Laudato Si 96: The Gaze of Jesus

Earth from Apollo 8The encyclical letter Laudato Si is available here on the Vatican website. The final theme of Chapter Two is “The Gaze of Jesus.” A quick introduction:

96. Jesus took up the biblical faith in God the Creator, emphasizing a fundamental truth: God is Father (cf. Mt 11:25). In talking with his disciples, Jesus would invite them to recognize the paternal relationship God has with all his creatures. With moving tenderness he would remind them that each one of them is important in God’s eyes: “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God” (Lk 12:6). “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them”(Mt 6:26).

This helps us avoid a false humility that places us in abject desolation. We are all sinners, true. But Christ invites each person with care and tenderness, very aware of our worth as daughters and sons of the Father.

About catholicsensibility

Todd lives in Minnesota, serving a Catholic parish as a lay minister.
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1 Response to Laudato Si 96: The Gaze of Jesus

  1. Liam says:

    Humility too often gets confused with modesty. Humility is a virtue; modesty not necessarily. Humility is the virtue of seeing yourself as God sees you. Modesty at its best is about avoiding the vice of grandiosity, but it often can veer into “false humility”.

    Mary’s interaction with the angel at the Annunciation is instructive. Mary’s first response has the character of honest modesty: Who, me, huh (looks around)? Her fiat, however, reflects genuine humility: she accepts and embraces God’s vision for her.

    FWIW, that’s my Scriptural go-to, as it were, when I am reflecting on my perspective.

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