From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Benedict XVI: "By contemplating the pierced
side of Christ, we can understand that 'God is love.' The eucharist
is the enduring presence of Jesus' self-oblation."
Deus Caritas Est (Latin for "God is Love") is the first encyclical written by Pope Benedict
XVI, on the subject of Christian love, as expressed by its
subtitle De Christiano Amore. The encyclical reflects on
the concepts of eros (possessive, often sexual, love),
agape (unconditional,
self-sacrificing love), logos (the word), and their
relationship with the teachings of Jesus.
The encyclical contains almost 16,000 words in 42 paragraphs.
The first half is said to have been written by Benedict in German, his mother tongue, in the summer of 2005; the second half is derived from
uncompleted writings left by his predecessor, Pope John Paul
II.[1] The
document was signed by Pope Benedict on Christmas Day, 25
December 2005.[2] Some
reports attribute the delay to problems in translating the original
German text into Latin; others
to disputes within the Vatican over the precise wording of the
document.[3][4]
The encyclical was promulgated on January 25, 2006, in Latin
and officially translated into seven other languages (English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, and Spanish). It
is the first encyclical to be published since the Vatican decided
to assert copyright in
the official writings of the Pope.[5]
Title
The Latin title of an encyclical is taken from its first few
words. This encyclical begins with a quotation from the First
Letter of St. John, chapter 4, verse 16 (for example, the Vulgate[6])
translated from the original Greek, "ὁ θεòς ἀγάπη ἐστίν" (ho
theos agape estin).[7]
The Douai Bible translates this into English as
"God is charity",[8] while
in most contemporary English translations it reads "God is love"
(since the word "charity" is derived from the Latin
caritas, or "love").[9][10] The
Latin version of the First Letter of St. John uses the same
formulation, "Deus caritas est", at the end of chapter 4, verse
8,[6]
translating the same phrase in Greek.[7]
Summary
In this encyclical, Benedict reflects on the concepts of
eros, agape, and logos, and their
relationship with the teachings of Jesus. Eros and
agape are two of the various Greek
words for love, each of which has a slightly different shade of
meaning: agape is
descending, ablative love in which one gives of oneself to another;
eros is ascending, possessive love
which seeks to receive from another. Logos is often translated into English as
"word", but can also mean thought,
speech, reason, principle, standard, or logic, among other things.
For example, the prologue
of the Gospel of
John calls Jesus the
Logos: the opening verse in the New American Bible (and
other translations) reads: "In the beginning was the Word
[Logos], and the Word [Logos] was with God, and
the Word [Logos] was God."
The document explains that eros and agape are
both inherently good, but that eros risks being downgraded
to mere sex if it is not balanced by
an element of spiritual Christianity. The opinion that
eros is inherently good follows a school of thought in the
Catholic Church known as the "Caritas tradition", and
contrasts with the view expressed, for example, by Anders Nygren, a Lutheran
bishop, in his mid-20th century book Eros and Agape, that agape
is the only truly Christian kind of love, and that eros is
an expression of the individual's desires and turns us away from
God.[11] These
two positions have been an ongoing cause for debate in both
Catholic and Protestant theology. The continuity of these two forms of
love follows the traditional Catholic understanding, which is
influenced by the philosophy of Plato, Augustine, Bonaventure and ancient Jewish tradition. The Nygren
position was favoured by the Reformed theologian Karl Barth while the
Caritas position was supported by the liberal Protestant theologian Paul Tillich.
The first half of the encyclical is more philosophical, tracing the meaning of the
Greek words for "love". In considering eros, Benedict
refers to a line from Virgil's
Eclogues, Book X,
line 69, "Omnia vincit amor, et nos cedamus amori" ("Love conquers
all, let us also yield to love"), and the opinion of Friedrich
Nietzsche that Christianity has poisoned eros, turning
it into a vice. He refers to the
conjugal love exhibited in the Song of Songs, and analyzes passages
from the First Letter of St. John which
inspired the title. The encyclical argues that eros and
agape are not distinct kinds of love, but are separate
halves of complete love, unified as both a giving and
receiving.
The second half, based on a report prepared by the Pontifical Council Cor
Unum, is less abstract, considering the charitable
activities of the Church as an expression of love which draws its
power from contemplative union with God. The second half also
refers to the Church's threefold responsibility: proclaiming the
word of God (kerygma-martyria), celebrating the sacraments
(leitourgia), and exercising the ministry of charity
(diakonia). The encyclical says that social justice is
the primary responsibility of politics and the laity; the church
itself should inform the debate on social justice with reason
guided by faith, but its main social activity should be directed
towards charity. Charity workers should have a deep prayer life,
and be uninfluenced by party and ideology. Benedict rejects both Marxist
arguments that the poor "do not need charity but justice", and the
merger of church and state functions (theocracy); rather, he encourages
cooperation between the church, the state, and other
Christian charitable organizations.
