Vatican
City, 5 July 2013 (VIS) – Published below is a broad summary of
Pope Francis' first encyclical, “Lumen Fidei”, published today, 5
July 2013 and signed on 29 June of the same year.
Lumen
fidei – The light of faith (LF) is the first Encyclical signed by
Pope Francis. Divided into four chapters, plus an introduction and a
conclusion, the Pontiff explains that the Letter supplements Benedict
XVI’s Encyclicals on charity and hope, and takes up the “fine
work” carried out by the Pope Emeritus, who had already “almost
completed” the Encyclical on faith. The Holy Father has now added
“further contributions” to this existing “first draft”.
The
introduction (nos. 1-7) of LF illustrates the motivations at the
basis of the document: firstly, it reiterates the characteristics of
light typical of faith, able to illuminate all man’s existence, to
assist him in distinguishing good from evil, especially in this
modern age in which belief is opposed to searching and faith is
regarded as an illusion, a leap into the void that impedes man’s
freedom. Secondly, LF – precisely in this Year of Faith, 50 years
following the Second Vatican Council, a “Council on faith” –
seeks to reinvigorate the perception of the breadth of the horizons
faith opens so that it might be confessed in unity and integrity.
Indeed, faith is not a condition to be taken for granted, but rather
a gift from God, to be nurtured and reinforced. “Who believes,
sees”, the Pope writes, since the light of faith comes from God and
is able to illuminate all aspects of man’s existence: it proceeds
from the past, from the memory of Jesus’ life, but also comes from
the future as it opens up vast horizons.
Chapter
One (nos. 8-22): We have believed in love (1 John 4: 16). Referring
to the biblical figure of Abraham, in this chapter faith is explained
as “listening” to the word of God, the “call” to come out
from the isolated self in order to open oneself to a new life and the
“promise” of the future, which makes possible the continuity of
our path through time, linked so closely to hope. Faith also has a
connotation of “paternity”, because the God who calls us is not a
stranger, but is God the Father, the wellspring of the goodness that
is at the origin of and sustains everything. In the history of
Israel, faith is opposed to idolatry, which man is broken down in the
multiplicity of his desires and “his life story disintegrates into
a myriad of unconnected instants”, denying him the time to await
the fulfilment of the promise. On the contrary, faith is trust in
God’s merciful love, which always welcomes and forgives, and which
straightens “the crooked lines of our history”; it is the
willingness to allow oneself to be transformed anew by “God’s
free gift, which calls for humility and the courage to trust and to
entrust; it enables us to see the luminous path leading to the
encounter of God and humanity, the history of salvation” (no. 14).
And herein lies the “paradox” of faith: constantly turning to the
Lord gives humanity stability, liberating us from idols.
LF
then turns to the figure of Jesus, the mediator who opens to us to a
truth greater than ourselves, the manifestation of God’s love that
is the foundation of faith: “in contemplating Jesus’ death …
faith grows stronger”, as in this He reveals His unshakeable love
for mankind. His resurrection renders Christ a “trustworthy
witness”, “deserving of faith”, through Whom God works truly
throughout history, determining its final destiny. But there is a
“decisive aspect” of faith in Jesus: “participation in His way
of seeing”. Faith, indeed, looks not only to Jesus but also from
Jesus’ point of view, with His eyes. The Pope uses an analogy to
explain that, just as how in our daily lives we place our trust in
“others who know better than we do” – the architect, the
pharmacist, the lawyer – also for faith we need someone who is
reliable and expert “where God is concerned” and Jesus is “the
one who makes God known to us”. Therefore, we believe Jesus when we
accept his Word, and we believe in Jesus when we welcome Him in our
life and entrust ourselves to Him. Indeed, his incarnation ensures
that faith does not separate us from reality, but rather helps us to
grasp its deepest meaning. Thanks to faith, man saves himself, as he
opens himself to a Love that precedes and transforms him from within.
And this is the true action of the Holy Spirit: “The Christian can
see with the eyes of Jesus and share in His mind, His filial
disposition, because he or she shares in his love, which is the
Spirit” (no.21). Without the presence of the Spirit it is
impossible to confess the Lord. Therefore “the life of the believer
becomes an ecclesial existence”, since faith is confessed within
the body of the Church, as the “concrete communion of believers”.
