WE PROFESS YOUR RESURRECTION

ALL THE BISHOPS OF THE WORLD
were assembled for the Second Vatican Council

Now the Holy Father invites all of the Bishops of the world to join with him during the Year of Faith in recalling God's generous and precious gift of Faith. He calls for the year to be celebrated in "a worthy and fruitful manner". He desires all the faithful to intensify their reflection on the Faith, so that all believers may more consciously and vigorously adhere to the Gospel. He emphasizes the importance of this especially in these times of radical change we are all experiencing. The Holy Father sees the public profession of our Faith, in our families and homes, our schools, churches and Cathedrals right around the world, as giving us strength through God's grace, so that we may know our Faith better, and better transmit it to future generations. He requires all religious communities new and old, to find ways to make a public profession of the Credo.

The Holy Father goes on to emphasize that he desires every believer to profess their Faith in its fullness with renewed conviction and with confidence and hope. Inevitably of course, this leads him to the subject of the celebration of the Faith through the Sacred Liturgy. (One is reminded of Father John Zuhlsdorf's theme on WDTPRS? Blog - Save the Liturgy - Save the World.)The Holy Father quotes the Council's document" Sacrosanctum Consilium ": that the Eucharist is "the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed......and the source from which all its power flows." At the same time, he prays that the witness of Faith affecting the lives of believers may grow in credibility - especially in the Year of Faith.

THE SOURCE ..AND SUMMIT
PUBLIC PROFESSION OF OUR FAITH
Chaplain Mike Dalton celebrates Holy Mass in the field during WWII .

These times as a whole, are therefore seen to be as demanding as the separate occasions Saint Thomas Aquinas envisaged, when he wrote :" It is not necessary for salvation to confess one's Faith at all times and in all places, but in certain places and at certain times, when, namely, by omitting to do so, we would deprive God of due honor, or our neighbor of a service that we ought to render to him : for instance, if a man on being asked about his Faith, were to remain silent, so as to make people believe either that he is without Faith, or that the Faith is false, or so as to turn others away from the Faith; for in such cases as these, confession of Faith is necessary for Salvation." ( Summa Theologica , 2-2,3,2. 13th Cent.)

The exceptional witness of early Catholics in those very first centuries after the Resurrection, the Holy Father recalls especially their reverence for and familiarity with the Creed. So great was that reverence and familiarity, that they could and did, recite the Creed from memory. It had been learned by heart. Upon being received into the Church they recited it as a group and then individually, one by one, before the copy of it was formally presented to them.

So we see that the object of the Year of Faith is that every believer should make his own, the task of re-discovering the content of the Faith, professing it, celebrating it , living it and praying it - in sum, being totally renewed as a true follower of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

WORLD YOUTH DAY 2008 OPENING MASS'
"We Proclaim your Death O Lord, and profess Your Resurrection"

A CONTINUOUS CRESCENDO

The  Fullness of God's Love for us.

"The Year of Faith is" the Holy Father tells us, “a summons to an authentic and renewed conversion to the Lord, the one Saviour of the world." He expands on this explanation of its purpose by referring to the great mystery of the death and resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ which reveal so dramatically the fullness of God's Love for us and open the way for our conversion of life through the forgiveness of sins.

He goes on to quote Saint Paul:

"We were buried......with Him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in the newness of life."(Rom. 6:4)

Then the Holy Father tells us that “Through Faith, this new life shapes the whole of human existence according to the radical new reality of the Resurrection." We are given a deeper appreciation of this great reality by considering the words of Pope Leo XIII in "Tametsi"(All Saints Day, 1900):

”...He is the origin and source of all good, and just as mankind could not be freed from slavery but by the sacrifice of Christ, so neither can it be preserved but by His power."

 In a wonderful reflection upon a variety of writings of Saint Paul, Pope Benedict explains that "Faith working through love" (Gal. 5:6) becomes a new criterion of understanding and action that changes the whole of man's life.

The LateFather John Hardon S.J.
A remarkable example of a life of Faith working through love.

This is a crucial insight. It is something we have always understood implicitly, but here it is so succinctly expressed that we are able to address its implications more effectively. It is a brilliant expression of the appropriate understanding of Jesus as the "Way". It reveals to us with unavoidable clarity how we must follow the "Way".

Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman's words should leave us unsurprised that we are always able to learn more from the life of Christ: "Every passage in the history of Our Lord and Saviour is of unfathomable depth, and affords inexhaustible matter of contemplation. All that concerns Him is infinite, and what we first discern is but the surface of that which begins and ends in eternity."(Discourses to Mixed Congregations - 19th Cent.)

Moving on the Holy Father explores the implications of this insight, and takes up the ancient formula : " Caritas Christi urget nos" that is " The Love of Christ impels us" (2Cor. 5:14), showing that it is precisely the working of Faith through love, that propels evangelization in every generation and to the ends of the earth. He urges us in effect to re-kindle the fire of apostolic zeal which will fuel the new evangelization. And, he shows that this very act of living out the implications of Faith, itself further develops that Faith and the grace and joy which follow and causes in those evangelized the opening of their hearts and minds to the Divine message.

Two lives exemplifying Faith working through love
in the service of Jesus Christ

The Holy Father quotes the great Saint Augustine to the effect that believers "strengthen themselves by believing". And he shows that in the Saints life we see a continual quest to "…search for the beauty of Faith until such time as his heart would find rest in God". He points out that the mighty writings of Saint Augustine still, after some 1,600 years are leading people to the "door of Faith".

Pope Benedict concludes this section:"Only through believing, then, does Faith grow and become stronger; there is no other possibility for possessing certitude with regard to one's life apart from self abandonment, in a continuous crescendo, into the hands of a love that seems to grow constantly because it has its origin in God."

AN INVITATION

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God Bless you all!

"".........AND FOLLOW ME."

TRULY FOLLOWING CHRIST

Some three hundred and fifty years before the Motu Proprio "PORTA FIDEI", Father Nicola Avancini S.J. Wrote his " THE LIFE AND TEACHING OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST" , which has become known as Avancini's Meditations.

