 |
| My Roman Look |
One of my goals of this sabbatical was to catch up on some spiritual and theological reading. I managed to read all three encyclicals of Pope Benedict XVI. I was delightfully surprised by them. Now this is a matter of opinion, but I found the encyclicals of Pope John Paul II to be hard to read and very long. JP II followed a very traditional formate: first scripture, then church teaching, then new concepts. Benedict takes you on an intellectual journey. He begins with common questions people might have and tries to address them. They are very readable and only the third one is rather long. Also, the topics are inspiring. My respect for him as our Pope as certainly increased.
The first encyclical is Deus Caritas Est or God is Love. It is a very simple, but not simplistic, statement on the importance of love and how to understand God's love for us. He focuses very much on the God of Love and also reminds us that as we love God, so too, are we to love our neighbor. Here are just two quotes that I like.
"Love of neighbor is thus shown to be possible in the way proclaimed by the bible, by Jesus. It consists in the very fact that, in God and with God, I love even the person whom I do not like or even know." Paragraph #18
"Love of neighbor, grounded in the love of God, is first and foremost a responsiblity for each individual member of the faithful, but it is also a responsibility for the entire ecclesial community at every level: from the local community to the particular Church and to the Church universal in its entirety." Paragraph #20
Both of these paragraphs remind us that we are to love everyone and this love involves individuals, parishes, diocese and everyone. No exceptions. We even have to love those we do not like or who consider enemies. We can do this because God loves us. At times it might be hard to love ourself because we know how messed up we are, yet, God knows that too and still loves us. So, we then, should do the same with others. Love means trying to understand and help regardless if the other is "worthy" of it or not.
His second encyclical is Spe Salvi, "Saved in Hope". This is the second virture following love. It is a wonderful reflection on how hope, faith and love are connected. It points out where we can place our true hope and helps us become more hopeful in our daily lives. Again here are samples of this inspiring document:
"A first essential setting for learning hope is prayer. When no one listens to me any more, God still listens to me. When I can no longer talk to anyone or call upon anyone, I can always talk to God. When there is no longer anyone to help me deal with a need or expectation that goes beyond the human capacity for hope, he can help me." (Paragraph #32)
"It is, however, hope--not yet fulfilment; hope that gives us the courage to place ourselves on the side of good even in seemingly hopeless situations, aware that, as far as the external course of history is concerned, the power of sin will continue to be a terrible presence." (Paragraph #36)
"The true measure of humanity is essentially determined in relationship to suffereing and to the sufferer. This holds true both for the individual and for society. ... Yet society cannot accept its suffering members and support them in their trials unless individuals are capable of doing so themselves; moreover, the individual cannot accept another's suffering unless he personally is able to find meaning in suffering, a path of purification and growth in maturity, a journey of hope." (paragraph #38)
"No one is saved alone. the lives of other continually spill over into mine: in what I think, say, do and achieve. And conversely, my life spills over into that of others: for better and for worse. ... It is never too late to touch the heart of another, no is it ever in vain. ... As Christians we should never limit ourselves to asking: how can I save myself? We should also ask: what can I do in order that others may be saved and that for them too the star of hope may rise?" (Paragraph #48)
These passages deal with prayer, community, suffering and unity. Our Hope is in the Lord and the Lord fills us with His Spirit, thus we are strengthened and give hope to one another when we stay united on behalf of others suffering. Not so hard to understand, but so difficult, at times, to accomplish.
The last encyclical of Pope Benedict, Caritas en Veritate, Charity in Truth was released June 29, 2009 at the conclucion of the year of Paul. This letter is addressing the economic and social realities of today. It is in honor of the annversary of Pope Paul VI's encyclical "Populorum Progressio" or on human development. This one is very challenging to the current state of political and economic life in the United States and Europe. Some of its content might surprise some Catholics and possibly even anger them. Yet, the principles of this letter are very necessary for our world today. At 118 pages in my copy, it is by far the longest of his letters. The topics as listed in the table of contents are: Human Development in Our Time, Fraternity, Economic Development and Civil Society, The Development of People, Rights and Duties, The Environment, The cooperation of the Human Family and the Development of Peoples and Technology. It has a lot of moral implications for society in the areas of business, economics, and politics.
Here are some statements that I appreciated, but it is better to read to whole document to gain the context of the challenge Pope Benedict is giving us.
"Love---caritas----is an extraordinary force which leads people to opt for couragious and generous engagement in the field of justice and peace." #1
"Love in truth---caritas in veritate---is a great challenge for the Church in a world that is becoming porgressively and pervasively globalized. The risk for our time is that the de facto interdependence of people and nations is not matched by ethical interaction or consciences and minds that would give rise to truly human development." #9
"Thus, every economic decision has moral consequence." #37
"Today's international capital market offers great freedom of action. Yet there is also increasing awareness of the need for greater social responsiblity on the part of business. ... there is nevertheless a growing conviction that business management cannot concern itself only with the interests of the proprietors, but must also assume responsiblity for all the other stakeholders who contribute to the life of business: the workers, the clients, the suppliers of various elements of production, the community of reference." #40
"The economy needs ethics in order to function correctly--not any ethics whatsoever, but an ethics which is people-centered." #45
"The way humanity treats the environment influences the way it treats itself, and vice versa. ... Our duties towards the environment are linked to our duties towards the human person, considered in himself and in relation to others. " #51
"The development of people depends, above all, on a recongnition that the human race is a single family working together in true communion, not simply a group of subjects who happen to live side by side." #53
"Every migrant is a human person who, as such, possesses fundamental, inalienable rights that must be respected by everyone and in every circumstance. #62
"While reflecting on the theme of work, it is appropriate to recall how important it is that labor unions---which have always been encouraged and supported by the Church--should be open to the new perspectives that are emerging in the world of work." #64
"God gives us the strength to fight and suffer for love of the common good, because his is our All, our greatest hope." #78
I hope these statements wet your appetite to read more on these encyclicals. My bias is certainly evident. Yet, this too has been the fruit of my learning. Afterall, I have been living right next door to the Pope for the last three months.
No comments:
Post a Comment