Replies

Wednesday of the Second week in Ordinary Time

Commentary of the day
Pope Francis
Encyclical « Lumen fidei / The Light of Faith», § 16-17 (trans. © Libreria Editrice Vaticana)

“If, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son,how much more... will we be saved through the life of the risen Christ” (cf Rm 5,10)

The clearest proof of the reliability of Christ’s love is to be found in his dying for our sake. If laying down one’s life for one’s friends is the greatest proof of love (Jn 15:13), Jesus offered his own life for all, even for his enemies, to transform their hearts. This explains why the evangelists could see the hour of Christ’s crucifixion as the culmination of the gaze of faith; in that hour the depth and breadth of God’s love shone forth. It was then that Saint John offered his solemn testimony, as together with the Mother of Jesus he gazed upon the pierced one (Jn 19:37; Zac 12,10): "He who saw this has borne witness, so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth" (Jn 19,35)...

It is precisely in contemplating Jesus’ death that faith grows stronger and receives a dazzling light; then it is revealed as faith in Christ’s steadfast love for us, a love capable of embracing death to bring us salvation. This love, which did not recoil before death in order to show its depth, is something I can believe in; Christ’s total self-gift overcomes every suspicion and enables me to entrust myself to him completely.

Christ’s death discloses the utter reliability of God’s love above all in the light of his resurrection. As the risen one, Christ is the trustworthy witness, deserving of faith (Rv 1:5; Heb 2:17), and a solid support for our faith.