卷一 信仰的宣認 - 第二部分 - 第二章 我信耶穌基督、天主的獨生子/THE ONLY SON OF GOD
| Chinese | English |
|---|---|
第二章 我信耶穌基督、天主的獨生子喜訊：天主派遣了祂的兒子422. 「但時期一滿，天主就派遣了自己的兒子來，生於女人，生於法律之下，為把在法律之下的人贖出來，使我們獲得義子的地位」(迦 4:4-5)。這就是有關「天主子、耶穌基督」(谷 1:1)的喜訊：天主眷顧了自己的民族，實現了祂向亞巴郎和他的子孫們所作的許諾，而且超越了所有的期待：竟派遣了自己的「愛子」(谷 1:11)來。 423. 我們相信和宣認：納匝肋人耶穌，在黑落德王和凱撒奧古斯都時代，是一位在白冷出世的猶太人，生於以色列的女子，他從事木匠工藝。後來於提庇留為王、般雀比拉多總督執政時，在耶路撒冷被人釘死。祂確是降生成人的天主永遠之子，祂「來自天主」(若 13:3)，「自天降下」(若 3:13; 6:33)，「且在肉身內降世」(若一 4:2)，因為「聖言成了血肉，寄居在我們中間；我們見了祂的光榮，正如父獨生子的光榮，滿溢恩寵和真理……從祂的滿盈中，我們都領受了恩寵，而且恩寵上加恩寵」(若 1:14,16)。 424. 受了聖神恩寵的感動和聖父的吸引，我們相信耶穌並宣認：「祢是基督，永生天主之子」(瑪 16:16)。這是聖伯多祿所宣認的信仰，在這信仰的磐石上，基督建立了祂的教會。 「宣布……基督那不可測量的豐富福音」(弗 3:8)425. 傳授基督徒信仰，主要是宣講耶穌基督，好能引人信奉祂。首批門徒一開始就滿腔熱忱地要宣講基督：「我們不得不說我們所見所聞的事」 (宗 4:20)。他們邀請各時代的人，都要進入與基督共融的喜樂： 論到那從起初就有的生命的聖言，就是我們聽見過、我們親眼看見過、瞻仰過、以及我們親手摸過的生命的聖言——這生命已顯示出來，我們看見了，也為祂作証、且把這原與父同在，且已顯示給我們的永遠的生命，傳報給你們——我們將所見所聞的傳報給你們，為使你們也同我們相通；原來我們是同父和祂的子耶穌基督相通的。我們給你們寫這些事，是為叫我們的喜樂得以圓滿(若一 1:1-4)。 教理講授的中心：基督426. 「在教理講授的中心，我們主要是講那一位，祂就是納匝肋人耶穌、聖父的獨生子……祂曾為我們受苦而死；復活後，如今時常同我們一起生活……講授教理就是揭開在基督身上天主的整個永恆計劃……這就是設法了解基督的言行舉止和祂所行奇跡的意義」。教理講授的目的是：「使人……與耶穌基督共融：只有祂能在聖神內引導我們歸向聖父的愛，使我們分享天主聖三的生命」。 427. 「在教理講授中，所教導的是降生的聖言、天主子基督——其他一切都是以祂為依據的……只有基督施行教導，其他的人不過是祂的代言人，讓基督藉他的口教導……每個傳道員應把耶穌奧妙的話貼合在自己身上：『我的教訓不是我的，而是派遣我來者的』(若 7:16)」。 428. 所以那奉召「講解基督」的人，首先應尋求「認識基督」的崇高價值，也要準備損失一切，「為賺得基督，為結合於祂」，並要「認識基督和祂復活的德能，參與祂的苦難，相似祂的死，也希望得到由死者中的復活」(斐 3:8-11)。 429. 從這種對基督的認識與愛慕，自然地湧出一種願望：去宣講基督及「傳播福音」，並引導別人信奉耶穌基督而說：「是」，同時，使人感到需要日益深入地認識這信仰。為此，依照信經的次序，首先介紹耶穌的主要名號：基督、天主子、主(第二條)。然後信經宣認基督生平的主要奧跡：就是祂的降生(第三條)、祂的逾越奧跡(第四及第五條)和祂的受顯揚 (第六及第七條)。 |
CHAPTER TWO I BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST, THE ONLY SON OF GOD The Good News: God has sent his Son 422 'But when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.'1 This is 'the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God':2 God has visited his people. He has fulfilled the promise he made to Abraham and his descendants. He acted far beyond all expectation - he has sent his own 'beloved Son'.3 423 We believe and confess that Jesus of Nazareth, born a Jew of a daughter of Israel at Bethlehem at the time of King Herod the Great and the emperor Caesar Augustus, a carpenter by trade, who died crucified in Jerusalem under the procurator Pontius Pilate during the reign of the emperor Tiberius, is the eternal Son of God made man. He 'came from God',4 'descended from heaven',5 and 'came in the flesh'.6 For 'the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father. . . and from his fullness have we all received, grace upon grace.'7 424 Moved by the grace of the Holy Spirit and drawn by the Father, we believe in Jesus and confess: 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.'8 On the rock of this faith confessed by St. Peter, Christ built his Church.9 425 The transmission of the Christian faith consists primarily in proclaiming Jesus Christ in order to lead others to faith in him. From the beginning, the first disciples burned with the desire to proclaim Christ: "We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard."11 It and they invite people of every era to enter into the joy of their communion with Christ: That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life - the life was made manifest, and we saw it, and testify to it, and proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was made manifest to us - that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. and we are writing this that our joy may be complete.12 At the heart of catechesis: Christ 426 "At the heart of catechesis we find, in essence, a Person, the Person of Jesus of Nazareth, the only Son from the Father. . .who suffered and died for us and who now, after rising, is living with us forever."13 To catechize is "to reveal in the Person of Christ the whole of God's eternal design reaching fulfilment in that Person. It is to seek to understand the meaning of Christ's actions and words and of the signs worked by him."14 Catechesis aims at putting "people . . . in communion . . . with Jesus Christ: only he can lead us to the love of the Father in the Spirit and make us share in the life of the Holy Trinity."15 427 In catechesis "Christ, the Incarnate Word and Son of God,. . . is taught - everything else is taught with reference to him - and it is Christ alone who teaches - anyone else teaches to the extent that he is Christ's spokesman, enabling Christ to teach with his lips. . . Every catechist should be able to apply to himself the mysterious words of Jesus: 'My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.'"16 428 Whoever is called "to teach Christ" must first seek "the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus"; he must suffer "the loss of all things. . ." in order to "gain Christ and be found in him", and "to know him and the power of his resurrection, and (to) share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that if possible (he) may attain the resurrection from the dead".17 429 From this loving knowledge of Christ springs the desire to proclaim him, to "evangelize", and to lead others to the "yes" of faith in Jesus Christ. But at the same time the need to know this faith better makes itself felt. To this end, following the order of the Creed, Jesus' principal titles - "Christ", "Son of God", and "Lord" (article 2) - will be presented. the Creed next confesses the chief mysteries of his life - those of his Incarnation (article 3), Paschal mystery (articles 4 and 5) and glorification (articles 6 and 7). |
第二條 「耶穌基督、天主的獨生子、我們的主」一、耶穌430. 耶穌按希伯來語解說：「天主拯救」。天使加俾額爾在預報救主誕生時，說祂的名字要叫耶穌，這名字同時表達了祂的身分和使命。由於「只有天主才能夠赦免罪惡」 (谷 2:7)，祂要藉自己降生成人的永遠聖子耶穌，「把自己的民族由他們的罪惡中拯救出來」(瑪 1:21)。這樣，在耶穌身上，天主總結祂的整個救恩史，以造福人類。 431. 在救恩史中，天主不但救以色列「擺脫奴役」(申 5:6)，使他們離開埃及，而且也救他們脫離罪惡。因為罪惡常是對天主的一種冒犯，只有天主才能赦免。因此以色列民，由於日漸意識到罪惡的普遍性，除了呼求救主的名字外，不能找到其他救援。 432. 耶穌的名字，表示天主自己的名字臨現在祂降生成人的聖子身上，好能普遍而確實地補贖罪過。這是唯一能夠帶來救恩的神聖名字，而且能被眾人呼求，因為藉著降生，祂已與眾人結合，以致「在天下人間，沒有賜下別的名字，使我們賴以得救的」(宗 4:12)。 433. 救主天主的名字每年由大司祭，以犧牲的血灑在至聖所的贖罪蓋後呼求一次，以補贖以色列的罪。贖罪蓋是天主臨在的地方。當聖保祿說耶穌「是天主公開立定，使祂以自己的血，為信仰祂的人作贖罪祭」時 (羅 3:25)，是表示藉祂的人性，「天主要在基督內使世界與自己和好」(格後 5:19)。 434. 耶穌的復活光榮了救主天主的名字，因為如今耶穌的名字完全表達了它的至高能力，它是一個「超越其他所有名字的名字」(斐 2:9-10)。邪神惡魔害怕祂的名字，而耶穌的門徒們是藉祂的名字施行奇跡；因為他們因祂的名向天父所求的一切，天父都應允他們。 435. 耶穌的聖名是基督徒祈禱的核心。所有的禮儀祈禱文都以這格式結束：「因我們的主耶穌基督……」。「聖母經」也以「爾胎子耶穌並為讚美」作為巔峰。東方教會常作的心靈祈禱、即那稱為「耶穌禱文」的，說：「主耶穌基督、天主子，可憐我罪人」。不少基督徒臨死時口中只呼號「耶穌」的名字，如同聖女貞德那樣。 |
ARTICLE 2 "AND IN JESUS CHRIST, HIS ONLY SON, OUR LORD" I. Jesus 430 Jesus means in Hebrew: "God saves." At the annunciation, the angel Gabriel gave him the name Jesus as his proper name, which expresses both his identity and his mission.18 Since God alone can forgive sins, it is God who, in Jesus his eternal Son made man, "will save his people from their sins".19 in Jesus, God recapitulates all of his history of salvation on behalf of men. 431 In the history of salvation God was not content to deliver Israel "out of the house of bondage"20 by bringing them out of Egypt. He also saves them from their sin. Because sin is always an offence against God, only he can forgive it.21 For this reason Israel, becoming more and more aware of the universality of sin, will no longer be able to seek salvation except by invoking the name of the Redeemer God.22 432 The name "Jesus" signifies that the very name of God is present in the person of his Son, made man for the universal and definitive redemption from sins. It is the divine name that alone brings salvation, and henceforth all can invoke his name, for Jesus united himself to all men through his Incarnation,23 so that "there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."24 433 The name of the Saviour God was invoked only once in the year by the high priest in atonement for the sins of Israel, after he had sprinkled the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies with the sacrificial blood. the mercy seat was the place of God's presence.25 When St. Paul speaks of Jesus whom "God put forward as an expiation by his blood", he means that in Christ's humanity "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself."26 434 Jesus' Resurrection glorifies the name of the Saviour God, for from that time on it is the name of Jesus that fully manifests the supreme power of the "name which is above every name".27 The evil spirits fear his name; in his name his disciples perform miracles, for the Father grants all they ask in this name.28 435 The name of Jesus is at the heart of Christian prayer. All liturgical prayers conclude with the words "through our Lord Jesus Christ". the Hail Mary reaches its high point in the words "blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus." the Eastern prayer of the heart, the Jesus Prayer, says: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." Many Christians, such as St. Joan of Arc, have died with the one word "Jesus" on their lips. |
