Luman Fidei encyclical letter

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This is the 4th paragraph of the first encylical by Pope Francis released a week ago.
(bolding of selected sentences by me)

“A light to be recovered”

There is an urgent need, then, to see once again that faith is a light, for once the flame of faith dies out, all other lights begin to dim. The light of faith is unique, since it is capable of illuminating every aspect of human existence. A light this powerful cannot come from ourselves but **from a more primordial source: in a word, it must come from God. Faith is born of an encounter with the living God **who calls us and reveals his love, a love which precedes us and upon which we can lean for security and for building our lives. Transformed by this love, we gain fresh vision, new eyes to see; we realize that it contains a great promise of fulfilment, and that a vision of the future opens up before us. **Faith, received from God as a supernatural gift, becomes a light for our way, guiding our journey through time. On the one hand, it is a light coming from the past, the light of the foundational memory of the life of Jesus which revealed his perfectly trustworthy love, a love capable of triumphing over death. **Yet since Christ has risen and draws us beyond death, faith is also a light coming from the future and opening before us vast horizons which guide us beyond our isolated selves towards the breadth of communion. We come to see that faith does not dwell in shadow and gloom; it is a light for our darkness. **Dante, in the Divine Comedy, after professing his faith to Saint Peter, describes that light as a “spark, which then becomes a burning flame and like a heavenly star within me glimmers”.**4] It is this light of faith that I would now like to consider, so that it can grow and enlighten the present, becoming a star to brighten the horizon of our journey at a time when mankind is particularly in need of light.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Please give your thoughts – especially anyone experienced in Quantum Physics (I am a surgeon and deal with macroscopic things).

Without God, our atoms would fly apart….
 
Clarification: the Encyclical was signed on June 29th and published/released on
Friday July 5, 2013.
 
View attachment 17693Light is an important theological image in the Bible.

The first appearance is in Genesis, Chapter 1, verses 1-5:

From the New American Bible.

1 *In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, *

2 *the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss, while a mighty wind swept over the waters. *

3 Then God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.

4 *God saw how good the light was. God then separated the light from the darkness. *

5 ***God called the light “day,” **and the darkness he called “night.” Thus evening came, and morning followed - the first day. *
 
In the beginning of the New Testament, there are accounts of the Star of Bethlehem leading the shepherds and the 3 Magi to the Baby Jesus: The Light of the World.

MATTHEW 2:9-11 (NEW AMERICAN BIBLE)

9……And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.
10 They were overjoyed at seeing the star,
11 and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

View attachment 17709
 
From New Advent Catholic Encylopedia

The Transfiguration of Christ is the culminating point of His public life, as His Baptism is its starting point, and His Ascension its end. Moreover, this glorious event has been related in detail by St. Matthew (17:1-6), St. Mark (9:1-8), and St. Luke (9:28-36), while St. Peter (2 Peter 1:16-18) and St. John (1:14), two of the privileged witnesses, make allusion to it.

About a week after His sojourn in Cæsarea Philippi, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and led them to a high mountain apart, where He was transfigured before their ravished eyes. St. Matthew and St. Mark express this phenomenon by the word metemorphothe, which the Vulgate renders transfiguratus est. The Synoptics explain the true meaning of the word by adding “his face did shine as the sun: and his garments became white as snow,” according to the Vulgate, or “as light,” according to the Greek text.

This dazzling brightness which emanated from His whole Body was produced by an interior shining of His Divinity. False Judaism had rejected the Messias, and now true Judaism, represented by Moses and Elias, the Law and the Prophets, recognized and adored Him, while for the second time God the Father proclaimed Him His only-begotten and well-loved Son. By this glorious manifestation the Divine Master, who had just foretold His Passion to the Apostles (Matthew 16:21), and who spoke with Moses and Elias of the trials which awaited Him at Jerusalem, strengthened the faith of his three friends and prepared them for the terrible struggle of which they were to be witnesses in Gethsemani, by giving them a foretaste of the glory and heavenly delights to which we attain by suffering.
By Deacon Keith Fournier
2/24/2013
Catholic Online

