Pope Francis’ ‘Lumen Fidei’: ‘Faith is a light’

“There is an urgent need … to see once again that faith is a light, for once the flame of faith dies out, all other lights begin to dim. The light of faith is unique, since it is capable of illuminating every aspect of human existence,” says Pope Francis in his first encyclical “Lumen Fidei.”      To help Catholics understand Pope Francis’ message in “Lumen Fidei,” listening sessions are being held throughout the Archdiocese of New Orleans this month.
    The sessions are presented by Todd Amick, director of the archdiocesan Evangelization and Eucharistic Renewal Office; Dr. Zsupan-Jerome, professor of liturgy, catechesis and evangelization at Loyola University; and Father James Wehner, rector-president of Notre Dame Seminary .
    Two sessions remain: Nov. 13 at Infant Jesus of Prague, 700 Maple Ave, Harvey; and Nov. 19 at St. Joseph Abbey and Seminary College, Benet Hall Theatre, 75376 River Road, St. Benedict. Both sessions run from 7-8:30 p.m.
 
  On Oct. 30 at Notre Dame Seminary, more than 50 people gained a context by which to understand the encyclical – a form of teaching about the Catholic faith written by popes to explain what Catholics believe in the context of present day.
    Zsupan-Jerome said people shouldn’t be daunted when they hear the word “encyclical.” One doesn’t need a Ph.D. to read one. They are relevant documents that are important for current understandings of the Catholic faith.
Faith is a fundamental gift
    “Lumen Fidei,” which was initiated by Pope Benedict XVI, calls us to “open our hearts to the gift of faith,” Father Wehner said. Pope Francis explains the role of faith in humanity, culture and society; the threats to faith; and lays out how faith needs to be understood and lived.
    Father Wehner said Pope Francis sees human beings fundamentally created as religious persons, and faith needs culture and has a public dimension to it.
    Society, however, is trying to figure out how to exist without God and how culture can exist without faith. People are satisfied with what they can see and touch, what Pope Francis calls the “Light of Autonomous Reason.”
    Father Wehner cautioned that if persons are content to use reason alone – without faith – to grasp the truth,  the answers to all of life’s questions are unsatisfactory.
    “So now we have a crisis – what does it mean to be human, a culture and a nation when God and faith don’t a voice in the public square?” he asked.
    Quoting Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict, Father Wehner said “a culture that has no faith leads to chaos.”
Four lenses for viewing faith
    Father Wehner said in “Lumen Fidei,” Pope Francis offers four lenses to approach faith:
    1. Faith is the gateway to salvation, a universal gift that God has given everyone. God’s will is that everyone be saved. Faith is what brings us to the full knowledge of truth.
    2. “Living this knowledge of Christ, this Gospel, makes us more human,” he said. “Turning to faith and what the Gospel reveals to us allows us to be the man and woman God has created us to be.”
    Without faith, Father Wehner said, how do we know what is good and what is evil? Faith doesn’t give us the answers to all suffering, but “faith helps us understand that in the moment of suffering, Christ is there.” Reason doesn’t give us the answer – faith does, Father Wehner said.
    3. Faith is a belief system, related to us by Christ. There is no salvation apart from Jesus Christ. Pope Francis urges us to see things through the eyes of Jesus. Faith purifies our desire for truth.
    4. Faith binds us together as the body of Christ. “The church is the sacrament by which we are experiencing the divine,” Father Wehner said. “Without the church, where is the Eucharist? Without the church, where do the Scriptures come from? … The church is that sacrament which is making all this invisible truth, visible; making a body of Christ visible.”
    Faith is an ecclesial (church) act, he said. “I am God, you are my people, and together we pilgrim together as the Body of Christ,” he said. The church is necessary for salvation.
    Zsupan-Jerome expanded the idea of faith as communal and a sacramental as outlined in Chapter 3 of Lumen Fidei.
    “Church is a communal reality,” she said. Faith is sacramental because it has a body that reveals the divine mystery of God’s love.
     “Finding God in the mess of life is worth pondering,” she said. “The messiness of human life might be a possible portal to the divine.”
    She said the Greek word for church is Ekklesia, which means “a people gathered.” A way Christ is present in the liturgy is through the assembly, even though everyone comes with baggage that can be a distraction to others – a baby crying, someone coughing or singing off key. “When our faith is rooted and tested, it becomes more profound.”
    She said no one is born a Christian alone. At baptism, one is incorporated into the Christ with family and friends and is no longer alone. The baptized becomes a part of Christ’s body for the life of the world, and sharing that faith is encouraged. “The faith we inherit is the body of people in the image and likeness of God.”
Faith, the cultural lens    
    Amick’s portion dealt with Faith and the Common Good; Faith and Family; Faith and Society; and Faith and Suffering.
    He said faith opens the architecture of human relationships. Quoting Pope Francis, he said we encounter love through Jesus Christ and it builds on trust within us.
    Amick said faith opens the icon of love (for example in marriage). It is faith, in difficult times that points us back to what marriage is and is to be. Through grace, it allows the faithful to have strength to embrace the crosses in life.
    He said Lumen Fidei mentions how faith is the light for all relationships, it is the light that shines on the mystery of the human person. How can we betray the dignity of marriage if we look on our spouse as a mystery endowed with dignity and
value, he asked.
    Faith shows us the way to treat nature, conduct government and be a society that acts with forgiveness and gratitude.
    He said Pope Francis sees society today as one that hides from suffering, wants to rid the world of suffering. Instead, he suggests, we should share in the same gaze as Jesus and how he looks at the poor and suffering. We could be that sign and symbol, that icon of love. Through faith, we share the eyes of Jesus.
    Amick received permission from the Holy See to record the English translation of Francis’ letter as part of the New Evangelization.
    Amick wants Catholics to take this encyclical and pray through it and share with others.
    “Proclaim the Good News to a people who are hungry for it,” Amick said.
    To obtain a free CD of the English translation of Lumen Fidei, call 482-8010.