JESUS BIDS THOSE WHO WOULD FOLLOW HIM TO TAKE UP THEIR CROSS                                              

                                                       AND FOLLOW HIM

For Thursday of the Seventeenth Week after Pentecost (EF Calendar of course) at No. 325 he describes beautifully what is necessary to truly follow Christ:

“THE CROSS MUST BE BORNE AFTER CHRIST

I "Then Jesus said to His disciples: If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself" (Matt. XVI: 24).The will to do this is left to our free choice. None are compelled, none are excluded. A good and serious will, however, is needed, and not one that is changeable. Let him that has such a will first of all, "deny himself", not by depriving himself only of external things, but of his private judgment, his own will, affections and desires that are base, whatever else that belongs to the Old Man, and by the killing of self love. This is the first beginning of all Christian perfection. Dear God! How true it is that hitherto I have learnt nothing and how much there is to learn! When will be the time to begin? If I remain as changeable as I am at present, the time will never come.

II "And take up His cross".

This is the second rule in this short summary of the way to perfection. By the cross we are to understand all adversities of mind and body. We must "take it up", whatever it includes, however long it lasts, and however wide it's arms, whether our souls are raised to the seventh heaven or cast down in the depths of humiliations, always, constantly, humbly, and in whatever circumstances. If we had been standing beside Christ crucified, and He had asked this of us would we have denied it to Him Who was dying for us? Then let us not deny it to Him now, for He asks it of us always, we owe it to Him always, and He deserves it always.

III. "And follow Me".

And so the summit of perfection is contained in the three words: Self-denial, Endurance, and Action. Perfection is not reached by practicing these virtues for a number of years only. We must follow Christ indefinitely, animated by His example as He goes before us, like a soldier following his general, a servant following his lord, and a son following his father. How long must it be for? We are not told; therefore it must be till death. Along what path? We do not know this either. It may be along one that is smooth, or it may be along one that is rough, anyway, it is not for us to choose one any more than another. How have we faced up to it so far? And what about our life in the future?"

There it is. We all like to think of getting closer to Christ as St.John did at the Last Supper - resting our head at last forever secure and at peace on His breast, or perhaps, collapsing at His feet, sinful and truly sorrowful, in the sure and certain hope of His Mercy and Forgiveness. But He wants us up and doing whatever is necessary to follow Him.

So, we have paused in our consideration of PORTA FIDEI, to consider the fundamental requirements for following Our Divine Lord, received from His own lips. Next time we shall return to the consideration of the text of PORTA FIDEI.

RARE BEAUTY AND GREAT SIGNIFICANCE

Jesus calls "us to conversion through the forgiveness of sins."

Quoting from the Council's Dogmatic Constitution "LUMEN GENTIUM" ("LIGHT OF THE PEOPLES"), the Holy Father presents a passage of rare beauty and great significance- "While "Christ, "holy, innocent and undefiled"(Heb.7:26)knew nothing of sin(Cf. 2Cor.5:21), but came only to expiate the sins of the people(Cf. Heb. 2:17).........the Church........clasping sinners to its bosom, at once holy and always in need of purification, follows constantly the path of penance and renewal". The Church, "like a stranger in a foreign land, presses forward amid the persecutions of the world and the consolations of God "announcing the cross and death of the risen Lord until He comes."

What a brilliant image! Truly lyrical language, deep with significance for the salvation of us all. It called to my mind the statuary once common around insurance companies depicting a hastily clad woman in classical attire clutching her children , and herself shielded and protected by the strong arms of her husband as they both look back anxiously at some dreadful threat.

Here we are given a similar image of Christ the Saviour protecting His Bride the Church and His children her faithful, as she struggles on protecting them against the agents of the Evil One.

The passage concludes: "But by the power of the Risen Lord it is given strength to overcome, in patience and in love, it's sorrow and it's difficulties, both those that are from within, and those that are from without,so that it may reveal in the world, faithfully, although with shadows, the mystery of its Lord until, in the end, it shall be manifested in full light."

From this inspiring consideration, the Holy Father proceeds to unfold the rationale for the Year of Faith - "a summons to an authentic and renewed conversion to the Lord, the one Saviour of the world." The revelation of God's Love for us through the Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus for our salvation, calls us to conversion through the forgiveness of sins (Acts 5:31). He shows how Saint Paul demonstrates that this Love " ushers us into new life" (Rom. 6:4) . Through Faith this new life transforms human existence " according to the radical new reality of the Resurrection." The journey of Faith, is never completely finished in this life, he tells us,as "to the extent that he freely cooperates, man's thoughts and affections, mentality and conduct are slowly purified and transformed." Faith working through love" (Gal. 5:6) becomes a new criterion of understanding and action that changes the whole of man's life.( Cf. Rom. 12:2, Col. 3- 9:10, Eph. 4: 20-29, 2Cor. 

"SALT" AND "LIGHT"

Now that we have completed our overview of PORTA FIDEI, we return to the text for careful reflection.

Vicar of Christ on Earth, Pope Benedict recalls Our Lord’s expectation of His disciples and calls us to reflect on how dire the situation might be if we do not meet the Saviour’s expectations.

On the Mount of the Beatitudes

But what were they? 

Let us recall the times and the scene: Jesus had been preaching and teaching in Galilee with great effect. So great indeed, that people were flocking to hear Him from all over Galilee and the Decapolis, from Judea and Jerusalem itself, from Syria and even from across the Jordan. So great were the numbers, that Jesus ascended a low mountain which, even to-day, commands a wide plain. From here he delivered the Sermon on the Mount and gave the world the Beatitudes.

 But after the Divine revelation of the Beatitudes, He had still more to say to the disciples, listen to the Lord of the World as He speaks:

“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltness be restored? It is no good for anything except to be thrown out and trodden under foot by men.”(Matt. 5:13) 

He goes on: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father Who is in Heaven. ( Matt.  5: 14-16)

Jesus‘ expectations of those disciples in far off Galilee some 2,000 years ago are the very same for us to-day, it is as if we were sitting at His feet on that slope and , eyeball to eyeball with God made man. An electrifying thought!

