Encyclical Letter "Deus Caritas Est"

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	=20

ENCYCLICAL = LETTER
DEUS CARITAS EST
OF THE SUPREME=20 PONTIFF
BENEDICT XVI
TO THE BISHOPS
PRIESTS AND=20 DEACONS
MEN AND WOMEN RELIGIOUS
AND ALL THE LAY = FAITHFUL
ON=20 CHRISTIAN LOVE

INTRODUCTION

1. =93God is love, and he who abides in love = abides in God,=20 and God abides in him=94 (1 Jn=20 4:16). These words from the First = Letter of=20 John express with remarkable clarity the heart of the = Christian=20 faith: the Christian image of God and the resulting image of = mankind and=20 its destiny. In the same verse, Saint John also offers a kind of = summary=20 of the Christian life: =93We have come to know and to believe in = the love=20 God has for us=94.

We have come to believe in God's love: in = these words=20 the Christian can express the fundamental decision of his life. = Being=20 Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, = but the=20 encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon = and a=20 decisive direction. Saint John's Gospel describes that event in = these=20 words: =93God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that = whoever=20 believes in him should ... have eternal life=94 (3:16). In = acknowledging the=20 centrality of love, Christian faith has retained the core of = Israel's=20 faith, while at the same time giving it new depth and breadth. The = pious=20 Jew prayed daily the words of the Book of=20 Deuteronomy which expressed the heart of his existence: = =93Hear, O=20 Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord, and you shall love the Lord = your God=20 with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your = might=94=20 (6:4-5). Jesus united into a single precept this commandment of = love for=20 God and the commandment of love for neighbour found in the Book of=20 Leviticus: =93You shall love your neighbour as yourself=94 = (19:18;=20 cf. Mk 12:29-31). Since God has first loved us (cf. 1 = Jn=20 4:10), love is now no longer a mere =93command=94; it is the = response to the=20 gift of love with which God draws near to us.

In a world where the name of God is sometimes = associated=20 with vengeance or even a duty of hatred and violence, this message = is both=20 timely and significant. For this reason, I wish in my first = Encyclical to=20 speak of the love which God lavishes upon us and which we in turn = must=20 share with others. That, in essence, is what the two main parts of = this=20 Letter are about, and they are profoundly interconnected. The = first part=20 is more speculative, since I wanted here=97at the beginning of my=20 Pontificate=97to clarify some essential facts concerning the love = which God=20 mysteriously and gratuitously offers to man, together with the = intrinsic=20 link between that Love and the reality of human love. The second = part is=20 more concrete, since it treats the ecclesial exercise of the = commandment=20 of love of neighbour. The argument has vast implications, but a = lengthy=20 treatment would go beyond the scope of the present Encyclical. I = wish to=20 emphasize some basic elements, so as to call forth in the world = renewed=20 energy and commitment in the human response to God's love.

PART I

THE UNITY OF LOVE
IN CREATION
AND IN = SALVATION=20 HISTORY

A problem of language

2. God's love for us is fundamental for our lives, = and it=20 raises important questions about who God is and who we are. In = considering=20 this, we immediately find ourselves hampered by a problem of = language.=20 Today, the term =93love=94 has become one of the most frequently = used and=20 misused of words, a word to which we attach quite different = meanings. Even=20 though this Encyclical will deal primarily with the understanding = and=20 practice of love in sacred Scripture and in the Church's = Tradition, we=20 cannot simply prescind from the meaning of the word in the = different=20 cultures and in present-day usage.

Let us first of all bring to mind the vast = semantic range of=20 the word =93love=94: we speak of love of country, love of one's = profession,=20 love between friends, love of work, love between parents and = children,=20 love between family members, love of neighbour and love of God. = Amid this=20 multiplicity of meanings, however, one in particular stands out: = love=20 between man and woman, where body and soul are inseparably joined = and=20 human beings glimpse an apparently irresistible promise of = happiness. This=20 would seem to be the very epitome of love; all other kinds of love = immediately seem to fade in comparison. So we need to ask: are all = these=20 forms of love basically one, so that love, in its many and varied=20 manifestations, is ultimately a single reality, or are we merely = using the=20 same word to designate totally different realities?

=93Eros=94 and =93Agape=94 =96 difference and = unity

3. That love between man and woman which is = neither planned=20 nor willed, but somehow imposes itself upon human beings, was = called=20 eros by the ancient Greeks. Let us note straight away that the = Greek=20 Old Testament uses the word eros only twice, while the New=20 Testament does not use it at all: of the three Greek words for = love,=20 eros, philia (the love of friendship) and agape, New = Testament=20 writers prefer the last, which occurs rather infrequently in Greek = usage.=20 As for the term philia, the love of friendship, it is used = with=20 added depth of meaning in Saint John's Gospel in order to express = the=20 relationship between Jesus and his disciples. The tendency to = avoid the=20 word eros, together with the new vision of love expressed = through=20 the word agape, clearly point to something new and distinct = about=20 the Christian understanding of love. In the critique of = Christianity which=20 began with the Enlightenment and grew progressively more radical, = this new=20 element was seen as something thoroughly negative. According to = Friedrich=20 Nietzsche, Christianity had poisoned eros, which for its = part,=20 while not completely succumbing, gradually degenerated into = vice.[1] Here the German philosopher was expressing = a=20 widely-held perception: doesn't the Church, with all her = commandments and=20 prohibitions, turn to bitterness the most precious thing in life? = Doesn't=20 she blow the whistle just when the joy which is the Creator's gift = offers=20 us a happiness which is itself a certain foretaste of the = Divine?

4. But is this the case? Did Christianity really = destroy=20 eros? Let us take a look at the pre- Christian world. The = Greeks=97not=20 unlike other cultures=97considered eros principally as a = kind of=20 intoxication, the overpowering of reason by a =93divine madness=94 = which tears=20 man away from his finite existence and enables him, in the very = process of=20 being overwhelmed by divine power, to experience supreme = happiness. All=20 other powers in heaven and on earth thus appear secondary: = =93Omnia=20 vincit amor=94 says Virgil in the Bucolics=97love = conquers all=97and=20 he adds: =93et nos cedamus amori=94=97let us, too, yield to = love.[2] In the religions, this attitude found = expression in=20 fertility cults, part of which was the =93sacred=94 prostitution = which=20 flourished in many temples. Eros was thus celebrated as = divine=20 power, as fellowship with the Divine.

The Old Testament firmly opposed this form of = religion,=20 which represents a powerful temptation against monotheistic faith, = combating it as a perversion of religiosity. But it in no way = rejected=20 eros as such; rather, it declared war on a warped and = destructive form=20 of it, because this counterfeit divinization of eros = actually=20 strips it of its dignity and dehumanizes it. Indeed, the = prostitutes in=20 the temple, who had to bestow this divine intoxication, were not = treated=20 as human beings and persons, but simply used as a means of = arousing=20 =93divine madness=94: far from being goddesses, they were human = persons being=20 exploited. An intoxicated and undisciplined eros, then, is = not an=20 ascent in =93ecstasy=94 towards the Divine, but a fall, a = degradation of man.=20 Evidently, eros needs to be disciplined and purified if it = is to=20 provide not just fleeting pleasure, but a certain foretaste of the = pinnacle of our existence, of that beatitude for which our whole = being=20 yearns.

5. Two things emerge clearly from this rapid = overview of the=20 concept of eros past and present. First, there is a certain = relationship between love and the Divine: love promises infinity,=20 eternity=97a reality far greater and totally other than our = everyday=20 existence. Yet we have also seen that the way to attain this goal = is not=20 simply by submitting to instinct. Purification and growth in = maturity are=20 called for; and these also pass through the path of renunciation. = Far from=20 rejecting or =93poisoning=94 eros, they heal it and restore = its true=20 grandeur.

This is due first and foremost to the fact that = man is a=20 being made up of body and soul. Man is truly himself when his body = and=20 soul are intimately united; the challenge of eros can be = said to be=20 truly overcome when this unification is achieved. Should he aspire = to be=20 pure spirit and to reject the flesh as pertaining to his animal = nature=20 alone, then spirit and body would both lose their dignity. On the = other=20 hand, should he deny the spirit and consider matter, the body, as = the only=20 reality, he would likewise lose his greatness. The epicure = Gassendi used=20 to offer Descartes the humorous greeting: =93O Soul!=94 And = Descartes would=20 reply: =93O Flesh!=94.[3] Yet it is neither the spirit alone nor the = body=20 alone that loves: it is man, the person, a unified creature = composed of=20 body and soul, who loves. Only when both dimensions are truly = united, does=20 man attain his full stature. Only thus is love = =97eros=97able to mature=20 and attain its authentic grandeur.

Nowadays Christianity of the past is often = criticized as=20 having been opposed to the body; and it is quite true that = tendencies of=20 this sort have always existed. Yet the contemporary way of = exalting the=20 body is deceptive. Eros, reduced to pure =93sex=94, has = become a=20 commodity, a mere =93thing=94 to be bought and sold, or rather, = man himself=20 becomes a commodity. This is hardly man's great =93yes=94 to the = body. On the=20 contrary, he now considers his body and his sexuality as the = purely=20 material part of himself, to be used and exploited at will. Nor = does he=20 see it as an arena for the exercise of his freedom, but as a mere = object=20 that he attempts, as he pleases, to make both enjoyable and = harmless. Here=20 we are actually dealing with a debasement of the human body: no = longer is=20 it integrated into our overall existential freedom; no longer is = it a=20 vital expression of our whole being, but it is more or less = relegated to=20 the purely biological sphere. The apparent exaltation of the body = can=20 quickly turn into a hatred of bodiliness. Christian faith, on the = other=20 hand, has always considered man a unity in duality, a reality in = which=20 spirit and matter compenetrate, and in which each is brought to a = new=20 nobility. True, eros tends to rise =93in ecstasy=94 towards = the Divine,=20 to lead us beyond ourselves; yet for this very reason it calls for = a path=20 of ascent, renunciation, purification and healing.

6. Concretely, what does this path of ascent and=20 purification entail? How might love be experienced so that it can = fully=20 realize its human and divine promise? Here we can find a first, = important=20 indication in the Song of=20 Songs, an Old Testament book well known to the mystics. = According=20 to the interpretation generally held today, the poems contained in = this=20 book were originally love-songs, perhaps intended for a Jewish = wedding=20 feast and meant to exalt conjugal love. In this context it is = highly=20 instructive to note that in the course of the book two different = Hebrew=20 words are used to indicate =93love=94. First there is the word = dodim, a=20 plural form suggesting a love that is still insecure, = indeterminate and=20 searching. This comes to be replaced by the word ahab=E0, = which the=20 Greek version of the Old Testament translates with the = similar-sounding=20 agape, which, as we have seen, becomes the typical expression = for the=20 biblical notion of love. By contrast with an indeterminate, = =93searching=94=20 love, this word expresses the experience of a love which involves = a real=20 discovery of the other, moving beyond the selfish character that = prevailed=20 earlier. Love now becomes concern and care for the other. No = longer is it=20 self-seeking, a sinking in the intoxication of happiness; instead = it seeks=20 the good of the beloved: it becomes renunciation and it is ready, = and even=20 willing, for sacrifice.

