The Second Vatican Council remains an extraordinary witness of this attitude on the part of the Church which, as an "expert in humanity", 5 places herself at the service of every individual and of the whole world. The Church's Pastors, in communion with the Successor of Peter, are close to the faithful in this effort they guide and accompany them by their authoritative teaching, finding ever new ways of speaking with love and mercy not only to believers but to all people of good will. The Church remains deeply conscious of her "duty in every age of examining the signs of the times and interpreting them in the light of the Gospel, so that she can offer in a manner appropriate to each generation replies to the continual human questionings on the meaning of this life and the life to come and on how they are related". 2 Hence the Church, as the People of God among the nations, 3 while attentive to the new challenges of history and to mankind's efforts to discover the meaning of life, offers to everyone the answer which comes from the truth about Jesus Christ and his Gospel. Jesus Christ, the "light of the nations", shines upon the face of his Church, which he sends forth to the whole world to proclaim the Gospel to every creature (cf. It is Christ, the last Adam, who fully discloses man to himself and unfolds his noble calling by revealing the mystery of the Father and the Father's love". For Adam, the first man, was a figure of the future man, namely, of Christ the Lord. Consequently the decisive answer to every one of man's questions, his religious and moral questions in particular, is given by Jesus Christ, or rather is Jesus Christ himself, as the Second Vatican Council recalls: "In fact, it is only in the mystery of the Word incarnate that light is shed on the mystery of man. Christ is "the way, and the truth, and the life" ( Jn 14:6). The light of God's face shines in all its beauty on the countenance of Jesus Christ, "the image of the invisible God" ( Col 1:15), the "reflection of God's glory" ( Heb 1:3), "full of grace and truth" ( Jn 1:14). No one can escape from the fundamental questions: What must I do? How do I distinguish good from evil? The answer is only possible thanks to the splendour of the truth which shines forth deep within the human spirit, as the Psalmist bears witness: "There are many who say: 'O that we might see some good! Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord' " ( Ps 4:6). Rather, it spurs us on to face the most painful and decisive of struggles, those of the heart and of the moral conscience.Ģ. The development of science and technology, this splendid testimony of the human capacity for understanding and for perseverance, does not free humanity from the obligation to ask the ultimate religious questions. It is proved even more by his search for the meaning of life. This is eloquently proved by man's tireless search for knowledge in all fields. In the depths of his heart there always remains a yearning for absolute truth and a thirst to attain full knowledge of it. Jn 18:38), he goes off in search of an illusory freedom apart from truth itself.īut no darkness of error or of sin can totally take away from man the light of God the Creator. Thus, giving himself over to relativism and scepticism (cf. Man's capacity to know the truth is also darkened, and his will to submit to it is weakened. 1 Thes 1:9), exchanging "the truth about God for a lie" (Rom 1:25). As a result of that mysterious original sin, committed at the prompting of Satan, the one who is "a liar and the father of lies" ( Jn 8:44), man is constantly tempted to turn his gaze away from the living and true God in order to direct it towards idols (cf. Called to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, "the true light that enlightens everyone" ( Jn 1:9), people become "light in the Lord" and "children of light" ( Eph 5:8), and are made holy by "obedience to the truth" (1 Pet 1:22). Jesus Christ, the true light that enlightens everyoneġ. Hence the Psalmist prays: "Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord" ( Ps 4:6). Truth enlightens man's intelligence and shapes his freedom, leading him to know and love the Lord. The splendour of truth shines forth in all the works of the Creator and, in a special way, in man, created in the image and likeness of God (cf.
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