The Holy Father moves our thoughts along. He recalls the Samaritan woman at the well and says that we must, like her, get close to Jesus and draw from Him, the water of salvation. In Jesus we must renew our knowledge and realization of the Word of Life and the Bread of Salvation. In this call by the Holy Father, and reflecting on his remarks shortly before, we see a great reality. We can never assume that “we have arrived” at the fullness of Christian life, rather, we must always be striving to grow in our knowledge and closeness to Christ. 

This is true not only for the individual but for the Church as a whole. For the society in which we live is continually evolving, often in ways that are not immediately apparent, but over time, come to confront us with unpalatable situations. In very recent years, in many places, the social order was well founded on Christian principles. Over time these have been subverted to the point where they are now openly challenged. So there can be no standing still in the Christian life .We must live in reality as “the salt of the earth” instilling and defending what is right and be the “light of world” leading men to Christ.

VICAR OF CHRIST POPE BENEDICT XVI

For this reason the Vicar of Christ, Pope Benedict has announced the YEAR OF FAITH:

The YEAR OF FAITH will commence on 11th October, 2012.  But why this date?

It is the 50th Anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council.

From the very beginning of his Pontificate, The Holy Father has been deliberate in his efforts to correct and root out the false “spirit of the Council” concept which relies upon a Hermeneutic of Rupture – spreading the false idea that the Council radically broke with the Church’s Tradition and brought into being a New Church – thus its servants speak of “the pre- Vatican II Church” and “the Post-Conciliar Church”. His Holiness has definitively refuted this proposition. By careful argument he has shown that in fact the only true view of the Council’s reality is provided by the adoption of a Hermeneutic of Continuity.

 For the Church is in fact the same throughout all time .Christ established one Church to last until He come again. No Council has the power to alter her Divine constitution or her infallibly taught Doctrine. Vatican II certainly did not. Nor did it do, or require many of the aberrations attributed to “the spirit of the Council”. Pope Benedict sees rightly that the Council was the work of the Holy Spirit and therefore he is keen to recover its authentic teachings, which have often been obscured by the fabrications of the false “spirit of the Council” activists. So by commencing the YEAR OF FAITH on the 50th Anniversary of the day the Council opened, he is drawing attention to the importance of the authentic teaching of the Council in the life of Faith.

For the same reason Blessed Pope John Paul II launched the Catechism of the Catholic Church on that same day and 2012 will see the 20th Anniversary of that great achievement – an authentic fruit of the Council as Pope Benedict reminds us.

The YEAR OF FAITH will end on 24th November, 2013 the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ Universal King. It will provide a year of particular reflection upon, and re-discovery of the Catholic Faith. A proper relationship with Christ in the Church which He founded- the one true Church – will always recognize this Universal Kingship of Christ. ( In fact it is emphasised in the Title of our sister Blog VEXILLA REGIS and in its sub-title : VEXILLA REGIS – “The BANNERS OF THE KING” and, CHRISTUS VINCIT, CHRISTUS REGNAT, CHRISTUS IMPERAT, CHRISTUS AB OMNI MALO PLEBEM SUAM DEFENDAT  - “CHRIST CONQUERS, CHRIST REIGNS, CHRIST RULES , CHRIST FROM ALL EVIL DEFENDS HIS PEOPLE”) http://vexilla-regis.blogspot.com/

Pope Benedict also recalls that in October, 2012 the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops he has convened will have as its theme “THE NEW EVANGELISATION FOR THE TRANSMISSION OF THE CATHOLIC FAITH”

He also asks us to note that in 1967 his Predecessor Pope Paul VI also announced a YEAR OF FAITH to commemorate the 19th centenary of the martyrdom of Saints Peter and Paul. Pope Paul saw it as a “consequence of the Council and a necessity of the post Conciliar period”. Pope Paul recognised the particular problems of that time, of universal political and societal upheaval and of difficulties in the profession of the true Faith and its correct interpretation. To-day, in very different times, the crises though different are no less acute and Faith is in need of renewal and re-invigoration as always.

In succeeding posts we will continue to follow the development of the Holy Father’s thought in PORTA FIDEI.

"..LIKE A STRANGER IN A FOREIGN LAND..."

The Vicar of Christ bids us to renew our commitment to Christ.

PORTA FIDEI - OVERVIEW

We have initially looked at the rationale behind the title of the Motu Proprio and it seems appropriate before going further into an in detail examination, to get a general overview of the document, so that we know where we are going and we can get a better understanding of the detail.

CHRISTIAN LIFE

The question asked of Jesus in the Gospels : "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" remains valid for every Christian in every Age. So does Jesus' response : " Believe in Him Whom He has sent." So we see that Faith is the great fundamental. Nothing could be more fitting for the Catholic than to celebrate a Year of Faith-and particularly in these troubled times.

SIGNIFICANT DATES

Two momentous Anniversaries coincide on the day the Year of Faith commences - it is the 50th Anniversary of the opening of the Second Council of the Vatican and it is the 20th Anniversary of  the promulgation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which the Holy Father points out, is an authentic fruit of the Council.

                                                          The Servant of God Pope Paul VI

Pope Benedict reminds us that his predecessor, Pope Paul VI chose the 1,900 th Anniversary of the deaths of Saint Peter and Saint Paul to launch the 1967 Year of Faith and that it came on the eve of the global upheaval of 1968. Pope Paul saw that Year of Faith as a consequence of the Council, and Pope Benedict sees the Year of Faith he is launching as equally a consequence of the Council.

In his hopes for the true development of Faith, Pope Benedict sees as fundamental the proper understanding, interpretation and implementation of the Council. As the Holy Father has demonstrated on several occasions, this has not happened yet because the post Conciliar Church has frequently been side-tracked by the false " spirit of the Council" propounding a "hermeneutic of Rupture". This was, and had to be, alien to the reality of the Council which operated on a "hermeneutic of Continuity". The Holy Father sees this proper appreciation of the Council and realization of its intentions as essential for the flourishing of the Faith.The renewal it proposed has to be lived in the lives of the faithful.

"..A STRANGER IN A FOREIGN LAND.."

The Holy Father reminds us that the Church, properly following Our Lord, will always be "like a stranger in a foreign land" . The faithful who make up the Mystical Body of Christ are in the World but not of the World. The Year of Faith he says, summons us to a renewed conversion to the Lord.

