Fr. Imbelli, a priest from the Archdiocese of New York, teaches theology at Boston College and often contributes to L'Osservatore Romano. He was one of five writers asked by AMERICA magazine to comment on the faith encyclical, to which they will add other contributors... Surprisingly - or perhaps not - 2 of the 5 do not even mention Benedict XVI, as if he had absolutely npthing to do at all with the encyclical they are praising!
In his essay for AMERICA, however, Fr. Imbelli is clear and unequivocal about where he stands - I am re-posting the essay after this one which appeared in the OR, in which Fr. Imbelli is scrupulously correct in attributing Lumen fidei completely and exclusively to Pope Francis, even if the particular emphasis in this commentary is on what the encyclical says about the proper task of theologians. A subject, of course, about which Benedict XVI was always most explicit, being a theologian himself. Which is reprised not surprisingly in Lumen fidei, in words he has said before, and more expansively.
One must also consider that Fr. Imbelli has to respect the fact that this essay is published in the Pope's newspaper - which is not just any Pope's newspaper, but that of the reigning Pope alone. The question is whether he voluntarily inhibited himself from even referring to Benedict XVI at all, or if he was specifically asked by editor Vian not to do so.
Re-reading 'Lumen fidei' - and
what it pointedly reminds theologians
by Fr. Robert P. Imbelli
Translated from the 7/13/13 issue of
Pope Francis's encyclical,
Lumen fidei, is an extraordinary document which deserves to be meditated in prayer. Its clarity and profundity will reward multiple readings by everyone who is in the Church, or those who are seeking the meaning and truth about human existence.
But one chapter is particulary interesting to theologians. Paragraph 36 of the encyclical gives a brief but extraordinarily rich explanation of teh task of theology.
While it naturally reflects a traditional view (with citations from St. Bonaventure and St. Thomas of Aquinas),the encyclical places the traditional interpretation into an inter-subjective context in which the importance and implications of theology emerge in a new and more profound way.
The Pope writes that God is "a Subject who makes himsedlf known and manifests himself in the relationships between persons". Thus, the theologian cannot approach his work in a detached and neutral manner, as a scientist or a simple obserever would.
Theology prospers trough participatory knowledge, which involves reason, will and emotion. And ihe encyclical recalls the Biblical notion of 'heart' and insists on the fact that, as Blessed John Henery Newman wrote, '
cor ad cor loquitur' - heart speaks to heart ,
Theology reflects on the Word of God, which was fully revealed in the death and resurrection of Jesus, as enduring love. The heart of God speaks to our hearts through his Word of love, even in our interpersonal relations.
This Word of love is inexhaustible. And thus, the work of the theologian is infinite. up to the very end, when God will be "everything in all and everyone".
But since the Word of love is addressed in the first place to the Spouse of Christ, which is the Church, the task of the theologian is never individual but ecclesial.
The theologian operates in the Church. He or she is a member of the Body of Christ, one who seeks, in his modest way, to throw more light on the Mystery in which the Church lives, moves and exists.
Taht is why it is fundamental to acknoweldge that theology is not a discipline remote from the liturgical and catechetical life of the Christian community.
Certainly, theology raises new questions, evoked by the differing historical and social contexts of theologians, but such questions must always be raised in the light of the Gospel and apostolic tradition.
Because of this, the encyclical teaches that theology "does not consider the Magisterium of the Pope and the Bishops in communion with each other as something extrinsic", but rather "as one of its internal constitutive instances".
Everyone in the Church is under the Word of God and seeks something of the light of Christ, who alone is
Lumen gentium, 'Light of the People'.
In the words of the encyclical, the role of the Magisterium is to assure 'contact with the original sources' of the faith, thus offering "the certainty of drawing from the Word of Christ in its integrity".
We can discern an even greater profundity in this manner of understanding theology if we read Paragraph 36 and link it to what is said in paragraph 39. In which, referring to the ecclesial nature of faith, the Pope writes: "It is possible to respond in the first person,
Credo - 'I believe', only because one belongs to a great communion, only because one also says :We believe'."
This opening to the ecclesial 'we' happens because of the openness of God's love, which is not just the relationship between Fatehr and Son, between "I" and "you', but in the Spirit, it is a 'we', a communion of persons.
If theological knowledge participates at all in the eternal dialog and communion of God, then the theologian - whether he is an 'adult' Christian or someone who carries out an ecclesial mission - must be a person who takes part in this communion.
He or she must be moved by an authentic passion to edify the Body of Christ and must be sensitive to whatever might harm this Body.
'Worldliness', against which Pope Francis has often warned, can assume many forms. It can be the open one of desiring political inflouence or economic gain. But it can be more subtle as a desire for fame and popular acclaim.
Thus the theologian must learn to cultivate the spirituality of communion as an integral part of his task as theologian. Such spirituality of communion is as dcmanding in its asceticism as the spirituality of the desert or a cloister.
At the center of this spirituality is discernment in prayer. We have much to learn about this from the great Jesuit theologian Henri de Lubac. In his exstraordinary book
Meditation sur l'Eglise, de Lubac has a chapter remarkably entitled "Pur temptations with regard to the Church".
