...the
life of the believer
becomes an ecclesial
existence, a life lived
in the Church. When
Saint Paul tells the
Christians of Rome that
all who believe in
Christ make up one body,
he urges them not to
boast of this; rather,
each must think of
himself "according to
the measure of faith
that God has assigned" (Rom
12:3). Those who believe come to
see themselves in the light
of the faith which they
profess: Christ is the
mirror in which they find
their own image fully
realized. And just as Christ
gathers to himself all those
who believe and makes them
his body, so the Christian
comes to see himself as a
member of this body, in an
essential relationship with
all other believers. The
image of a body does not
imply that the believer is
simply one part of an
anonymous whole, a mere cog
in a great machine; rather, it
brings out the vital union
of Christ with believers
and of believers among
themselves (cf. Rom
12:4-5). Christians are "one"
(cf. Gal 3:28), yet
in a way which does not make
them lose their
individuality; in service to
others, they come into their
own in the highest degree.
This explains why, apart
from this body, outside this
unity of the Church in
Christ, outside this Church
which — in the words of
Romano Guardini — "is the
bearer within history of the
plenary gaze of Christ on
the world"[16]
— faith loses its "measure";
it no longer finds its
equilibrium, the space
needed to sustain itself.
Faith is necessarily
ecclesial; it is professed
from within the body of
Christ as a concrete
communion of believers. It
is against this ecclesial
backdrop that faith opens
the individual Christian
towards all others. Christ’s
word, once heard, by virtue
of its inner power at work
in the heart of the Christian, becomes
a response, a spoken word, a
profession of faith. As
Saint Paul puts it: "one
believes with the heart ...
and confesses with the lips"
(Rom 10:10). Faith is
not a private matter, a
completely individualistic
notion or a personal
opinion: it comes from
hearing, and it is meant to
find expression in words and
to be proclaimed. For "how
are they to believe in him
of whom they have never
heard? And how are they to
hear without a preacher?" (Rom
10:14). Faith becomes
operative in the Christian
on the basis of the gift
received, the love which
attracts our hearts to
Christ (cf. Gal 5:6),
and enables us to become
part of the Church’s great
pilgrimage through history
until the end of the world.
For those who have been
transformed in this way, a
new way of seeing opens up,
faith becomes light for
their eyes.
-- Pope Francis, Lumen Fidei
Comic for April 20, 2018
4 hours ago
3 comments:
Our Pope Emeritus is a beautiful and profound writer.
Yes, he is. But if your reference is to his contribution to this encyclical, remember that it wouldn't BE an encyclical if Pope Francis didn't adopt it and publish it.
So, whatever the relative contributions of the two writers, the Holy Father gets the credit. And deservedly so.
Very beautiful words from our Pope! He is really a very good writer and a good speaker as well. He is sharing his God-given gifts to the fullest. Thank you so much for sharing this!
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