In our fourth-year Christology class, we're just now looking at the Councils of Ephesus (431) and Chalcedon (451). One of the things then disputed was the title of Theotokos ("God-bearer, Mother of God") for Mary. The devotional life of the Church embraced it from of old, but could it really be defended?
To some, it seemed theologically dangerous on two counts. It could be taken to imply too small a distinction between Son and Father, as if Mary was the mother of God the Father, not of (or perhaps in addition to) God the Son (this is "Sabellianism" or "Modalism"). And, it could be taken to imply that the Uncreated was not entirely so (this opened the door again to several kinds of Gnosticism).
Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople, equivocated, and tried to compromise with the artificial title "Christotokos." But this merely begged the question: was Christ truly God, or not? The great Cyril of Alexandria smashed this half-hearted idea with much vigor, insisting that, if Christ is truly God, then Mary must be called God's mother.
The Council of Ephesus, following Cyril, said this: "For in the first place no common man was born of the holy Virgin, and then the Word thus descended upon him [contra Arianism and Adoptionism]; but being united from the womb itself, he is said to have endured a generation in the flesh in order to appropriate the producing of his own body. [This language would be clarified more at Chalcedon.] Thus [the holy Fathers] did not hesitate to speak of the holy Virgin as the Mother of God (Theotokos)."
When we celebrate the Solemnity of the Theotokos every Octave of the Nativity, we are celebrating not only the special graces and providential Motherhood of our Blessed Mother, and the heaven-opening fidelity of her "Fiat mihi," but also reaffirming our core belief in the person of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, true God eternally begotten of the Father, and true Man born of the Virgin. The very possibility of our salvation comes from his "condescending," in the womb of His holy mother, to take on Himself our weak and fallen human nature. Mary's son is God's Son: one divine person, to whom also is joined the complete human nature, body and soul, taken from Mary in the manner in which all of us take our human nature from our parents.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.
May God's most generous blessings and consolations, by the intercession of Mary the Virgin Mother of God, fulfill your every need and desire in the coming new year of grace, the 2011th of our Lord's Incarnation.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Verbum Domini 5
We continue with our reading of Verbum Domini. We've been concentrating on what the Holy Father is saying about our encounter with the Word (Jesus Christ) in different ways, and our response to this encounter (namely, ongoing conversion). Paragraph 15 introduces the Holy Spirit's role in this dynamic of encounter and conversion:
In fact there can be no authentic understanding of Christian revelation apart from the activity of the Paraclete. (15)
Note the compelling summary of the Holy Spirit's activity throughout the New Testament which follows. For Christ Himself, for the disciples and Mary, for Paul and the earliest Christians, the Holy Spirit is always present and active. So too for us.
The word of God is thus expressed in human words thanks to the working of the Holy Spirit. The missions of the Son and the Holy Spirit are inseparable and constitute a single economy of salvation. (15)
This means that:
...without the efficacious working of the “Spirit of Truth” (Jn 14:16), the words of the Lord cannot be understood.... Just as the word of God comes to us in the body of Christ, in his Eucharistic body and in the body of the Scriptures, through the working of the Holy Spirit, so too it can only be truly received and understood through that same Spirit. (16)
Pope Benedict notes that this same unity also works liturgically. Firstly, we need the present action of the Holy Spirit in order to hear, receive, and respond to the proclamation of the Word in the readings and homily. From there, this unity of Spirit and Son is the very essence of "Tradition:"
Indeed, since God “so loved the world that he gave his only Son” (Jn 3:16), the divine word, spoken in time, is bestowed and “consigned” to the Church in a definitive way, so that the proclamation of salvation can be communicated effectively in every time and place. (17)
The root of all ministry in the Church, whether priestly, diaconal, or lay, is our fidelity to the real and compelling communion of Spirit and Son in the one economy of salvation. What the Son does and commands us to do, the Spirit likewise does and supports. We cannot follow Christ coherently without the following of the Holy Spirit. (As a tangent, this is why the argument about "spiritual but not religious" is always wrong-headed; it divides the grace of the Son from the grace of the Spirit, into two separate economies of salvation.) But what has the Son commanded us to do?