二、基督436. 基督一詞來自希伯來語「默西亞」的希臘譯文，解作「受傅者」。若非因為耶穌完全實現了這詞所表達的神聖使命，它將不會成為祂的專有名字。因為在以色列，那些為執行天主賦予的使命而奉獻於主的人，才因天主的名而被傅油。例如：君王、司祭、以及少數的先知。而默西亞的情況應是最傑出的，因天主派遣了祂，是為正式建立祂的神國。默西亞應被上主的神所傅油，在同一時刻中成為君王、司祭和先知。耶穌以其司祭、先知和君王的三重功能，實現了以色列對默西亞的期望。 437. 天使向牧人們報告那誕生的耶穌，乃是天主向以色列所預許的默西亞：「今天在達味城中，為你們誕生了一位救世者，祂是主默西亞」(路 2:11)。從起初祂就是「父所祝聖並派遣到世界上來的」那一位(若 10:36)，祂是貞女瑪利亞所懷孕的「聖者」(路 1:35)。若瑟被天主召叫，要「娶他的妻子瑪利亞」，因為她已懷孕，「那在她內受生的，是出於聖神」(瑪 1:20)，務使那「號稱基督」的耶穌，生於達味默西亞後裔中的若瑟的妻子(瑪 1:16)。 438. 耶穌被祝聖為默西亞顯露了祂的神聖使命。「這是祂的名字所指示的。因為在基督的名字內，已暗示了那位傅油的、那位被傅油的以及那位傅油本身：那傅油的就是聖父，那被傅的就是聖子，且是在聖神內被傅，聖神本身就是傅油」。祂從永遠被祝聖為默西亞，在其現世生活中顯露出來，就是當若翰給祂授洗時，就是當天主「以聖神和德能傅了祂」(宗 10:38)，「使祂顯示於以色列」(若 1:31)，作為他們的默西亞。祂的工作和說話將顯示祂是「天主的聖者」(谷 1:24;若 6:69;宗 3:14)。 439. 許多猶太人，甚至一些懷有與他們共同期望的其他民族，在耶穌身上看到了天主許給以色列的默西亞、「達味之子」的基本特徵。耶穌接受了祂應得的默西亞名號，但有某種保留，因為當時一部分的人，用一種過分人性的觀念去看此名號，主要是政治性的觀念。 440. 耶穌接受了伯多祿承認祂為默西亞的信德宣認，並預告人子那已迫近的苦難的日子。祂藉「自天降下的」(若 3:13)人子的超然身分，揭露了祂默西亞王權的真正內容，正如祂藉受苦僕人的救贖使命所揭露的：「人子來不是受服事，而是服事人，並交出自己的生命，為大眾作贖價」(瑪 20:28)。為此，祂的王權的真正意義只有在祂高懸在十字架上時才顯示出來，但只有當祂復活後，祂的默西亞王權才能由伯多祿在天主的子民前當眾宣布：「所以，以色列全家應確切知道：天主已把你們所釘死的這位耶穌，立為主，立為默西亞了」 (宗 2:36)。 |
II. Christ 436 The word "Christ" comes from the Greek translation of the Hebrew Messiah, which means "anointed". It became the name proper to Jesus only because he accomplished perfectly the divine mission that "Christ" signifies. In effect, in Israel those consecrated to God for a mission that he gave were anointed in his name. This was the case for kings, for priests and, in rare instances, for prophets.29 This had to be the case all the more so for the Messiah whom God would send to inaugurate his kingdom definitively.30 It was necessary that the Messiah be anointed by the Spirit of the Lord at once as king and priest, and also as prophet.31 Jesus fulfilled the messianic hope of Israel in his threefold office of priest, prophet and king. 437 To the shepherds, the angel announced the birth of Jesus as the Messiah promised to Israel: "To you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord."32 From the beginning he was "the one whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world", conceived as "holy" in Mary's virginal womb.33 God called Joseph to "take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit", so that Jesus, "who is called Christ", should be born of Joseph's spouse into the messianic lineage of David.34 438 Jesus' messianic consecration reveals his divine mission, "for the name 'Christ' implies 'he who anointed', 'he who was anointed' and 'the very anointing with which he was anointed'. the one who anointed is the Father, the one who was anointed is the Son, and he was anointed with the Spirit who is the anointing.'"35 His eternal messianic consecration was revealed during the time of his earthly life at the moment of his baptism by John, when "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power", "that he might be revealed to Israel"36 as its Messiah. His works and words will manifest him as "the Holy One of God".37 439 Many Jews and even certain Gentiles who shared their hope recognized in Jesus the fundamental attributes of the messianic "Son of David", promised by God to Israel.38 Jesus accepted his rightful title of Messiah, though with some reserve because it was understood by some of his contemporaries in too human a sense, as essentially political.39 440 Jesus accepted Peter's profession of faith, which acknowledged him to be the Messiah, by announcing the imminent Passion of the Son of Man.40 He unveiled the authentic content of his messianic kingship both in the transcendent identity of the Son of Man "who came down from heaven", and in his redemptive mission as the suffering Servant: "The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."41 Hence the true meaning of his kingship is revealed only when he is raised high on the cross.42 Only after his Resurrection will Peter be able to proclaim Jesus' messianic kingship to the People of God: "Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified."43 |
三、天主的獨生子441. 天主子在舊約裡，是給予天使、特選的民族、以色列的兒女以及他們君王的一個名號。它表示一種義子的名分，即指在天主與受造物之間，建立特殊親切的關係。當所許的默西亞君王被稱為「天主子」時，按照這些章節的字面意義，並不一定意味著祂是超越人性的。那些以此觀念指耶穌為以色列的默西亞的人，大概他們所想說的也不外如此。 442. 但當伯多祿承認耶穌「是默西亞，永生天主之子」(瑪 16:16)時，卻是另一回事，因為耶穌隆重地回答他說：「不是肉和血啟示了你，而是我在天之父」(瑪 16:17)。同樣，保祿在說到自己在大馬士革路上的歸化時，也說：「從母胎中已選拔我，以恩寵召叫我的天主，卻決意將祂的聖子啟示給我，叫我在異民中傳揚祂……」(迦 1:15-16)。「他即刻在各會堂中宣講耶穌，說祂是天主子」(宗 9:20)。耶穌的神聖身分，自始就是宗徒信仰的核心 ，並首先由作為教會基礎的伯多祿所宣認。 443. 伯多祿所以能辨認耶穌默西亞天主子的超越特性，是因為耶穌清楚地讓此特性被了解。在公議會前，面對控告者的質問：「那麼，你就是主子了？」耶穌回答說：「你們說了，我就是」(路 22:70)。很久以前，祂就自稱是認識父的「子」，有別於天主過去給自己子民所派遣的「僕人」，且超越天使。祂把自己作兒子的身分跟門徒的分開，而從不說「我們的父」除非命令他們：「所以你們應這樣祈禱：我們在天的父」(瑪 6:9)；並強調了這種區別說：「我的父和你們的父」(若 20:17)。 444. 福音敘述了在兩個隆重的時刻：基督受洗和顯聖容時，聽到了父的聲音，稱祂為自己的「愛子」。耶穌自稱為「天主的獨生子」(若 3:16)，並用這稱號肯定祂先前存在的永恆性。祂要求人們信「天主獨生子的名字」(若 3:18)。基督徒的這種宣認，已在百夫長面對十字架上的耶穌而發出的驚歎中出現：「這人真是天主子」(谷 15:39)；因為只有在逾越奧跡中，信徒才能給予「天主子」這稱號終極的意義。 445. 是祂復活後，祂那天主子的身分，在其受顯揚的人性的大能中才顯露出來：「按至聖的神性，由於祂從死者中復活，祂被立為具有大能的天主之子」(羅 1:4)。宗徒們可以承認：「我們見了祂的光榮，正如父獨生者的光榮，充滿恩寵和真理」(若 1:14)。 |