An important aspect of that renewal flows from the inspired writings of Saint Paul and Saint James and the ancient writings of Saint Augustine the great Doctor of the Church. Saint Paul proclaims "caritas Christi urget nos"- " the love of Christ impels us" and Saint James reminds us that Faith without works is dead. Saint Augustine for his part reminds us of a great reality when he prays "our hearts were made for Thee O Lord, and they will not rest until they rest in Thee". In the knowledge of  the relationship between these realities, Saint Augustine takes us a step further as the Holy Father reminds us, when he says :" disciples strengthen themselves by believing". Pope Benedict stresses the importance of self-abandonment as fundamental to growth in our relationship with Christ.

PUBLIC WITNESS

The Holy Father emphasizes the great importance of public profession of the Credo the profession of Faith, and the celebration of the Faith in the Sacred Liturgy-the source and summit of our Catholic Faith, this profession and ultimate celebration of Faith is reflected in the importance the Christians(Catholics) of early centuries placed in the learning of the Creed by heart.

PATH OF FAITH

Pope Benedict traces the path to be followed for growth in Faith - knowledge of the content of the Faith, followed by trust in God, leading to knowledge and understanding of what is proclaimed in Sacred Scripture.

In this way we come to stand , through testimony and commitment, with Christ.

The Church, Pope Benedict says, is the primary subject of Faith for she is the Mystical Body of Christ in the world. Knowledge of the Faith opens the door to the mystery of the plan of salvation God has for us.

This path is also open to non-believers of good intention honestly seeking to do what is right and good, so our public witness becomes essential if they are to discover the Truth.

CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

The Holy Father is fulsome in his praise for this"authentic fruit of the Council".He makes the point that it is not merely a theoretical work, rather, it provides an authentic encounter with Christ Himself by providing the fullness of His teaching.

He makes the point that, whereas the modern secular world makes science and technology the ultimate in belief, the Church embraces Truth in the Person of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

HISTORY OF THE FAITH

Pope Benedict asks us to give a framework to the Year of Faith by reflecting in depth on the history of the Faith. That history might be examined as follows, he says:

Study of Jesus Himself through Sacred Scripture,

Reflection upon the Blessed Virgin and Saint Joseph - their Faith and it's results in action,

The study of the Apostles, their Faith and Sacrifice for it,

The study of the disciples , their Faith and the foundation of the Church,

The study of the martyrs, their Faith and witness and their blood the seed of the Church,

The study of the lives of consecrated persons and their heroic Faith,

The study of the ordinary faithful throughout the history of the Church and reflection on the beauty of following Christ,

And finally reflection on our own Faith and the extent to which it has been allowed to affect our lives.

CHARITY

The realization of our Faith through good works is essential as we can see from the writings of Saints Paul and James. And, at the end of his life Saint Paul is still urging Saint Timothy to "aim at Faith" (2 Tim.2:22)with the same constancy as when he was a boy (cf. 2 Tim 3:15).The Holy Father sees the same exhortation as being made to each of us. The world needs credible witnesses to Faith "That the word of the Lord may speed on and triumph" (2 Th. 3:1)

The Vicar of Christ  "Take up your cross daily, and follow Me." 

The Holy Father draws his letter toward its conclusion by reflecting upon the joy of Faith and it's marvelous support through all the inevitable trials of life. He notes Saint Paul's consequential statement: "When I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Cor.12:10) 

He concludes saying that the Church, the visible community of God's Mercy, abides in Him as a sign of definitive reconciliation with the Father.

Finally, he asks that the Year of Faith be entrusted to the Mother of God, who was proclaimed " Blessed because she believed."(Lk 1:45)

OUR TASK HERE

 There is as you see a great deal in the Motu Proprio to be absorbed and reflected upon as we move toward the Year of Faith, if we are to realize its immense potential for our own good and the good of our families,communities, country and the world.We hope you will join us as we take up the task in future posts.

PORTA FIDEI : THE CONCEPT OF THE DOOR OF FAITH

In the Acts of the Apostles Chapter 14:27 we read :"And when they arrived, they gathered the church together and declared all that God had done with them, and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles." Thus Paul and Barnabas and their arrival in Antioch from the mission, is recounted.


The Holy Father uses this account to open his Apostolic Letter given  Motu Proprio, reminding us that the same "Door of Faith"remains open to-day. Now, as then, this door leads into the Church which is the mystical Body of Christ, where God's sacred Word is proclaimed and the Grace accompanying that proclamation, opens the hearts of men.


He quickly moves to the point that this leads to -  a journey that lasts a lifetime . From Baptism to Death, we move from earning the privilege of calling God Father , to the end in eternal life which Jesus made available to us through His Death and Resurrection. In the course of our always epic journey faith brings us belief in the Triune God, the Father Who willed the Son should come, the Son Who came to save not to condemn and the Holy Spirit Who leads the Church toward the return of Christ in glory.ThisTriune God is Love as St .John tells us.

Pope Benedict in procession in St.John the Lateran Basilica

The Holy Father shows that from the very beginning of his Pontificate he has been encouraging us to recover the sense of this journey through life to renew our joy and enthusiasm in our encounter with Christ. He notes that frequently people take for granted the stable existence of faith and become pre-occupied with the social, political and cultural consequences of that faith. However he deftly shows that such stable existence of faith and the culture it has bred,can no longer be taken for granted and, further are often openly denied due to a widespread crisis of faith.

In this way, the Holy Father begins the Letter which will announce the Year of Faith and seek to renew our relationship with Christ in His Mystical Body the Church. We will consider the Motu Proprio in these manageable portions because even though it is easily read, it is densely- packed  with ideas and needs to be absorbed thoughtfully.