Jesus Christ himself “commanded the Apostles to preach the Gospel – promised beforehand by the prophets, fulfilled in his own person and promulgated by his own lips – to all as the source of all saving truth and moral law, communicating God’s gifts to them. This was faithfully carried out; it was carried out by the Apostles who handed on, by oral preaching, by their example, by their ordinances, what they themselves had received – whether from the lips of Christ, from his way of life and his works, or by coming to know it through the prompting of the Holy Spirit...” (17, quoting Dei Verbum 7)
This "all" is all-encompassing of the life of the Church. It is the whole of Tradition. It includes the full panoply of Word, Sacrament, and Charity, and all of our charisms and states of life. Notice especially here the implication of unity of communion with the bishops as successors of the Apostles, and of course with the Successor of Peter as head of that College. Apart from that communion, there is no full and comprehensive fulfillment of Christ's command to preach, baptize, and "do this," but only bits and pieces of that single diakonia.
This communion is not the thrust of his development here, but worth our noticing more closely, certainly. This is where he wants to go from here:
Ultimately, it is the living Tradition of the Church which makes us adequately understand sacred Scripture as the word of God. (17)
And, lest we be overwhelmed by such a demanding expectation, the heart of that statement is here:
...sacred Scripture presents itself to us, in the variety of its many forms and content, as a single reality. Indeed, “through all the words of sacred Scripture, God speaks only one single word... (18)
Scripture, despite its complexity of form and content and composition, and no matter what kind of theory one uses to approach it, must always conform to this overarching truth: its meaning is always one, never plural (though that one meaning can of course have many parts, and many different applications). And that one meaning is always the person of Jesus Christ.
In short, by the work of the Holy Spirit and under the guidance of the magisterium, the Church hands on to every generation all that has been revealed in Christ. The Church lives in the certainty that her Lord, who spoke in the past, continues today to communicate his word in her living Tradition and in sacred Scripture. Indeed, the word of God is given to us in sacred Scripture as an inspired testimony to revelation; together with the Church’s living Tradition, it constitutes the supreme rule of faith... (18, citing Dei Verbum 21).
In fact there can be no authentic understanding of Christian revelation apart from the activity of the Paraclete. (15)
Note the compelling summary of the Holy Spirit's activity throughout the New Testament which follows. For Christ Himself, for the disciples and Mary, for Paul and the earliest Christians, the Holy Spirit is always present and active. So too for us.
The word of God is thus expressed in human words thanks to the working of the Holy Spirit. The missions of the Son and the Holy Spirit are inseparable and constitute a single economy of salvation. (15)
This means that:
...without the efficacious working of the “Spirit of Truth” (Jn 14:16), the words of the Lord cannot be understood.... Just as the word of God comes to us in the body of Christ, in his Eucharistic body and in the body of the Scriptures, through the working of the Holy Spirit, so too it can only be truly received and understood through that same Spirit. (16)
Pope Benedict notes that this same unity also works liturgically. Firstly, we need the present action of the Holy Spirit in order to hear, receive, and respond to the proclamation of the Word in the readings and homily. From there, this unity of Spirit and Son is the very essence of "Tradition:"
Indeed, since God “so loved the world that he gave his only Son” (Jn 3:16), the divine word, spoken in time, is bestowed and “consigned” to the Church in a definitive way, so that the proclamation of salvation can be communicated effectively in every time and place. (17)
The root of all ministry in the Church, whether priestly, diaconal, or lay, is our fidelity to the real and compelling communion of Spirit and Son in the one economy of salvation. What the Son does and commands us to do, the Spirit likewise does and supports. We cannot follow Christ coherently without the following of the Holy Spirit. (As a tangent, this is why the argument about "spiritual but not religious" is always wrong-headed; it divides the grace of the Son from the grace of the Spirit, into two separate economies of salvation.) But what has the Son commanded us to do?
