Have you ever picked up one of the pope's writings only to give up? Perhaps you've sludged through his difficult vocabulary for a time and chided yourself for not understanding better. Or maybe you haven't even attempted, knowing it was way beyond you. Well, take heart! John Paul II is difficult to understand not because you're dumb, but because you're normal. He's brilliant.
There are two other reasons why it's hard to understand the pope: First of all, he doesn't write in a linear fashion. Most articles and books proceed in a linear way: they have a beginning, middle, and end that progress in a straight line from thought to thought. But not the pope. The pope's writings are more spiral. He talks about something for awhile, goes away from it to talk about something else, and then comes back to his original thought, only on a deeper level. Instead of expecting the pope to always say something new, it helps to realize he often says the same thing, but only deeper.
Secondly, and this is the most obvious reason, the pope invents new vocabulary and terms such as the unity of the two, the nuptial meaning of the body, the feminine genius, and original solitude. Why isn't the pope content with using traditional vocabulary? Because he's an innovative thinker - he goes where no man has gone before. As a result, he creates new language to speak about new concepts and a new vision of the human person. And that's the purpose of this article: to provide a primer on the pope, to explain the ABC's of the pope's language.
A - it ALL begins with "gift." God created the world as gift. He created man and woman as gift. We are called to become gift. Why? Because God is Gift. The inner life of God is self-donating love: The Father pours himself out in Gift to the Son, the Son pours himself out in Gift to the Father, and the Holy Spirit bursts forth from their mutual, self-donating love. If we can get this image of the Trinity inscribed in our minds, then it can be our translator every time we encounter the word "gift."
And believe me, this word is everywhere. In fact, the pope's favorite passage from all of Vatican II contains the word "gift": "Man, who is the only creature on earth which God willed for himself, cannot fully find himself except through a sincere gift of self." (Gadium et Spes, No. 24). If John Paul II hadn't been elected pope, this passage might have receded into oblivion. Instead, the pope incorporates this passage into almost every document with the hope that it will eventually find its way into every day Catholic conversation.
But how are we to understand this phrase, "sincere gift of self"? By going back to the Trinity and using it as our translator. We are called to make a sincere gift of self in the same way as the Father and Son - in a way that is total, complete, holds nothing back, and bursts forth in fruitfulness. We can also see this gift of self on the cross for there Jesus' eternal gift of self to the Father is made visible for our eyes to see. His offering of self on the cross is total, complete, holds nothing back, and bursts forth in spiritual fruitfulness. This is the gift of self we are called to imitate.
While the holy father is quite fond of the phrase "sincere gift of self," frequently he uses his short-hand version: gift. When speaking about the way we mirror God's image in the world, he says: "To say that man is created in the image and likeness of God means that man is created to exist 'for' others, to become a gift." (On the Dignity and Vocation of Women, No. 7) When he describes a woman's vocation to motherhood, he says: "Motherhood is linked to the personal structure of the woman and the personal dimension of the gift." (On the Dignity and Vocation of Women, No. 18) And when he describes Adam and Eve's motivation for disobeying God he says: "This motivation clearly includes questioning the gift and the love from which creation has its origin as donation." (Blessed Are the Pure in Heart, General Audience of April 30, 1980) In other words, Adam and Eve questioned what was in the Father's heart, whether the Father's interior life was truly one of total self donation or whether he was motivated by the desire to withhold something good from them.
"Gift," then, for the pope, is his master key. If we understand it, we can unlock John Paul II's vision of the human person and access one of the greatest treasures of modern history.
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