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Christ, Way, Truth, Life, Is the plan of God for
us
One of the things that once tormented me most was the concept
of the will of God. Everyone said that it was necessary to do the
will of God, to live according to the will of God, but at the same
time, it was presented to us as something inaccessible, unknowable,
in short, something for the man from Mars. I remember my surprise
when I discovered one day, in the brief reading for vespers for
Monday of Week I, that it was not really so.
St. Paul says, "that you may be filled
with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
to lead a life worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him" (Col.
1:6-10). The experience of God is not sufficient if this is not
translated into "knowledge" of his will within the reality of the
people of God, of the Church, of the community.
In one of Bruno Forte's books (Jesus of Nazareth, History of God,
God of History, Edizioni Paoline, 1981) there is an entire chapter
where he attempts a re-reading of the traditional trinomial (of
baptismal origin) of Christ as King, Prophet, and Priest, with the
words of John 14:6: "I am the way, the truth, the life." Christ
the King, Shepherd, Guide, is the way through which God has come
to humankind and the way in which humankind returns to God. Christ
the Prophet is Christ the Truth. Christ the Priest is Christ the
Life. I refer you to his writings for a direct reading and for a
meditation on the theological-existential applications which he
draws from it. Here I cite it because it offers me the starting
point for a synthesis of all we have been saying.
The prophet is one who knows how to hear and to see God in history.
He/she is one who knows how to read history as the place of the
presence and the action of God. Christ the Prophet, Christ the Truth
is thus freed from a Greek dogmatic concept. He is not an accumulation
of abstract truths. He speaks of relationship with the history of
humanity. He is truly enfleshed, incarnate within this history.
He is Lord of it.
We need to discover the beauty and newness of the Pauline charism.
Christ, Way, Truth, Life, is the plan of God for you and for the
people of all times. It is possible to permit God to transform your
life into that place where "the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily"
(Col. 2:9). Your life, the way, the bridge by which God comes to
humankind and humanity walks toward the home of the Father. It is
the truth/trustworthiness of the love of God which saves persons
by communicating to them his words and giving the Holy Spirit. It
is the life of God, the radical presence of God with humanity, the
radical love of humanity for God.
In December of 1984, John Paul II made a trip to Milan to meet
with the bishops of Piedmont and with the clergy of the diocese
of Novara. What he said to those at that gathering is also for us
very beautiful. I leave it with you as a conclusion: "After the
example of Christ, we, too, shepherds of the Church, at the threshold
of the year 2000, have the duty of generously placing ourselves
in the company of our brothers and sisters.Let us not fear to show
them the mystery of Christ in its whole truth, in harmony with the
magisterium of the Church. The love of Christ does not permit reservations
in this totality. The culture of today, at times, contradicts us
in a blasphemous way: other times it smiles in an ironic way. But
the heart of the person, in its depths waits: the whole person
awaits the whole Christ."
[Text from Christ the Truth, by Ezekiel Pasotti, SSP, Encounters
on Jesus Master, Way, Truth and Life, Rome, 1985]
Why St. Paul | Getting
to Know Paul the Apostle
Mary, as Mother, Teacher and Queen
Apostolic Spirituality and Holiness |
Communicating Christ
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