Light Of Faith Encyclical (Lumen Fidei) Written By Pope Francis And Pope Benedict, Pope Francis is surrounded by children as he strolls around during his visit to the Varginha favela in Rio de Janeiro, on July 25, 2013. Your email address will not be published. Without truth, love is incapable of establishing a firm bond; it cannot liberate our isolated ego or redeem it from the fleeting moment in order to create life and bear fruit.”, “La fe consiste en la disponibilidad para dejarse transformar una y otra vez por la llamada de Dios.”, “Por tanto, es urgente recuperar el carácter luminoso propio de la fe, pues cuando su llama se apaga, todas las otras luces acaban languideciendo. As Francis himself told a group of cardinals and bishops in May, the encyclical was written “with four hands” together with retired Pope Benedict XVI. “Slowly but surely, however, it would become evident that the light of autonomous reason is not enough to illumine the future; ultimately the future remains shadowy and fraught with fear of the unknown. Forgiveness is possible once we discover that goodness is always prior to and more powerful than evil, and that the word with which God affirms our life is deeper than our every denial.”. I think first and foremost of the stable union of man and woman in marriage. Either that, or it is reduced to a lofty sentiment which brings consolation and cheer, yet remains prey to the vagaries of our spirit and the changing seasons, incapable of sustaining a steady journey through life.”, “Faith transforms the whole person precisely to the extent that he or she becomes open to love.”, “Faith knows because it is tied to love, because love itself brings enlightenment.”, “Love cannot be reduced to an ephemeral emotion. In modernity, that light might have been considered sufficient for societies of old, but was felt to be of no use for new times, for a humanity come of age, proud of its rationality and anxious to explore the future in novel ways. Tap here to turn on desktop notifications to get the news sent straight to you.

Its light does not simply brighten the interior of the Church, nor does it serve solely to build an eternal city in the hereafter; it helps us build our societies in such a way that they can journey towards a future of hope. 1. It is your right and your responsibility. AFP PHOTO / YASUYOSHI CHIBA (Photo credit should read YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP/Getty Images). The first Latin American and Jesuit pontiff arrived in Brazil mainly for the huge five-day Catholic gathering World Youth Day. It makes us aware of a magnificent calling, the vocation of love.” (53). On the the constant need for faith and hope: 15. Either that, or it is reduced to a lofty sentiment which brings consolation and cheer, yet remains prey to the vagaries of our spirit and the changing seasons, incapable of sustaining a steady journey through life.”, “If love needs truth, truth also needs love. In his 2019 post-synodal exhortation Christus vivit, Pope Francis cites himself 64 times in 299 paragraphs. I hope reading this encourages you to read the entire encyclical, either online or as a downloadable PDF. We trust the architect who builds our home, the... 3. The Varginha favela is a community of 1,000 people which for decades was under the sway of narco-traffickers until it came under police control less than a year ago. Those who believe, see; they see with a light that illumines their entire journey, for it comes from the risen Christ, the morning star which never sets. An illusory light? All the truths in which we believe point to the mystery of the new life of faith as a journey of communion with the living God.” (45), 9. We also need someone trustworthy and knowledgeable where God is concerned.

The pope’s shortest encyclical (Lumen fidei) is longer than St. Mark’s gospel and his 2013 exhortation Evangelii gaudium is 5x longer than St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans. (Part 2 of 2), Can We Have Some Simplicity for God’s Sake! True love, on the other hand, unifies all the elements of our person and becomes a new light pointing the way to a great and fulfilled life. Only to the extent that love is grounded in truth can it endure over time, can it transcend the passing moment and be sufficiently solid to sustain a shared journey. The intention is to say that God, by his concrete actions, makes a public avowal that he is present in our midst and that he desires to solidify every human relationship. If love is not tied to truth, it falls prey to fickle emotions and cannot stand the test of time. Gen 2:24) and are enabled to give birth to a new life, a manifestation of the Creator’s goodness, wisdom and loving plan.” (52), 11. ©2020 Verizon Media. Faith is not simply an individual decision which takes place in the depths of the believer’s heart, nor a completely private relationship between the “I” of the believer and the divine “Thou”, between an autonomous subject and God. Only to the extent that love is grounded in truth can it endure over time, can it transcend the passing moment and be sufficiently solid to sustain a shared journey. There is a special means for passing down this fullness, a means capable of engaging the entire person, body and spirit, interior life and relationships with others. Refresh and try again. Error rating book. ( Log Out /  The question of truth is really a question of memory, deep memory, for it deals with something prior to ourselves and can succeed in uniting us in a way that transcends our petty and limited individual consciousness. “Faith without truth does not save, it does not provide a sure footing. Without truth, love is incapable of establishing a firm bond; it cannot liberate our isolated ego or redeem it from the fleeting moment in order to create life and bear fruit.”, “Christian faith, inasmuch as it proclaims the truth of God’s total love and opens us to the power of that love, penetrates to the core of our human experience. Welcome back.

Hopefully these quotes will inspire a more detailed reading of the entire text since it is a true gift to the Church. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. For the Nov 3 election: States are making it easier for citizens to vote absentee by mail this year due to the coronavirus. As I continue to read through Lumen Fidei, Pope Francis’ first encyclical, I thought that I could, over the next few days,  post some quotes that particularly struck me. True, it engages our affectivity, but in order to open it to the beloved and thus to blaze a trail leading away from self-centredness and towards another person, in order to build a lasting relationship; love aims at union with the beloved. Faith is truly a good for everyone; it is a common good.

( Log Out /  Time is always much greater than space. “The believer who professes his or her faith is taken up, as it were, into the truth being professed. §36. It is a question about the origin of all that is, in whose light we can glimpse the goal and thus the meaning of our common path.”, “Idolatry, then, is always polytheism, an aimless passing from one lord to another.

1. “Any-one who sets off on the path of doing good to others is already drawing near to God, is already sustained by his help, for it is characteristic of the divine light to brighten our eyes whenever we walk towards the fullness of love.” (35), 7. Here we begin to see how love requires truth. We need to return to the true basis of brotherhood. 2. Yet it also reflects Francis’ subtle outreach to nonbelievers, saying they can find God in the search for and experience of love. Change ). Sign up for membership to become a founding member and help shape HuffPost's next chapter, Register to vote and apply for an absentee ballot today. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. We come from others, we belong to others, and our lives are enlarged by our encounter with others.”, “It is impossible to believe on our own. For those who have been transformed in this way, a new way of seeing opens up, faith becomes light for their eyes.” (22), 4.

The light of Faith: this is how the Church’s tradition speaks of the great gift brought by Jesus. “Then one day, you may be surprised to discover that you are in a relationship with God and, more important, that God is in a relationship with you.”.