It is part of love's growth towards higher levels = and inward=20 purification that it now seeks to become definitive, and it does = so in a=20 twofold sense: both in the sense of exclusivity (this particular = person=20 alone) and in the sense of being =93for ever=94. Love embraces the = whole of=20 existence in each of its dimensions, including the dimension of = time. It=20 could hardly be otherwise, since its promise looks towards its = definitive=20 goal: love looks to the eternal. Love is indeed =93ecstasy=94, not = in the=20 sense of a moment of intoxication, but rather as a journey, an = ongoing=20 exodus out of the closed inward-looking self towards its = liberation=20 through self-giving, and thus towards authentic self-discovery and = indeed=20 the discovery of God: =93Whoever seeks to gain his life will lose = it, but=20 whoever loses his life will preserve it=94 (Lk 17:33), as = Jesus says=20 throughout the Gospels (cf. Mt 10:39; 16:25; Mk = 8:35;=20 Lk 9:24; Jn 12:25). In these words, Jesus portrays = his own=20 path, which leads through the Cross to the Resurrection: the path = of the=20 grain of wheat that falls to the ground and dies, and in this way = bears=20 much fruit. Starting from the depths of his own sacrifice and of = the love=20 that reaches fulfilment therein, he also portrays in these words = the=20 essence of love and indeed of human life itself.

7. By their own inner logic, these initial, = somewhat=20 philosophical reflections on the essence of love have now brought = us to=20 the threshold of biblical faith. We began by asking whether the = different,=20 or even opposed, meanings of the word =93love=94 point to some = profound=20 underlying unity, or whether on the contrary they must remain = unconnected,=20 one alongside the other. More significantly, though, we questioned = whether=20 the message of love proclaimed to us by the Bible and the Church's = Tradition has some points of contact with the common human = experience of=20 love, or whether it is opposed to that experience. This in turn = led us to=20 consider two fundamental words: eros, as a term to indicate = =93worldly=94 love and agape, referring to love grounded in = and shaped=20 by faith. The two notions are often contrasted as =93ascending=94 = love and=20 =93descending=94 love. There are other, similar classifications, = such as the=20 distinction between possessive love and oblative love (amor=20 concupiscentiae =96 amor benevolentiae), to which is sometimes = also=20 added love that seeks its own advantage.

In philosophical and theological debate, these = distinctions=20 have often been radicalized to the point of establishing a clear=20 antithesis between them: descending, oblative = love=97agape=97would be=20 typically Christian, while on the other hand ascending, possessive = or=20 covetous love =97eros=97would be typical of non-Christian, = and=20 particularly Greek culture. Were this antithesis to be taken to = extremes,=20 the essence of Christianity would be detached from the vital = relations=20 fundamental to human existence, and would become a world apart, = admirable=20 perhaps, but decisively cut off from the complex fabric of human = life. Yet=20 eros and agape=97ascending love and descending = love=97can never=20 be completely separated. The more the two, in their different = aspects,=20 find a proper unity in the one reality of love, the more the true = nature=20 of love in general is realized. Even if eros is at first = mainly=20 covetous and ascending, a fascination for the great promise of = happiness,=20 in drawing near to the other, it is less and less concerned with = itself,=20 increasingly seeks the happiness of the other, is concerned more = and more=20 with the beloved, bestows itself and wants to =93be there for=94 = the other.=20 The element of agape thus enters into this love, for = otherwise=20 eros is impoverished and even loses its own nature. On the = other=20 hand, man cannot live by oblative, descending love alone. He = cannot always=20 give, he must also receive. Anyone who wishes to give love must = also=20 receive love as a gift. Certainly, as the Lord tells us, one can = become a=20 source from which rivers of living water flow (cf. Jn = 7:37-38). Yet=20 to become such a source, one must constantly drink anew from the = original=20 source, which is Jesus Christ, from whose pierced heart flows the = love of=20 God (cf. Jn 19:34).

In the account of Jacob's ladder, the Fathers of = the Church=20 saw this inseparable connection between ascending and descending = love,=20 between eros which seeks God and agape which passes = on the=20 gift received, symbolized in various ways. In that biblical = passage we=20 read how the Patriarch Jacob saw in a dream, above the stone which = was his=20 pillow, a ladder reaching up to heaven, on which the angels of God = were=20 ascending and descending (cf. Gen 28:12; Jn 1:51). A = particularly striking interpretation of this vision is presented = by Pope=20 Gregory the Great in his Pastoral Rule. He tells us that = the good=20 pastor must be rooted in contemplation. Only in this way will he = be able=20 to take upon himself the needs of others and make them his own: = =93per=20 pietatis viscera in se infirmitatem caeterorum = transferat=94.[4] Saint Gregory speaks in this context of = Saint Paul,=20 who was borne aloft to the most exalted mysteries of God, and = hence,=20 having descended once more, he was able to become all things to = all men=20 (cf. 2 Cor 12:2-4; 1 Cor 9:22). He also points to = the=20 example of Moses, who entered the tabernacle time and again, = remaining in=20 dialogue with God, so that when he emerged he could be at the = service of=20 his people. =93Within [the tent] he is borne aloft through = contemplation,=20 while without he is completely engaged in helping those who = suffer:=20 intus in contemplationem rapitur, foris infirmantium negotiis=20 urgetur.=94[5]

8. We have thus come to an initial, albeit still = somewhat=20 generic response to the two questions raised earlier. = Fundamentally,=20 =93love=94 is a single reality, but with different dimensions; at = different=20 times, one or other dimension may emerge more clearly. Yet when = the two=20 dimensions are totally cut off from one another, the result is a=20 caricature or at least an impoverished form of love. And we have = also=20 seen, synthetically, that biblical faith does not set up a = parallel=20 universe, or one opposed to that primordial human phenomenon which = is=20 love, but rather accepts the whole man; it intervenes in his = search for=20 love in order to purify it and to reveal new dimensions of it. = This=20 newness of biblical faith is shown chiefly in two elements which = deserve=20 to be highlighted: the image of God and the image of man.

The newness of biblical faith

9. First, the world of the Bible presents us with = a new=20 image of God. In surrounding cultures, the image of God and of the = gods=20 ultimately remained unclear and contradictory. In the development = of=20 biblical faith, however, the content of the prayer fundamental to = Israel,=20 the Shema, became increasingly clear and unequivocal: = =93Hear, O=20 Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord=94 (Dt 6:4). There is = only one=20 God, the Creator of heaven and earth, who is thus the God of all. = Two=20 facts are significant about this statement: all other gods are not = God,=20 and the universe in which we live has its source in God and was = created by=20 him. Certainly, the notion of creation is found elsewhere, yet = only here=20 does it become absolutely clear that it is not one god among many, = but the=20 one true God himself who is the source of all that exists; the = whole world=20 comes into existence by the power of his creative Word. = Consequently, his=20 creation is dear to him, for it was willed by him and =93made=94 = by him. The=20 second important element now emerges: this God loves man. The = divine power=20 that Aristotle at the height of Greek philosophy sought to grasp = through=20 reflection, is indeed for every being an object of desire and of = love =97and=20 as the object of love this divinity moves the world[6]=97but in itself it lacks nothing and does = not love: it=20 is solely the object of love. The one God in whom Israel believes, = on the=20 other hand, loves with a personal love. His love, moreover, is an = elective=20 love: among all the nations he chooses Israel and loves her=97but = he does so=20 precisely with a view to healing the whole human race. God loves, = and his=20 love may certainly be called eros, yet it is also = totally=20 agape.[7]

The Prophets, particularly Hosea and Ezekiel, = described=20 God's passion for his people using boldly erotic images. God's=20 relationship with Israel is described using the metaphors of = betrothal and=20 marriage; idolatry is thus adultery and prostitution. Here we find = a=20 specific reference=97as we have seen=97to the fertility cults and = their abuse=20 of eros, but also a description of the relationship of = fidelity=20 between Israel and her God. The history of the love-relationship = between=20 God and Israel consists, at the deepest level, in the fact that he = gives=20 her the Torah, thereby opening Israel's eyes to man's true = nature=20 and showing her the path leading to true humanism. It consists in = the fact=20 that man, through a life of fidelity to the one God, comes to = experience=20 himself as loved by God, and discovers joy in truth and in = righteousness=97a=20 joy in God which becomes his essential happiness: =93Whom do I = have in=20 heaven but you? And there is nothing upon earth that I desire = besides you=20 ... for me it is good to be near God=94 (Ps 73 [72]:25, = 28).

10. We have seen that God's eros for man is = also=20 totally agape. This is not only because it is bestowed in a = completely gratuitous manner, without any previous merit, but also = because=20 it is love which forgives. Hosea above all shows us that this = agape=20 dimension of God's love for man goes far beyond the aspect of = gratuity.=20 Israel has committed =93adultery=94 and has broken the covenant; = God should=20 judge and repudiate her. It is precisely at this point that God is = revealed to be God and not man: =93How can I give you up, O = Ephraim! How can=20 I hand you over, O Israel! ... My heart recoils within me, my = compassion=20 grows warm and tender. I will not execute my fierce anger, I will = not=20 again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and not man, the Holy One in = your=20 midst=94 (Hos 11:8-9). God's passionate love for his = people=97for=20 humanity=97is at the same time a forgiving love. It is so great = that it=20 turns God against himself, his love against his justice. Here = Christians=20 can see a dim prefigurement of the mystery of the Cross: so great = is God's=20 love for man that by becoming man he follows him even into death, = and so=20 reconciles justice and love.

