#lumen fidei

[sheltiechicago]

Title

Urban Melodies

Torleif Lie

Norway

"Sinfonia de Luces" (Symphony of Lights), Lumen Fidei" (The Light of Faith), "Arquitectura Viva" (Living Architecture), celebrates Ricardo Bofill's ingenious use of color, materials, and sculptural forms.

Neutral Density Photography Awards 2023

[pharmaciacatholica]

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. "No one — Saint Justin Martyr writes — has ever been ready to die for his faith in the sun". Conscious of the immense horizon which their faith opened before them, Christians invoked Jesus as the true sun "whose rays bestow life". To Martha, weeping for the death of her brother Lazarus, Jesus said: "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" (Jn 11:40). Those who believe, see; they see with a light that illumines their entire journey, for it comes from the risen Christ, the morning star which never sets.

Pope Francis, Lumen Fidei

[eternal-echoes]

“To embrace someone is not enough, however. We must hold the hand of the one in need, of the one who has fallen into the darkness of dependency perhaps without even knowing how, and we must say to him or her: You can get up, you can stand up. It is difficult, but it is possible if you want to. Dear friends, I wish to say to each of you, but especially to all those others who have not had the courage to embark on our journey: You have to want to stand up; this is the indispensable condition! You will find an outstretched hand ready to help you, but no one is able to stand up in your place. But you are never alone! The Church and so many people are close to you. Look ahead with confidence. Yours is a long and difficult journey, but look ahead, there is ��a sure future, set against a different horizon with regard to the illusory enticements of the idols of this world, yet granting new momentum and strength to our daily lives” (Lumen Fidei, 57). To all of you, I repeat: Do not let yourselves be robbed of hope! Do not let yourselves be robbed of hope! And not only that, but I say to us all: let us not rob others of hope, let us become bearers of hope!”

- Pope Francis, APOSTOLIC JOURNEY TO RIO DE JANEIRO ON THE OCCASION OF THE XXVIII WORLD YOUTH DAY - VISIT TO ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI OF THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD HOSPITAL, 24 July 2013

[italiani-news]

