The First Encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI: “Deus Caritas Est”

By Cardinal Justin Rigali

God is love
Saint John the Apostle and Evangelist, in his First Letter, declared: “God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him” (1 Jn 4: 16). Thus Saint John declares the intimate connection between the love of God and the life — the action — of the Christian. In the wake of the 20th century and at the beginning of a new century and new millennium which have been scarred by so much violence, destruction and hardship, Pope Benedict XVI has made the topic of Christian love and action the theme of his first encyclical.

Our Holy Father immediately established a significant fact about the Christian and his or her relationship with Jesus Christ: “Being a Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction” (no. 1). All of Divine Revelation recounts the story of God’s love for the human race. Christ is the fullness of the revelation of God’s love. The acceptance or rejection of that love as related in the Scriptures becomes the acceptance or rejection of a Divine Person. For the Christian, to know Christ, to love Christ, has the power to transform not only the individual but also the world. “We love because he first loved us ... This is the commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother” (1 Jn 4: 19, 21).

Part I: The Unity of Love in Creation and in Salvation History

Pope Benedict XVI illustrates that “love” is one of the most commonly used and misused words. We know how easily, often and lightly we use the word “love” on a daily basis. Our Holy Father explains, referring to the ancient Greek understanding, that there are three types of love relative to the human experience: eros, that love between man and woman which is neither planned nor willed, but somehow imposes itself upon human beings; philia, the love of friendship; and agape, the New Testament vision, the Christian understanding of love (no. 3).

From the overly-sensual perspective of modern times, the Christian understanding of love has come under attack. There is a desire to have the love known as eros without the profound spiritual love known as agape. Examining the Pre-Christian pagan practices, such as the degradation of the person through “sacred prostitution,”as well as the contemporary view that sexuality is merely the physical expression of oneself to be used or exploited at will, our Holy Father reminds us that the physical is not to be separated from the spiritual. “Yet it is neither the spirit alone nor the body alone that loves: it is man, the person, a unified creature composed of body and soul, who loves. Only when both dimensions are truly united, does man attain his full stature. Only thus is love — eros — able to mature and attain its full stature” (no. 5).

The Old Testament is rich in imagery of the intimate love, described in nuptial terms, which God bears for His People. Images from the prophets, such as Hosea and Ezekiel, and the poetry of the Song of Songs particularly reflect this mystery of God’s love in His revelation to the People of Israel. “The history of the love relationship between God and Israel consists at the deepest level, in the fact that he gives her the Torah, thereby opening Israel’s eyes to man’s true nature and showing her the path leading to true humanism. It consists in the fact that man, through a life of fidelity to the one God, comes to experience himself as loved by God which becomes his essential happiness” (no. 9). The Pope notes as well that God’s choice of Israel out of all the nations upon the earth and the love which He lavishes upon His People is done with a view to the healing of the entire human race (no. 9).

The New Testament introduces in human history the fullness of God’s Revelation in Jesus Christ, who gives flesh and blood to the mystery of God’s love. “This divine activity now takes on dramatic form when, in Jesus Christ, it is God himself who goes in search of the ‘stray sheep,’ a suffering and lost humanity” (no. 12). The life, the miracles, teachings and parables of Christ all reveal the truth that God is love (1 Jn 4:8). The death of Christ on the Cross reveals the mystery of the lengths and depths to which God is willing to go to save the human race. Pope Benedict XVI explains this as the “turning of God against himself in which he gives himself in order to raise man up and save him” (no. 12). This the Pope describes as “love in its most radical form” (no. 12).

From the mystery of the Crucified Christ we are drawn into the mystery of the Eucharist, in which Christ perpetuates the saving act. The Body and Blood of Christ enable us to be intimately united with Him and also united with each other. Through the Eucharist, “God’s own agape comes to us bodily, in order to continue his work in us and through us” (no. 14).

