AMECEA: AN OVERVIEW BY FR. FEBIAN PIKITI MULENGA - AMECEA PASTORAL COORDINATOR

THE CATECHESIS OF THE YEAR OF FAITH

BY POPE BENEDICT XVI

See the original document on the Year of Faith Catechesis Page

Since the Year of Faith was inaugurated on 11^th October 2012, the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI has been giving weekly Catechesis to the Universal Church. In his teaching of 9^th January 2013, the Holy Father reflected on the theme: He Became Man. This is the great mystery we celebrate during the Christmas season that God came down from heaven, he became human as we are in order to open for us the way to eternal communion with him.

The Holy Father, in his message emphasizes the following:

1.      The meaning of the Incarnation: The Pope elaborates this central teaching of the faith we profess in the Creed that “the Word became flesh” (Jn 1:14). He refers to the teachings of the early fathers of the Church, St. Ignatius of Antioch and St. Irenaeus that incarnation (incarnatio in Latin) means that the Son of God became human and shared totally in all the dimensions of the human condition to that we may receive the gift of divine son-ship..

St Irenaeus stated: “For this is why the Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man, by entering into communion with the Word and thus receiving divine sonship, might become a son of God” (Adversus Haereses, 3, 19, 1: PG 7,939; cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 460).

The Holy Father goes further to explain that the Word of God, “who is with God and who is God, the Creator of the world (cf. Jn 1:1) through whom all things were created (cf. 1:3) and who has accompanied men and women through history with his light (cf. 1:4-5; 1:9), became one among many and made his dwelling among us, becoming one of us (cf. 2:14).

 God did not come with infinite power, but with humility of a child and walked our roads. Like us, he was born, worked with human hands, thought with human mind, acted with human will and loved with human heart.  Through this, God has revealed that we possess a greater dignity than just being human. We are all God’s children and his is Our Father, Abba Father.

 2.      Incarnation is an Exchange of Divine love: The Pope says, “At holy Christmas we generally exchange a few gifts with the people closest to us” as an expression of affection, love and self esteem. Whenever, we gift some we treasure to the person we love dearly, we are at the same time sharing with that particular person who are.

 The Pope expresses this more profoundly by stating that at Christmas “God wanted to make a gift of himself to men and women, he gave himself for us; God made his Only Son a gift for us, he took on our humanity to give his divinity to us”. Therefore, in the mystery of the incarnation, “God did not give something but he gave himself in his Only-Begotten Son.” As we celebrate Christmas, we find here our model for the giving so that our relationships, especially those that are most important, may be guided by giving love freely.

 3.      Incarnation shows us the daring love of God: The Holy Father explains that God’s action in his relationship with us is not limited to words or somethings out there in the sky or in the mind. “On the contrary we might say that he was not content with speaking, but entered into our history, taking upon himself the effort and burden of human life.”  

 The Pope challenges us to learn from the way God acted in the mystery of becoming man like us. Our faith must not be limited to sentiments, emotions or mere words. “God did not stop at words, but showed us how to live, sharing in our own experience, except for sin.” Therefore, our faith must not be limited to our sentiment, emotions or mere word. “It must touch our everyday life and give it practical guidance.” Our faith is not supposed to be an aspect of the mind and heart alone it must involve our whole life.

 4.      Through the Incarnation all creation has its meaning in Christ: The Holy Father bringing to our minds that through the mystery of the incarnation, God has made known to us that all creation finds its full meaning in the person of Jesus Christ. For “the Word, the Logos, was with God in the beginning and that everything was done through the Word and nothing that exists was done without him” (cf. Jn 1:1-13). The same Word, who has always existed with God, who is God himself and through whom and for whom all things were created (cf. Col 1:16-17), became man in order to bring back man and the whole of creation to himself.

To elaborate further, Pope Benedict refers to Gaudium et Spes 22, “In reality it is only in the mystery of the Word made flesh that the mystery of man truly becomes clear.... Christ the new Adam... fully reveals man to himself and brings to light his most high calling”. When we reflect on Christmas, therefore, we see in that Child “the true face not only of God but also of the human being; and only by opening ourselves to his grace and seeking to follow him every day do we fulfill God’s plan for us, for each one of us.”

In this catechesis, the Holy Father invites all of us to contemplate the richness of the Mystery of the Incarnation, to permit the Lord to illuminate us and to change us, more and more, into an image of his Son made man for us. Through this experience, we shall bring the whole of humanity to the ultimate destiny, communion with God.