III. The Only Son of God 441 In the Old Testament, "son of God" is a title given to the angels, the Chosen People, the children of Israel, and their kings.44 It signifies an adoptive sonship that establishes a relationship of particular intimacy between God and his creature. When the promised Messiah-King is called "son of God", it does not necessarily imply that he was more than human, according to the literal meaning of these texts. Those who called Jesus "son of God", as the Messiah of Israel, perhaps meant nothing more than this.45 442 Such is not the case for Simon Peter when he confesses Jesus as "the Christ, the Son of the living God", for Jesus responds solemnly: "Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven."46 Similarly Paul will write, regarding his conversion on the road to Damascus, "When he who had set me apart before I was born, and had called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles..."47 "and in the synagogues immediately [Paul] proclaimed Jesus, saying, 'He is the Son of God.'"48 From the beginning this acknowledgment of Christ's divine sonship will be the centre of the apostolic faith, first professed by Peter as the Church's foundation.49 443 Peter could recognize the transcendent character of the Messiah's divine sonship because Jesus had clearly allowed it to be so understood. To his accusers' question before the Sanhedrin, "Are you the Son of God, then?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am."50 Well before this, Jesus referred to himself as "the Son" who knows the Father, as distinct from the "servants" God had earlier sent to his people; he is superior even to the angels.51 He distinguished his sonship from that of his disciples by never saying "our Father", except to command them: "You, then, pray like this: 'Our Father'", and he emphasized this distinction, saying "my Father and your Father".52 444 The Gospels report that at two solemn moments, the Baptism and the Transfiguration of Christ, the voice of the Father designates Jesus his "beloved Son".53 Jesus calls himself the "only Son of God", and by this title affirms his eternal pre-existence.54 He asks for faith in "the name of the only Son of God".55 In the centurion's exclamation before the crucified Christ, "Truly this man was the Son of God",56 that Christian confession is already heard. Only in the Paschal mystery can the believer give the title "Son of God" its full meaning. 445 After his Resurrection, Jesus' divine sonship becomes manifest in the power of his glorified humanity. He was "designated Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his Resurrection from the dead".57 The apostles can confess: "We have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."58
|
四、主446. 在舊約經書的希臘文譯本中，天主啟示給梅瑟的那無可言喻的名字「雅威」(YHWH)，譯成了 «Kyrios»「主」。由那時起，主就成了最通用的名字，來表示以色列的天主的神性。新約利用「主」的這個圓滿意義的名字稱呼父，但新穎的是，也用來稱呼耶穌，藉以承認祂是天主。 447. 當耶穌跟法利塞人辯論聖詠第一百一十篇的意義時，祂含蓄地把這名號歸給自己，但對祂的宗徒們卻明顯地披露自己這名號。在祂的公開生活中，祂以行動克服自然、疾病、魔鬼、死亡及罪惡，都顯示了祂天主性的至高權能。 448. 在福音中，很多次，有些人走到耶穌跟前，稱祂為「主」。這個名號表示那些親近耶穌的人，對耶穌的一種尊敬和信賴，期待著祂給予他們援助和痊癒。在聖神的感動下而發出此種稱呼，則表示對耶穌天主性奧跡的承認，與復活的耶穌相遇，則成了朝拜：「我主，我天主！」 (若 20:28)因此，這稱呼帶有一種喜愛與傾慕的色彩，成了基督徒傳統的特點：「是主！」(若 21:7) 449. 教會把「主」的神聖名號歸於耶穌， 在初期的信仰宣辭一開始就確認：天主父應享有的德能、尊崇和光榮，也適合於耶穌，因為祂「具有天主的形體」(斐 2:6)，而聖父也顯示了耶穌這種尊威，使祂從死者中復活，並在自己的光榮中顯揚祂。 450. 基督徒從其歷史的開始，在肯定耶穌為世界和歷史之主的身分時，也要求我們承認：人不該絕對地把自己個人的自由，屈服於任何地上的權力下，而只應屈服於天主聖父和主耶穌基督：凱撒並非「主」。「教會深信，人類整個歷史的樞紐、中心和宗旨，就是在於她的主和導師身上」。 451. 基督徒的祈禱也以「主」的名號作為特色，無論在邀請祈禱時：「願主與你們同在！」或在結束祈禱時：「因我們的主耶穌基督」。甚或在充滿信賴與希望的呼喚中：«Maran atha»「主已來了！」或 «Marana tha»「主，請來吧！」(格前 16:22)，「阿們，主耶穌，祢來吧！」(默 22:20)。 |
IV. Lord 446 In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the ineffable Hebrew name YHWH, by which God revealed himself to Moses,59 is rendered as Kyrios, "Lord". From then on, "Lord" becomes the more usual name by which to indicate the divinity of Israel's God. the New Testament uses this full sense of the title "Lord" both for the Father and - what is new - for Jesus, who is thereby recognized as God Himself.60 447 Jesus ascribes this title to himself in a veiled way when he disputes with the Pharisees about the meaning of Psalm 110, but also in an explicit way when he addresses his apostles.61 Throughout his public life, he demonstrated his divine sovereignty by works of power over nature, illnesses, demons, death and sin. 448 Very often in the Gospels people address Jesus as "Lord". This title testifies to the respect and trust of those who approach him for help and healing.62 At the prompting of the Holy Spirit, "Lord" expresses the recognition of the divine mystery of Jesus.63 In the encounter with the risen Jesus, this title becomes adoration: "My Lord and my God!" It thus takes on a connotation of love and affection that remains proper to the Christian tradition: "It is the Lord!"64 449 By attributing to Jesus the divine title "Lord", the first confessions of the Church's faith affirm from the beginning that the power, honour and glory due to God the Father are due also to Jesus, because "he was in the form of God",65 and the Father manifested the sovereignty of Jesus by raising him from the dead and exalting him into his glory.66 450 From the beginning of Christian history, the assertion of Christ's lordship over the world and over history has implicitly recognized that man should not submit his personal freedom in an absolute manner to any earthly power, but only to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Caesar is not "the Lord".67 "The Church. . . believes that the key, the centre and the purpose of the whole of man's history is to be found in its Lord and Master."68 451 Christian prayer is characterized by the title "Lord", whether in the invitation to prayer ("The Lord be with you"), its conclusion ("through Christ our Lord") or the exclamation full of trust and hope: Maranatha ("Our Lord, come!") or Maranatha ("Come, Lord!") - "Amen Come Lord Jesus!"69
|
撮要452. 「耶穌」這名字，意指「天主拯救」。那位生於童貞瑪利亞的嬰孩名叫「耶穌」，「因為祂要把自己的民族，由他們的罪惡中拯救出來」(瑪 1:21)。「在天下人間，沒有賜下別的名字，使我們賴以得救的」(宗 4:12)。 453. 「基督」這名號，意指「受傅者」、「默西亞」。耶穌是基督，因為天主「以聖神和德能傅了祂」(宗 10:38)。祂是要來的那一位，是「以色列所希望的」對象(宗 28:20)。 454. 「天主子」這名號，意指耶穌基督與天主聖父的唯一及永遠的關係：祂是聖父的獨生子，祂本身也是天主。要成為基督徒，必須相信耶穌基督是天主子。 455. 「主」這名號，意指天主的至高權威。宣認及呼號耶穌為主，就是相信祂的天主性。「除非受聖神感動，沒有一個人能說：『耶穌是主』」 (格前 12:3)。 |
IN BRIEF 452 The name Jesus means "God saves". the child born of the Virgin Mary is called Jesus, "for he will save his people from their sins" (⇒ Mt 1:21): "there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (⇒ Acts 4:12). 453 The title "Christ" means "Anointed One" (Messiah).Jesus is the Christ, for "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power" (⇒ Acts 10:38). He was the one "who is to come" (⇒ Lk 7:19), the object of "the hope of Israel" (⇒ Acts 28:20). 454 The title "Son of God" signifies the unique and eternal relationship of Jesus Christ to God his Father: he is the only Son of the Father (cf ⇒ Jn 1:14, ⇒ 18; ⇒ 3:16, ⇒ 18); he is God himself (cf ⇒ Jn 1:1). To be a Christian, one must believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (cf ⇒ Acts 8:37; ⇒ 1 Jn 2:23). 455 The title "Lord" indicates divine sovereignty. To confess or invoke Jesus as Lord is to believe in his divinity. "No one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except by the Holy Spirit'" (⇒ I Cor 12:3). |
第三條 「耶穌基督因聖神降孕，由童貞瑪利亞誕生」第一節 天主子降生成人一、為何聖言成為血肉456. 我們以尼西亞‧君士坦丁堡信經，承認聖言「為了我們人類，並為了我們的得救，從天降下；祂因聖神由童貞瑪利亞取得肉軀，而成為人。」 457. 聖言成了血肉，是為拯救我們，使我們與天主和好：是天主「愛了我們，且打發自已的兒子，為我們做贖罪祭」(若一 4:10)。「父打發了子來作世界的救主」(若一 4:14)。「祂顯示出來，是為除免罪過」(若一 3:5)： 聖額我略•尼撒，《教理講述》：我們的本性患了病，需要醫治；墮落了，需要救起；死了，需要復活。我們失去了曾擁有過的財富，必須再還給我們；沉迷在黑暗中，需要給我們帶來光明；成了俘虜，我們期待一位救主；成了囚犯，我們期待一個援助；做了奴隸，我們期待一位解救者。難道所有這些理由都不重要嗎？既然人類已處於一種極端可憐與不幸的處境中，難道還不足以感動天主，使祂下降深入我們的人性來看顧它嗎？ 458. 聖言成了血肉，是為使我們因此認識天主的愛：「天主對我們的愛在這事上已顯示出來：就是天主把自己的獨生子，打發到世界上來，好使我們藉著祂得到生命」(若一 4:9)。「天主竟這樣愛了世界，甚至賜下了自己的獨生子，使凡信祂的人不至喪亡，反而獲得永生」(若 3:16)。 459. 聖言成了血肉，是為作我們聖德的模範：「你們背起我的軛，跟我學吧……」(瑪 11:29)。「我是道路、真理、生命，除非經過我，誰也不能到父那裡去」(若 14:6)。在顯聖容的山上，聖父命令說：「你們要聽從祂！」(谷 9:7)。事實上，祂是真福的典範和新誡命的準則：「你們該彼此相愛，如同我愛了你們一樣」(若 15:12)。這愛要求確實的自我奉獻，去作祂的追隨者。 460. 聖言成了血肉，是為使我們「成為有分於天主性體的人」(伯後 1:4)：「因為這就是聖言成了人、天主子成了人子的理由：為使人進入與聖言共融和領受天主義子的名分後，成為天主的子女」。「原來天主子成了人，是為使我們成為天主」，「天主的獨生子，為了要使我們分享祂的天主性，便取了我們的人性，為的是成了人之後的祂，能使人成為天主」。 二、聖言降生成人461. 再引用聖若望的話：「聖言成了血肉」(若 1:14)時，是把天主聖子取人性，為在人性內救我們這一事實稱為「道成人身」(incarnation)。教會以聖保祿所記載的一首歌曲來讚頌降生的奧跡： 你們該懷有基督耶穌所懷有的心情：祂雖具有天主的形體，並沒有以自己與天主同等，為應當把持不捨的，卻使自己空虛，取了奴僕的形體，與人相似，形狀也一見如人；祂貶抑自己，聽命至死，且死在十字架上(斐 2:5‐8)。 462. 希伯來書也談及同樣的奧跡： 為此，基督一進入世界便說：犧牲和素祭，已非祢所要，卻給我預備了一個身體。全燔祭和贖罪祭，已非祢所喜，於是我說： 看，我已來到…… 為承行祢的旨意 (希 10:5-7)。 463. 信奉天主子真的降生成人，乃識別基督徒信仰的標記：「你們憑此可認出天主的神：凡明認耶穌為默西亞，且在肉身內降世的神，便是出於天主」(若一 4:2)。這是教會一開始就有的令人欣喜的信念，致使她高唱「偉大的虔敬奧跡」：「祂出現於肉身」(弟前 3:16)。 三、真天主又是真人464. 天主子降生成人是唯一及無與倫比的事件，但並不是說耶穌基督一部分是天主，一部分是人；也不是天主性和人性的模糊的混合產物。祂確實成了人，但仍是真正的天主。耶穌基督是真天主，又是真人。教會在最初的幾個世紀裡，必須維護和澄清這端信德的真理，以對抗那些想把它歪曲的異端。 465. 最初的異端倒不是否認基督的天主性，而是否認祂的人性(唯識主義的幻象論)。從宗徒時代起，基督徒的信仰就強調天主子「在肉身內」的真正降生。但到了第三世紀，教會必須在安提約基召開的會議中，駁斥保祿‧撒莫撒達 (Paul of Samosata)，聲明耶穌基督是因本性、而非因繼嗣而成為天主子。325年的第一屆尼西亞大公會議，在其信經中宣認天主子是「聖父所生，而非聖父所造，與聖父同性同體」，並譴責了亞略 (Arius)，他認為「天主子來自虛無」，而且是「與聖父非同性同體的」。 466. 奈斯多略的異端認為，在基督內一個屬人的位格與天主子屬神的位格結合。與他持相反意見的，是聖濟利祿‧亞歷山大和 431年於厄弗所召開的第三屆大公會議，他們宣認「聖言在其位格內，跟那具有理性靈魂的肉體結合為一的時候，便成了人」 基督的人性除了天主子的屬神位格外，別無其他的主體，而這人性是祂在受孕時攝取而成為自己的。因此，厄弗所大公會議於 431年宣認，瑪利亞由於在自己胎中懷了成為人的天主子，故確實成了天主的母親：「說她是天主之母…… 當然不是說聖言的性體或其天主性，是出生於聖童貞。