Lumen fidei

Lumen fidei (English: The Light of Faith) is the first encyclical of Pope Francis, issued on 29 June 2013, the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, and published on 5 July 2013, less than four months after his election to the papacy. It was issued in conjunction with the Year of Faith proclaimed by Pope Benedict XVI to be observed from October 2012 to November 2013.]

Quotes

• Faith, received from God as a supernatural gift, becomes a light for our way, guiding our journey through time
  • §4

• Faith becomes operative in the Christian on the basis of the gift received, the love which attracts our hearts to Christ (cf. Gal 5:6), and enables us to become part of the Church’s great pilgrimage through history until the end of the world. For those who have been transformed in this way, a new way of seeing opens up, faith becomes light for their eyes.
  • §22

• An image of this seeking can be seen in the Magi, who were led to Bethlehem by the star (cf. Mt 2:1-12). For them God’s light appeared as a journey to be undertaken, a star which led them on a path of discovery.
  • §35

• Since faith is a light, it draws us into itself, inviting us to explore ever more fully the horizon which it illumines, all the better to know the object of our love.
  • §36

• Faith is passed on, we might say, by contact, from one person to another, just as one candle is lighted from another
  • §37

• All the truths in which we believe point to the mystery of the new life of faith as a journey of communion with the living God.
  • §45