Paragraph 39 appears to be inspired by Dante
Alighieri's Divine Comedy, reflecting in
particular the last canto of
"Paradise", which ends before "the everlasting Light that is God
himself, before that Light which at the same time is the love which
moves the sun and the other stars".[12] The
three concluding paragraphs consider the example of the saints, ending with a prayer to the
Virgin Mary. The text mentions the name of
Mother Teresa
four times, the last as a "saint" (despite the fact that she has not yet
been canonised) in such company as Francis of
Assisi, Ignatius of Loyola, John of God, Camillus of Lellis, Vincent de
Paul, Louise de Marillac, Giuseppe B. Cottolengo, John Bosco, and Luigi Orione.
Deus Caritas Est, like the encyclicals of many previous
popes, including Pope John Paul II, uses the Royal we in the official
Latin text ("cupimus loqui de amore"). This is the text
that appears promulgated in the Vatican's official gazette of
record, "Acta Apostolicae Sedis". However, in accordance with a
practice initiated in the pontificate of John Paul II, the
unofficial versions prepared by the Vatican in 7 other languages
use the singular ("I wish to speak of love").
Some key
passages
- Opening passage. “God is love, and he who
abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” (1 Jn 4:16).
These words from the First Letter of John express with remarkable
clarity the heart of the Christian faith: the Christian image of
God and the resulting image of mankind and its destiny. In the same
verse, Saint John also offers a kind of summary of the Christian
life: “We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for
us”. We have come to believe in God's love: in these words
the Christian can express the fundamental decision of his life.
(§1)
- Reasons for the encyclical. In a world where
the name of God is sometimes associated with vengeance or even a
duty of hatred and violence, this message is both timely and
significant. For this reason, I wish in my first Encyclical to
speak of the love which God lavishes upon us and which we in turn
must share with others.... I wanted here—at the beginning of my
Pontificate—to clarify some essential facts concerning the love
which God mysteriously and gratuitously offers to man, together
with the intrinsic link between that Love and the reality of human
love. (§1)
- Fulfillment of the true nature of love. Eros
and agape—ascending love and descending love—can never be
completely separated. The more the two, in their different aspects,
find a proper unity in the one reality of love, the more the true
nature of love in general is realized... On the other hand, man
cannot live by oblative, descending love alone. He cannot always
give, he must also receive. Anyone who wishes to give love must
also receive love as a gift... Yet to become such a source, one
must constantly drink anew from the original source, which is Jesus
Christ, from whose pierced heart flows the love of God... Only in
the way of contemplation will he be able to take upon himself the
needs of others and make them his own. (§7)
- "The love which God lavishes upon us." The one
God...loves with a personal love. His love, moreover, is an
elective love: among all the nations he chooses Israel and loves
her—-but he does so precisely with a view to healing the whole
human race. God loves, and his love may certainly be called eros,
yet it is also totally agape... This is not only because it is
bestowed in a completely gratuitous manner, without any previous
merit, but also because it is love which forgives... [I]n Jesus
Christ, it is God himself who goes in search of the “stray sheep”,
a suffering and lost humanity... His death on the Cross is the
culmination of that turning of God against himself in which he
gives himself in order to raise man up and save him. This is love
in its most radical form. By contemplating the pierced side of
Christ (cf. Jn 19:37), we can understand the starting-point of this
Encyclical Letter: “God is love” (1 Jn 4:8). It is there that this
truth can be contemplated. It is from there that our definition of
love must begin. In this contemplation the Christian discovers
the path along which his life and love must move. (§9-10, 12,
italics added)
- Transition to Part Two. Love of God and love
of neighbour are thus inseparable, they form a single commandment.