而是說，那個由她所生的具有理性靈魂的聖肉身，已與天主聖言合成一位，故聖言按肉身而言，可說是受生的那一位」。 467. 基督一性論者聲稱，基督的人性，由於被天主子的屬神位格所攝取，便停止存在。駁斥這項異端的，有 451年在加采東召開的第四屆大公會議，它這樣宣認： 步武聖教長的後塵，我們一致教導人相信：同一聖子、我們的主耶穌基督，具有完全的天主性和完全的人性，是真天主而又是真人，即具有理性的靈魂和肉身，按其天主性而論，與聖父同一性體；按人性而論，則與我人同一性體，即「在各方面與我們相似，只是沒有罪過」 (希 4:15)。祂按天主性而論，是在萬世之前，由聖父所生；但按人性而論，則在近世，為了我們並為了我們的得救，由天主之母童貞瑪利亞所生。 我們該承認：在同一基督、主、獨生子身上，具有兩個本性，彼此毫不混淆、毫不變更、毫不分割、毫不相離。但兩個本性的區別絕不因它們的結合而消失，反而能保持各自的特性，結合在同一個位格和主體內。 468. 自從加采東大公會議後，有些人把基督的人性視作一個位格主體。為駁斥這些人，553年在君士坦丁堡召開的第五屆大公會議，發表了有關基督的聲明：「只有一個主體(或位格)……就是我們的主耶穌基督， 聖三中的一位」，因此，在基督人性內的一切，都應歸屬於祂的天主性位格，作為自己的主體，不但是奇跡，而且也包括痛苦甚至死亡：「我們的主耶穌基督，其肉體被釘於十字架上者，乃是真天主、榮耀的主和聖三中的一位」。 469.這樣，教會宣認耶穌是不可分的真天主和真人。祂確實是天主子，成了人、成為我們的弟兄，但並不因此而終止其為天主、我們的主： 羅馬禮儀唱道：「過去所有的，如今仍保存；過去沒有的，如今則攝取」。金口聖若望的禮儀則這樣歌頌和詠唱：「啊，天主的獨生子和聖言！祢是不死不滅的，但為了我們的得救，祢卻甘願在天主聖母童貞瑪利亞胎中降生成人。祢是永恆不變的，卻成了人並被人釘死。啊，基督天主！祢以祢的死亡戰勝了死亡，祢是聖三中的一位，與聖父聖神同受光榮，求祢拯救我們」！ 四、天主聖子如何是人470. 由於在聖子降生的奧妙結合中「人性被攝取，但並不因此而消失」，使得教會在過去的世紀中，承認基督人性的完整事實，它具有理智和意志的各項功能；教會同樣一有機會就提醒我們，基督的人性隸屬於攝取它的天主子的屬神位格。祂在這人性內所是和所做的一切，都來自「聖三中的一位」。因此，天主子把祂在聖三內的位格存在方式，傳授給祂的人性。故此，在其靈魂內一如在其肉身上，基督都以人的方式表達聖三的屬神舉止。 天主聖子……用人的手工作，用人的理智思想，用人的意志行動，用人的心去愛。祂由童貞瑪利亞誕生，確實成了我們中的一個，除了罪惡外，完全與我們相似。 基督的靈魂和祂人性的知識471. 亞坡林‧勞提西亞 (Apollinarius of Laodicaea)認為，聖言在基督內取代了靈魂或神魂的位置。針對這項錯誤，教會宣認永遠的聖子，也取了一個人的理性靈魂。 472. 天主子所攝取的人性靈魂，具有真正人類的知識。由於是人的知識，它本身不可能是無限的，它要在時空內按它生存的歷史情況下運作。為這緣故，天主子成了人後，能夠「在智慧、年齡和恩寵上，漸漸地增長」(路 2:52)，而且也須詢問一些在人生處境下靠經驗才能獲知的事情。這完全符合祂取了「奴僕形體」(斐 2:7)，甘願貶抑自己的事實。 473. 不過，同時，天主子的這種真正人性的知識，表達了祂位格的屬神生命。「天主子的人性，不是憑自己，而是憑它與聖言的結合，在基督的位格內，認識及顯示那一切適合於天主的事情」。首先，就是成了人的天主子，對其天父的那種親密和直接的認識。天主子即使在祂的人性認知中，也顯示出屬神的洞悉力，透視人心中隱密的思想。 474. 由於基督的人性知識與天主性的智慧結合於降生聖言的位格中，基督完全明白祂要來啟示的永恆計劃。 祂在這領域說不知道的事，在別處卻聲明祂沒有使命予以揭露。 基督的人性意志475. 同樣，教會在第六屆大公會議中，宣認基督有兩個意志和自然地有兩個本性的運作，即天主性的和人性的，兩者並不對抗，卻互相合作，務使降生的聖言，聽從父命，以人性願意接受祂跟天主聖父和聖神，為了我們的得救所決定的一切。基督的人性意志，「絕不抗拒或勉強追隨，反倒甘心服從全能天主的意願」。 基督的真正的肉身476. 由於聖言成了血肉，取了真正的人性，基督的肉身就有了局限，因此基督人性的外貌可被「描繪出來」(迦 3:1)。在第七屆大公會議上，教會承認以「可敬而神聖的形象」去表達基督是合法的。 477. 同時，教會時常在耶穌身上，明認「那不可見的聖言出現在我們有形的肉身上」。事實上，基督肉身的個人特徵，表達出天主子的屬神位格。這些特徵構成了祂肉身的輪廓，以致可描繪在一張聖像上而受人尊崇，因為尊崇聖像的信徒，「實際上是尊崇那聖像所表現的人物」。 降生成人的聖言的心478. 耶穌在祂的生活、痛苦和受難中，認識並愛了我們每一個人和所有的人，並為了我們每人奉獻了自己：「天主子愛了我，且為我捨棄了自己」(迦 2:20)。祂以人的心愛了我們眾人。為此，為了我們的罪和我們的得救而被刺透的耶穌聖心，「是被視為那無限慈愛的主要標記和象徵，神聖的救贖主就是以這愛不斷地愛永恆聖父和所有的人」。 撮要479. 到了天主所定的時刻， 聖父的獨生子、永遠的聖言，即聖父的聖言和實體肖象降生成人，取了人性，並不失落祂的天主性。 480. 耶穌基督在其唯一的天主性位格中，是真天主又是真人；為這緣故，祂是天主與人之間的唯一中保。 481. 耶穌基督有兩個本性，即天主性和人性；兩者並不相混淆，卻結合於天主聖子唯一的位格中。 482. 基督由於是真天主和真人，便具有完全符合和順從天主理智和意志的人性理智和意志，而天主的理智和意志是祂與聖父和聖神所共享的。 483. 因此，降生成人是天主性和人性在聖言的唯一位格內奇妙結合的奧跡。 |
Article 3 "HE WAS CONCEIVED BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, AND WAS BORN OF THE VIRGIN MARY" Paragraph 1. THE SON OF GOD BECAME MAN I. WHY DID THE WORD BECOME FLESH? 456 With the Nicene Creed, we answer by confessing: "For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven; by the power of the Holy Spirit, he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and was made man." 457 The Word became flesh for us in order to save us by reconciling us with God, who "loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins": "the Father has sent his Son as the Saviour of the world", and "he was revealed to take away sins":70 Sick, our nature demanded to be healed; fallen, to be raised up; dead, to rise again. We had lost the possession of the good; it was necessary for it to be given back to us. Closed in the darkness, it was necessary to bring us the light; captives, we awaited a Saviour; prisoners, help; slaves, a liberator. Are these things minor or insignificant? Did they not move God to descend to human nature and visit it, since humanity was in so miserable and unhappy a state?71 458 The Word became flesh so that thus we might know God's love: "In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him."72 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."73 459 The Word became flesh to be our model of holiness: "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me." "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me."74 On the mountain of the Transfiguration, the Father commands: "Listen to him!"75 Jesus is the model for the Beatitudes and the norm of the new law: "Love one another as I have loved you."76 This love implies an effective offering of oneself, after his example.77 460 The Word became flesh to make us "partakers of the divine nature":78 "For this is why the Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man, by entering into communion with the Word and thus receiving divine sonship, might become a son of God."79 "For the Son of God became man so that we might become God."80 "The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods."81 