Holy See Releases First Encyclical Letter of Pope Francis

The Holy See has released Lumen Fidei (The Light of Faith), the first encyclical letter of Pope Francis.  Begun by Pope Benedict, the encyclical is intended to complete his trilogy on the theological virtues and provide spiritual reflection and focus for the official Year of Faith.  In his introduction, Pope Francis states that Pope Benedict:

"had almost completed a first draft of an encyclical on faith. For this I am deeply grateful to him, and as his brother in Christ I have taken up his fine work and added a few contributions of my own. The Successor of Peter, yesterday, today and tomorrow, is always called to strengthen his brothers and sisters in the priceless treasure of that faith which God has given as a light for humanity’s path."

The full text follows:

ENCYCLICAL LETTER
LUMEN FIDEI
OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF
FRANCIS
TO THE BISHOPS PRIESTS AND DEACONS
CONSECRATED PERSONS
AND THE LAY FAITHFUL
ON FAITH

1. The light of Faith: this is how the Church’s tradition speaks of the great gift brought by Jesus. In John’s Gospel, Christ says of himself: "I have come as light into the world, that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness" (Jn 12:46). Saint Paul uses the same image: "God who said ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts" (2 Cor 4:6). The pagan world, which hungered for light, had seen the growth of the cult of the sun god, Sol Invictus, invoked each day at sunrise. Yet though the sun was born anew each morning, it was clearly incapable of casting its light on all of human existence. The sun does not illumine all reality; its rays cannot penetrate to the shadow of death, the place where men’s eyes are closed to its light. "No one — Saint Justin Martyr writes — has ever been ready to die for his faith in the sun".[1] Conscious of the immense horizon which their faith opened before them, Christians invoked Jesus as the true sun "whose rays bestow life".[2] To Martha, weeping for the death of her brother Lazarus, Jesus said: "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" (Jn 11:40). Those who believe, see; they see with a light that illumines their entire journey, for it comes from the risen Christ, the morning star which never sets.

Pope's New Encyclical Explores "Crisis of Christian Hope"

Vatican, Nov. 30, 2007 (CWNews.com) - Spe Salvi, the 2nd encyclical letter of Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news), is a profound, tightly reasoned, but surprisingly accessible meditation on the theological virtue of hope.

Following the usual practice, the encyclical takes its title from the first words of the document, a quotation from the 8th chapter of St. Paul's epistle to the Romans: Spe salvi facti sumus-- "For in this hope we were saved." The 76-page document, presented in 8 chapters, explains the Christian understanding of hope, and contrasts it with the hope that modern secularists place in ideological systems.

Pope Benedict opens the encyclical with the observation that "according to the Christian faith, 'redemption'-- salvation-- is not simply a given." But the promise of salvation provides "trustworthy hope, by virtue of which we can face our present."

Christians have confidence in their eternal fate, the Pope said. "The dark door of time, of the future, has been thrown open. The one who has hope lives differently; the one who hopes has been granted the gift of a new life."

This sort of hope is not possible, the Pope argues, "without God in the world." But for the believer, hope is enough to changes one's approach to life, one's essential attitude. Thus, the Pope says, the virtue is "not just 'informative' but 'performative.'"

In the early days of Christianity, many people lived in slavery and servitude of various kinds. But Jesus was not a political liberator like Spartacus or Barabbas, Spe Salvi points out. Christ offered hope of a different sort of freedom -- a hope that transformed the way his followers looked upon life.

Christians also experienced a new sort of hope with the realization that their salvation lay in a loving personal God, and that through all the difficulties of life they remained children of this loving Father. The faithful no longer saw themselves as helpless in the face of inexorable physical forces or unseen cosmic powers. The Pope writes, "it is not the laws of matter and of evolution that have the final say, but reason, will, love-- a Person."

In modern times, however, men have come to place their trust on different powers, the Pope says. Relying more and more heavily on scientific reason, men have pursued a cult of progress, in the belief that reason can ultimately bring about a "kingdom of man," a "new and perfect human community."

This secular faith is at odds with Christian belief, the Pope says. It is also a distorted reflection of the Christian confidence in God. He says: "The present-day crisis of faith is essentially a crisis of Christian hope."

First in the French Revolution and again in Marxist ideology, political thinkers sought to establish a system of society based on reason, thinking that it would ensure the ultimate in human freedom. In fact, the Pope observes, the result was a "trail of appalling destruction."

The problem of these ideological systems, the Pope argues, is their failure to address the innate spiritual dimension of human nature. Refusing to place their trust in God, ideologues ended by leaving men with no hope at all. "Let us put it very simply: man needs God, otherwise he remains without hope."

Pope Benedict encourages Christians to cultivate the virtue of hope in several different ways. The first is prayer. "When no one listens to me any more," the Pope writes, "God still listens to me." This is a source of hope, and prayer strengthens the virtue.

"Hope in a Christian sense is always hope for others as well," the Pope continues. Therefore a Christian both shows and strengthens his hope through apostolic work. And when life brings setbacks and suffering-- as it inevitably will-- these too can be "settings" for learning hope, the Pontiff writes. While we do our best to ease suffering, he writes, we grow "by our capacity for accepting it, maturing through it, and finding meaning through union with Christ, Who suffered with infinite love."

Christian hope points toward the future, the afterlife, and the Final Judgment, Pope Benedict reminds us. "There is justice. There is an 'undoing' of past suffering, a reparation that sets things aright." So the thought of a final reckoning is another "setting" for hope, Spe Salvi teaches.

Pope Benedict concludes his encyclical with a chapter entitled "Mary, Star of Hope." The Blessed Virgin, he writes, is an inspiration and a guide for the faithful in learning the virtue of hope. He ends Spe Salvi with a prayer for her intercession, as the ultimate remedy for the current "crisis of Christian hope."

Spe Salvi: Full English Text of Papal Encyclical (Vatican)