MOTU PROPRIO : PORTA FIDEI

THE VICAR OF CHRIST - POPE BENEDICT XVI

BACKGROUND

We have established this Blog in order to provide a concentrated resource for following the the development and then the evolution of THE YEAR OF FAITH announced by the Holy Father in the Motu Proprio "Porta Fidei" released yesterday. All other matters of Catholic interest current, historical or of opinion, will continue to be followed on VEXILLA REGIS.BLOGSPOT.COM at:

http://vexilla-regis.blogspot.com/

MOTU PROPRIO "PORTA FIDEI"

Apostolic Letter "Motu Proprio data"

Porta Fidei

of the Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI

for the Indiction of the Year of Faith

1. The "door of faith" (Acts 14:27) is always open for us, ushering us into the life of communion with God and offering entry into his Church. It is possible to cross that threshold when the word of God is proclaimed and the heart allows itself to be shaped by transforming grace. To enter through that door is to set out on a journey that lasts a lifetime. It begins with baptism (cf. Rom 6:4), through which we can address God as Father, and it ends with the passage through death to eternal life, fruit of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, whose will it was, by the gift of the Holy Spirit, to draw those who believe in him into his own glory (cf. Jn 17:22). To profess faith in the Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – is to believe in one God who is Love (cf. 1 Jn 4:8): the Father, who in the fullness of time sent his Son for our salvation; Jesus Christ, who in the mystery of his death and resurrection redeemed the world; the Holy Spirit, who leads the Church across the centuries as we await the Lord’s glorious return.
2. Ever since the start of my ministry as Successor of Peter, I have spoken of the need to rediscover the journey of faith so as to shed ever clearer light on the joy and renewed enthusiasm of the encounter with Christ. During the homily at the Mass marking the inauguration of my pontificate I said: "The Church as a whole and all her Pastors, like Christ, must set out to lead people out of the desert, towards the place of life, towards friendship with the Son of God, towards the One who gives us life, and life in abundance."¹ It often happens that Christians are more concerned for the social, cultural and political consequences of their commitment, continuing to think of the faith as a self-evident presupposition for life in society. In reality, not only can this presupposition no longer be taken for granted, but it is often openly denied.² Whereas in the past it was possible to recognize a unitary cultural matrix, broadly accepted in its appeal to the content of the faith and the values inspired by it, today this no longer seems to be the case in large swathes of society, because of a profound crisis of faith that has affected many people.
3. We cannot accept that salt should become tasteless or the light be kept hidden (cf. Mt 5:13-16). The people of today can still experience the need to go to the well, like the Samaritan woman, in order to hear Jesus, who invites us to believe in him and to draw upon the source of living water welling up within him (cf. Jn4:14). We must rediscover a taste for feeding ourselves on the word of God, faithfully handed down by the Church, and on the bread of life, offered as sustenance for his disciples (cf. Jn 6:51). Indeed, the teaching of Jesus still resounds in our day with the same power: "Do not labour for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life" (Jn 6:27). The question posed by his listeners is the same that we ask today: "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" (Jn6:28). We know Jesus’ reply: "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent" (Jn 6:29). Belief in Jesus Christ, then, is the way to arrive definitively at salvation.
4. In the light of all this, I have decided to announce a Year of Faith. It will begin on 11. October 2012, the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, and it will end on the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Universal King, on 24 November 2013. The starting date of 11 October 2012 also marks the twentieth anniversary of the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, a text promulgated by my Predecessor, Blessed John Paul II,³ with a view to illustrating for all the faithful the power and beauty of the faith. This document, an authentic fruit of the Second Vatican Council, was requested by the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops in 1985 as an instrument at the service of catechesis⁴ and it was produced in collaboration with all the bishops of the Catholic Church. Moreover, the theme of the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops that I have convoked for October 2012 is "The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith". This will be a good opportunity to usher the whole Church into a time of particular reflection and rediscovery of the faith. It is not the first time that the Church has been called to celebrate a Year of Faith. My venerable Predecessor the Servant of God Paul VI announced one in 1967, to commemorate the martyrdom of Saints Peter and Paul on the 19^th centenary of their supreme act of witness. He thought of it as a solemn moment for the whole Church to make "an authentic and sincere profession of the same faith"; moreover, he wanted this to be confirmed in a way that was "individual and collective, free and conscious, inward and outward, humble and frank".⁵ He thought that in this way the whole Church could reappropriate "exact knowledge of the faith, so as to reinvigorate it, purify it, confirm it, and confess it".⁶ The great upheavals of that year made even more evident the need for a celebration of this kind. It concluded with the Credo of the People of God,⁷intended to show how much the essential content that for centuries has formed the heritage of all believers needs to be confirmed, understood and explored ever anew, so as to bear consistent witness in historical circumstances very different from those of the past.
5. In some respects, my venerable predecessor saw this Year as a "consequence and a necessity of the postconciliar period",⁸ fully conscious of the grave difficulties of the time, especially with regard to the profession of the true faith and its correct interpretation. It seemed to me that timing the launch of the Year of Faith to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council would provide a good opportunity to help people understand that the texts bequeathed by the Council Fathers, in the words of Blessed John Paul II, "have lost nothing of their value or brilliance. They need to be read correctly, to be widely known and taken to heart as important and normative texts of the Magisterium, within the Church's Tradition ... I feel more than ever in duty bound to point to the Council as the great grace bestowed on the Church in the twentieth century: there we find a sure compass by which to take our bearings in the century now beginning."⁹ I would also like to emphasize strongly what I had occasion to say concerning the Council a few months after my election as Successor of Peter: "if we interpret and implement it guided by a right hermeneutic, it can be and can become increasingly powerful for the ever necessary renewal of the Church."¹⁰
6. The renewal of the Church is also achieved through the witness offered by the lives of believers: by their very existence in the world, Christians are called to radiate the word of truth that the Lord Jesus has left us. The Council itself, in the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, said this: While "Christ, ‘holy, innocent and undefiled’ (Heb 7:26) knew nothing of sin (cf. 2 Cor 5:21), but came only to expiate the sins of the people (cf. Heb 2:17)... the Church ... clasping sinners to its bosom, at once holy and always in need of purification, follows constantly the path of penance and renewal. The Church, ‘like a stranger in a foreign land, presses forward amid the persecutions of the world and the consolations of God’, announcing the cross and death of the Lord until he comes (cf. 1 Cor 11:26). But by the power of the risen Lord it is given strength to overcome, in patience and in love, its sorrow and its difficulties, both those that are from within and those that are from without, so that it may reveal in the world, faithfully, although with shadows, the mystery of its Lord until, in the end, it shall be manifested in full light."¹¹
The Year of Faith, from this perspective, is a summons to an authentic and renewed conversion to the Lord, the one Saviour of the world. In the mystery of his death and resurrection, God has revealed in its fullness the Love that saves and calls us to conversion of life through the forgiveness of sins (cf. Acts 5:31). For Saint Paul, this Love ushers us into a new life: "We were buried ... with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life" (Rom 6:4). Through faith, this new life shapes the whole of human existence according to the radical new reality of the resurrection. To the extent that he freely cooperates, man’s thoughts and affections, mentality and conduct are slowly purified and transformed, on a journey that is never completely finished in this life. "Faith working through love" (Gal 5:6) becomes a new criterion of understanding and action that changes the whole of man’s life (cf. Rom 12:2;Col 3:9-10; Eph 4:20-29; 2 Cor 5:17).