The Lord Jesus has also shown us the way up the mountain. He has invited us into a new way of living in Him through living within the communion of the Church. Living in that Church we are invited to go into the world and invite all men and women, through the waters of the womb of Baptism, into the new communion of love where they can begin the process of conversion and transfiguration. Born again, we are all invited to join with Peter, James and John and cry out in our day: “It is good for us to be here.”
View attachment 17729
 
Norwich12 said:
This is the 4th paragraph of the first encylical by Pope Francis released a week ago.
(bolding of selected sentences by me)

“A light to be recovered”

There is an urgent need, then, to see once again that faith is a light, for once the flame of faith dies out, all other lights begin to dim. The light of faith is unique, since it is capable of illuminating every aspect of human existence. A light this powerful cannot come from ourselves but **from a more primordial source: in a word, it must come from God. Faith is born of an encounter with the living God **who calls us and reveals his love, a love which precedes us and upon which we can lean for security and for building our lives. Transformed by this love, we gain fresh vision, new eyes to see; we realize that it contains a great promise of fulfilment, and that a vision of the future opens up before us. **Faith, received from God as a supernatural gift, becomes a light for our way, guiding our journey through time. On the one hand, it is a light coming from the past, the light of the foundational memory of the life of Jesus which revealed his perfectly trustworthy love, a love capable of triumphing over death. **Yet since Christ has risen and draws us beyond death, faith is also a light coming from the future and opening before us vast horizons which guide us beyond our isolated selves towards the breadth of communion. We come to see that faith does not dwell in shadow and gloom; it is a light for our darkness. **Dante, in the Divine Comedy, after professing his faith to Saint Peter, describes that light as a “spark, which then becomes a burning flame and like a heavenly star within me glimmers”.**4] It is this light of faith that I would now like to consider, so that it can grow and enlighten the present, becoming a star to brighten the horizon of our journey at a time when mankind is particularly in need of light.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Please give your thoughts – especially anyone experienced in Quantum Physics (I am a surgeon and deal with macroscopic things).

Without God, our atoms would fly apart….
Click to expand...
It is interesting that you provide a quote from the recent encyclical; albeit it from the front of the text (of which is quite long).

I wonder indeed how many here have read this document? I say this merely because of the few replies to the topic you started - and an important topic at that!
 
Thanks very much for responding!
I admit I have only skimmed the more than 80 page encyclical.

But I was so interested in the title and the page I copy/pasted.

I am slowly going through the examples of light in the Bible or theology that I think are so important.

Next I plan to look at light elements in the Resurrection and then the photo-like image on
the Turin Shroud.

I will finish up with some neuroanatomy showing that the electrochemical reactions in the
thinking brain are like light.
 
Norwich12 said:
Thanks very much for responding!
I admit I have only skimmed the more than 80 page encyclical.

But I was so interested in the title and the page I copy/pasted.

I am slowly going through the examples of light in the Bible or theology that I think are so important.

Next I plan to look at light elements in the Resurrection and then the photo-like image on
the Turin Shroud.

I will finish up with some neuroanatomy showing that the electrochemical reactions in the
thinking brain are like light.
Click to expand...
Further to your post above, I fully understand the good path you are following. In no way do I mean to put you off in any way. I deal myself here entirely with the topic you have introduced and wish initially to emphasise some of the phrases you have used - which I find interesting - yes very interesting. They are:-

“quantum Physics…macroscopic things…atoms would fly apart…electrochemical reactions…neuroanatomy”

Personally I have no particular knowledge of the above. But this I would say to you----do you really think that these concepts have no connection either to religion or Christianity. And to be more precise - indeed to the encyclical under discussion. If you do (and I say this in absolute politeness) then you would in my opinion be very much mistaken. But somehow I think you do in fact make a connection, and may well expand it for yourself when you have completed your reading of the document.

Kindest regards…
 
Thank you Paduard – you wrote interesting questions in the post above. But you asked both sides of the question, so I cannot simply answer Yes or No.