La paura è un'emozione universale che ha radici profonde nell'esperienza umana. Da sempre, l'umanità ha dovuto confrontarsi con la paura, che ha agito da forza motrice nelle decisioni individuali e collettive. Spesso vista come un'emozione negativa, la paura può tuttavia anche fungere da "collante", unendo le persone in momenti di difficoltà, di incertezze o di crisi. Ma la paura, se non controllata, può anche generare poteri forti, che sfruttano le fragilità e le paure per consolidare il proprio controllo sulle masse.Papa Francesco, nella sua enciclica Lumen fidei del 29 giugno 2013, ha riflettuto su come la paura, quando manca la fede, possa diventare un elemento che tiene unita la società, ma a un costo molto alto. In un passaggio particolarmente significativo, il Papa ha avvertito: "Se togliamo la fede in Dio dalle nostre città, si affievolirà la fiducia tra di noi, ci terremmo uniti soltanto per paura, e la stabilità sarebbe minacciata." Un messaggio che suona tanto come una riflessione sulle radici della coesione sociale, quanto un avvertimento sulle conseguenze di un'umanità che perde il contatto con il trascendente.La paura, come sentimento collettivo, ha una straordinaria capacità di unire le persone in tempi di crisi. Quando l'incertezza minaccia le fondamenta della società, la paura diventa un motore di solidarietà forzata. La gente si raccoglie attorno a cause comuni, alle politiche di protezione, o si affida a chi promette di liberarli dal pericolo imminente. La paura di perdere il proprio benessere, la propria sicurezza o la propria identità è in grado di smuovere le masse in modi che la speranza o l'amore non possono fare.In molteplici momenti della storia, le grandi crisi – guerre, pandemie, calamità naturali – hanno visto la paura come un filo invisibile che ha legato le persone. Le autorità politiche e religiose, i leader di ogni tempo, hanno capito che la paura, se incanalata correttamente, può essere uno strumento potente per mantenere l'ordine sociale e per mantenere il potere. Non a caso, in tempi di crisi, sono spesso i leader che incitano alla paura di "nemici esterni" o "minacce imminenti" a raccogliere più consenso popolare.Ma la paura, come ogni potente strumento, ha il suo rovescio della medaglia. La coesione che genera può risultare superficiale e fragile. Quando le circostanze cambiano o la paura stessa si dissipa, ciò che resta è una società potenzialmente disgregata, senza legami genuini o fondati su valori comuni.La paura, se sfruttata da poteri forti, può generare un circolo vizioso di manipolazione e controllo. I governi, le istituzioni finanziarie, i grandi conglomerati mediatici hanno spesso utilizzato la paura come strumento di persuasione, creando un ambiente in cui le persone si sentono vulnerabili e dipendenti. La paura di un futuro incerto, di una minaccia esterna, di una catastrofe imminente può spingere le persone ad accettare misure drastiche, come la rinuncia a diritti civili o la delega di poteri a chi promette di risolvere il problema.Questo scenario è stato già osservato in molte fasi storiche: da dittature che alimentano il clima di paura per giustificare il controllo assoluto, a situazioni in cui le disuguaglianze sociali sono aumentate a dismisura sotto la scusa della protezione contro minacce esterne o interne. Le paure collettive, come quella del terrorismo, della criminalità, della recessione economica, vengono abilmente alimentate per orientare il consenso e mantenere l'ordine sociale sotto forme di controllo che favoriscono i poteri forti.Papa Francesco, con le parole della Lumen fidei, ha messo in guardia su un aspetto fondamentale: la perdita della fede in Dio e nella trascendenza può portare a una società che si tiene unita solo attraverso la paura. La fede, secondo il Papa, non è solo un dono spirituale, ma anche un fattore che contribuisce a mantenere la fiducia reciproca tra le persone. Senza questa dimensione trascendente, la società rischia di ridursi a una collettività che si unisce solo attorno alla paura, senza un progetto comune basato su valori condivisi di solidarietà e speranza.La fede in Dio, per il Papa, è essenziale perché funge da fondamento per costruire legami veri e solidi tra gli individui. In assenza di questa fede, la società potrebbe diventare una somma di individui che si temono l'un l'altro, uniti solo da una necessità di sopravvivenza comune, ma privi di una visione condivisa del bene e della giustizia. La fede in Dio, per il Pontefice, è un antidoto contro una visione miope della vita, che riduce la nostra esistenza a una serie di meccanismi di difesa contro il pericolo, senza più il desiderio di perseguire il bene comune.Oggi, in un mondo caratterizzato da crisi globali, da disuguaglianze crescenti e da un'incertezza che riguarda il futuro del pianeta e dell'economia, il messaggio di Papa Francesco rimane terribilmente attuale. L'umanità si trova di fronte alla sfida di ricostruire una società che non si regga solo sulla paura, ma che possa essere sorretta da valori di fiducia reciproca, solidarietà e speranza. Solo in questo modo potremo evitare che la paura diventi il collante che ci tiene uniti, ma che allo stesso tempo rischia di portarci a una destabilizzazione delle nostre stesse fondamenta sociali e spirituali.Il Papa, quindi, ci invita a guardare oltre la paura, a cercare la speranza che nasce dalla fede e dalla fiducia nei valori che ci legano, e a non lasciarci ingabbiare da un sistema che utilizza la paura come mezzo di controllo. La vera coesione sociale si costruisce non sulla paura, ma sulla fiducia reciproca, sull'amore e sulla fede in un bene più grande che può guidare l'umanità verso un futuro di pace e prosperità. Read the full article

[foucauld-dialogos-2]

“María se puso rápidamente en camino”: la fe tiende a invitar a los otros a la alegría

Papa Francisco Encíclica “Lumen fidei”, § 39 (trad. © Libreria Editrice Vaticana)     Es imposible creer cada uno por su cuenta. La fe no es únicamente una opción individual que se hace en la intimidad del creyente, no es una relación exclusiva entre el «yo» del fiel y el «Tú» divino, entre un sujeto autónomo y Dios. Por su misma naturaleza, se abre al «nosotros», se da siempre dentro de la…

[rausule]