II. THE INCARNATION 461 Taking up St. John's expression, "The Word became flesh",82 The Church calls "Incarnation" the fact that the Son of God assumed a human nature in order to accomplish our salvation in it. In a hymn cited by St. Paul, the Church sings the mystery of the Incarnation: Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. and being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.83 462 The Letter to the Hebrews refers to the same mystery: Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, "Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, Lo, I have come to do your will, O God."84 463 Belief in the true Incarnation of the Son of God is the distinctive sign of Christian faith: "By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit which confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God."85 Such is the joyous conviction of the Church from her beginning whenever she sings "the mystery of our religion": "He was manifested in the flesh."86 III. TRUE GOD AND TRUE MAN 464 The unique and altogether singular event of the Incarnation of the Son of God does not mean that Jesus Christ is part God and part man, nor does it imply that he is the result of a confused mixture of the divine and the human. He became truly man while remaining truly God. Jesus Christ is true God and true man. 465 The first heresies denied not so much Christ's divinity as his true humanity (Gnostic Docetism). From apostolic times the Christian faith has insisted on the true incarnation of God's Son "come in the flesh".87 But already in the third century, the Church in a council at Antioch had to affirm against Paul of Samosata that Jesus Christ is Son of God by nature and not by adoption. the first ecumenical council of Nicaea in 325 confessed in its Creed that the Son of God is "begotten, not made, of the same substance (homoousios) as the Father", and condemned Arius, who had affirmed that the Son of God "came to be from things that were not" and that he was "from another substance" than that of the Father.88 466 The Nestorian heresy regarded Christ as a human person joined to the divine person of God's Son. Opposing this heresy, St. Cyril of Alexandria and the third ecumenical council, at Ephesus in 431, confessed "that the Word, uniting to himself in his person the flesh animated by a rational soul, became man."89 Christ's humanity has no other subject than the divine person of the Son of God, who assumed it and made it his own, from his conception. For this reason the Council of Ephesus proclaimed in 431 that Mary truly became the Mother of God by the human conception of the Son of God in her womb: "Mother of God, not that the nature of the Word or his divinity received the beginning of its existence from the holy Virgin, but that, since the holy body, animated by a rational soul, which the Word of God united to himself according to the hypostasis, was born from her, the Word is said to be born according to the flesh."90 467 The Monophysites affirmed that the human nature had ceased to exist as such in Christ when the divine person of God's Son assumed it. Faced with this heresy, the fourth ecumenical council, at Chalcedon in 451, confessed:
We confess that one and the same Christ, Lord, and only-begotten Son, is to be acknowledged in two natures without confusion, change, division or separation. the distinction between the natures was never abolished by their union, but rather the character proper to each of the two natures was preserved as they came together in one person (prosopon) and one hypostasis.92 468 After the Council of Chalcedon, some made of Christ's human nature a kind of personal subject. Against them, the fifth ecumenical council, at Constantinople in 553, confessed that "there is but one hypostasis [or person], which is our Lord Jesus Christ, one of the Trinity."93 Thus everything in Christ's human nature is to be attributed to his divine person as its proper subject, not only his miracles but also his sufferings and even his death: "He who was crucified in the flesh, our Lord Jesus Christ, is true God, Lord of glory, and one of the Holy Trinity."94 469 The Church thus confesses that Jesus is inseparably true God and true man. He is truly the Son of God who, without ceasing to be God and Lord, became a man and our brother: "What he was, he remained and what he was not, he assumed", sings the Roman Liturgy.95 and the liturgy of St. John Chrysostom proclaims and sings: "O only-begotten Son and Word of God, immortal being, you who deigned for our salvation to become