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Church Documents and Books
Pope Benedict XVI
Before he became Pope Benedict XVI last April 19, 2005, he was
known as Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger. As Cardinal, he was in charge
of preserving the truths and doctrines of the Catholic faith. It
was his task to have all theologians teach the Catholic faith
according to the official Vatican stand.
As Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, he wrote many books and other writings.
Now, as Pope Benedict XVI, he produces two official Church documents
and a recently published book called, "Jesus of Nazareth". [This
book will be translated into English by May 15, 2007, according to
Zenit news.] The two official
Church documents he produced are: Deus Caritas Est, An Encyclical
On Christian Love, and Sacramentum Caritatis, a post-Synodal
Apostolic Exhortation on the Eucharist as the Source and Summit
of the Church's Life and Mission.
Deus Caritas Est
Being known to be a theologian of high-caliber intelligence, when
it was announced that Pope Benedict XVI would write an encyclical,
everyone expected the encyclical to be according to the theologically
high standards he was known to have. However, he surprised many
when the encyclical he came out with was very basic: "God is Love"
[1 Jn 4:16], or "Deus Caritas Est". This encyclical establishes
an important foundation in our Catholic faith: love or charity.
Pope Benedict XVI explains in quite a detailed manner the many
ramifications and meanings love is conceived of in the world
and in the context of our Christian faith.
Below is an outline of the main sections of this document:
- Part I: The Unity of Love in Creation and in Salvation
History
- A problem of language
- "Eros" and "Agape" - difference and unity
- The newness of biblical faith
- Jesus Christ - the incarnate love of God
- Love of God and love of neighbor
- Part II: Caritas - The Practice of Love by the Church
as a "Community of Love"
- The Church's charitable activity as a manifestation
of Trinitarian love
- Charity as a responsibility of the Church
- Justice and charity
- The multiple structures of charitable service
in the social context of the present day
- The distinctiveness of the Church's
charitable activity
- Those responsible for the Church's
charitable activity
- Conclusion
Sacramentum Caritatis
This document is about the Eucharist as "Sacramentum Caritatis"
or sacrament of charity, as termed by St. Thomas Aquinas in his
written work, Summa Theologiae. This document was recently
published and is a very informative writing on the mystery of the
Eucharist. Composed in three parts, it is divided into 97 brief
paragraphs, with each paragraph explaining a certain aspect of
the Eucharist.
There was a recent misunderstanding about the celebration of
the Eucharistic liturgy in Latin. This is reported in our
affiliate news page with Ignatius Press. But paragraph #62
of this document with the title "The Latin language" helps explain
how the use of Latin and the vernacular is to be reconciled
in the celebration of the Eucharist.
This document is a good detailed informative writing on what
every Catholic needs to know about the Eucharist and its
celebration. Below are the main sections of the document
that can help give an idea what the document and its content
tells about the Eucharist:
- Introduction
- The blessed Trinity and the Eucharist
- The Eucharist: Jesus the true Sacrificial Lamb
- The Holy Spirit and the Eucharist
- The Eucharist and the Church
- The Eucharist and the Sacraments
- The Eucharist and Christian initiation
- The Eucharist and the sacrament of reconciliation
- The Eucharist and the anointing of the sick
- The Eucharist and the Sacrament of Holy Orders
- The Eucharist and matrimony
- The Eucharist and Eschatology
- The Eucharist and the Virgin Mary
- The Eucharistic celebration, the work of "Christus Totus"
- Ars celebrandi
- The Structure of the Eucharistic Celebration
- Actuosa participatio
- Interior participation in the celebration
- Adoration and Eucharistic devotion
- The Eucharistic form of the Christian life
- The Eucharist, a mystery to be proclaimed
- The Eucharist, a mystery to be offered to the world
Summary:
Pope Benedict writes these two documents, Deus Caritas Est,
and Sacramentum Caritatis, in a style that is understood
by many: bishops, clergy, consecrated persons and the lay faithful.
For any Catholic, especially those who write Catholic articles
online and who post in blogs, these two documents are very
essential in order to keep updated of the important matters
of faith to consider in the Catholic Church today.
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