Christians are “one” without losing their individuality and in
the service of others they come into their own. Thus, “faith is not
a private matter, a completely individualistic notion or a personal
opinion”, but rather “it comes from hearing, and is meant to find
expression in words and to be proclaimed”.
Chapter
Two (nos. 23-36): Unless you believe, you will not understand (Is
7:9). The Pope shows the close link between faith and truth, the
reliable truth of God, His faithful presence throughout history.
“Faith without truth does not save”, writes the Pope; “It
remains a beautiful story, the projection of our deep yearning for
happiness”. And nowadays, given “the crisis of truth in our age”,
it is more necessary than ever before to recall this link, as
contemporary culture tends to accept only the truth of technology,
what man manages to build and measure through science, truth that
“works”, or rather the single truths valid only for the
individual and not in the service of the common good. Today we regard
with suspicion the “Truth itself, the truth which would
comprehensively explain our life as individuals and in society”, as
it is erroneously associated with the truths claimed by
twentieth-century forms of totalitarianism. However, this leads to a
“massive amnesia in our contemporary world” which – to the
advantage of relativism and in fear of fanaticism – forgets this
question of truth, of the origin of all – the question of God. LF
then underlines the link between faith and love, understood not as
“an ephemeral emotion”, but as God’s great love which
transforms us within and grants us new eyes with which we may see
reality. If, therefore, faith is linked to truth and love, then “love
and truth are inseparable”, because only true love withstands the
test of time and becomes the source of knowledge. And since the
knowledge of faith is born of God’s faithful love, “truth and
fidelity go together”. The truth that discloses faith is a truth
centred on the encounter with Christ incarnate, Who, coming among us,
has touched us and granted us His grace, transforming our hearts.
At
this point, the Pope begins a broad reflection on the “dialogue
between faith and reason”, on the truth in today’s world, in
which it is often reduced to a “subjective authenticity”, as
common truth inspires fear, and is often identified with the
intransigent demands of totalitarianism. Instead, if the truth is
that of God’s love, then it is not imposed violently and does not
crush the individual. Therefore, faith is not intransigent, and the
believer is not arrogant. On the contrary, faith renders the believer
humble and leads to co-existence with and respect for others. From
this, it follows that faith lead to dialogue in all fields: in that
of science, as it reawakens the critical sense and broadens the
horizons of reason, inviting us to behold Creation with wonder; in
the interreligious context, in which Christianity offers its own
contribution; in dialogue with non-believers who ceaselessly search,
who “strive to act as if God existed”, because “God is light
and can be find also by those who seek him with a sincere heart”.
“Anyone who sets off on the path of doing good to others is already
drawing near to God”, the Pope emphasizes. Finally, LF speaks about
theology and confirms that it is impossible without faith, since God
is not a simple “object” but rather the Subject who makes Himself
known. Theology is participation in the knowledge that God has of
Himself; as a consequence theology must be placed at the service of
Christian faith and the ecclesial Magisterium is not a limit to
theological freedom, but rather one of its constitutive elements as
it ensures contact with its original source, the Word of Christ.
Chapter
Three (nos. 37- 49): I delivered to you what I also received (1 Cor
15:3). This chapter focuses entirely on the importance of
evangelization: he who has opened himself to God’s love cannot keep
this gift for himself, writes the Pope. The light of Jesus shines on
the face of Christians and spreads in this way, is transmitted by
contact like a flame that ignites from another, and passes from
generation to generation, through the uninterrupted chain of
witnesses to the faith. This leads to a link between faith and memory
as God’s love keeps all times united, making us Christ’s
contemporaries. Furthermore, it is “impossible to believe on our
own”, because faith is not “an individual decision”, but rather
opens “I” to “we” and always occurs “within the community
of the Church”. Therefore, “those who believe are never alone”,
as he discovers that the spaces of the self enlarge and generate new
relations that enrich life.
There
is, however, “a special means” by which faith may be transmitted:
the Sacraments, in which an “incarnate memory” is communicated.
