Encyclicals. Dogmatic Constitution on the Church - Lumen Gentium. 1. Christ is the Light of nations. Because this is so, this Sacred Synod gathered together in the Holy Spirit eagerly desires, by proclaiming the Gospel to every creature,(1) to bring the light of Christ to all men, a light brightly visible on the countenance of the Church. Since the Church is in Christ like a sacrament or as a sign and instrument both of a very closely knit union with God and of the unity of the whole human race, it desires now to unfold more fully to the faithful of the Church and to the whole world its own inner nature and universal mission.
This it intends to do following faithfully the teaching of previous councils. The present-day conditions of the world add greater urgency to this work of the Church so that all men, joined more closely today by various social, technical and cultural ties, might also attain fuller unity in Christ. 2. The eternal Father, by a free and hidden plan of His own wisdom and goodness, created the whole world. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern Word-Gaudium et Spes. 46. This council has set forth the dignity of the human person, and the work which men have been destined to undertake throughout the world both as individuals and as members of society. There are a number of particularly urgent needs characterizing the present age, needs which go to the roots of the human race. To a consideration of these in the light of the Gospel and of human experience, the council would now direct the attention of all.
Of the many subjects arousing universal concern today, it may be helpful to concentrate on these: marriage and the family, human progress, life in its economic, social and political dimensions, the bonds between the family of nations, and peace. On each of these may there shine the radiant ideals proclaimed by Christ. By these ideals may Christians be led, and all mankind enlightened, as they search for answers to questions of such complexity. 47. All these situations have produced anxiety of consciences. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. Deus Caritas Est - Encyclical Letter, Benedict XVI.
1. “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” (1 Jn 4:16). These words from theFirst 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. 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 decisive direction.
Saint John's Gospel describes that event in these words: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should ... have eternal life” (3:16). A problem of language 2. “Eros” and “Agape” – difference and unity 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Encyclical Letter Lumen fidei of the Supreme Pontiff Francis. 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. An illusory light? 2. 3. A light to be recovered 4. 5. 6. 7. WE HAVE BELIEVED IN LOVE (cf. 1 Jn 4:16) Abraham, our father in faith 8. 9. 10. 11. The faith of Israel 12. 13. 14. The fullness of Christian faith 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. Six Things Straight People Should Stop Saying about Gay People | A kind woman, who would never intentionally offend another person, writes: “I love gay people, I just cannot support their gay lifestyle.” A pastor stands holding an electric cord as a prop and warns the congregation, “Don’t mess with God’s original design. Gay sex is not natural, the parts don’t fit.” A man thinks he needs to “protect” his family from his Christian gay brother.
He says to his brother, “Homosexuality is a perversion and, until you change, I cannot allow you in my home with my children.” Parents send their lesbian daughter to a program that they heard about at church. About their fellow Americans, some will say: “I don’t mind gay people having civil unions, I just do not want to redefine marriage. Thinking they are pleasing and even defending God, moderate Christians assert: “I’m fine with gay people getting together, it’s God and the Bible that are clearly against homosexuality. I would have made every one of these statements a decade ago.
The “gay lifestyle” No, they can’t. Six Things Straight People Should Stop Saying about Gay People |