The philosophical dimension to be noted in this = biblical=20 vision, and its importance from the standpoint of the history of=20 religions, lies in the fact that on the one hand we find ourselves = before=20 a strictly metaphysical image of God: God is the absolute and = ultimate=20 source of all being; but this universal principle of = creation=97the=20 Logos, primordial reason=97is at the same time a lover with = all the=20 passion of a true love. Eros is thus supremely ennobled, = yet at the=20 same time it is so purified as to become one with agape. We = can=20 thus see how the reception of the Song of=20 Songs in the canon of sacred Scripture was soon explained = by the=20 idea that these love songs ultimately describe God's relation to = man and=20 man's relation to God. Thus the Song of = Songs=20 became, both in Christian and Jewish literature, a source of = mystical=20 knowledge and experience, an expression of the essence of biblical = faith:=20 that man can indeed enter into union with God=97his primordial = aspiration.=20 But this union is no mere fusion, a sinking in the nameless ocean = of the=20 Divine; it is a unity which creates love, a unity in which both = God and=20 man remain themselves and yet become fully one. As Saint Paul = says: =93He=20 who is united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him=94 (1 = Cor=20 6:17).

11. The first novelty of biblical faith consists, = as we have=20 seen, in its image of God. The second, essentially connected to = this, is=20 found in the image of man. The biblical account of creation speaks = of the=20 solitude of Adam, the first man, and God's decision to give him a = helper.=20 Of all other creatures, not one is capable of being the helper = that man=20 needs, even though he has assigned a name to all the wild beasts = and birds=20 and thus made them fully a part of his life. So God forms woman = from the=20 rib of man. Now Adam finds the helper that he needed: =93This at = last is=20 bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh=94 (Gen 2:23). Here = one might=20 detect hints of ideas that are also found, for example, in the = myth=20 mentioned by Plato, according to which man was originally = spherical,=20 because he was complete in himself and self-sufficient. But as a=20 punishment for pride, he was split in two by Zeus, so that now he = longs=20 for his other half, striving with all his being to possess it and = thus=20 regain his integrity.[8] While the biblical narrative does not = speak of=20 punishment, the idea is certainly present that man is somehow = incomplete,=20 driven by nature to seek in another the part that can make him = whole, the=20 idea that only in communion with the opposite sex can he become=20 =93complete=94. The biblical account thus concludes with a = prophecy about=20 Adam: =93Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and = cleaves to his=20 wife and they become one flesh=94 (Gen 2:24).

Two aspects of this are important. First, = eros is=20 somehow rooted in man's very nature; Adam is a seeker, who = =93abandons his=20 mother and father=94 in order to find woman; only together do the = two=20 represent complete humanity and become =93one flesh=94. The second = aspect is=20 equally important. From the standpoint of creation, eros = directs=20 man towards marriage, to a bond which is unique and definitive; = thus, and=20 only thus, does it fulfil its deepest purpose. Corresponding to = the image=20 of a monotheistic God is monogamous marriage. Marriage based on = exclusive=20 and definitive love becomes the icon of the relationship between = God and=20 his people and vice versa. God's way of loving becomes the measure = of=20 human love. This close connection between eros and marriage = in the=20 Bible has practically no equivalent in extra-biblical = literature.

Jesus Christ =96 the incarnate love of = God

12. Though up to now we have been speaking mainly = of the Old=20 Testament, nevertheless the profound compenetration of the two = Testaments=20 as the one Scripture of the Christian faith has already become = evident.=20 The real novelty of the New Testament lies not so much in new = ideas as in=20 the figure of Christ himself, who gives flesh and blood to those=20 concepts=97an unprecedented realism. In the Old Testament, the = novelty of=20 the Bible did not consist merely in abstract notions but in God's=20 unpredictable and in some sense unprecedented activity. This = divine=20 activity now takes on dramatic form when, in Jesus Christ, it is = God=20 himself who goes in search of the =93stray sheep=94, a suffering = and lost=20 humanity. When Jesus speaks in his parables of the shepherd who = goes after=20 the lost sheep, of the woman who looks for the lost coin, of the = father=20 who goes to meet and embrace his prodigal son, these are no mere = words:=20 they constitute an explanation of his very being and activity. His = death=20 on the Cross is the culmination of that turning of God against = himself in=20 which he gives himself in order to raise man up and save him. This = is love=20 in its most radical form. By contemplating the pierced side of = Christ (cf.=20 19:37), we can understand the starting-point of this Encyclical = Letter:=20 =93God is love=94 (1 Jn 4:8). It is there that this truth = can be=20 contemplated. It is from there that our definition of love must = begin. In=20 this contemplation the Christian discovers the path along which = his life=20 and love must move.

13. Jesus gave this act of oblation an enduring = presence=20 through his institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper. He=20 anticipated his death and resurrection by giving his disciples, in = the=20 bread and wine, his very self, his body and blood as the new manna = (cf.=20 Jn 6:31-33). The ancient world had dimly perceived that man's = real=20 food=97what truly nourishes him as man=97is ultimately the = Logos,=20 eternal wisdom: this same Logos now truly becomes food for = us=97as=20 love. The Eucharist draws us into Jesus' act of self-oblation. = More than=20 just statically receiving the incarnate Logos, we enter = into the=20 very dynamic of his self-giving. The imagery of marriage between = God and=20 Israel is now realized in a way previously inconceivable: it had = meant=20 standing in God's presence, but now it becomes union with God = through=20 sharing in Jesus' self-gift, sharing in his body and blood. The=20 sacramental =93mysticism=94, grounded in God's condescension = towards us,=20 operates at a radically different level and lifts us to far = greater=20 heights than anything that any human mystical elevation could ever = accomplish.

14. Here we need to consider yet another aspect: = this=20 sacramental =93mysticism=94 is social in character, for in = sacramental=20 communion I become one with the Lord, like all the other = communicants. As=20 Saint Paul says, =93Because there is one bread, we who are many = are one=20 body, for we all partake of the one bread=94 (1 Cor 10:17). = Union=20 with Christ is also union with all those to whom he gives himself. = I=20 cannot possess Christ just for myself; I can belong to him only in = union=20 with all those who have become, or who will become, his own. = Communion=20 draws me out of myself towards him, and thus also towards unity = with all=20 Christians. We become =93one body=94, completely joined in a = single existence.=20 Love of God and love of neighbour are now truly united: God = incarnate=20 draws us all to himself. We can thus understand how agape = also=20 became a term for the Eucharist: there God's own agape = comes to us=20 bodily, in order to continue his work in us and through us. Only = by=20 keeping in mind this Christological and sacramental basis can we = correctly=20 understand Jesus' teaching on love. The transition which he makes = from the=20 Law and the Prophets to the twofold commandment of love of God and = of=20 neighbour, and his grounding the whole life of faith on this = central=20 precept, is not simply a matter of morality=97something that could = exist=20 apart from and alongside faith in Christ and its sacramental=20 re-actualization. Faith, worship and ethos are interwoven = as a=20 single reality which takes shape in our encounter with God's = agape.=20 Here the usual contraposition between worship and ethics simply = falls=20 apart. =93Worship=94 itself, Eucharistic communion, includes the = reality both=20 of being loved and of loving others in turn. A Eucharist which = does not=20 pass over into the concrete practice of love is intrinsically = fragmented.=20 Conversely, as we shall have to consider in greater detail below, = the=20 =93commandment=94 of love is only possible because it is more than = a=20 requirement. Love can be =93commanded=94 because it has first been = given.

15. This principle is the starting-point for = understanding=20 the great parables of Jesus. The rich man (cf. Lk 16:19-31) = begs=20 from his place of torment that his brothers be informed about what = happens=20 to those who simply ignore the poor man in need. Jesus takes up = this cry=20 for help as a warning to help us return to the right path. The = parable of=20 the Good Samaritan (cf. Lk 10:25-37) offers two = particularly=20 important clarifications. Until that time, the concept of = =93neighbour=94 was=20 understood as referring essentially to one's countrymen and to = foreigners=20 who had settled in the land of Israel; in other words, to the = closely-knit=20 community of a single country or people. This limit is now = abolished.=20 Anyone who needs me, and whom I can help, is my neighbour. The = concept of=20 =93neighbour=94 is now universalized, yet it remains concrete. = Despite being=20 extended to all mankind, it is not reduced to a generic, abstract = and=20 undemanding expression of love, but calls for my own practical = commitment=20 here and now. The Church has the duty to interpret ever anew this=20 relationship between near and far with regard to the actual daily = life of=20 her members. Lastly, we should especially mention the great = parable of the=20 Last Judgement (cf. Mt 25:31-46), in which love becomes the = criterion for the definitive decision about a human life's worth = or lack=20 thereof. Jesus identifies himself with those in need, with the = hungry, the=20 thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick and those in prison. = =93As you=20 did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to = me=94=20 (Mt 25:40). Love of God and love of neighbour have become = one: in=20 the least of the brethren we find Jesus himself, and in Jesus we = find=20 God.

Love of God and love of neighbour

16. Having reflected on the nature of love and its = meaning=20 in biblical faith, we are left with two questions concerning our = own=20 attitude: can we love God without seeing him? And can love be = commanded?=20 Against the double commandment of love these questions raise a = double=20 objection. No one has ever seen God, so how could we love him? = Moreover,=20 love cannot be commanded; it is ultimately a feeling that is = either there=20 or not, nor can it be produced by the will. Scripture seems to = reinforce=20 the first objection when it states: =93If anyone says, =91I love = God,' and=20 hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his = brother whom=20 he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen=94 (1 Jn = 4:20). But=20 this text hardly excludes the love of God as something impossible. = On the=20 contrary, the whole context of the passage quoted from the First = Letter of=20 John shows that such love is explicitly demanded. The = unbreakable=20 bond between love of God and love of neighbour is emphasized. One = is so=20 closely connected to the other that to say that we love God = becomes a lie=20 if we are closed to our neighbour or hate him altogether. Saint = John's=20 words should rather be interpreted to mean that love of neighbour = is a=20 path that leads to the encounter with God, and that closing our = eyes to=20 our neighbour also blinds us to God.

17. True, no one has ever seen God as he is. And = yet God is=20 not totally invisible to us; he does not remain completely = inaccessible.=20 God loved us first, says the Letter = of=20 John quoted above (cf. 4:10), and this love of God has = appeared in=20 our midst. He has become visible in as much as he =93has sent his = only Son=20 into the world, so that we might live through him=94 (1 Jn = 4:9). God=20 has made himself visible: in Jesus we are able to see the Father = (cf.=20 Jn 14:9). Indeed, God is visible in a number of ways. In the=20 love-story recounted by the Bible, he comes towards us, he seeks = to win=20 our hearts, all the way to the Last Supper, to the piercing of his = heart=20 on the Cross, to his appearances after the Resurrection and to the = great=20 deeds by which, through the activity of the Apostles, he guided = the=20 nascent Church along its path. Nor has the Lord been absent from=20 subsequent Church history: he encounters us ever anew, in the men = and=20 women who reflect his presence, in his word, in the sacraments, = and=20 especially in the Eucharist. In the Church's Liturgy, in her = prayer, in=20 the living community of believers, we experience the love of God, = we=20 perceive his presence and we thus learn to recognize that presence = in our=20 daily lives. He has loved us first and he continues to do so; we = too,=20 then, can respond with love. God does not demand of us a feeling = which we=20 ourselves are incapable of producing. He loves us, he makes us see = and=20 experience his love, and since he has =93loved us first=94, love = can also=20 blossom as a response within us.