7. "Caritas Christi urget nos" (2 Cor 5:14): it is the love of Christ that fills our hearts and impels us to evangelize. Today as in the past, he sends us through the highways of the world to proclaim his Gospel to all the peoples of the earth (cf. Mt 28:19). Through his love, Jesus Christ attracts to himself the people of every generation: in every age he convokes the Church, entrusting her with the proclamation of the Gospel by a mandate that is ever new. Today too, there is a need for stronger ecclesial commitment to new evangelization in order to rediscover the joy of believing and the enthusiasm for communicating the faith. In rediscovering his love day by day, the missionary commitment of believers attains force and vigour that can never fade away. Faith grows when it is lived as an experience of love received and when it is communicated as an experience of grace and joy. It makes us fruitful, because it expands our hearts in hope and enables us to bear life-giving witness: indeed, it opens the hearts and minds of those who listen to respond to the Lord’s invitation to adhere to his word and become his disciples. Believers, so Saint Augustine tells us, "strengthen themselves by believing".¹² The saintly Bishop of Hippo had good reason to express himself in this way. As we know, his life was a continual search for the beauty of the faith until such time as his heart would find rest in God.¹³ His extensive writings, in which he explains the importance of believing and the truth of the faith, continue even now to form a heritage of incomparable riches, and they still help many people in search of God to find the right path towards the "door of faith".
Only through believing, then, does faith grow and become stronger; there is no other possibility for possessing certitude with regard to one’s life apart from self-abandonment, in a continuous crescendo, into the hands of a love that seems to grow constantly because it has its origin in God.
8. On this happy occasion, I wish to invite my brother bishops from all over the world to join the Successor of Peter, during this time of spiritual grace that the Lord offers us, in recalling the precious gift of faith. We want to celebrate this Year in a worthy and fruitful manner. Reflection on the faith will have to be intensified, so as to help all believers in Christ to acquire a more conscious and vigorous adherence to the Gospel, especially at a time of profound change such as humanity is currently experiencing. We will have the opportunity to profess our faith in the Risen Lord in our cathedrals and in the churches of the whole world; in our homes and among our families, so that everyone may feel a strong need to know better and to transmit to future generations the faith of all times. Religious communities as well as parish communities, and all ecclesial bodies old and new, are to find a way, during this Year, to make a public profession of the Credo.
9. We want this Year to arouse in every believer the aspiration to profess the faith in fullness and with renewed conviction, with confidence and hope. It will also be a good opportunity to intensify the celebration of the faith in the liturgy, especially in the Eucharist, which is "the summit towards which the activity of the Church is directed; ... and also the source from which all its power flows."¹⁴ At the same time, we make it our prayer that believers’ witness of life may grow in credibility. To rediscover the content of the faith that is professed, celebrated, lived and prayed,¹⁵ and to reflect on the act of faith, is a task that every believer must make his own, especially in the course of this Year.
Not without reason, Christians in the early centuries were required to learn the creed from memory. It served them as a daily prayer not to forget the commitment they had undertaken in baptism. With words rich in meaning, Saint Augustine speaks of this in a homily on the redditio symboli, the handing over of the creed: "the symbol of the holy mystery that you have all received together and that today you have recited one by one, are the words on which the faith of Mother Church is firmly built above the stable foundation that is Christ the Lord. You have received it and recited it, but in your minds and hearts you must keep it ever present, you must repeat it in your beds, recall it in the public squares and not forget it during meals: even when your body is asleep, you must watch over it with your hearts."¹⁶
10. At this point I would like to sketch a path intended to help us understand more profoundly not only the content of the faith, but also the act by which we choose to entrust ourselves fully to God, in complete freedom. In fact, there exists a profound unity between the act by which we believe and the content to which we give our assent. Saint Paul helps us to enter into this reality when he writes: "Man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved" (Rom 10:10). The heart indicates that the first act by which one comes to faith is God’s gift and the action of grace which acts and transforms the person deep within.
The example of Lydia is particularly eloquent in this regard. Saint Luke recounts that, while he was at Philippi, Paul went on the Sabbath to proclaim the Gospel to some women; among them was Lydia and "the Lord opened her heart to give heed to what was said by Paul" (Acts 16:14). There is an important meaning contained within this expression. Saint Luke teaches that knowing the content to be believed is not sufficient unless the heart, the authentic sacred space within the person, is opened by grace that allows the eyes to see below the surface and to understand that what has been proclaimed is the word of God.
Confessing with the lips indicates in turn that faith implies public testimony and commitment. A Christian may never think of belief as a private act. Faith is choosing to stand with the Lord so as to live with him. This "standing with him" points towards an understanding of the reasons for believing. Faith, precisely because it is a free act, also demands social responsibility for what one believes. The Church on the day of Pentecost demonstrates with utter clarity this public dimension of believing and proclaiming one’s faith fearlessly to every person. It is the gift of the Holy Spirit that makes us fit for mission and strengthens our witness, making it frank and courageous.
Profession of faith is an act both personal and communitarian. It is the Church that is the primary subject of faith. In the faith of the Christian community, each individual receives baptism, an effective sign of entry into the people of believers in order to obtain salvation. As we read in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: " ‘I believe’ is the faith of the Church professed personally by each believer, principally during baptism. ‘We believe’ is the faith of the Church confessed by the bishops assembled in council or more generally by the liturgical assembly of believers. ‘I believe’ is also the Church, our mother, responding to God by faith as she teaches us to say both ‘I believe’ and ‘we believe’."¹⁷
Evidently, knowledge of the content of faith is essential for giving one’s own assent, that is to say for adhering fully with intellect and will to what the Church proposes. Knowledge of faith opens a door into the fullness of the saving mystery revealed by God. The giving of assent implies that, when we believe, we freely accept the whole mystery of faith, because the guarantor of its truth is God who reveals himself and allows us to know his mystery of love.¹⁸
On the other hand, we must not forget that in our cultural context, very many people, while not claiming to have the gift of faith, are nevertheless sincerely searching for the ultimate meaning and definitive truth of their lives and of the world. This search is an authentic "preamble" to the faith, because it guides people onto the path that leads to the mystery of God. Human reason, in fact, bears within itself a demand for "what is perennially valid and lasting".¹⁹ This demand constitutes a permanent summons, indelibly written into the human heart, to set out to find the One whom we would not be seeking had he not already set out to meet us.²⁰ To this encounter, faith invites us and it opens us in fullness.
11. In order to arrive at a systematic knowledge of the content of the faith, all can find in the Catechism of the Catholic Church a precious and indispensable tool. It is one of the most important fruits of the Second Vatican Council. In the Apostolic Constitution Fidei Depositum, signed, not by accident, on the thirtieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, Blessed John Paul II wrote: "this catechism will make a very important contribution to that work of renewing the whole life of the Church ... I declare it to be a valid and legitimate instrument for ecclesial communion and a sure norm for teaching the faith."²¹
It is in this sense that that the Year of Faith will have to see a concerted effort to rediscover and study the fundamental content of the faith that receives its systematic and organic synthesis in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Here, in fact, we see the wealth of teaching that the Church has received, safeguarded and proposed in her two thousand years of history. From Sacred Scripture to the Fathers of the Church, from theological masters to the saints across the centuries, theCatechism provides a permanent record of the many ways in which the Church has meditated on the faith and made progress in doctrine so as to offer certitude to believers in their lives of faith.
In its very structure, the Catechism of the Catholic Church follows the development of the faith right up to the great themes of daily life. On page after page, we find that what is presented here is no theory, but an encounter with a Person who lives within the Church. The profession of faith is followed by an account of sacramental life, in which Christ is present, operative and continues to build his Church. Without the liturgy and the sacraments, the profession of faith would lack efficacy, because it would lack the grace which supports Christian witness. By the same criterion, the teaching of the Catechism on the moral life acquires its full meaning if placed in relationship with faith, liturgy and prayer.
