found in Jansenist notions. Rather, they are a symptom of a piety grown “cold“. Secondly, the decree says that the essential purpose of this Sacrament is to be a means of grace to us,
“(…) so that its primary purpose is not that the honor and reverence due to our Lord may be safe-guarded, or that it may serve as a reward or recompense of virtue bestowed on the recipients.“
Pope Saint Pius X, On frequent and daily reception of Holy Communion
Saint Pius X wanted the Eucharist to be the faithful‘s “daily bread“, their daily source of grace sanctifying them, certainly not an occasional “prize“ for lately having been a bit less sinful than usually. He was convinced that the practice of frequent and daily Communion is “pleasing to God“, the giver of the gift, and is making the people of God grow in holiness.
The aim to promote a strong and ardent love for Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament was fitting to the motto of his papacy: “to renew all things in Christ“.
Jansenists vs. Jesuits on the Sacred Heart Devotion
There is a Catholic devotion related to this “theological battle“ between Jansenists and Jesuits in the 17th century and onwards. It is a devotion that was strongly propagated by the priests of the Society of Jesus, and strongly opposed by the Jansenists.
In the years 1673-1675, something extraordinary happened to a nun of the “Daughters of the Visitation“ at Paray-le-Monial, a convent which had been founded by Saint Francis de Sales, the man who tried to defeat Calvinism, and Saint Frances de Chantal in 1671. Her name was Margaret Mary Alacoque. She received a special calling from Jesus: to spread the devotion to His Sacred Heart and to advocate for the introduction of a feast day dedicated to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
In general, the devotional focus on the heart of Jesus that received a spear wound at the crucifixion had already been part of the tradition of the Church from ancient times, especially as part of the devotion to the Five Wounds of Christ on the cross.
“For we are carved out of His heart as from a rock.“
Saint Justin Martyr
But now this devotion was to become more explicit, widespread and public. Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque received “twelve promises“ made to everyone who would engage in a deeper and more conscious devotion to the Sacred Heart. Among them the ones that sinners would find therein “the source of and the infinite ocean of mercy“, that “lukewarm persons will grow fervent“ and “those who are fervent will quickly mount to greater love“ and that priests will receive “the gift of touching the most hardened hearts“.
This devotion was, then, like a special new weapon against the dangers of the Jansenist teachings and the effects of a cooled down, or “lukewarm“, puritan piety creating distance between the blazing heart of God and fallen humanity. The Jansenists, similar to the Calvinists, emphasized human depravity and the infinite superiority and sovereignty of God, so much so that, if one may put it like this, a supposedly “perfect“ fear of God drove out love, instead of perfect love driving out fear.
“Fear is not in charity: but perfect charity casteth out fear, because fear hath pain. And he that feareth, is not perfected in charity. Let us therefore love God, because God first hath loved us.“
1 John 4: 18-19
If one looks at the well-known holy card that in later years was printed and distributed to spread the devotion, one encounters a very vivid imagery of a blood-red human heart, which is giving off flames, surrounded by the crown of thorns, and the cross, wounded by a spear, with blood dripping from the wound. Christ‘s suffering human nature is shown, suffering out of love for all men. And it is a fiery and passionate love at that. From this pierced human and divine heart of Jesus all the sacraments and their salvific graces flow.
“But one of the soldiers with a spear opened his side, and immediately there came out blood and water.“
John 19: 34
In the following decades and centuries, the Sacred Heart devotion became very popular all over France. Written in French, the card also features the first part of the following invitation of Jesus as recorded in the gospel of Matthew:
“Come to me, all you that labour, and are burdened, and I will refresh you. Take up my yoke upon you, and learn of me, because I am meek, and humble of heart: and you shall find rest to your souls. For my yoke is sweet and my burden light.“
Matthew 11: 28-30
This invitation given alongside the multi-layered symbolic display of God‘s love for mankind seems to be directed quite at the opposite of the overemphasised awe that is keeping distance, as induced by the Jansenist sentiments.
When one thinks of the general tendencies of the notions present in the Jansenist movement and remembers Saint Vincent de Paul‘s remarks on the Jansenism he encountered as quoted above, some other sayings of Jesus in the gospel of Matthew, that refer to certain men among the group of the Pharisees, might come to one’s mind as well:
“For they bind heavy and insupportable burdens, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but with a finger of their own they will not move them.“
Matthew 23: 4
“(…) you shut the kingdom of heaven against men, for you yourselves do not enter in; and those that are going in, you suffer not to enter.“
Matthew 23: 13
At first, whenever Saint Margaret Mary began to reveal to others in her convent the content of her received visions, she encountered a lot of mistrust. Her confessor even suggested that the devil might have been leading her astray. But then help was coming to her: Jesus had already told her that soon he would send her his “friend“.
That friend was Saint Claude de la Colombière. In 1675, this Jesuit priest became the spiritual director of the Visitation Sisters, and thereby of Sister Margaret Mary. She knew immediately that he was the help promised to her and that she could confide in this humble man. He always encouraged her to trust in the mercy of God and took it upon himself to assist with spreading the devotion. His feast day, by the way, passed by just recently, on the 15th February.
Saint Pius X, Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque and Saint Claude de la Colombière, pray for us!
Post scriptum: The Anima Christi prayer, a favorite of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus
Soul of Christ, sanctify me.
Anima Christi
Body of Christ, save me.
Blood of Christ, inebriate me.
Water from the side of Christ, wash me.
Passion of Christ, strengthen me.
O Good Jesus, hear me.
Within Your wounds, hide me.
Separated from You let me never be.
From the evil one, protect me.
At the hour of my death, call me.
And close to You bid me,
that with Your saints, I may be
Praising You forever and ever. Amen.