In the gradual unfolding of this encounter, it is = clearly=20 revealed that love is not merely a sentiment. Sentiments come and = go. A=20 sentiment can be a marvellous first spark, but it is not the = fullness of=20 love. Earlier we spoke of the process of purification and = maturation by=20 which eros comes fully into its own, becomes love in the = full=20 meaning of the word. It is characteristic of mature love that it = calls=20 into play all man's potentialities; it engages the whole man, so = to speak.=20 Contact with the visible manifestations of God's love can awaken = within us=20 a feeling of joy born of the experience of being loved. But this = encounter=20 also engages our will and our intellect. Acknowledgment of the = living God=20 is one path towards love, and the =93yes=94 of our will to his = will unites our=20 intellect, will and sentiments in the all- embracing act of love. = But this=20 process is always open-ended; love is never =93finished=94 and = complete;=20 throughout life, it changes and matures, and thus remains faithful = to=20 itself. Idem velle atque idem nolle [9]=97to want the same thing, and to reject = the same=20 thing=97was recognized by antiquity as the authentic content of = love: the=20 one becomes similar to the other, and this leads to a community of = will=20 and thought. The love-story between God and man consists in the = very fact=20 that this communion of will increases in a communion of thought = and=20 sentiment, and thus our will and God's will increasingly coincide: = God's=20 will is no longer for me an alien will, something imposed on me = from=20 without by the commandments, but it is now my own will, based on = the=20 realization that God is in fact more deeply present to me than I = am to=20 myself.[10] Then self- abandonment to God increases = and God=20 becomes our joy (cf. Ps 73 [72]:23-28).

18. Love of neighbour is thus shown to be possible = in the=20 way proclaimed by the Bible, by Jesus. It consists in the very = fact that,=20 in God and with God, I love even the person whom I do not like or = even=20 know. This can only take place on the basis of an intimate = encounter with=20 God, an encounter which has become a communion of will, even = affecting my=20 feelings. Then I learn to look on this other person not simply = with my=20 eyes and my feelings, but from the perspective of Jesus Christ. = His friend=20 is my friend. Going beyond exterior appearances, I perceive in = others an=20 interior desire for a sign of love, of concern. This I can offer = them not=20 only through the organizations intended for such purposes, = accepting it=20 perhaps as a political necessity. Seeing with the eyes of Christ, = I can=20 give to others much more than their outward necessities; I can = give them=20 the look of love which they crave. Here we see the necessary = interplay=20 between love of God and love of neighbour which the First = Letter of=20 John speaks of with such insistence. If I have no contact=20 whatsoever with God in my life, then I cannot see in the other = anything=20 more than the other, and I am incapable of seeing in him the image = of God.=20 But if in my life I fail completely to heed others, solely out of = a desire=20 to be =93devout=94 and to perform my =93religious duties=94, then = my relationship=20 with God will also grow arid. It becomes merely =93proper=94, but = loveless.=20 Only my readiness to encounter my neighbour and to show him love = makes me=20 sensitive to God as well. Only if I serve my neighbour can my eyes = be=20 opened to what God does for me and how much he loves me. The=20 saints=97consider the example of Blessed Teresa of = Calcutta=97constantly=20 renewed their capacity for love of neighbour from their encounter = with the=20 Eucharistic Lord, and conversely this encounter acquired its real- = ism and=20 depth in their service to others. Love of God and love of = neighbour are=20 thus inseparable, they form a single commandment. But both live = from the=20 love of God who has loved us first. No longer is it a question, = then, of a=20 =93commandment=94 imposed from without and calling for the = impossible, but=20 rather of a freely-bestowed experience of love from within, a love = which=20 by its very nature must then be shared with others. Love grows = through=20 love. Love is =93divine=94 because it comes from God and unites us = to God;=20 through this unifying process it makes us a =93we=94 which = transcends our=20 divisions and makes us one, until in the end God is =93all in = all=94 (1 Cor=20 15:28).

PART II

CARITAS

THE PRACTICE OF LOVE
BY THE CHURCH
AS A = =93COMMUNITY OF LOVE=94

The Church's charitable activity as a manifestation of = Trinitarian=20 love

19. =93If you see charity, you see the Trinity=94, = wrote Saint=20 Augustine.[11] In the foregoing reflections, we have = been able to=20 focus our attention on the Pierced one (cf. Jn 19:37, = Zech=20 12:10), recognizing the plan of the Father who, moved by love (cf. = Jn=20 3:16), sent his only-begotten Son into the world to redeem = man. By=20 dying on the Cross=97as Saint John tells us=97Jesus =93gave up his = Spirit=94=20 (Jn 19:30), anticipating the gift of the Holy Spirit that = he would=20 make after his Resurrection (cf. Jn 20:22). This was to = fulfil the=20 promise of =93rivers of living water=94 that would flow out of the = hearts of=20 believers, through the outpouring of the Spirit (cf. Jn = 7:38-39).=20 The Spirit, in fact, is that interior power which harmonizes their = hearts=20 with Christ's heart and moves them to love their brethren as = Christ loved=20 them, when he bent down to wash the feet of the disciples (cf. = Jn=20 13:1-13) and above all when he gave his life for us (cf. Jn = 13:1, 15:13).

The Spirit is also the energy which transforms the = heart of=20 the ecclesial community, so that it becomes a witness before the = world to=20 the love of the Father, who wishes to make humanity a single = family in his=20 Son. The entire activity of the Church is an expression of a love = that=20 seeks the integral good of man: it seeks his evangelization = through Word=20 and Sacrament, an undertaking that is often heroic in the way it = is acted=20 out in history; and it seeks to promote man in the various arenas = of life=20 and human activity. Love is therefore the service that the Church = carries=20 out in order to attend constantly to man's sufferings and his = needs,=20 including material needs. And this is the aspect, this service = of=20 charity, on which I want to focus in the second part of the=20 Encyclical.

Charity as a responsibility of the = Church

20. Love of neighbour, grounded in the love of = God, is first=20 and foremost a responsibility for each individual member of the = faithful,=20 but it is also a responsibility for the entire ecclesial community = at=20 every level: from the local community to the particular Church and = to the=20 Church universal in its entirety. As a community, the Church must = practise=20 love. Love thus needs to be organized if it is to be an ordered = service to=20 the community. The awareness of this responsibility has had a = constitutive=20 relevance in the Church from the beginning: =93All who believed = were=20 together and had all things in common; and they sold their = possessions and=20 goods and distributed them to all, as any had need=94 (Acts = 2:44-5).=20 In these words, Saint Luke provides a kind of definition of the = Church,=20 whose constitutive elements include fidelity to the =93teaching of = the=20 Apostles=94, =93communion=94 (koinonia), =93the breaking of = the bread=94 and=20 =93prayer=94 (cf. Acts 2:42). The element of = =93communion=94=20 (koinonia) is not initially defined, but appears concretely = in the=20 verses quoted above: it consists in the fact that believers hold = all=20 things in common and that among them, there is no longer any = distinction=20 between rich and poor (cf. also Acts 4:32-37). As the = Church grew,=20 this radical form of material communion could not in fact be = preserved.=20 But its essential core remained: within the community of believers = there=20 can never be room for a poverty that denies anyone what is needed = for a=20 dignified life.

21. A decisive step in the difficult search for = ways of=20 putting this fundamental ecclesial principle into practice is = illustrated=20 in the choice of the seven, which marked the origin of the = diaconal office=20 (cf. Acts 6:5-6). In the early Church, in fact, with regard = to the=20 daily distribution to widows, a disparity had arisen between = Hebrew=20 speakers and Greek speakers. The Apostles, who had been entrusted=20 primarily with =93prayer=94 (the Eucharist and the liturgy) and = the =93ministry=20 of the word=94, felt over-burdened by =93serving tables=94, so = they decided to=20 reserve to themselves the principal duty and to designate for the = other=20 task, also necessary in the Church, a group of seven persons. Nor = was this=20 group to carry out a purely mechanical work of distribution: they = were to=20 be men =93full of the Spirit and of wisdom=94 (cf. Acts = 6:1-6). In=20 other words, the social service which they were meant to provide = was=20 absolutely concrete, yet at the same time it was also a spiritual = service;=20 theirs was a truly spiritual office which carried out an essential = responsibility of the Church, namely a well-ordered love of = neighbour.=20 With the formation of this group of seven, = =93diaconia=94=97the ministry=20 of charity exercised in a communitarian, orderly way=97became part = of the=20 fundamental structure of the Church.

22. As the years went by and the Church spread = further=20 afield, the exercise of charity became established as one of her = essential=20 activities, along with the administration of the sacraments and = the=20 proclamation of the word: love for widows and orphans, prisoners, = and the=20 sick and needy of every kind, is as essential to her as the = ministry of=20 the sacraments and preaching of the Gospel. The Church cannot = neglect the=20 service of charity any more than she can neglect the Sacraments = and the=20 Word. A few references will suffice to demonstrate this. Justin = Martyr (=86=20 c. 155) in speaking of the Christians' celebration of = Sunday, also=20 mentions their charitable activity, linked with the Eucharist as = such.=20 Those who are able make offerings in accordance with their means, = each as=20 he or she wishes; the Bishop in turn makes use of these to support = orphans, widows, the sick and those who for other reasons find = themselves=20 in need, such as prisoners and foreigners.[12] The great Christian writer Tertullian = (=86 after=20 220) relates how the pagans were struck by the Christians' concern = for the=20 needy of every sort.[13] And when Ignatius of Antioch (=86 = c. 117)=20 described the Church of Rome as =93presiding in charity = (agape)=94,[14] we may assume that with this definition = he also=20 intended in some sense to express her concrete charitable = activity.