Jesus Christ himself “commanded the Apostles to preach the Gospel – promised beforehand by the prophets, fulfilled in his own person and promulgated by his own lips – to all as the source of all saving truth and moral law, communicating God’s gifts to them. This was faithfully carried out; it was carried out by the Apostles who handed on, by oral preaching, by their example, by their ordinances, what they themselves had received – whether from the lips of Christ, from his way of life and his works, or by coming to know it through the prompting of the Holy Spirit...” (17, quoting Dei Verbum 7)
This "all" is all-encompassing of the life of the Church. It is the whole of Tradition. It includes the full panoply of Word, Sacrament, and Charity, and all of our charisms and states of life. Notice especially here the implication of unity of communion with the bishops as successors of the Apostles, and of course with the Successor of Peter as head of that College. Apart from that communion, there is no full and comprehensive fulfillment of Christ's command to preach, baptize, and "do this," but only bits and pieces of that single diakonia.
This communion is not the thrust of his development here, but worth our noticing more closely, certainly. This is where he wants to go from here:
Ultimately, it is the living Tradition of the Church which makes us adequately understand sacred Scripture as the word of God. (17)
And, lest we be overwhelmed by such a demanding expectation, the heart of that statement is here:
...sacred Scripture presents itself to us, in the variety of its many forms and content, as a single reality. Indeed, “through all the words of sacred Scripture, God speaks only one single word... (18)
Scripture, despite its complexity of form and content and composition, and no matter what kind of theory one uses to approach it, must always conform to this overarching truth: its meaning is always one, never plural (though that one meaning can of course have many parts, and many different applications). And that one meaning is always the person of Jesus Christ.
In short, by the work of the Holy Spirit and under the guidance of the magisterium, the Church hands on to every generation all that has been revealed in Christ. The Church lives in the certainty that her Lord, who spoke in the past, continues today to communicate his word in her living Tradition and in sacred Scripture. Indeed, the word of God is given to us in sacred Scripture as an inspired testimony to revelation; together with the Church’s living Tradition, it constitutes the supreme rule of faith... (18, citing Dei Verbum 21).
Friday, December 24, 2010
Merry Christmas!
To all my brothers and friends in the deacon community in the Diocese of Sioux City, and to all readers of this blog, I offer my most sincere prayers and good wishes for a most joyful and faithful Christmas season! May the Light of the World, born on this night in humble poverty, "the same consubstantial with us in our humanity, alike in all things but sin," shine His holy Light into and through all of our hearts, minds, and souls, so that His Good News may ever be preached in this world.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Homily - Gaudete Sunday
“Rejoice in the Lord always! I say again, rejoice! The Lord is near.” These words of St. Paul give us the name for today, “Gaudete Sunday.” Now halfway through Advent, the Lord is very near to us indeed. The joy of His arrival already fills us.
What is this joy which the Church offers us today? It is sharing in God’s own life, just as He became man to share fully in our human life. It is the gift of grace, and the foretaste of Heaven.
St. John the Baptist in his mother’s womb felt this deep joy. When Mary brought the Incarnate Savior into Elizabeth’s house, John leapt for joy. This joy sustained him throughout his life, drove him into the desert as a prophet, and gave him such courage and words of power. This joy attracted “the whole of Jerusalem, and all of Judea,” to hear his preaching. And when he saw Jesus on Jordan’s bank, this joy burst out from his lips in a great shout, “Behold the Lamb of God!” which we still hear at every Mass.
We need to be open to this same joy. Each of us, like St. John, has witnessed the great works of Christ. We have not only seen and heard these miracles in Scripture, but have received them in the sacraments. In our baptism, Christ turned our blindness into spiritual sight, and our deafness into hearing His voice. In the sacrament of Penance, lepers are cleansed, and even those thoroughly dead in sin are raised to life. By receiving the Holy Eucharist, the lame walk. And at every liturgy of the Church, the poor have the Gospel proclaimed to them.
