Page:The Great Encyclical Letters of Pope Leo XIII.djvu/297



THE STUDY OF HOLY SCRIPTURE. 291

under the guidance of St. Thomas of Aquin, and a thor- ough training therein â€” as We Ourselves have elsewhere pointed out and directed. By this means, both in biblical studies and in that part of theology which is called positive, they will pursue the right path and make satisfactory progress.

To prove, to expound, to illustrate Catholic doctrine by the legitimate and skilful interpretation of the Bible is much; but there is a second part of the subject of equal importance and equal difficulty â€” the maintenance in the strongest possible way of its full authority. This cannot be done 'completely or satisractorriy"e'xce ^ by meanJoTni e livings aird^oper magisfenuin oTthe Church. The Church, byT^ason"Â©!' her wondertul propapttolTTter distinguished sanctity, and inexhaustible fecundity in good, her Catholic unity, and her unshaken stability, is herself a great and perpetual motive of credibility, and an unassailable testi- mony to her own divine mission." * But, since the divine and in fallible magist erium of the Church rests also on Holy Scripture, the first thmg to be done is to vinciicate the trustw orthiness of sacred records, at least as human docu- ments from wM^^^canHBelele^

tive and authentic testimony, the divinity and the missio n rif rj]^rigf fiâ€¢l^r fXrH ^ +V|p JT^ stitution of a hierarchical Chu rch

and the primacy of Peter and his successors. , It is mostj

desirable, therefore, that there should be numerous mem- bers of the clergy well prepared to enter on a contest of this naturej..mid^...rÂ£pulse_hostne_assa^^ in the armor of God recommended by the Apostle,^ but also not unaccustomed to modern methods of attack. This is beautifully alluded to by St. John Chrj^sostom, when de- scribing the duties of priests: "We must use every endeavor that the 'Word of God may dwell in us abundantly'; ^ not merely for one kind of a fight must we be prepared â€” for the contest is many-sided and the enemy is of every sort;


 * Cone. Vat. sess iii. c. ii. de fide. ' Eph. vi. 13, seqq.

^Gr. Coloss. iii. 16.