The human community is God’s dream even from before the creation of the world (Eph 1:3-14). In it, the eternal Son begotten of God the Father has taken flesh and blood, heart and emotions. Through the mystery of giving life, the great family of humanity is enabled to discover its true meaning…. All of us ought to grow in the awareness of our common origin in God’s love and creative act. Christian Faith confesses the begetting of the Son as the ineffable mystery of the eternal unity within the life of the Triune God. A renewed proclamation of this often overlooked revelation can open a new chapter in the history of human community and culture, which today cries out, groaning as if in labor pains (Rom 8:22), for rebirth in the Spirit. God’s tenderness and his will to redeem all those who feel lost, abandoned, discarded, or hopelessly condemned, is revealed in the Only Begotten Son. The mystery of the eternal Son who became one of us is the definitive witness to this “passion” of God. The mystery of Christ’s cross and resurrection—as the firstborn of many brothers (Rom 8:29)—tells us the extent to which God’s passion is directed to the redemption and full flourishing of human beings.
We need to renew a lively awareness of God’s passion for humanity and its world. Human beings were made by God in his image, male and female (Gn 1:27)…. The relationship between man and woman is the primary place where all creation speaks with God and bears witness to his love. This world is the place where we are brought to life; it is the place and time in which we gain a foretaste of the heavenly home that is our destiny (2 Cor 5:1) and where we will live fully our communion with God and with all others. The human family is a community with a common origin and a common goal, whose attainment is hidden, with Christ, in God (Col 3:3). In our time, the Church is called once more to propose the humanism of the life that bursts forth from God’s passion for human beings. Our commitment to valuing, supporting, and defending the life of every human being is ultimately motivated by God’s unconditional love. Such is the beauty and the allure of the Gospel, which does not reduce love of neighbor to criteria of economic or political convenience.
Pope Francis
His Holiness Pope Francis was elected to the See of Saint Peter in 2013.
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