In his first Encyclical, Pope Benedict helps to clarify the meaning of love. He examines the nature of various kinds of love—human love and divine love, eros, friendship, and charity.

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Product Description

Deluxe Hardcover Collectors' Edition

Everyone needs love. Everyone desires love. But not everyone understands love. In fact, love is probably the most misunderstood subject in history.

In his first Encyclical, Pope Benedict helps to clarify the meaning of love. He examines the nature of various kinds of love—human love and divine love, eros, friendship, and charity. He writes beautifully and inspirationally of how man was made for love by the God who is love, the God who became one of us out of love—Jesus Christ.

In the second part of the Encyclical, Benedict addresses the Church's practice of love. He examines the relationship between justice and charity, as well as the call of every Catholic to serve others in love. The Pope's "love letter" to mankind is remarkably accessible and timely.

Jewels from "God Is Love" ~ Deus Caritas Est

"'God is love and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him' (1 Jn 4:16). These words from the First Letter of John express with remarkable clarity the heart of the Christian faith: the Christian image of God and the resulting image of mankind and its destiny."

"We have come to believe in God's love: in these words the Christian can express the fundamental decision of his life. Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, that gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction."

"St. John's Gospel describes that event in these words: 'God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should . . . have eternal life' (3:16). In acknowledging the centrality of love, Christian faith has retained the core of Israel's faith, while at the same time giving it new depth and breadth."

"In a world where the name of God is sometimes associated with vengeance or even a duty of hatred and violence, this message is both timely and significant. For this reason, I wish in my first Encyclical, to speak of the love which God lavishes upon us, and which we in turn must share with others."

"I wanted here—at the beginning of my Pontificate—to clarify some essential facts concerning the love which God mysteriously and gratuitously offers to man, together with the intrinsic link between that Love and the reality of human love."

—Pope Benedict XVI

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17922 in Books
• Published on: 2006-05-31
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 108 pages

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Customer Reviews

True insight into the nature of God
This encyclical is an imperative for anyone who wants to understand what makes Benedict XVI tick, and what has been making him tick for many years. He is a supreme theologian, but also a man deeply in love with God. In a way that is crystal clear, he explains what it means to say that God is Love, as the apostle John tells us in his letters. This successor to the apostles explains the meanings of the word love, and how they apply to us, in ways only an outstanding teacher, which he is, can do. He helps us understand why the different meanings of the words for love in Greek are important, for each has unique implications. We can understand this most clearly when we consider the dialogue in the Greek text between Jesus and Peter after the Resurrection, where Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves Him. In English, we do not see the dynamic of the conversation. In Greek we do, and the difference Benedict XVI explains between agape love (total self-giving love) and filio (love of friendship) becomes clear. Jesus' first question to Peter is, "Do you agape Me more than these?" Peter, mindful of his recent denials, can only respond, "You know I filio you." Jesus then changes the question and instead asks, "Do you agape Me?", not asking for a comparison of his love to that of the others. Again, Peter responds, "You know that I filio you." You can actually feel his inner pain as he understands the difference between Jesus' question and his answer. Finally, Jesus changes the question again and asks, "Do you filio Me?", and Peter responds, "Yes, Lord, you know I filio you." Benedict XVI teaches us in this encyclical that we must be ready to respond to God with an answer to these same questions. He challenges us to look within and ask ourselves how much we love God, and if we do not love God with agape love, we need to develop our relationship with God further because God loves us infinitely with an Agape Love.

Not Feeling the Love
There are serious issues facing the Catholic Church, one of them being the abuse scandal. The Church was criminally complacent, the Bishop's complicity documented, and the Church an accessory after the fact. Yet on page 71 of this tomb, point 29, the Pope states: "The Church has an indirect duty here, in that she is called to contribute to the purification of reason and to the reawakening of these moral forces without which just structures are neither established nor prove effective in the long run." Such could be the epitaph of the Catholic Church in regards to it's betrayal of the victims of the abuse scandals. Instead of this book, I recommend reading the Pope's earlier work: "What It Means to Be a Christian."