23. Here it might be helpful to allude to the = earliest legal=20 structures associated with the service of charity in the Church. = Towards=20 the middle of the fourth century we see the development in Egypt = of the=20 =93diaconia=94: the institution within each monastery = responsible for=20 all works of relief, that is to say, for the service of charity. = By the=20 sixth century this institution had evolved into a corporation with = full=20 juridical standing, which the civil authorities themselves = entrusted with=20 part of the grain for public distribution. In Egypt not only each=20 monastery, but each individual Diocese eventually had its own=20 diaconia; this institution then developed in both East and = West. Pope=20 Gregory the Great (=86 604) mentions the diaconia of = Naples, while in=20 Rome the diaconiae are documented from the seventh and = eighth=20 centuries. But charitable activity on behalf of the poor and = suffering was=20 naturally an essential part of the Church of Rome from the very = beginning,=20 based on the principles of Christian life given in the Acts of = the=20 Apostles. It found a vivid expression in the case of the = deacon=20 Lawrence (=86 258). The dramatic description of Lawrence's = martyrdom was=20 known to Saint Ambrose (=86 397) and it provides a fundamentally = authentic=20 picture of the saint. As the one responsible for the care of the = poor in=20 Rome, Lawrence had been given a period of time, after the capture = of the=20 Pope and of Lawrence's fellow deacons, to collect the treasures of = the=20 Church and hand them over to the civil authorities. He distributed = to the=20 poor whatever funds were available and then presented to the = authorities=20 the poor themselves as the real treasure of the Church.[15] Whatever historical reliability one = attributes to=20 these details, Lawrence has always remained present in the = Church's memory=20 as a great exponent of ecclesial charity.

24. A mention of the emperor Julian the Apostate = (=86 363) can=20 also show how essential the early Church considered the organized = practice=20 of charity. As a child of six years, Julian witnessed the = assassination of=20 his father, brother and other family members by the guards of the = imperial=20 palace; rightly or wrongly, he blamed this brutal act on the = Emperor=20 Constantius, who passed himself off as an outstanding Christian. = The=20 Christian faith was thus definitively discredited in his eyes. = Upon=20 becoming emperor, Julian decided to restore paganism, the ancient = Roman=20 religion, while reforming it in the hope of making it the driving = force=20 behind the empire. In this project he was amply inspired by = Christianity.=20 He established a hierarchy of metropolitans and priests who were = to foster=20 love of God and neighbour. In one of his letters,[16] he wrote that the sole aspect of = Christianity=20 which had impressed him was the Church's charitable activity. He = thus=20 considered it essential for his new pagan religion that, alongside = the=20 system of the Church's charity, an equivalent activity of its own = be=20 established. According to him, this was the reason for the = popularity of=20 the =93Galileans=94. They needed now to be imitated and outdone. = In this way,=20 then, the Emperor confirmed that charity was a decisive feature of = the=20 Christian community, the Church.

25. Thus far, two essential facts have emerged = from our=20 reflections:

a) The Church's deepest nature is expressed = in her=20 three-fold responsibility: of proclaiming the word of God=20 (kerygma-martyria), celebrating the sacraments = (leitourgia),=20 and exercising the ministry of charity (diakonia). These = duties=20 presuppose each other and are inseparable. For the Church, charity = is not=20 a kind of welfare activity which could equally well be left to = others, but=20 is a part of her nature, an indispensable expression of her very = being.[17]

b) The Church is God's family in the world. = In this=20 family no one ought to go without the necessities of life. Yet at = the same=20 time caritas- agape extends beyond the frontiers of the = Church. The=20 parable of the Good Samaritan remains as a standard which imposes=20 universal love towards the needy whom we encounter =93by chance=94 = (cf. Lk=20 10:31), whoever they may be. Without in any way detracting = from this=20 commandment of universal love, the Church also has a specific=20 responsibility: within the ecclesial family no member should = suffer=20 through being in need. The teaching of the Letter = to the=20 Galatians is emphatic: =93So then, as we have opportunity, = let us do=20 good to all, and especially to those who are of the household of = faith=94=20 (6:10).

Justice and Charity

26. Since the nineteenth century, an objection has = been=20 raised to the Church's charitable activity, subsequently developed = with=20 particular insistence by Marxism: the poor, it is claimed, do not = need=20 charity but justice. Works of charity=97almsgiving=97are in effect = a way for=20 the rich to shirk their obligation to work for justice and a means = of=20 soothing their consciences, while preserving their own status and = robbing=20 the poor of their rights. Instead of contributing through = individual works=20 of charity to maintaining the status quo, we need to build = a just=20 social order in which all receive their share of the world's goods = and no=20 longer have to depend on charity. There is admittedly some truth = to this=20 argument, but also much that is mistaken. It is true that the = pursuit of=20 justice must be a fundamental norm of the State and that the aim = of a just=20 social order is to guarantee to each person, according to the = principle of=20 subsidiarity, his share of the community's goods. This has always = been=20 emphasized by Christian teaching on the State and by the Church's = social=20 doctrine. Historically, the issue of the just ordering of the = collectivity=20 had taken a new dimension with the industrialization of society in = the=20 nineteenth century. The rise of modern industry caused the old = social=20 structures to collapse, while the growth of a class of salaried = workers=20 provoked radical changes in the fabric of society. The = relationship=20 between capital and labour now became the decisive issue=97an = issue which in=20 that form was previously unknown. Capital and the means of = production were=20 now the new source of power which, concentrated in the hands of a = few, led=20 to the suppression of the rights of the working classes, against = which=20 they had to rebel.

27. It must be admitted that the Church's = leadership was=20 slow to realize that the issue of the just structuring of society = needed=20 to be approached in a new way. There were some pioneers, such as = Bishop=20 Ketteler of Mainz (=86 1877), and concrete needs were met by a = growing=20 number of groups, associations, leagues, federations and, in = particular,=20 by the new religious orders founded in the nineteenth century to = combat=20 poverty, disease and the need for better education. In 1891, the = papal=20 magisterium intervened with the Encyclical Rerum=20 Novarum of Leo XIII. This was followed in 1931 by Pius = XI's=20 Encyclical Quadragesimo=20 Anno. In 1961 Blessed John XXIII published the Encyclical = Mater=20 et Magistra, while Paul VI, in the Encyclical Populorum=20 Progressio (1967) and in the Apostolic Letter Octogesima=20 Adveniens (1971), insistently addressed the social = problem, which=20 had meanwhile become especially acute in Latin America. My great=20 predecessor John Paul II left us a trilogy of social = Encyclicals: Laborem=20 Exercens (1981), Sollicitudo Rei=20 Socialis (1987) and finally Centesimus = Annus=20 (1991). Faced with new situations and issues, Catholic social = teaching=20 thus gradually developed, and has now found a comprehensive = presentation=20 in the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church = published in=20 2004 by the Pontifical Council Iustitia et Pax. Marxism had = seen=20 world revolution and its preliminaries as the panacea for the = social=20 problem: revolution and the subsequent collectivization of the = means of=20 production, so it was claimed, would immediately change things for = the=20 better. This illusion has vanished. In today's complex situation, = not=20 least because of the growth of a globalized economy, the Church's = social=20 doctrine has become a set of fundamental guidelines offering = approaches=20 that are valid even beyond the confines of the Church: in the face = of=20 ongoing development these guidelines need to be addressed in the = context=20 of dialogue with all those seriously concerned for humanity and = for the=20 world in which we live.

28. In order to define more accurately the = relationship=20 between the necessary commitment to justice and the ministry of = charity,=20 two fundamental situations need to be considered:

a) The just ordering of society and the = State is a=20 central responsibility of politics. As Augustine once said, a = State which=20 is not governed according to justice would be just a bunch of = thieves:=20 =93Remota itaque iustitia quid sunt regna nisi magna = latrocinia?=94.[18] Fundamental to Christianity is the = distinction=20 between what belongs to Caesar and what belongs to God (cf. Mt=20 22:21), in other words, the distinction between Church and = State, or,=20 as the Second Vatican Council puts it, the autonomy of the = temporal=20 sphere.[19] The State may not impose religion, yet = it must=20 guarantee religious freedom and harmony between the followers of = different=20 religions. For her part, the Church, as the social expression of = Christian=20 faith, has a proper independence and is structured on the basis of = her=20 faith as a community which the State must recognize. The two = spheres are=20 distinct, yet always interrelated.

Justice is both the aim and the intrinsic = criterion of all=20 politics. Politics is more than a mere mechanism for defining the = rules of=20 public life: its origin and its goal are found in justice, which = by its=20 very nature has to do with ethics. The State must inevitably face = the=20 question of how justice can be achieved here and now. But this = presupposes=20 an even more radical question: what is justice? The problem is one = of=20 practical reason; but if reason is to be exercised properly, it = must=20 undergo constant purification, since it can never be completely = free of=20 the danger of a certain ethical blindness caused by the dazzling = effect of=20 power and special interests.

Here politics and faith meet. Faith by its = specific nature=20 is an encounter with the living God=97an encounter opening up new = horizons=20 extending beyond the sphere of reason. But it is also a purifying = force=20 for reason itself. From God's standpoint, faith liberates reason = from its=20 blind spots and therefore helps it to be ever more fully itself. = Faith=20 enables reason to do its work more effectively and to see its = proper=20 object more clearly. This is where Catholic social doctrine has = its place:=20 it has no intention of giving the Church power over the State. = Even less=20 is it an attempt to impose on those who do not share the faith = ways of=20 thinking and modes of conduct proper to faith. Its aim is simply = to help=20 purify reason and to contribute, here and now, to the = acknowledgment and=20 attainment of what is just.

The Church's social teaching argues on the basis = of reason=20 and natural law, namely, on the basis of what is in accord with = the nature=20 of every human being. It recognizes that it is not the Church's=20 responsibility to make this teaching prevail in political life. = Rather,=20 the Church wishes to help form consciences in political life and = to=20 stimulate greater insight into the authentic requirements of = justice as=20 well as greater readiness to act accordingly, even when this might = involve=20 conflict with situations of personal interest. Building a just = social and=20 civil order, wherein each person receives what is his or her due, = is an=20 essential task which every generation must take up anew. As a = political=20 task, this cannot be the Church's immediate responsibility. Yet, = since it=20 is also a most important human responsibility, the Church is = duty-bound to=20 offer, through the purification of reason and through ethical = formation,=20 her own specific contribution towards understanding the = requirements of=20 justice and achieving them politically.