Francesco papa Francis pous. – Naam Sa_frau_ sé issie voor God is ons verantwoordelik vir ons eie dade, aangeneem deur Jorge Mario Bergoglio (geb. Buenos Aires 1936) na sy pouslike verkiesing. Hy is in Argentinië gebore as emigrante uit Piemonte, en is die eerste Latyns-Amerikaanse pous wat tot die Petrine-bediening verkies is, sowel as die eerste Jesuïet wat hierdie amp aanvaar het. Nadat hy as chemiese tegnikus gegradueer het, het hy toe die priesterskap gekies en in die kweekskool gestudeer, in 1958 het hy as beginner by die Society of Jesus aangesluit.Hy voltooi humanistiese studies in Chili en studeer in Filosofie in Buenos Aires. Vanaf 1964 was hy drie jaar lank professor in letterkunde en sielkunde. Op 13 Desember 1969 is hy tot priester georden. Na verskeie onderwyservarings en sy aanstelling as Provinsiaal van Argentinië, was hy rektor van die Fakulteit Teologie en Filosofie in San Miguel. In Maart 1986 is hy na Duitsland om sy doktorale proefskrif te voltooi; toe het die meerderes hom toegewys aan die kollege van die Verlosser, vanwaar hy as geestelike direkteur en belyder na die kerk van die Genootskap in die stad Cordoba beweeg het. Op 20 Mei 1992 is hy aangestel as hulpbiskop van Buenos Aires en titul��re biskop van Auca. Op 3 Junie 1997 is hy aangestel as mede-aartsbiskop van Buenos Aires en op 28 Februarie 1998 as aartsbiskop van Buenos Aires na opvolging, na die dood van kardinaal Quarracino. In 2001 is hy deur Johannes Paulus II as kardinaal aangestel. Van November 2005 tot November 2011 was hy president van die Argentynse Episkopale Konferensie. Hy was 'n lid van die Pontifical Council for the Family en van die Pontifical Commission for Latin America. Op 13 Maart 2013 is hy met die vyfde stemming deur 115 kiesers tot pous verkies, in 'n konklaaf wat minder as ses-en-twintig uur geduur het, ná Benedictus XVI se bedanking uit die Petrine-bediening wat die vorige maand plaasgevind het. Sy eerste ensikliek Lumen fidei, opgedra aan die tema van geloof as 'n goddelike gawe om gevoed en versterk te word, dateer uit Julie van dieselfde jaar, sy tweede Laudato si' dateer uit Junie 2015, gewy aan die temas van die omgewing en ekologie, en Oktober 2020 die derde Fratelli-tutti, gewy aan die temas van broederskap en sosiale vriendskap. Onder die apostoliese reise wat tydens sy pontifikaat gemaak is, is die eerstes na Lampedusa, 'n paar maande na sy verkiesing tot die Petrine-bediening, met die tema van die verwelkoming van migrante, 'n kwessie van deurslaggewende belang in ons historiese tydperk, ook weer opgeneem in die reis na die Amerikas van 2015, wat 'n groot impak op die openbare mening gehad het, waarin hy eers in Kuba en toe in die Verenigde State van Amerika was. Op hierdie reis het hy trouens die belangrike toenadering tussen die twee lande, waarin die Heilige Stoel 'n kardinale rol gespeel het, probeer onderstreep en tydens sy besoek aan die VSA, waarin hy onder meer toesprake aan die VN gelewer het. , by Ground Zero en by die Kongres, die eerste Pous wat op hierdie institusionele plek gepraat het, het hy die kwessies wat vir hom dierbaarste is onder die aandag van die internasionale opinie gebring, soos die omgewing, die stryd teen godsdienstige fanatisme van enige oorsprong, individuele en burgerlike vryhede en menseregte. In dieselfde jaar het hy 'n buitengewone jubileum aangekondig (8 Desember 2015 - 20 November 2016), gewy aan barmhartigheid, en 'n apostoliese reis na Afrika (Kenia, Uganda en die Sentraal-Afrikaanse Republiek) onderneem. Om 'n teken te gee van die Kerk se nabyheid aan hierdie lande, het hy besluit om die heilige deur van die katedraal van Bangui, die hoofstad van die Sentraal-Afrikaanse Republiek, op 29 November, voor die aanvang van die jubileum, oop te maak. Onder sy boeke: Meditaciones para religious (1982), lewe. ’

Dr De Beer

[vulnerasti-cor-meum]

[L]ove itself brings  enlightenment.