But simply put:

God is the proximate cause of the entire universe.

For a demonstration of what I consider connected regarding religion, please see my two posts on July first in the Thread listed below. It is in the Popular Media section.

Thank you,

Norwich 12 (I am a member of the Friends of Julian Norwich Society, north of Sussex but live in the south of the USA).
Jul 1, '13, 9:41 am
april32010
Regular Member
Prayer Warrior Join Date: September 4, 2011
Posts: 3,537
Religion: Catholic

** LifeSiteNews meets Pope Francis **
 
Norwich12 said:
Thank you Paduard – you wrote interesting questions in the post above. But you asked both sides of the question, so I cannot simply answer Yes or No.

But simply put:

God is the proximate cause of the entire universe.

For a demonstration of what I consider connected regarding religion, please see my two posts on July first in the Thread listed below. It is in the Popular Media section.

Thank you,

Norwich 12 (I am a member of the Friends of Julian Norwich Society, north of Sussex but live in the south of the USA).
Jul 1, '13, 9:41 am
april32010
Regular Member
Prayer Warrior Join Date: September 4, 2011
Posts: 3,537
Religion: Catholic

** LifeSiteNews meets Pope Francis **
Click to expand...
Thank you for that - appreciated. Your text reads:

*"The basis of the Pro-Life belief is the fact that at conception, all humans have the Image of God in their Mind/Soul. The Basilica of St. Peter is in the shape of a dome, like the human head. In the center of the floor is the Papal Altar. Beneath it is the Tomb of St. Peter. The equivalent structures in the human head at the base of the interior of the floor of the skull is the Sella Turcica (like a saddle). It contains the Pituitary-- the Master Gland of the brain. Beneath it is the Sphenoid Sinus, like a crypt.

June 15th will be the 3rd visit to the Tomb of St. Peter by Pope Francis. That pilgrimage will confirm the Sanctity of Life."*

I can gather now where your science based comments are appropriate. Hopefully later we may continue this conversation. In the meantime if you have a copy of the encyclical on your computer, use the ‘find’ facility, and enter the word fragmenting. You might find the text there of interest.

Regards…
 
I have copy/pasted the first three paragraphs of the wonderful Homily of Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI at the Paschal Vigil (2009). The bolds of words about LIGHT are mine.
The Mystery of Resurrection

Saint Mark tells us in his Gospel that as the disciples came down from the Mount of the Transfiguration, they were discussing among themselves what “rising from the dead” could mean (cf. Mk 9:10). A little earlier, the Lord had foretold his passion and his resurrection after three days. Peter had protested against this prediction of death. But now, they were wondering what could be meant by the word “resurrection”. Could it be that we find ourselves in a similar situation? Christmas, the birth of the divine Infant, we can somehow immediately comprehend. We can love the child, we can imagine that night in Bethlehem, Mary’s joy, the joy of Saint Joseph and the shepherds, the exultation of the angels. But what is resurrection? It does not form part of our experience, and so the message often remains to some degree beyond our understanding, a thing of the past. The Church tries to help us understand it, by expressing this mysterious event in the language of symbols in which we can somehow contemplate this astonishing event. During the Easter Vigil, the Church points out the significance of this day principally through three symbols: light, water, and the new song - the Alleluia.

Light

**First of all, there is light. God’s creation - which has just been proclaimed to us in the Biblical narrative - begins with the command: “Let there be light!” (Gen 1:3). Where there is light, life is born, chaos can be transformed into cosmos. In the Biblical message, light is the most immediate image of God: He is total Radiance, Life, Truth, Light. During the Easter Vigil, the Church reads the account of creation as a prophecy. In the resurrection, we see the most sublime fulfilment of what this text describes as the beginning of all things. God says once again: “Let there be light!” The resurrection of Jesus is an eruption of light. Death is conquered, the tomb is thrown open. The Risen One himself is Light, the Light of the world. With the resurrection, the Lord’s day enters the nights of history. Beginning with the resurrection, God’s light spreads throughout the world and throughout history. Day dawns. This Light alone - Jesus Christ - is the true light, something more than the physical phenomenon of light. He is pure Light: God himself, who causes a new creation to be born in the midst of the old, transforming chaos into cosmos.

