|
Click here to go back to the archive menu.
| |
| Eternal Life |
| |
|
“Eternal” suggests to us the idea of something interminable, and this frightens us; “life” makes us think of the life that we know and love and do not want to lose, even though very often it brings more toil than satisfaction, so that while on the one hand we desire it, on the other hand we do not want it. To imagine ourselves outside the temporality that imprisons us and in some way to sense that eternity is not an unending succession of days in the calendar, but something more like the supreme moment of satisfaction, in which totality embraces us and we embrace totality—this we can only attempt. It would be like plunging into the ocean of infinite love, a moment in which time—the before and after—no longer exists.
|
|
Encyclical Letter
Spe Salvi
|
| |
|
| |
| Eternal Life |
| |
|
Our life becomes authentic and true life, and thus eternal life, when we know the One who is the source of all being and all life.
|
|
Homily
Mass of the Lord's Supper
Basilica of St John Lateran
1st April 2010
|
| |
|
| |
| Eternal Life |
| |
|
In some way we want life itself, true life, untouched even by death; yet at the same time we do not know the thing towards which we feel driven. We cannot stop reaching out for it, and yet we know that all we can experience or accomplish is not what we yearn for. This unknown “thing” is the true “hope” which drives us, and at the same time the fact that it is unknown is the cause of all forms of despair and also of all efforts, whether positive or destructive, directed towards worldly authenticity and human authenticity. The term “eternal life” is intended to give a name to this known “unknown”. Inevitably it is an inadequate term that creates confusion. “Eternal”, in fact, suggests to us the idea of something interminable, and this frightens us; “life” makes us think of the life that we know and love and do not want to lose, even though very often it brings more toil than satisfaction, so that while on the one hand we desire it, on the other hand we do not want it. To imagine ourselves outside the temporality that imprisons us and in some way to sense that eternity is not an unending succession of days in the calendar, but something more like the supreme moment of satisfaction, in which totality embraces us and we embrace totality—this we can only attempt. It would be like plunging into the ocean of infinite love, a moment in which time—the before and after—no longer exists. We can only attempt to grasp the idea that such a moment is life in the full sense, a plunging ever anew into the vastness of being, in which we are simply overwhelmed with joy.
|
|
Encyclical Letter
'Spe Salvi'
|
| |
|
| |
| Eternal Life |
| |
|
Already in Greek philosophy we encounter the idea that man can find eternal life if he clings to what is indestructible – to truth, which is eternal. He needs, as it were, to be full of truth in order to bear within himself the stuff of eternity. But only if truth is a Person, can it lead me through the night of death. We cling to God – to Jesus Christ the Risen One. And thus we are led by the One who is himself Life. In this relationship we too live by passing through death, since we are not forsaken by the One who is himself Life.
|
|
Homily
Mass of the Lord's Supper
Basilica of St John Lateran
1st April 2010
|
| |
|
| |
| Eternal Life |
| |
|
We ourselves cannot achieve the greatest things, (friendship, love, joy and happiness), they come to us only as a gift…Today almost no one speaks of eternal life which, in the past, was the true object of hope. Since people no longer dare believe in it, they must hope to obtain everything in this life. Setting aside hope in eternal life leads to greed for life here and now, which almost inevitably becomes selfish and, in the end, unattainable. Precisely when we want to take possession of life as a kind of treasure, it escapes us.
|
|
Message to participants
'Kirchentag' Ecumenical Event
held in Munich, Germany
15 May 2010
|
| |
|
| |
| Eternal Life |
| |
|
We have heard Jesus: this is eternal life, that they may know you – God – and the one whom you have sent, Jesus Christ. Much to our surprise, we are told that life is knowledge. This means first of all that life is relationship. No one has life from himself and only for himself. We have it from others and in a relationship with others. If it is a relationship in truth and love, a giving and receiving, it gives fullness to life and makes it beautiful.
|
|
Homily
Mass of the Lord's Supper
Basilica of St John Lateran
1st April 2010
|
| |
|
| |
| Eternal Life |
| |
|
By raising our eyes towards the Crucified one, we adore him who came to take upon himself the sin of the world and to give us eternal life.
|
|
Homily
Lourdes, France
14 September 2008
|
| |
|
| |
| Eternal Life |
| |
|
As believers, we are already with the Lord in our lifetime; our future, eternal life, has already begun.
|
|
General Audience
Paul VI Audience Hall
12 November 2008
|
| |
|
<< Back
1
2
3
More >>
|