Lumen fidei §26, Pope Francis (2013)

[deadpresidents]

Saw your photo post of Pope Benedict XVI and wanted to know if you know any books about him to share?

You know, I've always had at least a passing interest in Papal history, but what really got me fascinated in the history of the institution and its leaders and traditions was when Pope John Paul II died in 2005. I couldn't stop watching coverage of his funeral and, especially, the Conclave because neither of those things had ever happened in my lifetime. I'm not even Catholic -- or religious! -- but there I was hooked by the combination of majesty and mystery with the whole deal.

Then-Cardinal Ratzinger was the leading figure of the funeral ceremonies for John Paul II prior to that Conclave and he went into the Conclave as the leading candidate among the Papabile, so it was not surprise when he was quickly elected and became Pope Benedict XVI. Because of all that, I ended up with a lot of books about Pope Benedict (long since surpassed by the library of Pope Francis books I now have), and even quite a few books written by Benedict XVI. Unless you're really into learning about his theological philosophy, I'd skip most of the books that Ratzinger/Benedict wrote. The exception would probably be Pope Benedict XVI's encyclicals: God Is Love (Deus Caritas Est), Saved In Hope (Spe Salvi), and Charity In Truth (Caritas in Veritate), which I do find interesting. Plus, the Ignatius Press of San Francisco publishes each of the encyclicals in gorgeous little volumes that are nice to collect. Benedict was also working on another encyclical when he resigned in 2013 -- The Light of Faith (Lumen Fidei) -- which was completed and released by Pope Francis, but credited as the work of "four hands" and considered the only encyclical co-written by two Popes.

However, when it comes to the Popes, I've always been more interested in the biographical than ecclesiastical, and there is no shortage of great biographies about Benedict XVI. Elio Guerriero's 2018 biography, Benedict XVI: His Life and Thought (BOOK | KINDLE) is excellent. But the very best books about Pope Benedict are those written by Peter Seewald, who basically ended up as Benedict's official biographer and had incredible access to the German Pope. Seewald's 2008 book, Benedict XVI: An Intimate Portrait, is a solid starting place and takes you about halfway through his pontificate. Benedict XVI: Last Testament: In His Own Words (BOOK | KINDLE) from 2017 is basically a book-length interview of Benedict by Seewald. But the definitive work about Ratzinger is the two-volume biography Seewald recently published -- Benedict XVI: A Life, Volume I: Youth in Nazi Germany to the Second Vatican Council, 1927-1965 (BOOK | KINDLE), published in 2020, and Benedict XVI: A Life, Volume II: Professor and Prefect to Pope and Pope Emeritus, 1966-the Present (BOOK | KINDLE), which was published in 2021.

Two other titles are worth mentioning just because they are written from unique points of view. My Brother, the Pope (BOOK | KINDLE) was written by Benedict XVI's older brother, Georg Ratzinger, who was also a Catholic priest and died in 2020 at the age of 96. And John Paul II: My Beloved Predecessor is obviously not necessarily a book about Benedict, but it was written by him and provides an interesting glimpse of the relationship between then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and Pope John Paul II. Oh...and I'd also suggest Anthony McCarten's The Two Popes: Francis, Benedict, and the Decision That Shook the World (BOOK | KINDLE), which was originally published as The Pope, and used as the basis for a great little movie starring Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce, as Benedict XVI and Francis respectively.

It might seem like I mentioned every book about Benedict XVI, but I promise I narrowed it down to the best ones in my library. If you're just looking for a good, comprehensive biography, go with any of the books by Seewald.