We are given this joy especially in the Mass and the sacraments, so that it can sustain us in daily life, just as it sustained St. John the Baptist. We may not be called to live in the desert and eat locusts, but we are called to live with generosity, simplicity, and self-sacrifice. We are called to live for others; and even to accept suffering and trials as purifying us for union with Christ. The birth of Christ in us is possible only with divine grace and joy we receive from Scripture and the Church’s sacraments.
We are also given this grace and joy, so that we can reveal Christ as King to those around us. We are called to let others see how we follow Christ as our Lord and King. By their adoration of the infant Jesus, the shepherds and the Magi both did this. But since today is also the great feast of our Lady of Guadalupe, let’s take our Blessed Mother as our example in this. In this life, Mary gave us a perfect example of joyful obedience to her Son. Appearing to us now from her throne in Heaven, Mary continues to point only to Him. Look at her image in our shrine, so beautifully bedecked with roses today. When our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to Saint Juan Diego in 1531, she invited an entire continent to follow Christ. She used her appearance, and the miraculous roses, and the miraculous Tilma, to show that she and her Son are closer to us even than we are to ourselves.
The Church offers us such joy today, in preparation for Christ’s birth. He is coming soon; will we be ready? Perhaps those of us who are here today will be ready. What about our family and friends and neighbors who aren’t here? The body of the Church is incomplete without them, and Christ longs to be their King also. Will we see them here at Mass on Christmas, adoring Him? May God give us the grace through our joy to invite them to know and to love our Lord Jesus Christ.
What is this joy which the Church offers us today? It is sharing in God’s own life, just as He became man to share fully in our human life. It is the gift of grace, and the foretaste of Heaven.
St. John the Baptist in his mother’s womb felt this deep joy. When Mary brought the Incarnate Savior into Elizabeth’s house, John leapt for joy. This joy sustained him throughout his life, drove him into the desert as a prophet, and gave him such courage and words of power. This joy attracted “the whole of Jerusalem, and all of Judea,” to hear his preaching. And when he saw Jesus on Jordan’s bank, this joy burst out from his lips in a great shout, “Behold the Lamb of God!” which we still hear at every Mass.
We need to be open to this same joy. Each of us, like St. John, has witnessed the great works of Christ. We have not only seen and heard these miracles in Scripture, but have received them in the sacraments. In our baptism, Christ turned our blindness into spiritual sight, and our deafness into hearing His voice. In the sacrament of Penance, lepers are cleansed, and even those thoroughly dead in sin are raised to life. By receiving the Holy Eucharist, the lame walk. And at every liturgy of the Church, the poor have the Gospel proclaimed to them.
We are given this joy especially in the Mass and the sacraments, so that it can sustain us in daily life, just as it sustained St. John the Baptist. We may not be called to live in the desert and eat locusts, but we are called to live with generosity, simplicity, and self-sacrifice. We are called to live for others; and even to accept suffering and trials as purifying us for union with Christ. The birth of Christ in us is possible only with divine grace and joy we receive from Scripture and the Church’s sacraments.
We are also given this grace and joy, so that we can reveal Christ as King to those around us. We are called to let others see how we follow Christ as our Lord and King. By their adoration of the infant Jesus, the shepherds and the Magi both did this. But since today is also the great feast of our Lady of Guadalupe, let’s take our Blessed Mother as our example in this. In this life, Mary gave us a perfect example of joyful obedience to her Son. Appearing to us now from her throne in Heaven, Mary continues to point only to Him. Look at her image in our shrine, so beautifully bedecked with roses today. When our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to Saint Juan Diego in 1531, she invited an entire continent to follow Christ. She used her appearance, and the miraculous roses, and the miraculous Tilma, to show that she and her Son are closer to us even than we are to ourselves.