The Church cannot and must not take upon herself = the=20 political battle to bring about the most just society possible. = She cannot=20 and must not replace the State. Yet at the same time she cannot = and must=20 not remain on the sidelines in the fight for justice. She has to = play her=20 part through rational argument and she has to reawaken the = spiritual=20 energy without which justice, which always demands sacrifice, = cannot=20 prevail and prosper. A just society must be the achievement of = politics,=20 not of the Church. Yet the promotion of justice through efforts to = bring=20 about openness of mind and will to the demands of the common good = is=20 something which concerns the Church deeply.

b) Love=97caritas=97will always = prove necessary,=20 even in the most just society. There is no ordering of the State = so just=20 that it can eliminate the need for a service of love. Whoever = wants to=20 eliminate love is preparing to eliminate man as such. There will = always be=20 suffering which cries out for consolation and help. There will = always be=20 loneliness. There will always be situations of material need where = help in=20 the form of concrete love of neighbour is indispensable.[20] The State which would provide = everything,=20 absorbing everything into itself, would ultimately become a mere=20 bureaucracy incapable of guaranteeing the very thing which the = suffering=20 person=97every person=97needs: namely, loving personal concern. We = do not need=20 a State which regulates and controls everything, but a State = which, in=20 accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, generously = acknowledges and=20 supports initiatives arising from the different social forces and = combines=20 spontaneity with closeness to those in need. The Church is one of = those=20 living forces: she is alive with the love enkindled by the Spirit = of=20 Christ. This love does not simply offer people material help, but=20 refreshment and care for their souls, something which often is = even more=20 necessary than material support. In the end, the claim that just = social=20 structures would make works of charity superfluous masks a = materialist=20 conception of man: the mistaken notion that man can live =93by = bread alone=94=20 (Mt 4:4; cf. Dt 8:3)=97a conviction that demeans man = and=20 ultimately disregards all that is specifically human.

29. We can now determine more precisely, in the = life of the=20 Church, the relationship between commitment to the just ordering = of the=20 State and society on the one hand, and organized charitable = activity on=20 the other. We have seen that the formation of just structures is = not=20 directly the duty of the Church, but belongs to the world of = politics, the=20 sphere of the autonomous use of reason. The Church has an indirect = duty=20 here, in that she is called to contribute to the purification of = reason=20 and to the reawakening of those moral forces without which just = structures=20 are neither established nor prove effective in the long run.

The direct duty to work for a just ordering of = society, on=20 the other hand, is proper to the lay faithful. As citizens of the = State,=20 they are called to take part in public life in a personal = capacity. So=20 they cannot relinquish their participation =93in the many = different=20 economic, social, legislative, administrative and cultural areas, = which=20 are intended to promote organically and institutionally the = common=20 good.=94 [21] The mission of the lay faithful is = therefore to=20 configure social life correctly, respecting its legitimate = autonomy and=20 cooperating with other citizens according to their respective = competences=20 and fulfilling their own responsibility.[22] Even if the specific expressions of = ecclesial=20 charity can never be confused with the activity of the State, it = still=20 remains true that charity must animate the entire lives of the lay = faithful and therefore also their political activity, lived as = =93social=20 charity=94.[23]

The Church's charitable organizations, on the = other hand,=20 constitute an opus proprium, a task agreeable to her, in = which she=20 does not cooperate collaterally, but acts as a subject with direct = responsibility, doing what corresponds to her nature. The Church = can never=20 be exempted from practising charity as an organized activity of = believers,=20 and on the other hand, there will never be a situation where the = charity=20 of each individual Christian is unnecessary, because in addition = to=20 justice man needs, and will always need, love.

The multiple structures of charitable service = in the=20 social context of the present day

30. Before attempting to define the specific = profile of the=20 Church's activities in the service of man, I now wish to consider = the=20 overall situation of the struggle for justice and love in the = world of=20 today.

a) Today the means of mass communication = have made=20 our planet smaller, rapidly narrowing the distance between = different=20 peoples and cultures. This =93togetherness=94 at times gives rise = to=20 misunderstandings and tensions, yet our ability to know almost = instantly=20 about the needs of others challenges us to share their situation = and their=20 difficulties. Despite the great advances made in science and = technology,=20 each day we see how much suffering there is in the world on = account of=20 different kinds of poverty, both material and spiritual. Our times = call=20 for a new readiness to assist our neighbours in need. The Second = Vatican=20 Council had made this point very clearly: =93Now that, through = better means=20 of communication, distances between peoples have been almost = eliminated,=20 charitable activity can and should embrace all people and all = needs.=94[24]

On the other hand=97and here we see one of the = challenging yet=20 also positive sides of the process of globalization=97we now have = at our=20 disposal numerous means for offering humanitarian assistance to = our=20 brothers and sisters in need, not least modern systems of = distributing=20 food and clothing, and of providing housing and care. Concern for = our=20 neighbour transcends the confines of national communities and has=20 increasingly broadened its horizon to the whole world. The Second = Vatican=20 Council rightly observed that =93among the signs of our times, one = particularly worthy of note is a growing, inescapable sense of = solidarity=20 between all peoples.=94[25] State agencies and humanitarian = associations work=20 to promote this, the former mainly through subsidies or tax = relief, the=20 latter by making available considerable resources. The solidarity = shown by=20 civil society thus significantly surpasses that shown by = individuals.

b) This situation has led to the birth and = the growth=20 of many forms of cooperation between State and Church agencies, = which have=20 borne fruit. Church agencies, with their transparent operation and = their=20 faithfulness to the duty of witnessing to love, are able to give a = Christian quality to the civil agencies too, favouring a mutual=20 coordination that can only redound to the effectiveness of = charitable=20 service.[26] Numerous organizations for charitable or = philanthropic purposes have also been established and these are = committed=20 to achieving adequate humanitarian solutions to the social and = political=20 problems of the day. Significantly, our time has also seen the = growth and=20 spread of different kinds of volunteer work, which assume = responsibility=20 for providing a variety of services.[27] I wish here to offer a special word of = gratitude=20 and appreciation to all those who take part in these activities in = whatever way. For young people, this widespread involvement = constitutes a=20 school of life which offers them a formation in solidarity and in=20 readiness to offer others not simply material aid but their very = selves.=20 The anti-culture of death, which finds expression for example in = drug use,=20 is thus countered by an unselfish love which shows itself to be a = culture=20 of life by the very willingness to =93lose itself=94 (cf. = Lk 17:33=20 et passim) for others.

In the Catholic Church, and also in the other = Churches and=20 Ecclesial Communities, new forms of charitable activity have = arisen, while=20 other, older ones have taken on new life and energy. In these new = forms,=20 it is often possible to establish a fruitful link between = evangelization=20 and works of charity. Here I would clearly reaffirm what my great=20 predecessor John Paul II wrote in his Encyclical Sollicitudo Rei=20 Socialis [28] when he asserted the readiness of the = Catholic=20 Church to cooperate with the charitable agencies of these Churches = and=20 Communities, since we all have the same fundamental motivation and = look=20 towards the same goal: a true humanism, which acknowledges that = man is=20 made in the image of God and wants to help him to live in a way = consonant=20 with that dignity. His Encyclical Ut Unum = Sint=20 emphasized that the building of a better world requires Christians = to=20 speak with a united voice in working to inculcate =93respect for = the rights=20 and needs of everyone, especially the poor, the lowly and the=20 defenceless.=94 [29] Here I would like to express my = satisfaction that=20 this appeal has found a wide resonance in numerous initiatives = throughout=20 the world.

The distinctiveness of the Church's charitable=20 activity

31. The increase in diversified organizations = engaged in=20 meeting various human needs is ultimately due to the fact that the = command=20 of love of neighbour is inscribed by the Creator in man's very = nature. It=20 is also a result of the presence of Christianity in the world, = since=20 Christianity constantly revives and acts out this imperative, so = often=20 profoundly obscured in the course of time. The reform of paganism=20 attempted by the emperor Julian the Apostate is only an initial = example of=20 this effect; here we see how the power of Christianity spread well = beyond=20 the frontiers of the Christian faith. For this reason, it is very=20 important that the Church's charitable activity maintains all of = its=20 splendour and does not become just another form of social = assistance. So=20 what are the essential elements of Christian and ecclesial = charity?

a) Following the example given in the = parable of the=20 Good Samaritan, Christian charity is first of all the simple = response to=20 immediate needs and specific situations: feeding the hungry, = clothing the=20 naked, caring for and healing the sick, visiting those in prison, = etc. The=20 Church's charitable organizations, beginning with those of = Caritas=20 (at diocesan, national and international levels), ought to do = everything=20 in their power to provide the resources and above all the = personnel needed=20 for this work. Individuals who care for those in need must first = be=20 professionally competent: they should be properly trained in what = to do=20 and how to do it, and committed to continuing care. Yet, while=20 professional competence is a primary, fundamental requirement, it = is not=20 of itself sufficient. We are dealing with human beings, and human = beings=20 always need something more than technically proper care. They need = humanity. They need heartfelt concern. Those who work for the = Church's=20 charitable organizations must be distinguished by the fact that = they do=20 not merely meet the needs of the moment, but they dedicate = themselves to=20 others with heartfelt concern, enabling them to experience the = richness of=20 their humanity. Consequently, in addition to their necessary = professional=20 training, these charity workers need a =93formation of the = heart=94: they need=20 to be led to that encounter with God in Christ which awakens their = love=20 and opens their spirits to others. As a result, love of neighbour = will no=20 longer be for them a commandment imposed, so to speak, from = without, but a=20 consequence deriving from their faith, a faith which becomes = active=20 through love (cf. Gal 5:6).

b) Christian charitable activity must be = independent=20 of parties and ideologies. It is not a means of changing the world = ideologically, and it is not at the service of worldly stratagems, = but it=20 is a way of making present here and now the love which man always = needs.=20 The modern age, particularly from the nineteenth century on, has = been=20 dominated by various versions of a philosophy of progress whose = most=20 radical form is Marxism. Part of Marxist strategy is the theory of = impoverishment: in a situation of unjust power, it is claimed, = anyone who=20 engages in charitable initiatives is actually serving that unjust = system,=20 making it appear at least to some extent tolerable. This in turn = slows=20 down a potential revolution and thus blocks the struggle for a = better=20 world. Seen in this way, charity is rejected and attacked as a = means of=20 preserving the status quo. What we have here, though, is = really an=20 inhuman philosophy. People of the present are sacrificed to the = moloch of the future=97a future whose effective realization is = at best=20 doubtful. One does not make the world more human by refusing to = act=20 humanely here and now. We contribute to a better world only by = personally=20 doing good now, with full commitment and wherever we have the = opportunity,=20 independently of partisan strategies and programmes. The = Christian's=20 programme =97the programme of the Good Samaritan, the programme of = Jesus=97is=20 =93a heart which sees=94. This heart sees where love is needed and = acts=20 accordingly. Obviously when charitable activity is carried out by = the=20 Church as a communitarian initiative, the spontaneity of = individuals must=20 be combined with planning, foresight and cooperation with other = similar=20 institutions.

c) Charity, furthermore, cannot be used as = a means of=20 engaging in what is nowadays considered proselytism. Love is free; = it is=20 not practised as a way of achieving other ends.[30] But this does not mean that charitable = activity=20 must somehow leave God and Christ aside. For it is always = concerned with=20 the whole man. Often the deepest cause of suffering is the very = absence of=20 God. Those who practise charity in the Church's name will never = seek to=20 impose the Church's faith upon others. They realize that a pure = and=20 generous love is the best witness to the God in whom we believe = and by=20 whom we are driven to love. A Christian knows when it is time to = speak of=20 God and when it is better to say nothing and to let love alone = speak. He=20 knows that God is love (cf. 1 Jn 4:8) and that God's = presence is=20 felt at the very time when the only thing we do is to love. He = knows=97to=20 return to the questions raised earlier=97that disdain for love is = disdain=20 for God and man alike; it is an attempt to do without God. = Consequently,=20 the best defence of God and man consists precisely in love. It is = the=20 responsibility of the Church's charitable organizations to = reinforce this=20 awareness in their members, so that by their activity=97as well as = their=20 words, their silence, their example=97they may be credible = witnesses to=20 Christ.