Justice belongs to God, not just forgiveness; anything less by the Church regarding its conduct in this matter is the very moral relativism and equivocation that the Pope bewails. It would be a grace from God if all Christianity became more objective and honest about its history, thus allowing for real growth and real faith. Here, the Pope desires to elaborate that Christian charitable activity, "contribute to a better world only by personally doing good now, with full commitment and wherever we have the opportunity, independently of partisan strategies and programs" (pg 81). Sadly, this volume lacks the depth and breadth of real moral strength to address the vices perpetrated with itself. Thus it fails to rise to theological heights, and falls flat, unlike several of the Pope's more challenging books, where he addressed the limits and fallibility of the Church. Some religious, like Father Groeschel, continue to complain that the media has perpetuated an anti-clerical perspective that victimizes priests. Although the image of priests has been damaged by media coverage, thankfully there is an investigative outlet, a venue outside the Church, for dissenting opinion and reporting crimes. Any error on the side of excess by the media, and subsequent lack of status by priests, is nothing compared to the life-long struggle and suffering of the numerous victims. Others (like Father John Corapi), have publicly stated that when they knew several accused priests, they were good men, and that the abuse occurred when they were younger and more susceptible to sin, or that a victim was 17 years old. Corapi enjoys diatribes against those who dress themselves and their children too provocatively, and yes, this is a problem, but don't blame the victim.

Priests and bishops have special authority within the body of the Church, i.e., the parishioners, as trusted representatives of Jesus. Parishioners have been asked to simply forgive these priests, as if these men were just civilians. The crimes are not only against human victims, but to the Church at large, Jesus. In a world where the moral compass can be so easily lost, this violation represents a loss of moral credibility of the Church. The only way to deal with it is through the Church being totally open, honest, and unafraid. There seems to be a lack of coherent and cohesive acknowledgment that the Church enabled these priests, which is a failure to clearly address the spiritual abuse of the sex scandals, which ripple out in harmful influence, and effect all members of the Church. This is a betrayal perpetrated on the highest levels; not just another sin, but sin committed against the innocent by representatives of Jesus. Real faith should be able to examine these extremely difficult issues and then find some way forward. What is needed is not just a supernaturally empowered scholar, but a leader capable of providing justice, not just forgiveness, a light unafraid to shine on dark places.

Fresh Insights into Love
This is an Encyclical worth reading. Over the years I attempted to read several encyclicals and found them rather technical and often difficult to read. I concluded that Popes are not usually good writers and that I would read encyclicals only as reference books. Benedict XVI, for me, breaks the mold. He is an excellent writer and offers fresh insights into Christianity.

Deus Caritas Est is broken into two parts: The unity of Love in Creation and Salvation History; and Caritas, the practice of Love by the Church as a "Community of Love." This letter includes detailed explanations of Benedict's teaching points and would require a long summary. I will focus on several main points that are important to me.

In the Introduction Benedict refers to Scripture and teaches that we "come to believe" in the love of God and indicates that love is an encounter that animates and guides our lives. He proclaims the words of Jesus that the commandments are "united" into a single concept - love. God loves us and we respond by loving Him and our neighbors.

The Pope discusses Eros, the love between a man and a woman. He notes that some Christians want to avoid discussing Eros. He also notes that some Christian leaders forget that we were created as human beings. Christian Eros can be very positive and bring us closer to God. This occurs when Eros, worldly love, joins with agape, love "grounded and shaped by faith". By accepting our humanity we accept God's creation. That love, however, must not be self-centered, as Eros often is at the beginning of sexual attraction. With agape, love seeks the "good of the beloved" and is ready to sacrifice self for other. When fully formed love receives as well as gives, Eros-agape leads to a loving relationship.

The letter also addresses forgiveness. God's agape love is "completely gratuitous" and as such God's love forgives. Benedict refers to Hosea 11 and claims that God's love overcomes God's justice. " I will not give vent to my blazing anger, I will not destroy Ephraim again; For I am God and not man, the Holy One present among you; I will not let the flames consume you."

The Pope suggests that there is an "unbreakable" bond between love of God and love of neighbor. If I "close my eyes" to neighbors, I "blind" myself to God. If I concentrate upon my religious duties and ignore others, I become arid and eventually loveless.

Benedict reminds us that the Church has three responsibilities: to proclaim the word of God, to celebrate the sacraments, and to exercise the ministry of charity. These three are inseparable. For the Church, charity must be the very essence of its activities. The
Church of today, with advances in communication and travel, must address the needs of all people everywhere. Our distinctiveness as a Church equals our charitable activities.

This encyclical has some deep insights. I plan to re-read it with much meditation and prayer. I highly recommend this encyclical.