The Church offers us such joy today, in preparation for Christ’s birth. He is coming soon; will we be ready? Perhaps those of us who are here today will be ready. What about our family and friends and neighbors who aren’t here? The body of the Church is incomplete without them, and Christ longs to be their King also. Will we see them here at Mass on Christmas, adoring Him? May God give us the grace through our joy to invite them to know and to love our Lord Jesus Christ.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Verbum Domini 4
Our encounter with Jesus Christ is itself dynamic, a process of growth in faith and holiness. Even when there are dramatic moments of great conversion, these must be integrated into our hearts and lives. The Gospels give us this pattern, both in themselves, and (one might add) in how they are used liturgically:
Reading the Gospel accounts, we see how Jesus’ own humanity appears in all its uniqueness precisely with regard to the word of God. In his perfect humanity he does the will of the Father at all times; Jesus hears his voice and obeys it with his entire being; he knows the Father and he keeps his word (cf. Jn 8:55); he speaks to us of what the Father has told him (cf. Jn 12:50); “I have given them the words which you gave me” (Jn 17:8). Jesus thus shows that he is the divine Logos which is given to us, but at the same time the new Adam, the true man, who unfailingly does not his own will but that of the Father. He “increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favour with God and man” (Lk 2:52). In a perfect way, he hears, embodies and communicates to us the word of God (cf. Lk 5:1). (12)
Just as preparatory revelation leads to the definitive revelation of Christ, so too the Gospels reveal Christ to us progressively, from His Incarnation and birth, to His preaching and miracles, to His Passion and Resurrection. This paschal mystery is the pinnacle of Christ's own mission:
Jesus’ mission is ultimately fulfilled in the paschal mystery: here we find ourselves before the “word of the cross” (1 Cor 1:18). The word is muted; it becomes mortal silence, for it has “spoken” exhaustively, holding back nothing of what it had to tell us.... In this great mystery Jesus is revealed as the word of the new and everlasting covenant: divine freedom and human freedom have definitively met in his crucified flesh... (12)
Further, just as He Himself illumines the whole of creation, just so His Passion illumines for us the whole of His life:
In the most luminous mystery of the resurrection, this silence of the word is shown in its authentic and definitive meaning. Christ, the incarnate, crucified and risen Word of God, is Lord of all things; he is the victor, the Pantocrator, and so all things are gathered up forever in him (cf. Eph 1:10). Christ is thus “the light of the world” (Jn 8:12), the light which “shines in the darkness” (Jn 1:5) and which the darkness has not overcome (cf. Jn 1:5). (12)
Since "Human salvation is the reason underlying everything" (9), Easter is the definitive statement (Word) of that meaning. The early Fathers sometimes described the significance of Easter as the "fulcrum" of all time. Pope Benedict is making a similar claim here, morally rather than chronologically:
...Christ’s victory over death took place through the creative power of the word of God. This divine power brings hope and joy: this, in a word, is the liberating content of the paschal revelation. At Easter, God reveals himself and the power of the trinitarian love which shatters the baneful powers of evil and death. (13)
Only perfect love fulfills perfectly our inherent longing for communion.
Because Easter has this overarching clarity and depth of meaning for all the rest of creation, it must be accepted as definitive revelation. Since Jesus truly is God Himself, what more of God could He reveal? What greater obedience or victory could He enact? Therefore the Church has taught since the beginning that revelation is complete ("perfected") in Christ:
Indeed, as the Fathers noted during the Synod, the “uniqueness of Christianity is manifested in the event which is Jesus Christ, the culmination of revelation, the fulfilment of God’s promises and the mediator of the encounter between man and God. He who ‘has made God known’ (Jn 1:18) is the one, definitive word given to mankind” (14; he also here cites St. Paul, Dei Verbum, and St. John of the Cross).
