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.

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.