Part II: Caritas, the Practice of Love by the Church as a Community of Love

Participation in the love of God, particularly in the Holy Eucharist, leads to charitable activity. Pope Benedict XVI refers to the Church’s charitable activity as a “manifestation of Trinitarian love,” borrowing the concept from Saint Augustine: “If you see charity, you see the Trinity” (no. 19). From the earliest days of the Church, it has been recognized that each member of the Church is bound to love of one’s neighbor. Charity within the community is also a collective responsibility of the entire Church. “Love thus needs to be organized if it is to be an ordered service to the community” (no. 20). The history of the Church traces the early development of charity as organized within the community. The Acts of the Apostles, the letters of Saint Paul, the accounts of early witnesses like Saint Justin Martyr or Saint Lawrence of Rome indicate the significance of the practice of charity in the practice of the faith. “The Church cannot neglect the service of charity any more than she can neglect the Sacraments and the Word” (no. 22). Furthermore, even the pagans of ancient times were impressed by the concern of Christians for the needy of every sort (no. 22).

During the last two centuries, the teachings of the Church on issues of justice toward the poor, the neglected and the laborer have come into greater attention. Popes Leo XIII, Pius XI, Blessed John XXIII, Paul VI and John Paul II have enriched the Church wealth of social doctrine while reminding society and the State of the obligation to attend to the needs of all people, particularly the poor. The Church encourages society into action, for “a just society must be the achievement of politics, not of the Church. Yet the promotion of justice through efforts to bring about openness of mind and will to the demands of the common good is something which concerns the Church deeply” (no. 28).

Charitable works, though, remain an integral component of the Church’s mission and the Church’s charitable activity is distinctive. In fulfillment of the works of mercy outlined by Christ Himself, the Church feeds the hungry, clothes the naked, cares for the sick, visits the imprisoned, etc. It is essential for the charitable offices of the Church on diocesan, national and international levels to provide resources and trained personnel to address these needs. Yet, beyond the aspect of professional training, our Holy Father notes: “these charity workers need a ‘formation of the heart’: they need to be led to that encounter with God in Christ which awakens their love and opens their spirits to others” (no. 31). Furthermore, the Church’s charitable activity is conducted independently of political parties or ideologies. Rather, in imitation of the Good Samaritan, the program of the Church’s charity is “a heart which sees.” “This heart,” according to our Holy Father, “sees where love is needed and acts accordingly” (no. 31). Also, the Church does not use charity as a means of proselytism. Charity — love — is freely given. It is the generous love of the Christian which makes him or her a credible witness to Christ (no. 31).

Pope Benedict XVI also indicates that the ministry of charity must be a priority for the Bishops, who are the successors of the Apostles. The Holy Father mentions that The Directory for the Pastoral Ministry of Bishops explains “the duty of charity as a responsibility incumbent upon the whole Church and upon each Bishop in his Diocese, and it is emphasized that the exercise of charity is an action of the Church as such, and that, like the ministry of Word and Sacrament, it too has been an essential part of her mission from the very beginning” (no. 32).

In the face of many obstacles, the Church presses on. The faithful offer to God their service to the extent that they are able. “To do all we can with what strength we have, however, is the task which keeps the good servant of Jesus Christ always at work: ‘The love of Christ urges us on’ (2 Cor 5:14)” (no. 35). It is through prayer that we have the strength to persevere in love of God and service of neighbor.

The Holy Father concludes his encyclical with reflections on the saints whose outstanding and heroic charity have left their mark on history. Saint Martin of Tours, Saint Anthony the Abbot, Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Saint John of God, Saint Camillus de Lellis, Saint Vincent de Paul, Saint Louise de Marillac, Saint John Bosco and Blessed Teresa of Calcutta are part of the litany of heroes who have left a legacy of charity for the faithful to take up. “In the saints,” writes Pope Benedict XVI, “one thing becomes clear: those who draw near to God do not withdraw from men, but rather become truly close to them” (no. 42).

This is most clearly seen in Mary, who at the foot of the Cross became the Mother of all believers. Men and women of every time and place have had recourse to Mary, who pours forth abundantly love and grace from the depths of her heart. “Mary, Virgin and Mother, shows us what love is and whence it draws its origin and its constantly renewed power. To her we entrust the Church and her mission in the service of love” (no. 42).

I join with the entire Church in lauding our Holy Father’s message of love of God and love of neighbor. Through prayer and works of charity may we make known the love which is poured upon the human race from the heart of the Trinity.

February 2, 2006