Very briefly, the exhortation then draws out the implications of this fact for eschatological truth (the Lord we meet after death is the same Lord we already meet and love - or not - in this life) and for private revelations (increase faith and devotion, and sometimes have a prophetic character, but don't add anything to Scripture or Tradition), before turning to the Holy Spirit's role.
Reading the Gospel accounts, we see how Jesus’ own humanity appears in all its uniqueness precisely with regard to the word of God. In his perfect humanity he does the will of the Father at all times; Jesus hears his voice and obeys it with his entire being; he knows the Father and he keeps his word (cf. Jn 8:55); he speaks to us of what the Father has told him (cf. Jn 12:50); “I have given them the words which you gave me” (Jn 17:8). Jesus thus shows that he is the divine Logos which is given to us, but at the same time the new Adam, the true man, who unfailingly does not his own will but that of the Father. He “increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favour with God and man” (Lk 2:52). In a perfect way, he hears, embodies and communicates to us the word of God (cf. Lk 5:1). (12)
Just as preparatory revelation leads to the definitive revelation of Christ, so too the Gospels reveal Christ to us progressively, from His Incarnation and birth, to His preaching and miracles, to His Passion and Resurrection. This paschal mystery is the pinnacle of Christ's own mission:
Jesus’ mission is ultimately fulfilled in the paschal mystery: here we find ourselves before the “word of the cross” (1 Cor 1:18). The word is muted; it becomes mortal silence, for it has “spoken” exhaustively, holding back nothing of what it had to tell us.... In this great mystery Jesus is revealed as the word of the new and everlasting covenant: divine freedom and human freedom have definitively met in his crucified flesh... (12)
Further, just as He Himself illumines the whole of creation, just so His Passion illumines for us the whole of His life:
In the most luminous mystery of the resurrection, this silence of the word is shown in its authentic and definitive meaning. Christ, the incarnate, crucified and risen Word of God, is Lord of all things; he is the victor, the Pantocrator, and so all things are gathered up forever in him (cf. Eph 1:10). Christ is thus “the light of the world” (Jn 8:12), the light which “shines in the darkness” (Jn 1:5) and which the darkness has not overcome (cf. Jn 1:5). (12)
Since "Human salvation is the reason underlying everything" (9), Easter is the definitive statement (Word) of that meaning. The early Fathers sometimes described the significance of Easter as the "fulcrum" of all time. Pope Benedict is making a similar claim here, morally rather than chronologically:
...Christ’s victory over death took place through the creative power of the word of God. This divine power brings hope and joy: this, in a word, is the liberating content of the paschal revelation. At Easter, God reveals himself and the power of the trinitarian love which shatters the baneful powers of evil and death. (13)
Only perfect love fulfills perfectly our inherent longing for communion.
Because Easter has this overarching clarity and depth of meaning for all the rest of creation, it must be accepted as definitive revelation. Since Jesus truly is God Himself, what more of God could He reveal? What greater obedience or victory could He enact? Therefore the Church has taught since the beginning that revelation is complete ("perfected") in Christ:
Indeed, as the Fathers noted during the Synod, the “uniqueness of Christianity is manifested in the event which is Jesus Christ, the culmination of revelation, the fulfilment of God’s promises and the mediator of the encounter between man and God. He who ‘has made God known’ (Jn 1:18) is the one, definitive word given to mankind” (14; he also here cites St. Paul, Dei Verbum, and St. John of the Cross).
Very briefly, the exhortation then draws out the implications of this fact for eschatological truth (the Lord we meet after death is the same Lord we already meet and love - or not - in this life) and for private revelations (increase faith and devotion, and sometimes have a prophetic character, but don't add anything to Scripture or Tradition), before turning to the Holy Spirit's role.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Verbum Domini 3
In the first nine paragraphs, Pope Benedict has established the Word, Jesus Christ the Son of God, as the root and the meaning ("Logos") of all physical creation, spiritual reality, and salvation history. "Human salvation is the reason underlying everything." (9) This divine foundation puts the dynamic of perfect love at the center of everything; nothing can possibly exist, even sin, apart from a defining relationship with "God who Speaks."