12. In this Year, then, the Catechism of the Catholic Church will serve as a tool providing real support for the faith, especially for those concerned with the formation of Christians, so crucial in our cultural context. To this end, I have invited the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, by agreement with the competent Dicasteries of the Holy See, to draw up a Note, providing the Church and individual believers with some guidelines on how to live this Year of Faith in the most effective and appropriate ways, at the service of belief and evangelization.
To a greater extent than in the past, faith is now being subjected to a series of questions arising from a changed mentality which, especially today, limits the field of rational certainties to that of scientific and technological discoveries. Nevertheless, the Church has never been afraid of demonstrating that there cannot be any conflict between faith and genuine science, because both, albeit via different routes, tend towards the truth.²²
13. One thing that will be of decisive importance in this Year is retracing the history of our faith, marked as it is by the unfathomable mystery of the interweaving of holiness and sin. While the former highlights the great contribution that men and women have made to the growth and development of the community through the witness of their lives, the latter must provoke in each person a sincere and continuing work of conversion in order to experience the mercy of the Father which is held out to everyone.
During this time we will need to keep our gaze fixed upon Jesus Christ, the "pioneer and perfecter of our faith" (Heb 12:2): in him, all the anguish and all the longing of the human heart finds fulfilment. The joy of love, the answer to the drama of suffering and pain, the power of forgiveness in the face of an offence received and the victory of life over the emptiness of death: all this finds fulfilment in the mystery of his Incarnation, in his becoming man, in his sharing our human weakness so as to transform it by the power of his resurrection. In him who died and rose again for our salvation, the examples of faith that have marked these two thousand years of our salvation history are brought into the fullness of light.
By faith, Mary accepted the Angel’s word and believed the message that she was to become the Mother of God in the obedience of her devotion (cf. Lk 1:38). Visiting Elizabeth, she raised her hymn of praise to the Most High for the marvels he worked in those who trust him (cf. Lk 1:46-55). With joy and trepidation she gave birth to her only son, keeping her virginity intact (cf. Lk 2:6-7). Trusting in Joseph, her husband, she took Jesus to Egypt to save him from Herod’s persecution (cf. Mt 2:13-15). With the same faith, she followed the Lord in his preaching and remained with him all the way to Golgotha (cf. Jn 19:25-27). By faith, Mary tasted the fruits of Jesus’ resurrection, and treasuring every memory in her heart (cf. Lk 2:19, 51), she passed them on to the Twelve assembled with her in the Upper Room to receive the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 1:14; 2:1-4).
By faith, the Apostles left everything to follow their Master (cf. Mk 10:28). They believed the words with which he proclaimed the Kingdom of God present and fulfilled in his person (cf. Lk 11:20). They lived in communion of life with Jesus who instructed them with his teaching, leaving them a new rule of life, by which they would be recognized as his disciples after his death (cf. Jn 13:34-35). By faith, they went out to the whole world, following the command to bring the Gospel to all creation (cf. Mk 16:15) and they fearlessly proclaimed to all the joy of the resurrection, of which they were faithful witnesses.
By faith, the disciples formed the first community, gathered around the teaching of the Apostles, in prayer, in celebration of the Eucharist, holding their possessions in common so as to meet the needs of the brethren (cf. Acts 2:42-47).
By faith, the martyrs gave their lives, bearing witness to the truth of the Gospel that had transformed them and made them capable of attaining to the greatest gift of love: the forgiveness of their persecutors.
By faith, men and women have consecrated their lives to Christ, leaving all things behind so as to live obedience, poverty and chastity with Gospel simplicity, concrete signs of waiting for the Lord who comes without delay. By faith, countless Christians have promoted action for justice so as to put into practice the word of the Lord, who came to proclaim deliverance from oppression and a year of favour for all (cf. Lk 4:18-19).
By faith, across the centuries, men and women of all ages, whose names are written in the Book of Life (cf. Rev 7:9, 13:8), have confessed the beauty of following the Lord Jesus wherever they were called to bear witness to the fact that they were Christian: in the family, in the workplace, in public life, in the exercise of the charisms and ministries to which they were called.
By faith, we too live: by the living recognition of the Lord Jesus, present in our lives and in our history.
14. The Year of Faith will also be a good opportunity to intensify the witness of charity. As Saint Paul reminds us: "So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love" (1 Cor 13:13). With even stronger words – which have always placed Christians under obligation – Saint James said: "What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works? Can his faith save him? If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled’, without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. But some one will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith" (Jas 2:14-18).
Faith without charity bears no fruit, while charity without faith would be a sentiment constantly at the mercy of doubt. Faith and charity each require the other, in such a way that each allows the other to set out along its respective path. Indeed, many Christians dedicate their lives with love to those who are lonely, marginalized or excluded, as to those who are the first with a claim on our attention and the most important for us to support, because it is in them that the reflection of Christ’s own face is seen. Through faith, we can recognize the face of the risen Lord in those who ask for our love. "As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me" (Mt 25:40). These words are a warning that must not be forgotten and a perennial invitation to return the love by which he takes care of us. It is faith that enables us to recognize Christ and it is his love that impels us to assist him whenever he becomes our neighbour along the journey of life. Supported by faith, let us look with hope at our commitment in the world, as we await "new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells" (2 Pet 3:13; cf. Rev 21:1).
15. Having reached the end of his life, Saint Paul asks his disciple Timothy to "aim at faith" (2 Tim 2:22) with the same constancy as when he was a boy (cf. 2 Tim3:15). We hear this invitation directed to each of us, that none of us grow lazy in the faith. It is the lifelong companion that makes it possible to perceive, ever anew, the marvels that God works for us. Intent on gathering the signs of the times in the present of history, faith commits every one of us to become a living sign of the presence of the Risen Lord in the world. What the world is in particular need of today is the credible witness of people enlightened in mind and heart by the word of the Lord, and capable of opening the hearts and minds of many to the desire for God and for true life, life without end.
"That the word of the Lord may speed on and triumph" (2 Th 3:1): may this Year of Faith make our relationship with Christ the Lord increasingly firm, since only in him is there the certitude for looking to the future and the guarantee of an authentic and lasting love. The words of Saint Peter shed one final ray of light on faith: "In this you rejoice, though now for a little while you may have to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold which though perishable is tested by fire, may redound to praise and glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Without having seen him you love him; though you do not now see him you believe in him and rejoice with unutterable and exalted joy. As the outcome of your faith you obtain the salvation of your souls" (1 Pet 1:6-9). The life of Christians knows the experience of joy as well as the experience of suffering. How many of the saints have lived in solitude! How many believers, even in our own day, are tested by God’s silence when they would rather hear his consoling voice! The trials of life, while helping us to understand the mystery of the Cross and to participate in the sufferings of Christ (cf. Col 1:24), are a prelude to the joy and hope to which faith leads: "when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Cor 12:10). We believe with firm certitude that the Lord Jesus has conquered evil and death. With this sure confidence we entrust ourselves to him: he, present in our midst, overcomes the power of the evil one (cf. Lk 11:20); and the Church, the visible community of his mercy, abides in him as a sign of definitive reconciliation with the Father.
Let us entrust this time of grace to the Mother of God, proclaimed "blessed because she believed" (Lk 1:45).
Given in Rome, at Saint Peter’s, on 11 October in the year 2011, the seventh of my Pontificate.

