Write your abstract here.Benedict
XVI, first encyclical letter entitled
Deus Caritas Est, (God is Love)
sets the tone of his papacy. Reading the
encyclical gave me an insight into the heart and mind of our new pope. It touches
me that on the first part of the letter, he explains the nature of true love
using the Greek word for love—eros--
as one of the starting arguments to explain its nature. He does not deviate anyway
from the Jewish Christian teaching on love. At the same time he is very open to
criticisms of philosophers with a tone that is not combative but clarifying.
One example is Nietzche’s
criticism that Christianity has poisoned and rejected eros, “making one of the most beautiful things in life bitter.”
Benedict XVI clarifies that our biblical faith did not poison eros but it
rather “declared war on a warp and destructive form of it” particularly the
ancient practices of prostitutions in temples “that dehumanizes it and strips
it of its dignity.” What I find surprising is the Pope’s valuing of eros’ goal that of “an ascent in ecstasy
towards the Divine which he said could be achieved not through submitting to
instincts but through purification,
personal growth in maturity and
renunciation. With these means, eros
is not rejected but healed, directed to its real purpose and restored to its
grandeur.”
Since the sphere
of eros is the human body, the Pope clarifies
that Christianity has never been opposed to the body but instead reiterates
that we are made of body and soul. He writes that man is truly himself when his
body and soul are intimately united. The Pope is aware that today, the body is
exalted in a deceptive way. Eros is
used a commodity-- a mere thing to be bought and sold. Eros to attain its grandeur should move behind the selfish
character to a love that is
concern and has care for others. “Love is indeed
ecstasy not in the sense of a moment of intoxication but rather as a journey,
an on going exodus out of the closed inward –looking self toward its liberation
through self-giving, and thus towards authentic self-discovery and even the
discovery of God.”
In the second
part, Benedict XVI gives the essential elements of Christian and ecclesial
Charity which I can say find much resonance in what our world needs today.
First, is a love that has a personal human concern for every person. Second, a
love that is independent of parties and ideologies, a “heart that sees” where
love is needed and acts accordingly with that of the Good Samaritan as a model.
Thirdly, a love without interest— His Holiness even writes that charity cannot
be used as a means of engaging in proselytism. He beautifully expressed, “Those
who practice charity in the Church’s name will never impose the Church’s faith
upon others. They realize that a pure and generous love is the best witness to
the God in whom we believe and by whom we are driven to love.”
I believe that
with his first encyclical letter, proclaiming the most basic truth in life; God
is love; Benedict XVI is headed for a good start. I also
see the continuation of John Paul II’s thoughts and passion for the value and
dignity of each person—in his expression-- a love that is personal and filled
with human concern. Perhaps the thoughts of the two are so united because they are
Vicars of Christ, the Word of God made man, who has a passionate and personal love for each of us.