Those responsible for the Church's charitable=20 activity

32. Finally, we must turn our attention once again = to those=20 who are responsible for carrying out the Church's charitable = activity. As=20 our preceding reflections have made clear, the true subject of the = various=20 Catholic organizations that carry out a ministry of charity is the = Church=20 herself=97at all levels, from the parishes, through the particular = Churches,=20 to the universal Church. For this reason it was most opportune = that my=20 venerable predecessor Paul VI established the Pontifical = Council Cor=20 Unum as the agency of the Holy See responsible for orienting = and=20 coordinating the organizations and charitable activities promoted = by the=20 Catholic Church. In conformity with the episcopal structure of the = Church,=20 the Bishops, as successors of the Apostles, are charged with = primary=20 responsibility for carrying out in the particular Churches the = programme=20 set forth in the Acts of = the=20 Apostles (cf. 2:42-44): today as in the past, the Church = as God's=20 family must be a place where help is given and received, and at = the same=20 time, a place where people are also prepared to serve those = outside her=20 confines who are in need of help. In the rite of episcopal = ordination,=20 prior to the act of consecration itself, the candidate must = respond to=20 several questions which express the essential elements of his = office and=20 recall the duties of his future ministry. He promises expressly to = be, in=20 the Lord's name, welcoming and merciful to the poor and to all = those in=20 need of consolation and assistance.[31] The Code of = Canon=20 Law, in the canons on the ministry of the Bishop, does not = expressly mention charity as a specific sector of episcopal = activity, but=20 speaks in general terms of the Bishop's responsibility for = coordinating=20 the different works of the apostolate with due regard for their = proper=20 character.[32] Recently, however, the Directory for = the=20 Pastoral Ministry of Bishops explored more specifically the = duty of=20 charity as a responsibility incumbent upon the whole Church and = upon each=20 Bishop in his Diocese,[33] and it emphasized that the exercise of = charity is=20 an action of the Church as such, and that, like the ministry of = Word and=20 Sacrament, it too has been an essential part of her mission from = the very=20 beginning.[34]

33. With regard to the personnel who carry out the = Church's=20 charitable activity on the practical level, the essential has = already been=20 said: they must not be inspired by ideologies aimed at improving = the=20 world, but should rather be guided by the faith which works = through love=20 (cf. Gal 5:6). Consequently, more than anything, they must = be=20 persons moved by Christ's love, persons whose hearts Christ has = conquered=20 with his love, awakening within them a love of neighbour. The = criterion=20 inspiring their activity should be Saint Paul's statement in = the Second = Letter to=20 the Corinthians: =93the love of Christ urges us on=94 = (5:14). The=20 consciousness that, in Christ, God has given himself for us, even = unto=20 death, must inspire us to live no longer for ourselves but for = him, and,=20 with him, for others. Whoever loves Christ loves the Church, and = desires=20 the Church to be increasingly the image and instrument of the love = which=20 flows from Christ. The personnel of every Catholic charitable = organization=20 want to work with the Church and therefore with the Bishop, so = that the=20 love of God can spread throughout the world. By their sharing in = the=20 Church's practice of love, they wish to be witnesses of God and of = Christ,=20 and they wish for this very reason freely to do good to all.

34. Interior openness to the Catholic dimension of = the=20 Church cannot fail to dispose charity workers to work in harmony = with=20 other organizations in serving various forms of need, but in a way = that=20 respects what is distinctive about the service which Christ = requested of=20 his disciples. Saint Paul, in his hymn to charity (cf. 1 = Cor 13),=20 teaches us that it is always more than activity alone: =93If I = give away all=20 I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but do not have = love, I=20 gain nothing=94 (v. 3). This hymn must be the Magna Carta = of all=20 ecclesial service; it sums up all the reflections on love which I = have=20 offered throughout this Encyclical Letter. Practical activity will = always=20 be insufficient, unless it visibly expresses a love for man, a = love=20 nourished by an encounter with Christ. My deep personal sharing in = the=20 needs and sufferings of others becomes a sharing of my very self = with=20 them: if my gift is not to prove a source of humiliation, I must = give to=20 others not only something that is my own, but my very self; I must = be=20 personally present in my gift.

35. This proper way of serving others also leads = to=20 humility. The one who serves does not consider himself superior to = the one=20 served, however miserable his situation at the moment may be. = Christ took=20 the lowest place in the world=97the Cross=97and by this radical = humility he=20 redeemed us and constantly comes to our aid. Those who are in a = position=20 to help others will realize that in doing so they themselves = receive help;=20 being able to help others is no merit or achievement of their own. = This=20 duty is a grace. The more we do for others, the more we understand = and can=20 appropriate the words of Christ: =93We are useless servants=94 = (Lk=20 17:10). We recognize that we are not acting on the basis of any=20 superiority or greater personal efficiency, but because the Lord = has=20 graciously enabled us to do so. There are times when the burden of = need=20 and our own limitations might tempt us to become discouraged. But=20 precisely then we are helped by the knowledge that, in the end, we = are=20 only instruments in the Lord's hands; and this knowledge frees us = from the=20 presumption of thinking that we alone are personally responsible = for=20 building a better world. In all humility we will do what we can, = and in=20 all humility we will entrust the rest to the Lord. It is God who = governs=20 the world, not we. We offer him our service only to the extent = that we=20 can, and for as long as he grants us the strength. To do all we = can with=20 what strength we have, however, is the task which keeps the good = servant=20 of Jesus Christ always at work: =93The love of Christ urges us = on=94 (2 Cor=20 5:14).

36. When we consider the immensity of others' = needs, we can,=20 on the one hand, be driven towards an ideology that would aim at = doing=20 what God's governance of the world apparently cannot: fully = resolving=20 every problem. Or we can be tempted to give in to inertia, since = it would=20 seem that in any event nothing can be accomplished. At such times, = a=20 living relationship with Christ is decisive if we are to keep on = the right=20 path, without falling into an arrogant contempt for man, something = not=20 only unconstructive but actually destructive, or surrendering to a = resignation which would prevent us from being guided by love in = the=20 service of others. Prayer, as a means of drawing ever new strength = from=20 Christ, is concretely and urgently needed. People who pray are not = wasting=20 their time, even though the situation appears desperate and seems = to call=20 for action alone. Piety does not undermine the struggle against = the=20 poverty of our neighbours, however extreme. In the example of = Blessed=20 Teresa of Calcutta we have a clear illustration of the fact that = time=20 devoted to God in prayer not only does not detract from effective = and=20 loving service to our neighbour but is in fact the inexhaustible = source of=20 that service. In her letter for Lent 1996, Blessed Teresa wrote to = her lay=20 co-workers: =93We need this deep connection with God in our daily = life. How=20 can we obtain it? By prayer=94.

37. It is time to reaffirm the importance of = prayer in the=20 face of the activism and the growing secularism of many Christians = engaged=20 in charitable work. Clearly, the Christian who prays does not = claim to be=20 able to change God's plans or correct what he has foreseen. = Rather, he=20 seeks an encounter with the Father of Jesus Christ, asking God to = be=20 present with the consolation of the Spirit to him and his work. A = personal=20 relationship with God and an abandonment to his will can prevent = man from=20 being demeaned and save him from falling prey to the teaching of=20 fanaticism and terrorism. An authentically religious attitude = prevents man=20 from presuming to judge God, accusing him of allowing poverty and = failing=20 to have compassion for his creatures. When people claim to build a = case=20 against God in defence of man, on whom can they depend when human = activity=20 proves powerless?

38. Certainly Job could complain before God about = the=20 presence of incomprehensible and apparently unjustified suffering = in the=20 world. In his pain he cried out: =93Oh, that I knew where I might = find him,=20 that I might come even to his seat! ... I would learn what he = would answer=20 me, and understand what he would say to me. Would he contend with = me in=20 the greatness of his power? ... Therefore I am terrified at his = presence;=20 when I consider, I am in dread of him. God has made my heart = faint; the=20 Almighty has terrified me=94 (23:3, 5-6, 15-16). Often we cannot = understand=20 why God refrains from intervening. Yet he does not prevent us from = crying=20 out, like Jesus on the Cross: =93My God, my God, why have you = forsaken me?=94=20 (Mt 27:46). We should continue asking this question in = prayerful=20 dialogue before his face: =93Lord, holy and true, how long will it = be?=94=20 (Rev 6:10). It is Saint Augustine who gives us faith's = answer to=20 our sufferings: =93Si comprehendis, non est Deus=94=97=94if = you understand=20 him, he is not God.=94 [35] Our protest is not meant to challenge = God, or to=20 suggest that error, weakness or indifference can be found in him. = For the=20 believer, it is impossible to imagine that God is powerless or = that=20 =93perhaps he is asleep=94 (cf. 1 Kg 18:27). Instead, = our crying=20 out is, as it was for Jesus on the Cross, the deepest and most = radical way=20 of affirming our faith in his sovereign power. Even in their = bewilderment=20 and failure to understand the world around them, Christians = continue to=20 believe in the =93goodness and loving kindness of God=94 = (Tit 3:4).=20 Immersed like everyone else in the dramatic complexity of = historical=20 events, they remain unshakably certain that God is our Father and = loves=20 us, even when his silence remains incomprehensible.

39. Faith, hope and charity go together. Hope is = practised=20 through the virtue of patience, which continues to do good even in = the=20 face of apparent failure, and through the virtue of humility, = which=20 accepts God's mystery and trusts him even at times of darkness. = Faith=20 tells us that God has given his Son for our sakes and gives us the = victorious certainty that it is really true: God is love! It thus=20 transforms our impatience and our doubts into the sure hope that = God holds=20 the world in his hands and that, as the dramatic imagery of the = end of the=20 Book = of=20 Revelation points out, in spite of all darkness he ultimately = triumphs=20 in glory. Faith, which sees the love of God revealed in the = pierced heart=20 of Jesus on the Cross, gives rise to love. Love is the light=97and = in the=20 end, the only light=97that can always illuminate a world grown dim = and give=20 us the courage needed to keep living and working. Love is = possible, and we=20 are able to practise it because we are created in the image of = God. To=20 experience love and in this way to cause the light of God to enter = into=20 the world=97this is the invitation I would like to extend with the = present=20 Encyclical.