The Pope first mentions Baptism – both of children and adults, in
the form of the catechumenate – which reminds us that faith is not
the work of an isolated individual, an act that may be carried out
alone, but instead must be received, in ecclesial communion. “No-one
baptizes himself”, explains LF. Furthermore, since the baptized
child cannot confess the faith himself but must instead be supported
by parents and godparents, the “cooperation between Church and
family” is important. Secondly, the Encyclical refers to the
Eucharist, “precious nourishment for faith”, an “act of
remembrance, a making present of the mystery”, which “leads from
the visible world to the invisible”, teaching us to experience the
depth of reality. The Pope then considers the confession of the
faith, the Creed, in which the believer not only confesses faith but
is involved in the truth that he confesses; prayer, Our Father, by
which the Christian learns to see through Christ’s eyes; the
Decalogue, understood not as “a set of negative commands” but
rather as “concrete directions” to enter into dialogue with God,
“to be embraced by His mercy”, the “path of gratitude”
towards the fullness of communion with God. Finally, the Pope
underlines the there is one faith because of the “oneness of the
God who is known and confessed”, because it is directed towards the
one Lord, who grants us “a common gaze” and “is shared by the
whole Church, which is one body and one Spirit”. Therefore, given
that there is one faith alone, it follows that is must be confessed
in all its purity and integrity: “the unity of faith is the unity
of the Church”; to subtract something from faith is to subtract
something from the veracity of communion. Furthermore, since the
unity of faith is that of a living organism, it is able to assimilate
all it encounters, demonstrating itself to be universal, catholic,
illuminating and able to lead all the cosmos and all history to its
finest expression. This unity is guaranteed by the apostolic
succession.
Fourth
chapter (nos. 50-60): God prepares a city for them (Heb 11:16) This
chapter explains the link between faith and the common good, which
leads to the creation of a place in which men and women may live
together with others. Faith, which is born of the love of God,
strengthens the bonds of humanity and places itself at the service of
justice, rights and peace. This is why it does not distance itself
from the world and is not unrelated to the real commitments of
contemporary man. On the contrary, without the love of God in which
we can place our trust, the bonds between people would be based only
on utility, interests and fear. Instead faith grasps the deepest
foundation of human relationships, their definitive destiny in God,
and places them at the service of the common good. Faith “is for
all, it is a common good”; its purpose is not merely to build the
hereafter but to help in edifying our societies in order that they
may proceed together towards a future of hope.
The
Encyclical then considers those areas illuminated by faith: first and
foremost, the family based on marriage, understood as a stable union
between man and woman. This is born of the recognition and acceptance
of the goodness of sexual differentiation and, based on love in
Christ, promises “a love for ever” and recognises love as the
creator that leads to the begetting of children. Then, youth; here
the Pope cites the World Youth Days, in which young people
demonstrate “the joy of faith” and their commitment to live faith
solidly and generously. “Young people want to live life to the
fullest”, writes the Pope. “Encountering Christ … enlarges the
horizons of existence, gives it a firm hope which will not
disappoint. Faith is no refuge for the fainthearted, but something
which enhances our lives”. And again, in all social relations, by
making us children of God, indeed, faith gives new meaning to
universal brotherhood, which is not merely equality, but rather the
common experience of God’s paternity, the comprehension of the
unique dignity of each person. A further area is that of nature:
faith helps us to respect it, to “find models of development which
are based not simply on utility and profit, but consider creation as
a gift”. It teaches us to find just forms of government, in which
authority comes from God and which serve the common good; it offers
us the possibility of forgiveness that leads us to overcome all
conflict. “When faith is weakened, the foundations of humanity also
risk being weakened”, writes the Pope, and if we remove faith in
God from our cities, we will lose our mutual trust and be united only
by fear. Therefore we must not be ashamed to publicly confess God,
because faith illuminates social life. Another area illuminated by
faith is that of suffering and death: Christians are aware that
suffering cannot be eliminated, but it may be given meaning; it can
be entrusted to the hands of God who never abandons us and therefore
become “a moment of growth in faith”. To he who suffers, God does
not give reasons to explain everything, but rather offers His
presence that accompanies us, that opens up a threshold of light in
the shadows. In this sense, faith is linked to hope. And here the
Pope makes an appeal: “Let us refuse to be robbed of hope, or to
allow our hope to be dimmed by facile answers and solutions which
block our progress”.
Conclusion
(nos. 58-60): Blessed are you who believed (Luke 1,45) At the end of
LF, the Pope invites us to look to Mary, “perfect icon” of faith
who, as the Mother of Jesus, conceived “faith and joy”. The Pope
elevates his prayer to Maria that she might assist man in his faith,
to remind us those who believe are never alone and to teach us to see
through Jesus’ eyes.