Lumen Christi**

Let us try to understand this a little better.** Why is Christ Light? In the Old Testament, the Torah was considered to be like the light coming from God for the world and for humanity**. The Torah separates light from darkness within creation, that is to say, good from evil. It points out to humanity the right path to true life. It points out the good, it demonstrates the truth and it leads us towards love, which is **the deepest meaning contained in the Torah. It is a “lamp” for our steps and a “light” for our path **(cf. Ps 119:105). Christians, then, knew that in Christ, the Torah is present, the Word of God is present in him as Person. The Word of God is the true light that humanity needs. This Word is present in him, in the Son. Psalm 19 had compared the Torah to the sun which manifests God’s glory as it rises, for all the world to see. Christians understand: yes indeed, in the resurrection, the Son of God has emerged as the Light of the world. Christ is the great Light from which all life originates. He enables us to recognize the glory of God from one end of the earth to the other. He points out our path. He is the Lord’s day which, as it grows, is gradually spreading throughout the earth. Now, living with him and for him, we can live in the light.

View attachment 17750
 
For a very scientific and religious explanation of the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin,
Please read the book from the year 2000:
The Resurrection of the Shroud by Mark Antonacci.

For the Catholic viewpoint please read the address by
Blessed John Paul II from May 24, 1998 found on
the Vatican website:

“The Shroud shows us Jesus at the moment of his greatest helplessness…”

IMO the 3-D image of the Crucified One is like an
X-ray image produced by the intense Light of the Resurrection.

This is my conclusion to a brief study of part of the
magnificent first Encyclical of Pope Francis.

For me that papal document is the answer to Saint Paul who wrote:

“Now we are seeing a dim reflection in a mirror; but then we
we shall be seeing face to face.”

1 Corinthians 13:12 New Jerusalem Bible
 
Norwich12 said:
For a very scientific and religious explanation of the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin,
Please read the book from the year 2000:
The Resurrection of the Shroud by Mark Antonacci.

For the Catholic viewpoint please read the address by
Blessed John Paul II from May 24, 1998 found on
the Vatican website:

“The Shroud shows us Jesus at the moment of his greatest helplessness…”

IMO the 3-D image of the Crucified One is like an
X-ray image produced by the intense Light of the Resurrection.

This is my conclusion to a brief study of part of the
magnificent first Encyclical of Pope Francis.

For me that papal document is the answer to Saint Paul who wrote:

“Now we are seeing a dim reflection in a mirror; but then we
we shall be seeing face to face.”

1 Corinthians 13:12 New Jerusalem Bible
Click to expand...
I have read all but the last section. It is very insightful. I don’t know what can be gained at the practical level, the real world level except that it reminds us that God " works even until now." It differs from a typical Encyclical in that it is readable.

Linus2nd
 
Thank you Linusthe2nd. I am still reading the Encyclical slowly. I am not a theologian or a physicist, just an elderly physician. And not a very good typist because I see that I had misspelled LUMEN at the beginning of this thread!

But the topic of the Light of Faith is fascinating – it seems to describe in religious terms the two properties of photons (from the Greek word for “light”).

Light is simultaneously a wave of energy and a stream of weightless particles.

The Catholic faith (more than any other) is that way – spirit and matter – prayer and sacraments – intersections of time and eternity with the physical universe.

View attachment 17780
 
Norwich12 said:
Thank you Linusthe2nd. I am still reading the Encyclical slowly. I am not a theologian or a physicist, just an elderly physician. And not a very good typist because I see that I had misspelled LUMEN at the beginning of this thread!
Click to expand...
But the topic of the Light of Faith is fascinating – it seems to describe in religious terms the two properties of photons (from the Greek word for “light”).
Click to expand...
Light is simultaneously a wave of energy and a stream of weightless particles.
Click to expand...
You cannot mix metaphorical, mystical discriptions with created reality. Indeed, Christ is the Light of the World. But that Light is not physical, it is, as it were, the influence of Grace upon the soul and intellect.
17780[/ATTACH]
Click to expand...
Again, you cannot mix spiritual realities and the structure of matter.