[nossasenhoracuidademim]

PAPA FRANCISCO: 10 ANOS DE PONTIFICADO. Em 13 de março de 2013, há 10 anos, o cardeal argentino Jorge Mário Bergoglio foi eleito à Cátedra de Pedro: primeiro Papa jesuíta e latino-americano, e eleito após a renúncia do seu antecessor. Foi o primeiro Papa a escolher o nome de Francisco. Ele mesmo explicou o motivo: “Na eleição, eu tinha ao meu lado o arcebispo emérito de São Paulo, um grande amigo (era Dom Cláudio Hummes, que receberam o cardinalato na mesma data, em 21 de fevereiro de 2001). Quando a coisa começou a ficar um pouco perigosa, ele começou a me tranquilizar. E quando os votos chegaram a 2/3, aconteceu o aplauso esperado, pois, afinal, havia sido eleito o Papa. Ele me abraçou, me beijou e disse: 'Não se esqueça dos pobres'. Aquilo entrou na minha cabeça. Imediatamente lembrei de São Francisco de Assis." Nestes 10 anos, desde 13 de março de 2013, quando apareceu na sacada da basílica de São Pedro para saudar os fiéis após sua eleição, o papa Francisco iniciou uma nova etapa na história recente da Igreja com a reforma da Cúria vaticana como o marco principal, um processo que ainda está em curso. Durante esse tempo, o Papa publicou três encíclicas: Lumen fidei (29 de junho de 2013), Laudato si' (24 de maio de 2015) e Fratelli tutti (3 de outubro de 2020). Ele também publicou cinco exortações apostólicas: Evangelii gaudium (24 de novembro de 2013), Amoris laetitia (19 de março de 2016), Gaudete et exsultate (19 de março de 2018), Christus vivit (25 de março de 2019) e Querida Amazônia (2 de fevereiro , 2020). Promulgou três constituições apostólicas, 86 cartas apostólicas, 57 motu proprio e escreveu numerosas cartas e mensagens pontifícias. Portanto, uma característica deste pontificado é um intenso esforço para publicar os documentos magistrais do papa Francisco. Além disso, o papa fez 40 viagens fora da Itália desde a sua nomeação, a última foi para República Democrática do Congo e Sudão do Sul, de 31 de janeiro a 5 de fevereiro de 2023. Francisco criou 121 cardeais em oito consistórios. Francisco presidiu a canonização de 911 novos santos, incluindo os papas são João Paulo II, são João XXIII, são Paulo VI, santa Dulce. #nscm #papafrancisco https://www.instagram.com/p/Cpv6_4Dth-G/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[pharmaciacatholica]

We come to see that faith does not dwell in shadow and gloom; it is a light for our darkness. Dante, in the Divine Comedy, after professing his faith to Saint Peter, describes that light as a "spark, which then becomes a burning flame and like a heavenly star within me glimmers". It is this light of faith that I would now like to consider, so that it can grow and enlighten the present, becoming a star to brighten the horizon of our journey at a time when mankind is particularly in need of light.

Pope Francis, Lumen Fidei

[eternal-echoes]

“The conversion of your patron saint is well known: the young Francis abandoned riches and comfort in order to become a poor man among the poor. He understood that true joy and riches do not come from the idols of this world – material things and the possession of them – but are to be found only in following Christ and serving others. Less well known, perhaps, is the moment when this understanding took concrete form in his own life. It was when Francis embraced a leper. This suffering brother was the “mediator of light ... for Saint Francis of Assisi” (Lumen Fidei, 57), because in every suffering brother and sister that we embrace, we embrace the suffering Body of Christ. Today, in this place where people struggle with drug addiction, I wish to embrace each and every one of you, who are the flesh of Christ, and to ask God to renew your journey, and also mine, with purpose and steadfast hope.”

- Pope Francis, APOSTOLIC JOURNEY TO RIO DE JANEIRO ON THE OCCASION OF THE XXVIII WORLD YOUTH DAY - VISIT TO ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI OF THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD HOSPITAL, 24 July 2013

[lawrenceop]

HOMILY for 3rd Sat (II)

2 Samuel 12:1-7,10-17; Ps 50; Mark 4:35-41

“Why are you so frightened? How is it that you have no faith?” These words of Our Lord haunt us. How is it that we have no faith.

There have probably been many moments when we have felt frightened and alone, when the stormy challenges of life cause the tiny flame of faith to gutter and flicker perilously; and we can be sure that sudden gusts of wind will arise and threaten to extinguish what faith we have.

But we must also recall those wise words of St John Henry Newman: “Ten thousand difficulties do not make one doubt”. Thus Newman, although beset throughout his life by uncertainties and fears and difficulties, also learnt that faith is often the gift of having just enough light to make one step forward on life’s journey towards the safe harbour. So he wrote: “Lead, Kindly Light, amidst th'encircling gloom, Lead Thou me on! The night is dark, and I am far from home, Lead Thou me on! Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see The distant scene; one step enough for me.”