CONCLUSION

40. Finally, let us consider the saints, who = exercised=20 charity in an exemplary way. Our thoughts turn especially to = Martin of=20 Tours (=86 397), the soldier who became a monk and a bishop: he is = almost=20 like an icon, illustrating the irreplaceable value of the = individual=20 testimony to charity. At the gates of Amiens, Martin gave half of = his=20 cloak to a poor man: Jesus himself, that night, appeared to him in = a dream=20 wearing that cloak, confirming the permanent validity of the = Gospel=20 saying: =93I was naked and you clothed me ... as you did it to one = of the=20 least of these my brethren, you did it to me=94 (Mt 25:36, = 40).[36] Yet in the history of the Church, how = many other=20 testimonies to charity could be quoted! In particular, the entire = monastic=20 movement, from its origins with Saint Anthony the Abbot (=86 356), = expresses=20 an immense service of charity towards neighbour. In his encounter = =93face to=20 face=94 with the God who is Love, the monk senses the impelling = need to=20 transform his whole life into service of neighbour, in addition to = service=20 of God. This explains the great emphasis on hospitality, refuge = and care=20 of the infirm in the vicinity of the monasteries. It also explains = the=20 immense initiatives of human welfare and Christian formation, = aimed above=20 all at the very poor, who became the object of care firstly for = the=20 monastic and mendicant orders, and later for the various male and = female=20 religious institutes all through the history of the Church. The = figures of=20 saints such as Francis of Assisi, Ignatius of Loyola, John of God, = Camillus of Lellis, Vincent de Paul, Louise de Marillac, Giuseppe = B.=20 Cottolengo, John Bosco, Luigi Orione, Teresa of Calcutta to name = but a=20 few=97stand out as lasting models of social charity for all people = of good=20 will. The saints are the true bearers of light within history, for = they=20 are men and women of faith, hope and love.

41. Outstanding among the saints is Mary, Mother = of the Lord=20 and mirror of all holiness. In the Gospel of = Luke we find her engaged in a service of charity to her = cousin=20 Elizabeth, with whom she remained for =93about three months=94 = (1:56) so as to=20 assist her in the final phase of her pregnancy. =93Magnificat = anima mea=20 Dominum=94, she says on the occasion of that visit, =93My soul = magnifies=20 the Lord=94 (Lk 1:46). In these words she expresses her = whole=20 programme of life: not setting herself at the centre, but leaving = space=20 for God, who is encountered both in prayer and in service of=20 neighbour=97only then does goodness enter the world. Mary's = greatness=20 consists in the fact that she wants to magnify God, not herself. = She is=20 lowly: her only desire is to be the handmaid of the Lord (cf. = Lk=20 1:38, 48). She knows that she will only contribute to the = salvation of the=20 world if, rather than carrying out her own projects, she places = herself=20 completely at the disposal of God's initiatives. Mary is a woman = of hope:=20 only because she believes in God's promises and awaits the = salvation of=20 Israel, can the angel visit her and call her to the decisive = service of=20 these promises. Mary is a woman of faith: =93Blessed are you who = believed=94,=20 Elizabeth says to her (cf. Lk 1:45). The = Magnificat=97a=20 portrait, so to speak, of her soul=97is entirely woven from = threads of Holy=20 Scripture, threads drawn from the Word of God. Here we see how = completely=20 at home Mary is with the Word of God, with ease she moves in and = out of=20 it. She speaks and thinks with the Word of God; the Word of God = becomes=20 her word, and her word issues from the Word of God. Here we see = how her=20 thoughts are attuned to the thoughts of God, how her will is one = with the=20 will of God. Since Mary is completely imbued with the Word of God, = she is=20 able to become the Mother of the Word Incarnate. Finally, Mary is = a woman=20 who loves. How could it be otherwise? As a believer who in faith = thinks=20 with God's thoughts and wills with God's will, she cannot fail to = be a=20 woman who loves. We sense this in her quiet gestures, as recounted = by the=20 infancy narratives in the Gospel. We see it in the delicacy with = which she=20 recognizes the need of the spouses at Cana and makes it known to = Jesus. We=20 see it in the humility with which she recedes into the background = during=20 Jesus' public life, knowing that the Son must establish a new = family and=20 that the Mother's hour will come only with the Cross, which will = be Jesus'=20 true hour (cf. Jn 2:4; 13:1). When the disciples flee, Mary = will=20 remain beneath the Cross (cf. Jn 19:25-27); later, at the = hour of=20 Pentecost, it will be they who gather around her as they wait for = the Holy=20 Spirit (cf. Acts 1:14).

42. The lives of the saints are not limited to = their earthly=20 biographies but also include their being and working in God after = death.=20 In the saints one thing becomes clear: those who draw near to God = do not=20 withdraw from men, but rather become truly close to them. In no = one do we=20 see this more clearly than in Mary. The words addressed by the = crucified=20 Lord to his disciple=97to John and through him to all disciples of = Jesus:=20 =93Behold, your mother!=94 (Jn 19:27)=97are fulfilled anew = in every=20 generation. Mary has truly become the Mother of all believers. Men = and=20 women of every time and place have recourse to her motherly = kindness and=20 her virginal purity and grace, in all their needs and aspirations, = their=20 joys and sorrows, their moments of loneliness and their common = endeavours.=20 They constantly experience the gift of her goodness and the = unfailing love=20 which she pours out from the depths of her heart. The testimonials = of=20 gratitude, offered to her from every continent and culture, are a=20 recognition of that pure love which is not self- seeking but = simply=20 benevolent. At the same time, the devotion of the faithful shows = an=20 infallible intuition of how such love is possible: it becomes so = as a=20 result of the most intimate union with God, through which the soul = is=20 totally pervaded by him=97a condition which enables those who have = drunk=20 from the fountain of God's love to become in their turn a fountain = from=20 which =93flow rivers of living water=94 (Jn 7:38). Mary, = Virgin and=20 Mother, shows us what love is and whence it draws its origin and = its=20 constantly renewed power. To her we entrust the Church and her = mission in=20 the service of love:

Holy Mary, Mother of God,
you have given the = world its=20 true light,
Jesus, your Son =96 the Son of God.
You = abandoned=20 yourself completely
to God's call
and thus became a=20 wellspring
of the goodness which flows forth from = him.
Show us=20 Jesus. Lead us to him.
Teach us to know and love him,
so = that we=20 too can become
capable of true love
and be fountains of = living=20 water
in the midst of a thirsting world.

Given in Rome, at Saint Peter's, on 25 = December, the=20 Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord, in the year 2005, the first = of my=20 Pontificate.

BENEDICTUS PP. XVI

[1] Cf. Jenseits von Gut und B=F6se, IV, = 168.

[2] X, 69.

[3] Cf. R. Descartes, =8Cuvres, ed. V. = Cousin, vol.=20 12, Paris 1824, pp. 95ff.

[4] II, 5: SCh 381, 196.

[5] Ibid., 198.

[6] Cf. Metaphysics, XII, 7.

[7] Cf. Ps.-Dionysius the Areopagite, who in his = treatise=20 The Divine Names, IV, 12-14: PG 3, 709-713 calls God = both eros=20 and agape.

[8] Plato, Symposium, XIV-XV, = 189c-192d.

[9] Sallust, De coniuratione Catilinae, = XX, 4.

[10] Cf. Saint Augustine, Confessions, = III, 6, 11:=20 CCL 27, 32.

[11] De Trinitate, VIII, 8, 12: CCL 50, = 287.

[12] Cf. I Apologia, 67: PG 6, 429.

[13] Cf. Apologeticum, 39, 7: PL 1, = 468.

[14] Ep. ad Rom., Inscr: PG 5, 801.

[15] Cf. Saint Ambrose, De officiis = ministrorum,=20 II, 28, 140: PL 16, 141.

[16] Cf. Ep. 83: J. Bidez, L'Empereur = Julien.=20 =8Cuvres compl=E8tes, Paris 1960², v. I, = 2^a, p.=20 145.

[17] Cf. Congregation for Bishops, Directory for = the=20 Pastoral Ministry of Bishops Apostolorum Successores (22 = February=20 2004), 194, Vatican City 2004, p. 213.

[18] De Civitate Dei, IV, 4: CCL 47, = 102.

[19] Cf. Pastoral Constitution on the Church in = the Modern=20 World Gaudium et Spes, 36.

[20] Cf. Congregation for Bishops, Directory for = the=20 Pastoral Ministry of Bishops Apostolorum Successores (22 = February=20 2004), 197, Vatican City 2004, p. 217.

[21] John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic = Exhortation=20 Christifideles Laici (30 December 1988), 42: AAS 81 (1989), = 472.

[22] Cf. Congregation for the Doctrine of the = Faith,=20 Doctrinal Note on Some Questions Regarding the Participation of = Catholics=20 in Political Life (24 November 2002), 1: L'Osservatore = Romano,=20 English edition, 22 January 2003, p. 5.

[23] Catechism of the Catholic Church, = 1939.

[24] Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity = Apostolicam=20 Actuositatem, 8.

[25] Ibid., 14.

[26] Cf. Congregation for Bishops, Directory for = the=20 Pastoral Ministry of Bishops Apostolorum Successores (22 = February=20 2004), 195, Vatican City 2004, pp. 214-216.

[27] Cf. John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic = Exhortation=20 Christifideles Laici (30 December 1988), 41: AAS 81 (1989), = 470-472.

[28] Cf. No. 32: AAS 80 (1988), 556.

[29] No. 43: AAS 87 (1995), 946.

[30] Cf. Congregation for Bishops, Directory for = the=20 Pastoral Ministry of Bishops Apostolorum Successores (22 = February=20 2004), 196, Vatican City 2004, p. 216.

[31] Cf. Pontificale Romanum, De ordinatione=20 episcopi, 43.

[32] Cf. can. 394; Code of Canons of the = Eastern=20 Churches, can. 203.

[33] Cf. Nos. 193-198: pp. 212-219.

[34] Ibid., 194: pp. 213-214.

[35] Sermo 52, 16: PL 38, 360.

[36] Cf. Sulpicius Severus, Vita Sancti = Martini, 3,=20 1-3: SCh 133, 256-258.

=20

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