But both live from the love of God who has loved us first. No
longer is it a question, then, of a “commandment” imposed from
without and calling for the impossible, but rather of a
freely-bestowed experience of love from within, a love which by its
very nature must then be shared with others. Love grows through
love. Love is “divine” because it comes from God and unites us to
God. (§18)
- Summary on justice and charity, and the Church's
role. The Church cannot and must not take upon herself the
political battle to bring about the most just society possible. She
cannot and must not replace the State. Yet at the same time she
cannot and must not remain on the sidelines in the fight for
justice. She has to play her part through rational argument and she
has to reawaken the spiritual energy without which justice, which
always demands sacrifice, cannot prevail and prosper. A just
society must be the achievement of politics, not of the Church. Yet
the promotion of justice through efforts to bring about openness of
mind and will to the demands of the common good is something which
concerns the Church deeply... The Church's charitable
organizations, on the other hand, constitute an opus
proprium, a task agreeable to her, in which she does not
cooperate collaterally, but acts as a subject with direct
responsibility, doing what corresponds to her nature. (§28-29,
italics added)
- Urgent need. Prayer, as a means of drawing
ever new strength from Christ, is concretely and urgently
needed...In the example of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta we have
a clear illustration of the fact that time devoted to God in prayer
not only does not detract from effective and loving service to our
neighbour but is in fact the inexhaustible source of that
service...It is time to reaffirm the importance of prayer in
the face of the activism and the growing secularism of many
Christians engaged in charitable work... A personal
relationship with God and an abandonment to his will can prevent
man from being demeaned and save him from falling prey to the
teaching of fanaticism and terrorism...Even in their bewilderment
and failure to understand the world around them, Christians
continue to believe in the “goodness and loving kindness of God”
(Tit 3:4). Immersed like everyone else in the dramatic complexity
of historical events, they remain unshakably certain that God is
our Father and loves us, even when his silence remains
incomprehensible. (§36-38, italics added)
- Charity and evangelization. Charity,
furthermore, cannot be used as a means of engaging in what is
nowadays considered proselytism...But this does not mean that
charitable activity must somehow leave God and Christ aside. For it
is always concerned with the whole man. Often the deepest cause of
suffering is the very absence of God. (§31)
- Summary of reflections on love. "If I give
away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but do not
have love, I gain nothing" (1 Cor 13:3). This hymn must be the Magna Carta of all
ecclesial service; it sums up all the reflections on love which I
have offered throughout this Encyclical Letter. Practical
activity will always be insufficient, unless it visibly expresses a
love for man, a love nourished by an encounter with Christ.
(§34)
- Invitation of the Encyclical. Love is the
light—and in the end, the only light—that can always illuminate a
world grown dim and give us the courage needed to keep living and
working. Love is possible, and we are able to practise it because
we are created in the image of God. To experience love and in
this way to cause the light of God to enter into the
world—this is the invitation I would like to extend with the
present Encyclical." (§39)
- Conclusion of the Encyclical. The saints are
the true bearers of light within history, for they are men and
women of faith, hope and love...Outstanding among the saints is
Mary, Mother of the Lord and mirror of all holiness....“My soul
magnifies the Lord” (Lk 1:46). In these words she expresses her
whole programme of life: not setting herself at the centre, but
leaving space for God, who is encountered both in prayer and in
service of neighbour—only then does goodness enter the world...The
testimonials of gratitude, offered to her from every continent and
culture, are a recognition of that pure love which is not self-
seeking but simply benevolent. At the same time, the devotion
of the faithful shows an infallible intuition of how such love
is possible: it becomes so as a result of the most intimate union
with God, through which the soul is totally pervaded by him—a
condition which enables those who have drunk from the fountain of
God's love to become in their turn a fountain from which “flow
rivers of living water” (Jn 7:38). Mary, Virgin and Mother,
shows us what love is and whence it draws its origin and its
constantly renewed power. (§40-42, italics added)
Other
events
At an audience on 18 January 2006, Pope Benedict said that
Deus Caritas Est would discuss the concept of love "in its
various dimensions, from the love between man and woman to the love
that the Catholic Church has for others in its expression of
charity". The Vatican, through the Pontifical Council Cor
Unum, sponsored a conference in Rome to discuss the themes of the encyclical on 23
January and 24 January 2006, involving Liliana Cavani (director of films
including The Night Porter and Ripley's
Game) and James Wolfensohn (former head of the
World Bank).[13]
The encyclical was published on the feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul and on
the last day of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Pope
Benedict led an ecumenical prayer service at the Basilica of Saint
Paul Outside the Walls, a traditional site for such
celebrations, on the evening after the encyclical was published.
Presiding at vespers, he
said in his homily: "God is
love. On this solid rock the entire faith of the church is
based."[14]
See also
References
- ^
Pope's first encyclical is
disquisition on love and sex (The Times, 25 January 2006)
- ^
The pope needs a theologian?
Former papal adviser reveals why (Catholic News Service, 30
December 2005)
- ^
Love should not be confused
with lust, says Pope (The Telegraph, 18 January
2006)
- ^
Pope's first encyclical on
love and sex is lost in translation (The Times, 19 January 2006)
- ^
Vatican 'cashes in' by
putting price on the Pope's copyright (The Times, 23 January 2006)
- ^ a
b
1 John (Vulgate, Latin)
- ^ a
b
1 John 4 (Greek)
- ^
1 John (Douay
Rheims, English)
- ^
1 John 4 (New American
Bible, English)
- ^
1 John 4 (Revised Standard Version,
English)
- ^
Pope on divine love vs. erotic
love (Chicago Sun-Times, January 4,
2006)
- ^
Pope Points to "Divine
Comedy" (ZENIT, January 23, 2006)
- ^
Press release from Pontifical Council Cor
Unum
- ^
Pope says faith that God is
love should help Christian unity work (Catholic News Service, 25 January
2006)
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