The song of the Church

  Today, August 21, as our Church celebrates the Memorial of, pope, we are encouraged to first read and reflect on a passage of the apostle Paul to Titus (1:7-11:2:1-8), entitled "The teaching of the Apostle on the qualities and duties of bishops". Our treasure which follows is from the apostolic constitution of Pope Saint Pius X. Pope Pius X was pope from 1903 to 1914, and a pastor deeply committed to his motto, "To restore all things in Christ." He is best known for promoting frequent and even daily reception of Holy Communion, encouraging children to receive First Communion once they have reached the age of reason, and emphasizing the Eucharist as the principal source of spiritual nourishment and growth in holiness. Canonized in 1954, Pius X's enduring contribution is his conviction that holiness is the vocation of all Christians and that intimate union with Jesus—especially through worthy and frequent reception of the Eucharist—is the essential means by which Christ transforms His people and renews His Church. The apostolic constitution Divino Afflatu ("By Divine Inspiration") was addressed principally to the Latin Church, especially clergy and religious obligated to pray the Divine Office and introduced a major reform of the Roman Breviary. Its principal teaching is fundamentally spiritual as well as liturgical: the Divine Office is the prayer of the whole Church, rooted especially in the inspired Psalms, through which the Church continually praises God, sanctifies the hours of the day, and nourishes those who pray it with the Word of God. Divino Afflatu thus sought not merely to rearrange the Breviary but to restore Scripture—particularly the Psalter—to its central place in the Church's daily worship, an important step in the liturgical renewal that eventually contributed to the modern Liturgy of the Hours. The Epistle to Titus is one of the New Testament's Pastoral Epistles, traditionally attributed to Paul the Apostle and addressed to Titus, Paul's trusted Gentile convert, missionary companion, and coworker. Its primary teaching is that sound Christian doctrine must produce a transformed Christian life: God's saving grace not only forgives us but "trains us" to reject sin and live with self-control, justice, holiness, good works, and loving service while awaiting Christ's return. Our "treasure" today entitled "The Song of the Church" by Pope Pius X teaches that the Psalms are the inspired prayer book of God's people and should form the heart of the Church's daily prayer and praise. When Christians pray the Psalms in the Divine Office, therefore, they are not simply engaging in private devotion but joining their voices to the prayer of Christ and His whole Church, sanctifying the hours of the day and allowing God's inspired Word to form their minds and hearts. The essential message is that regular, prayerful immersion in the Psalms transforms those who pray them, teaching them to see their lives through faith and gradually making their own prayer part of the Church's unceasing song of praise to God. The first reading from the letter of Titus teaches that those entrusted with leadership in the Church must teach sound doctrine not only with their words but, above all, through the integrity and holiness of their lives. The essential teaching is that Christian truth must become visible in Christian character: those who teach the faith must first allow that faith to transform their own lives, so that their example gives credibility to their words and helps lead others toward holiness.