In paragraph 10, he begins working down to the level of the individual:
Those who know God’s word also know fully the significance of each creature... those who build their lives on his word build in a truly sound and lasting way. (10)
This is of course not a novel idea for followers of Christ. The parable of the house built on rock (on The Rock) versus one built on sand will come to mind, for example. In the same way, no created thing is solid and "real" enough to be that foundation stone:
Possessions, pleasure and power show themselves sooner or later to be incapable of fulfilling the deepest yearnings of the human heart. (10)
This brings into this discussion the interior dynamic of continuing conversion and the action of grace; that is, the encounter with and desire for perfect love. As we grow in faith and holiness, we see more and more clearly how things of this world, even when they are good and even as we inevitably use them daily, cannot be the end, the "root and meaning" of our lives. We dig deeper to find and make more central the Rock which is Christ, because only perfect love fulfills perfectly the longing of our hearts. (Cue St. Augustine's famous quote from the Confessions, "Our hearts are restless until they rest in you, O Lord.") This longing brings us face to face with Jesus Christ:
Here the word finds expression not primarily in discourse, concepts or rules. Here we are set before the very person of Jesus. His unique and singular history is the definitive word which God speaks to humanity. We can see, then, why “being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a definitive direction” (11, citing his own Deus Caritas Est, 1).
The bits and pieces of preparatory revelation, embedded everywhere in creation (as how could they not be?), all point to the definitive revelation of God the Son, Jesus Christ. Only the darkness of sin prevents us from seeing this clearly from the beginning. The fundamental encounter is precisely "illumination:" Christ who is "lumen gentium" literally "in-lumen-ates" us, dispelling the darkness of sin from our spiritual senses. And given a taste of transcendent and perfect love, we long for more:
The constant renewal of this encounter and this awareness fills the hearts of believers with amazement at God’s initiative, which human beings, with our own reason and imagination, could never have dreamt of. (11)
In paragraph 10, he begins working down to the level of the individual:
Those who know God’s word also know fully the significance of each creature... those who build their lives on his word build in a truly sound and lasting way. (10)
This is of course not a novel idea for followers of Christ. The parable of the house built on rock (on The Rock) versus one built on sand will come to mind, for example. In the same way, no created thing is solid and "real" enough to be that foundation stone:
Possessions, pleasure and power show themselves sooner or later to be incapable of fulfilling the deepest yearnings of the human heart. (10)
This brings into this discussion the interior dynamic of continuing conversion and the action of grace; that is, the encounter with and desire for perfect love. As we grow in faith and holiness, we see more and more clearly how things of this world, even when they are good and even as we inevitably use them daily, cannot be the end, the "root and meaning" of our lives. We dig deeper to find and make more central the Rock which is Christ, because only perfect love fulfills perfectly the longing of our hearts. (Cue St. Augustine's famous quote from the Confessions, "Our hearts are restless until they rest in you, O Lord.") This longing brings us face to face with Jesus Christ:
Here the word finds expression not primarily in discourse, concepts or rules. Here we are set before the very person of Jesus. His unique and singular history is the definitive word which God speaks to humanity. We can see, then, why “being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a definitive direction” (11, citing his own Deus Caritas Est, 1).
The bits and pieces of preparatory revelation, embedded everywhere in creation (as how could they not be?), all point to the definitive revelation of God the Son, Jesus Christ. Only the darkness of sin prevents us from seeing this clearly from the beginning. The fundamental encounter is precisely "illumination:" Christ who is "lumen gentium" literally "in-lumen-ates" us, dispelling the darkness of sin from our spiritual senses. And given a taste of transcendent and perfect love, we long for more:
The constant renewal of this encounter and this awareness fills the hearts of believers with amazement at God’s initiative, which human beings, with our own reason and imagination, could never have dreamt of. (11)
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