Such temptations place ecclesial communion at risk, and it is therefore necessary to discern them attentively through a spirituality that is not worldly, but always seeks to nourish communion.
Since the temptations cited by de Lubac concern every member of the Church, theologians must particularly guard against them. One temptation merits particular attention in this age of instant mediatic communications and the so-called 'blogosphere'. De Lubac calls it the 'critical temptation'.
He does not question the fact that in the Church, truth must be said in charity. But he points out that criticism too often can 'advance astutely disguised as doing good'. There is the inveterate tendency to consider our own 'cause' - however worthy it may be - as necessarily equivalent to that of the Church. De Lubac writes that some, "in their desire to serve the Church, use the Church instead to serve their own interests".
All of us, theologians or not, could step back from ourselves and exclaim, "Who then can be saved"? De Lubac offers wise counsel. He writes about the need to be engaged, according to Ignatian practice, in a constant 'discernment of spirits'.
With his well-known pungent humor, he suggests that one criticism ehich is always healthy is self-criticism. This discernment of 'the spirits' does not lead to immobility but rejects the need for a contant reform of the Church.
[Not constant 'formal' reform, perhaps, but nonetheless, as Benedict XVI often said, the Church must be 'semper riformanda', ever reforming herself, in the sense of making sure she and the faithful are constantly conformed to Christ - an endless task for us humans.]
Of course, daring words can always emerge (paresia) but always in view of the common good of the Body of Christ. Sometimes it will require patience to wait wisely for when it is the right time for harvest.
Thus, theologians, in communion with all the members of the Body of Christ, are called on to recite the concluding words of
Lumen fidei, a prayer to Mary.
Mother, help our faith!
Open our ears to hear God’s word and
to recognize his voice and call.
Awaken in us a desire to follow in his footsteps,
to go forth from our own land and to receive his promise.
Help us to be touched by his love,
that we may touch him in faith.
Help us to entrust ourselves fully to him
and to believe in his love, especially at times of trial,
beneath the shadow of the cross,
when our faith is called to mature.
Sow in our faith the joy of the Risen One.
Remind us that those who believe are never alone.
Teach us to see all things with the eyes of Jesus,
that he may be light for our path.
And may this light of faith always increase in us,
until the dawn of that undying day
which is Christ himself, your Son, our Lord!
Now, the re-post from a few days back:
An extraordinary collaboration
By Fr. Robert P. Imbelli
July 8, 2013
At the end of the new encyclical,
Lumen Fidei, the simple signature appears: “Franciscus.” Officially, it is thus the first encyclical of the new Pope.
Yet things are not as simple as they appear. Francis, some days prior to releasing the document, stated it was the work “of four hands,” his and those of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
And in the encyclical itself he writes: “[Benedict] himself had almost completed a first draft of an encyclical on faith. For this I am most deeply grateful to him, and as his brother in Christ I have taken up his fine work and added a few contributions of my own” (#7).
Thus we are witnesses to an extraordinary collaboration that might equally be called the Testament of Benedict and the Inaugural Address of Francis.
Those familiar with the three encyclicals and other writings of Benedict will quickly recognize favorite themes and sensibilities.
In many ways, this lovely exposition of Catholic faith can serve almost as a “Summa” of Benedict’s magisterium, written in a lucid, inviting style. Indeed, the sixty succinct paragraphs beg to be pondered and prayed.
At the heart of the encyclical’s meditation on faith is this conviction: “In the love of God revealed in Jesus, faith perceives the foundation on which all reality and its final destiny rest” (#15). Christian faith arises from the loving encounter with Jesus Christ, crucified and risen. Thus it engages the whole person, understanding, will, and affections.
As a result, before being formulated in propositions (necessary though these be), faith is a deeply experiential reality which sets the person on a new way, enabling him or her to see reality in a new light, the light of Christ, and opening up a new horizon and mission. “Those who believe are transformed by the love to which they have opened their hearts in faith” (#21) They are being transformed by the indwelling of Christ in the Spirit.
The “I” of the believer becomes incorporated into Christ’s ecclesial body: the “I believe” of the individual situated in the “we believe” of the community. In a rich passage the encyclical teaches: “This openness to the ecclesial ‘We’ reflects the openness of God’s own love, which is not only a relationship between the Father and the Son, between an ‘I’ and a ‘Thou,’ but it is also, in the Spirit, a ‘We,’ a communion of persons” (#39).
Moreover, the ecclesial communion experienced and enjoyed is not self-enclosed, but impels us to our responsibilities for the common good. “[Faith’s] light does not simply brighten the interior of the Church, nor does it serve solely to build an eternal city in the hereafter; it helps us build our societies in such a way that they can journey towards a future of hope” (#51).
Rooted in the soil of Christ’s paschal mystery, faith does not deny or ignore the sufferings of the world. It seeks to bring the service of hope and love, especially to the most needy and abandoned. “Faith is not a light which scatters all darkness, but a lamp which guides our steps in the night and suffices for the journey” (#57).
Lumen Fidei offers challenging and enriching spiritual exercises for the contemporary church and the wider world.
Tolle, lege – take it up and read!
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 15/07/2013 08:57]