Linus2nd
 
Thank you.
But what about Transubstantiation?
The outward physical appearance of the bread and wine
remains objectively intact; but the substance changes into
Christ’s body and blood.
 
I read an article today on the Catholic Culture website by Carson Daly, a writer in New York.

Here is a paragraph (near the end)
of “Transubstantiation – the Literal Truth”

Ours is a God of magnificence and munificence. He is a Creator who delights in spirit and flesh. He is a Father who so loves the world that He sends His only Son in the flesh to redeem man. God is such a generous parent that He allows humans to become co-creators with Him–conceiving and bringing into the world new embodied souls. He is also a constant God Who, unsatisfied with sending His Son to a specific time and people, embraces, through the sacrament of the Eucharist, many times and peoples.​

I have thought that Incarnation and Real Presence were linked…
 
Norwich12 said:
Please give your thoughts – especially anyone experienced in Quantum Physics (I am a surgeon and deal with macroscopic things).

Without God, our atoms would fly apart….
Click to expand...
It’s interesting that you mention quantum physics because I was perusing the philosophy forums earlier in the week and came across this post (post 18):

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=808699&page=2
40.png
Markus61:
Sure, thank you for your interest
NeuroQuantology 2005 |Issue 2|Page 88-110
Syntropy 2012 (1): 90-103
and a ppt for another kind of explanation:
a-c-elitzur.co.il/uploads/articlesdocs/Missng%20Link.ppt

I have tried to cite articles easily accessible on the net.

I am not a physicist and do not pretend to understand the
theory, but as far as I am able to establish, the facts are beyond dispute,
hence my interest in the subject.

In a sense, this view also backs up the scriptures which assert that God is
also cognisant of both past and future.

Kind Regards,
Markus
Click to expand...
Anyway, they were very interesting reads (thank you for that Markus61 if you’re reading this 😉 ) although I am not a physicist either and don’t understand a lot of the theory. Here are the direct links if you want to look into it, because I thought of these articles as I read your quotation of Lumen Fidei:

Neuroquantology 2005: www.neuroquantology.com/index.php/journal/article/download/64/64
Syntropy 2012: sintropia.it/english/2012-eng-1-6.pdf
 
Thank you Balto!

Il looked at the thread about philosophers and the concept of past/future. Mainly I clicked on your link to Neuroquantology about the Entropy and Syntropy article. I had heard of entropy (a thermodynamic term but in general usage means a decline toward disorganization) --but I had to look up the new word “syntropy.” Apparently that means coalescence or leading to wholeness.

I look forward to reading the article and will post after that.

Thank you – small world – a few years ago I was supposed to write a coma research article for Neuroquantology. The editor is a neurologist in Turkey.
 
Norwich12 said:
Thank you Balto!

Il looked at the thread about philosophers and the concept of past/future. Mainly I clicked on your link to Neuroquantology about the Entropy and Syntropy article. I had heard of entropy (a thermodynamic term but in general usage means a decline toward disorganization) --but I had to look up the new word “syntropy.” Apparently that means coalescence or leading to wholeness.

I look forward to reading the article and will post after that.

Thank you – small world – a few years ago I was supposed to write a coma research article for Neuroquantology. The editor is a neurologist in Turkey.
Click to expand...
No problem! 🙂 Although Markus61 deserves the credit for finding the articles in the first place. Yeah, I had to look up the definition of syntropy too. Being a computational biology student I found the implications of syntropy for evolution to be intriguing, especially since life doesn’t seem to be tending towards entropy and becoming disordered. But the whole thing about faith being both a light from the past and future reminded me of the whole “coexistence of past, present, and future states” thing from quantum physics.
 
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