BENEDICTUS PP. XVI

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^{1 Homily for the beginning of the Petrine Ministry of the Bishop of Rome (24 April 2005): AAS 97 (2005), 710.
2 Cf. Benedict XVI, Homily at Holy Mass in Lisbon’s "Terreiro do Paço" (11 May 2010): Insegnamenti VI:1 (2010), 673.
3 Cf. John Paul II, Apostolic Constitution Fidei Depositum (11 October 1992): AAS 86 (1994), 113-118.
4 Cf. Final Report of the Second Extraordinary Synod of Bishops (7 December 1985), II, B, a, 4 in Enchiridion Vaticanum, ix, n. 1797.
5 Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation Petrum et Paulum Apostolos on the XIX centenary of the martyrdom of Saints Peter and Paul (22 February 1967): AAS 59 (1967), 196.
6 Ibid., 198.
7 Paul VI, Credo of the People of God, cf. Homily at Mass on the XIX centenary of the martyrdom of Saints Peter and Paul at the conclusion of the "Year of Faith" (30 June 1968): AAS 60 (1968), 433-445.
8 Paul VI, General Audience (14 June 1967): Insegnamenti V (1967), 801.
9 John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte (6 January 2001), 57: AAS 93 (2001), 308.
10 Address to the Roman Curia (22 December 2005): AAS 98 (2006), 52.
11 Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 8.
12 De Utilitate Credendi, I:2.
13 Cf. Saint Augustine, Confessions, I:1.
14 Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium, 10.
15 Cf. John Paul II, Apostolic Constitution Fidei Depositum (11 October 1992): AAS 86 (1994), 116.
16 Sermo 215:1.
17 Catechism of the Catholic Church, 167.
18 Cf. First Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Catholic Faith Dei Filius, chap. III: DS 3008-3009: Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation Dei Verbum, 5.
19 Benedict XVI, Address at the Collège des Bernardins, Paris (12 September 2008): AAS 100 (2008), 722.
20 Cf. Saint Augustine, Confessions, XIII:1.
21 John Paul II, Apostolic Constitution Fidei Depositum (11 October 1992): AAS 86 (1994), 115 and 117.
22 Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Fides et Ratio (14 September 1998), 34, 106: AAS 91 (1999), 31-32, 86-87.}