VATICAN II – CONCILIAR DOCUMENTS Constitutions – Decrees – Declarations

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VATICAN II – CONCILIAR DOCUMENTS Constitutions – Decrees – Declarations Publisher – União Gráfica Lisbon 1967 Pages: 349 Dimensions: 200x150 mm. Weight: 639 Copy in good condition, without tears. It bears a signature on the flyleaf PRICE: €14.00 POSTAGE INCLUDED via Ordinary Mail/Editorial Mail, valid as long as this service remains accessible to private individuals. Sending by Registered Mail incurs an additional fee according to the current rate PRESENTATION NOTE Less than a year ago, União Gráfica—fulfilling its proper role—published and placed on sale a volume containing all the Constitutions, Decrees, and Declarations of the Second Vatican Council. This first edition, comprising 8,000 copies, has already sold out—a clear indication of the profound interest the Council has aroused among Catholics, priests, and laypeople alike; especially since this was not the only text published in Portuguese. It is said that the world is drifting away from God and from all He has revealed to humanity to attain and follow the path toward that eternal salvation to which He calls us. And unfortunately, this is true. So true, indeed, that the Church herself feels and acknowledges the need to enter a new and special era of re-Christianization—in which her very existence, mission, and doctrine become widely known and deeply loved by all humankind. To achieve this, it will be necessary to employ, in faith and apostolate, new means of communication; adopt more up-to-date methods; intelligently confront new problems emerging in modern life and exerting great influence upon it; and fervently implore divine assistance through a liturgy wherein dialogue between God and the human soul forms an essential part. This was largely the purpose of the Council; yet all would be in vain if its documents remained merely on library shelves or were used solely in seminary classrooms. No; the Council studied and resolved—guided by divine and eternal principles—the doctrinal, moral, and social issues confronting humanity. For each of these issues, there exists within the Council’s texts a light, a word of life. Every person has much to learn from the Council, so that truth may triumph over error within them, and good may prevent or destroy evil. In various Dogmatic Constitutions, one may fully contemplate mysteries such as those of Christ, the Church, the Divine Trinity, the Eucharist, the Sacred Liturgy, and the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, among others; while the Pastoral Constitution sheds full light—originating from the Council—upon the most debated topics in contemporary society, including the Church’s mission, the dignity of the human person and of the family, the promotion of culture, economic and social life, political, national, and international communities, and the defense of peace, etc. Moving then from Constitutions to Decrees, the richness of doctrinal instruction and practical guidance remains no less significant. Priestly formation and ministry, the pastoral office of Bishops, the renewal of religious life and missionary activity, the apostolic role of the laity, and the social means of communication—only to name these most notable themes—have all received complete clarification in every aspect from the Council, along with reliable norms to be followed successfully by all concerned. It is therefore comforting to observe the interest already awakened—and certain to continue awakening—with this second edition of the Vatican II volume published by União Gráfica. It will serve every reader well in understanding and applying, in their spiritual, social, and personal lives, the norms promulgated by the Council under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. THE COLLECTION OF CONCILIAR TEXTS places the Council within everyone’s reach. Only recently, the Pope recommended its meditation to the participants of the Pax Romana congress gathered in Lyon. While many there invoke the Council, few, however, have conscientiously studied the solemn Documents that inaugurate a new era in the history of the Church. These texts must be read and meditated upon with humility and docility, for (a Catholic cannot doubt it) the Holy Spirit speaks therein. There will always remain the temptation to read into them what we think, rather than what the Spirit of the Council actually placed there. The renewal proclaimed by the Council must begin with ourselves: renewal of spirit and heart. As a work of the Church animated by the Spirit of Christ, the Council cannot be fulfilled—neither in doctrine nor in law—except within the Church herself, guided by the hierarchical Magisterium, in sensu Ecclesiae. The Collection of Conciliar Documents of the Second Vatican Council will henceforth constitute the monumental source to which all who wish to understand the Church in today’s world—and to prophetically comprehend (so we hope) tomorrow’s world—must turn. M. Card. Patriarch