LUMEN FIDEI - VII

Blessed is she who believed

Concluding Section (Art. 58-60) and some Personal Remarks...

As a concluding note the encyclical presents to us a model or an exemplification of all that has been spoken about. And in right words it says, "the Mother of the Lord is the perfect icon of faith" and quotes the words of St. Elisabeth in the Gospel according to St. Luke (1:45), 'Blessed is she who believed'. Calling the Blessed Mother, "good soil", the encyclical calls to our attention the meaningful expression of Justin Martyr, 'In receiving the message of the angel, Mary conceived faith and joy'(58). Mary can be pictured as someone who closely followed Jesus in his entire salvation journey right from the moment of the Word becoming flesh to the moment when this son of hers was raised to the right hand of the Father as the eternal Lord and sovereign judge (59). 

The last article(60) is a beautiful prayer made on behalf of us all, to the Blessed Virgin ...

to Sow in our faith the joy of the Risen one,... 

to Remind us that those who believe are never alone,... and

to Teach us to see all things with the eyes of Jesus.

Personally...

The experience of reading through and reflecting on this Encyclical has borne one remarkable fruit in me - not to look at faith as something that is just between me and my God. It is definitely much more than that, it is something that defines my day to day life, my every relationship, my decisions on even the most ordinary things, my priorities - in short the entire world in which I live. I cannot think of my faith as something that is apart from me, for it has become the very personality that I am, from the very moment that I accepted it in my baptism and confirmed it through other sacraments of initiation. It is a gratuitous gift that God has placed within me, in the core of my being and it affects every aspect of my life. It makes me go out of myself and find myself in solidarity with the brothers and sisters in the same Lord to whom all of us respond in our own way, influenced by our personal traits and social upbringing. The very understanding of the institution of the Church as the communion of persons united in one expression of faith, is something that can facilitate readily our journey towards making present the Reign of God on earth.

However, there is one point on which the encyclical gives away a necessity of growth within the Church and the Official Magisterium of the Church. It is the aspect of Inclusive Language. The encyclical, or the least to say its English translation, still has a language that is highly masculine. Except in three places (art. 21,26,45), everywhere else the reference to a Christian or to the person to whom the encyclical is addressed, remains masculine - that is "he" or "him" or "man"! If the Magisterium can learn from the evolving times and the growing sensitivity, and become more inclusive in its language, it would be a more Reign-likely picture of the Church that it can offer to the world. 

If at all there is something that can be felt as a lack, it could be pointed out that the practical application of faith and the pastoral challenges it poses could have been treated a little more elaborately. Though the fourth chapter undertakes the task, personally at the end of the chapter, I could not help feeling disappointed that some current issues and urgent problems have not been touched upon. The feeling notwithstanding, the encyclical given its nature cannot speak of everything and within its scope, it appears quite complete!

Being the first one of the Pontificate of Pope Francis, LUMEN FIDEI has set the tone to the pastoral-minded Pontiff's wish for the flock that he shepherds. He has thrown a candid invitation to the faithful, to live their faith than just to possess it. Living the faith brings one's religious convictions to the daily life, and to the events and persons that fill it, and requires one to converse, dialogue and relate with the other, thus building relationships that lead each and every one to do one's part towards building the Reign of God, here and now!

The End... A personal summary by... Antony Christy sdb.