Christ, The Redeemer of Man

The Redeemer of man, Jesus Christ, is the center of the universe and of history.

These are the first words of Saint John Paul II’s Redemptor Hominis, the encyclical that set the stage for the late Holy Father’s entire pontificate. Released in March 1979, this letter covered Christian anthropology, addressing the Incarnation and what it reveals about God and man: 

Through the Incarnation God gave human life the dimension that he intended man to have from his first beginning; he has granted that dimension definitively—in the way that is peculiar to him alone, in keeping with his eternal love and mercy, with the full freedom of God—and he has granted it also with the bounty that enables us, in considering the original sin and the whole history of the sins of humanity, and in considering the errors of the human intellect, will and heart, to repeat with amazement the words of the Sacred Liturgy: “O happy fault...which gained us so great a Redeemer!”

It is through Christ’s Incarnation and Redemption that God, in His loving mercy, made it possible for man to live out his highest calling: to be one with the Lord, who made us for Himself. He reconciled us to Himself, and He gave us His Son, who revealed to us what we are called to be.

The Centrality Of Man

Last week, Pope Francis reminded participants at an economic conference that man must always be at the center of the economy. Otherwise, we find ourselves guilty of an “anthropological reductionism.”

The Holy Father’s predecessor, Saint John Paul II, constantly challenged people to embrace a person-centered mentality. In his Centesimus Annus, he wrote:

Christian anthropology…is really a chapter of theology, and for this reason, the Church's social doctrine, by its concern for man and by its interest in him and in the way he conducts himself in the world, “belongs to the field ... of theology and particularly of moral theology.” The theological dimension is needed both for interpreting and solving present-day problems in human society. 

Social issues crop up at the economic and political level when we lose sight of the dignity of the human person, John Paul II warned us. Now Pope Francis is echoing his cry.

Saint John Paul II, please pray for us, that we might be free of the sin of reducing the human person to something less than what he is worth!

Sport As Culture Of Love

As an adventurous lover of sports, Saint John Paul II believed that athletics could positively contribute to a person’s formation, as well as fraternity among peoples. In an article on The Sports Digest, Professors Karen Joisten and Norbert Müller review a number of the late Holy Father’s reflections on sports.

They note his warnings about the negative extremes that many athletes can go to, but they mostly highlight John Paul II’s thoughts on the great good that sports can do. According to his teachings:

… sport can be a medium of virtue formation and education, which does not only apply to sport. Since athletes who are entirely committed to the game have made these values their second nature, the latter are like hair and skin to them. In this way, there is a chance that the "virtues of sports training," as John Paul II stated in his message at the opening of the Barcelona Olympic Games, "such as self-control, perseverance, respect for others, desire for top performance, fairness, sense of sacrifice, modesty and team work" will significantly determine the behavior of the individual and the community "in order to make our lives more brotherly fair and amicable."

If sport realizes its educational vocation on an individual level by contributing "to the holistic development of a person" (the Pope’s address to the Council of the International Ski Federation on 6 December 1983), it can realize its educational vocation on the level of the community at the same time. Therefore, it can substantially contribute to our harmonious coexistence in this world. On an international level, as John Paul II expressed in his audience for members of the IOC in 1982, it can "contribute significantly to progress and brotherhood among people as well as to the spreading of peace." If sport becomes a "culture of love," it will offer a universal language that transcends the frontiers between cultures, countries and nations, and it will therefore allow for a "sincere and open dialogue."

As the World Cup continues, let us pray with Pope Francis for the intercession of Saint John Paul II, that sports may become a "culture of love" in this world. 

The Nature of Us

"In your nature, O eternal Godhead, I shall know my own nature."

-St. Catherine of Siena

Oh St. Catherine of Siena, pray for us on this day of your feast, that we may receive grace enough to be reminded of who we are.