Often, the issue is not that we don’t have faith, but rather that we are too much afraid because we cannot see as far ahead as we would like. For we would like to see ahead, to know what is to come, to foreknow the future, so that we can plan ahead, and so trust in our own ingenuity and resources. But faith, such as Jesus speaks of in the Gospel, is learning to trust in the One who will not and has not abandoned us, even if he seems to be asleep. Faith is trusting that God knows the way forward, and he sees the distant scene and he knows the route to the safe haven. Faith is allowing him to lead us, one step at a time.

St John Henry Newman, therefore, had to learn to trust that Christ would lead him forward with the kindly, gentle, and maybe small light of faith. So Newman writes: “I was not ever thus, nor prayed that Thou Shouldst lead me on; I loved to choose and see my path; but now Lead Thou me on!”

What led St John Henry Newman to this conversion, this deeper trust in God? It was a living encounter with Christ, a profound knowledge of the Word of God, and an experience of God’s love coming from the Sacraments, above all, the Blessed Sacrament. So in the 1830s, Newman writes in a letter to a Catholic friend that at first he didn’t understand what the Mass was about, nor did he notice the flickering light of the Tabernacle lamp that burns there as a symbol of faith in the Real Presence. But later, he says, “after tasting of the [awesome] delight of worshipping God in His Temple, how unspeakably cold is the idea of a Temple without that Divine Presence!“ For he had tasted the love of God present in the Eucharist. Newman marvelled that God was present for us in the Tabernacle, lovingly awaiting us, seemingly asleep, as it were, but always actively present for us. This moved him to know the love of God made visible in Christ. Hence he wrote: “To know that He is close by – to be able again and again through the day to go in to Him” is “such an incomparable blessing.”

Hence the Holy Father reminded us in his first encyclical Lumen Fidei that “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.” May we encounter Christ in the Eucharist, He who is the “true Body” born of the Virgin Mary. And may Mary, whose faith burns like a star in the darkness, lead us homewards to God. For as St Thomas Aquinas said: “As mariners are guided into port by the shining of a star, so Christians are guided to heaven by Mary.”

[pamphletstoinspire]

What The Two Healings Of Today’s Gospel Teach Us About Our Own Faith - Mk 5:21-43 or 5:21-24, 35b-43 (6/27/2021 - Roman Catholic)

Jairus' daughter and the woman with a hemorrhage stand as a diptych, teaching us how to believe.

Diptychs, that is, two panels joined by a hinge, were a popular form of art in the middle ages. The two images could be closed and protected, making it possible to travel with them. Furthermore, the two panels support each other. Rather than resting alone upright, the joined panels make it possible to easily display the diptych, offering a little resilience and structural security. Finally, according to the plans of the artist or benefactor, the images on each panel were designed to be complementary, speaking to each other.

Today’s Gospel presents a diptych, two examples of professing faith. Joined by the hinge of faith, Jairus and the woman cured of a hemorrhage, embody the two facades of the one united act of faith. These two examples of faith are complementary, each illuminating the other. Like a diptych, the two corresponding figures are a set, a pair.

Jairus, the synagogue official

What do we know about Jairus? What can we surmise from how Mark’s account presents him? Jairus, an official of the synagogue, would have been a man of some standing in his community. Many of the healing accounts in the Gospels are anonymous, like the woman cured of a hemorrhage. Jairus, on the other hand, is known and named. He must have been a recognized figure, or perhaps someone who continued to testify to Jesus, if his name would have been important to the evangelist and the early Christian community.

However, Jairus’ status raises several questions. Was he ridiculed by his peers for approaching Christ? Did his profession of faith cost him his leadership role in the synagogue? Did he pay a price socially, with his new faith in Christ compromising his status in the town? It seems unlikely that such a decision would be without cost.

Jairus approaches the Lord

Notice that the Gospel carefully details how Jairus approaches Jesus. The Gospel states, “One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward. Seeing him he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying, ‘My daughter is at the point of death. Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live.’ He went off with him, and a large crowd followed him and pressed upon him” (Mark 5:22-24). Jairus approaches Jesus and honors him as a ruler, falling at the Lord’s feet. Then Jairus makes an argument, telling Jesus the situation at hand, and asking the Lord to respond. Finally, Jairus follows Jesus, hoping that the Lord will cure his daughter.

