From the Desk of the Pastor                                                          FEBRUARY 5, 2006

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GOD IS LOVE – DEUS CARITAS EST

     Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI has written his first letter to the Catholic World and I would like to tell you a few things about it.  Pope Benedict's first encyclical opens with a quotation from the first epistle of St. John (4:16): "God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him." (The first three words of this citation form the title, following the traditional pattern for naming papal encyclicals.) This is the fundamental truth of Christian belief, the Pope writes. He continues: "In a world where the name of God is sometimes associated with vengeance or even a duty of hatred and violence, this message is both timely and significant."

     The difficulty that arises immediately, however, is the fact that-- as Pope Benedict explains-- "Today, the term 'love' has become one of the most frequently used and misused of words, a word to which we attach quite different meanings." The first section of Deus Caritas Est is the Pope's effort to cut through that confusion and restore a proper understanding of love. He takes us through philosophy and theology to help explain.

      Pope Benedict opens the second section of Deus Caritas Est with a quotation from St. Augustine: "If you see charity, you see the Trinity." The Holy Spirit guides the Church, and provides the steady impulse that impels the Christian community to reach out to those in need, the Pope writes. He observes that this impulse was visible in the Acts of the Apostles, when the disciples appointed deacons to carry out the institutional charity of the Christian community.

     The Church has a three-fold responsibility, the Pope says: to preach the Gospel, administer the sacraments, and perform acts of charity. "These duties presuppose each other and are inseparable."

      To preserve the proper attitude toward charitable activity, Christians must be deeply rooted in a life of prayer, the Pope says. "Prayer, as a means of drawing ever-new strength from Christ, is concretely and urgently needed," the Pope assures his readers.

     Prayer also provides an outlet for those who perceive the immensity of human needs, and the inadequacy of humanitarian responses. Christians can voice their frustrations and their concerns to their heavenly Father, the Pope says. "Immersed like everyone else in the dramatic complexity of historical events, they remain unshakably certain that God is our Father and loves us, even when his silence remains incomprehensible."

     Deus Caritas Est concludes by citing the example of the saints, and particularly of the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, whose life was spent in humble and self-giving service. The devotion of the faithful, Pope Benedict notes, is a sign that the Church recognizes how Mary embodies the perfect human reflection of divine love. "The testimonials of gratitude, offered to her from every continent and culture, are a recognition of that pure love which is not self- seeking but simply benevolent."

                                                                                    Father Anthony Domenic Sorgie