Porta Fidei, Part I
1. " The 'door of faith' (Acts 14:22) is always open for us, ushering us into the life of communion with God and offering entry into his church when the word of God is proclaimed and the heart allows itself to be transformed by grace" To enter through the "door of faith" is the start of a life long journey which begins with baptism (cf. Rom 6:4) which allows us to address God as Father and it ends with passage into eternal life, "to profess faith in the Trinity is to believe in one God who is love (cf. 1 Jn 4:8).
Faith is the "door" that leads mankind to a sincere relationship with God. Through this relationship with God, one is offered entry into the church through the transforming power of his word being proclaimed and received by a willing heart. Once one enters through that "door of faith", that one begins a life long journey which begins with baptism, is sustained through the sacraments instituted by Christ in which and through which man can call God "Abba", Father. This journey ends for each individual when they attain eternal life at the moment of their eternal rest. When one professes faith in the Holy Trinity they are professing faith in the One true God of the universe, who is perfect love and who shares love in communion in His relationship, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
2. Ever since the start of my ministry as successor of Peter, I have spoken of the need to rediscover the journey of faith so as to renew enthusiasm of the encounter with Christ. During the homily at the mass inaugurating my pontificate I said, "The church as a whole and all her Pastors, like Christ, must set out to lead people out of the desert, towards the place of life, towards friendship with the Son of God, towards the One who gives us life, and life in abundance". Often Christians concern more for the social, cultural and political consequences of their commitment, continuing to think of the faith as a self-evident presupposition for life in society.
The Holy Father calls all the faithful and leaders of the church to once again discover that faith that was once found in all of society. He challenges all to rekindle the joyous flame of the encounter with Christ. He challenges the church leaders to lead the people of God out of the "desert" and into life in Christ. No longer can one presuppose that faith is part of society because it is no longer the case because of the crisis of faith we find ourselves in.
3. We cannot accept that salt should become tasteless or the light be kept hidden (cf. Mt 5:13-16). People today still experience the need to go to the well, in order to hear Jesus, who invites us to believe in him and draw upon the source of living water. We must rediscover a taste for feeding ourselves on the word of God, handed down by the church, and on the bread of life. The teaching of Jesus still resounds in our day with the same power: "Do not labour for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life (Jn 6:27)" The question posed to him is the same today, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" (Jn 6:28) "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent" (Jn 6:29). Belief in Jesus Christ is the way to Salvation.
We must work to continue to light the darkness in the world with the light of Christ found in us because people today still yearn for a sincere relationship with Christ who is the well of living water. We should rediscover a taste or rather a hunger, for the word of God and the bread of life, which is our true nourishment. For this reason we should focus our efforts on the nourishment that will give us eternal life. We should focus on the work of God which is to believe in Jesus Christ, who is the true way to salvation.
4. In light of all this, I have decided to announce a Year of Faith which will begin 11 October and will end on the Solemnity of Christ our King on 24 November 2013. I have also convoked for October 12, 2012 the General Assembly of Bishops to consider the theme "THE NEW EVANGELIZATION FOR THE TRANSMISSION OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH". This will be a good opportunity to user the whole church into a time of rediscovering the faith.
Because of the need to rediscover our journey of faith, the Holy Father has proclaimed and announced the Year of Faith to bring the entire church into a season of beautiful of our faith found in the churches beautiful traditions and teachings, "the Faith of our Fathers".
Faith is the "door" that leads mankind to a sincere relationship with God. Through this relationship with God, one is offered entry into the church through the transforming power of his word being proclaimed and received by a willing heart. Once one enters through that "door of faith", that one begins a life long journey which begins with baptism, is sustained through the sacraments instituted by Christ in which and through which man can call God "Abba", Father. This journey ends for each individual when they attain eternal life at the moment of their eternal rest. When one professes faith in the Holy Trinity they are professing faith in the One true God of the universe, who is perfect love and who shares love in communion in His relationship, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
2. Ever since the start of my ministry as successor of Peter, I have spoken of the need to rediscover the journey of faith so as to renew enthusiasm of the encounter with Christ. During the homily at the mass inaugurating my pontificate I said, "The church as a whole and all her Pastors, like Christ, must set out to lead people out of the desert, towards the place of life, towards friendship with the Son of God, towards the One who gives us life, and life in abundance". Often Christians concern more for the social, cultural and political consequences of their commitment, continuing to think of the faith as a self-evident presupposition for life in society.
The Holy Father calls all the faithful and leaders of the church to once again discover that faith that was once found in all of society. He challenges all to rekindle the joyous flame of the encounter with Christ. He challenges the church leaders to lead the people of God out of the "desert" and into life in Christ. No longer can one presuppose that faith is part of society because it is no longer the case because of the crisis of faith we find ourselves in.
3. We cannot accept that salt should become tasteless or the light be kept hidden (cf. Mt 5:13-16). People today still experience the need to go to the well, in order to hear Jesus, who invites us to believe in him and draw upon the source of living water. We must rediscover a taste for feeding ourselves on the word of God, handed down by the church, and on the bread of life. The teaching of Jesus still resounds in our day with the same power: "Do not labour for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life (Jn 6:27)" The question posed to him is the same today, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" (Jn 6:28) "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent" (Jn 6:29). Belief in Jesus Christ is the way to Salvation.
We must work to continue to light the darkness in the world with the light of Christ found in us because people today still yearn for a sincere relationship with Christ who is the well of living water. We should rediscover a taste or rather a hunger, for the word of God and the bread of life, which is our true nourishment. For this reason we should focus our efforts on the nourishment that will give us eternal life. We should focus on the work of God which is to believe in Jesus Christ, who is the true way to salvation.
4. In light of all this, I have decided to announce a Year of Faith which will begin 11 October and will end on the Solemnity of Christ our King on 24 November 2013. I have also convoked for October 12, 2012 the General Assembly of Bishops to consider the theme "THE NEW EVANGELIZATION FOR THE TRANSMISSION OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH". This will be a good opportunity to user the whole church into a time of rediscovering the faith.
Because of the need to rediscover our journey of faith, the Holy Father has proclaimed and announced the Year of Faith to bring the entire church into a season of beautiful of our faith found in the churches beautiful traditions and teachings, "the Faith of our Fathers".
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