The faith of Jairus

Jairus’ interaction with Christ highlights the intellectual aspect of faith. Faith is believing, and believing something real. To profess the Christian faith means to assent with the mind to stated tenets of belief. Each Sunday when we profess the Creed, we name those core fundaments of the faith.

In his first papal encyclical, Lumen Fidei, Pope Francis writes, “Christ’s word, once heard, by virtue of its inner power at work in the heart of the Christian, becomes a response, a spoken word, a profession of faith. As Saint Paul puts it: ‘one believes with the heart … and confesses with the lips’ (Rom 10:10). Faith is not a private matter, a completely individualistic notion or a personal opinion: it comes from hearing, and it is meant to find expression in words and to be proclaimed.” Jairus has thought through what he wants to ask of Christ. He knows that Jesus heals, and presents a course of action, a plan. Prostrating himself before Jesus, he states the needs of his heart and professes his belief that by the laying on of hands his daughter will be saved.

The woman with a hemorrhage

Unlike Jairus, a respected and known figure, the woman suffering from a flow of blood was an outcast. According to Jewish ritual law, the flow of blood made her unclean. Moreover, anything and anyone she touched was made unclean. Unlike Jairus, who boldly plants himself in front of Christ and names his requests of the Lord, this woman shyly, humbly approaches Christ from behind. At wits end, having long suffered at the hands of doctors unable to cure her, she reaches out to Christ, in hopes that he will be able to do something.

The woman’s faith

While Jairus exemplifies the intellectual aspect of faith, that there are real things to be believed, this woman demonstrates the role of the will in the act of faith. She does not name terms with Christ or pronounce her desires. For her, it is the heart that leads. She stretches out her hand, driven by will, hoping against hope that Christ will cure her suffering. She chooses Christ, trying to touch just the hem of his garment.

To believe, the heart must assent! Pope Francis writes, “Faith transforms the whole person precisely to the extent that he or she becomes open to love. Through this blending of faith and love we come to see the kind of knowledge which faith entails, its power to convince and its ability to illumine our steps. Faith knows because it is tied to love, because love itself brings enlightenment.” Faith is not merely an intellectual enterprise. It is the twin process of the mind and heart. Faith is knowing, but an acceptance of that knowledge by having chosen.

The diptych

For 12 years this woman lived in darkness. Ceremonially unclean, she had not been able to enter the synagogue and offer worship. Unable to prepare food for her family or participate in the liturgical feasts at home, now she has been given her life back by Christ. Jairus had loved and delighted in his daughter for 12 years, his suffering was the risk of losing her. But the woman cured of a hemorrhage had spent her 12 years of pain, apart, alone. The act of will, the confidence in Christ, the movement from unbelief to belief that is a choice, gave her life and light.

Are we Jairus or the woman? Each believer is at once both. Like Jairus we fear loss and the risk of what we have. Like the woman cured of the flow of blood, we need relief from the present pains and sufferings we bear.

Furthermore, like Jairus, each believer assents with the mind. Arguing our way into faith, believing in the intellect that Christ will save. But like the woman, our intellectual assent occurs only because of the movement of the heart, an act of the will, a choice.

By: Fr. Patrick Briscoe, OP

[princesa-de-maria]

"A fé não é a luz que dissipa todas as nossas trevas,mas a lâmpada que guia os nossos passos na noite,e isso bastará pelo caminho".

(Lumen Fidei,57)

[ael59]

T.I.M.E. Stories : Lumen Fidei

T.I.M.E. Stories : Lumen Fidei

SYNOPSIS

N.T. 1419 :

Découvrez l’Espagne médiévale et infiltrez une mission diplomatique… pour localiser et ramener un objet capital pour l’agence T.I.M.E.

MON AVIS

Nouveau scénario fait en famille autour d’une histoire dans une époque médiévale hispanique.

J’avoue, les enfants ont moins accroché à ce scénario. Peut-être à cause de l’époque moins parlante pour eux. Mais…