New Encyclical, "Lumen Fidei"

On June 29, the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, Pope Francis issued his first encyclical letter, Lumen Fidei, "The Light of Faith."  He admitted in remarks after the letter was released that it was "the work of four hands," that is, written both by Pope Benedict XVI and himself.  I would judge that 95% or more was written by Benedict (Joseph Ratzinger).  It has the same style, and the same themes, as his previous encyclicals, Deus Caritas Est (2005), Spe Salvi (2007), and Caritas in Veritate (2009).  In fact, Francis acknowledges in paragraph 7 that Lumen Fidei forms a kind of trilogy with these previous letters on hope and love.

It took me the better part of two afternoons to read Lumen Fidei last week, but the time spent was worth it.  The text takes up powerful ideas, but does so in a way that is accessible to any high-school educated person.  Let me all too briefly share a few major points of Lumen Fidei.  But in doing so, I don't want you to be deprived of the wisdom and spiritual wealth of this work.  Do read it for yourself.

The letter opens with a meditation on light, and how light as a metaphor enlightens the darkness of the world with faith.  Then comes the first major point:  faith is always connected with love.  Pope  Francis writes, "Faith is born of an encounter with the living God who calls us and reveals his love, a love which precedes us and upon which we can lean for security and for building our lives." (paragraph 4) "Believing means entrusting oneself to a merciful love which always accepts and pardons, which sustains and directs our lives." (13)  In a powerful (to me) sentence, Francis says, "Faith transforms the whole person precisely to the extent that he or she becomes open to love." (26)  Tell that to any Christian (or Muslim or Jew) who espouses war and violence.  

A second theme is that the opposite of faith is idolatry.  Idols are not just things we humans make.  Idolatry is making us the center of all reality, worshiping ourselves and all that we have made or done.  In contrast, faith is a light which leads us to God--Father, Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit--who is before us and beyond us.

From there, Francis links faith and the church.  Faith is ecclesial, that is, always nurtured within the community of the church.  Our ancestors passed on to us their faith is Jesus, the Crucified One, now risen from the dead.  Francis says, "Just as Christ gathers to himself all those who believe and makes them his body, so the Christian comes to see himself as a member of this body, in an essential relationship with all other believers." (22)  In other words, one cannot have faith without the church.  Even if the "church" is another person who brought you to faith, you and he/she are connected.  In our western world which is saturated with individualism, this is a hard, but necessary, sell. 

In a theme which Pope Benedict often spoke about, faith is related to truth and reason.  "If love needs truth, truth also needs love.  Love and truth are inseparable." (27)  As the believer thirsts for truth, we enter into a fruitful dialog with reason, and with all reasonable people.  Reason prevents the believer (and the church) from falling into fanaticism or fundamentalism.   

At the end of the letter, Francis brings faith down to earth.  Faith which is sown is love and nurtured by truth, must be practically expressed in building up the common good.  The light of faith "does not simply brighten the interior of the Church, nor does it serve solely to build and eternal city in the hereafter; it helps us build our societies in such a way that they can journey toward a future of hope." (51)  The common good seeks a just world, peaceful relations among nations, and dignity and respect for every human being.  It is here that Francis/Benedict connects faith in the action of love with the strongest social justice passages in Deus Caritas Est and Caritas in Veritate.  "Precisely because it is linked to love, the light of faith is concretely placed as the service of justice, law and peace." (51)  

There are many more insightful passages and pithy sentences to ponder in Lumen Fidei.  Over the years, just using the word "encyclical" causes Catholics to roll their eyes and think, this is going to be way too hard for me to understand.  But don't believe that canard.  This one is another keeper (just as Benedict's three previous ones are).  It is accessible in a most positive sense.  I hope you will go to  www.vatican.va  to read Pope Francis's first encyclical letter.