incarnate of the holy Mother of God and ever-virgin Mary, you who without change became man and were crucified, O Christ our God, you who by your death have crushed death, you who are one of the Holy Trinity, glorified with the Father and the Holy Spirit, save us!"96 IV. HOW IS THE SON OF GOD MAN? 470 Because "human nature was assumed, not absorbed",97 in the mysterious union of the Incarnation, the Church was led over the course of centuries to confess the full reality of Christ's human soul, with its operations of intellect and will, and of his human body. In parallel fashion, she had to recall on each occasion that Christ's human nature belongs, as his own, to the divine person of the Son of God, who assumed it. Everything that Christ is and does in this nature derives from "one of the Trinity". The Son of God therefore communicates to his humanity his own personal mode of existence in the Trinity. In his soul as in his body, Christ thus expresses humanly the divine ways of the Trinity:98 The Son of God. . . worked with human hands; he thought with a human mind. He acted with a human will, and with a human heart he loved. Born of the Virgin Mary, he has truly been made one of us, like to us in all things except sin.99 Christ's soul and his human knowledge 471 Apollinarius of Laodicaea asserted that in Christ the divine Word had replaced the soul or spirit. Against this error the Church confessed that the eternal Son also assumed a rational, human soul.100 472 This human soul that the Son of God assumed is endowed with a true human knowledge. As such, this knowledge could not in itself be unlimited: it was exercised in the historical conditions of his existence in space and time. This is why the Son of God could, when he became man, "increase in wisdom and in stature, and in favour with God and man",101 and would even have to inquire for himself about what one in the human condition can learn only from experience.102 This corresponded to the reality of his voluntary emptying of himself, taking "the form of a slave".103 473 But at the same time, this truly human knowledge of God's Son expressed the divine life of his person.104 "The human nature of God's Son, not by itself but by its union with the Word, knew and showed forth in itself everything that pertains to God."105 Such is first of all the case with the intimate and immediate knowledge that the Son of God made man has of his Father.106 The Son in his human knowledge also showed the divine penetration he had into the secret thoughts of human hearts.107 474 By its union to the divine wisdom in the person of the Word incarnate, Christ enjoyed in his human knowledge the fullness of understanding of the eternal plans he had come to reveal.108 What he admitted to not knowing in this area, he elsewhere declared himself not sent to reveal.109 Christ's human will 475 Similarly, at the sixth ecumenical council, Constantinople III in 681, the Church confessed that Christ possesses two wills and two natural operations, divine and human. They are not opposed to each other, but co-operate in such a way that the Word made flesh willed humanly in obedience to his Father all that he had decided divinely with the Father and the Holy Spirit for our salvation.110 Christ's human will "does not resist or oppose but rather submits to his divine and almighty will."111 Christ's true body 476 Since the Word became flesh in assuming a true humanity, Christ's body was finite.112 Therefore the human face of Jesus can be portrayed; at the seventh ecumenical council (Nicaea II in 787) the Church recognized its representation in holy images to be legitimate.113 477 At the same time the Church has always acknowledged that in the body of Jesus "we see our God made visible and so are caught up in love of the God we cannot see."114 The individual characteristics of Christ's body express the divine person of God's Son. He has made the features of his human body his own, to the point that they can be venerated when portrayed in a holy image, for the believer "who venerates the icon is venerating in it the person of the one depicted".115 The heart of the Incarnate Word 478 Jesus knew and loved us each and all during his life, his agony and his Passion, and gave himself up for each one of us: "The Son of God. . . loved me and gave himself for me."116 He has loved us all with a human heart. For this reason, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, pierced by our sins and for our salvation,117 "is quite rightly considered the chief sign and symbol of that. . . love with which the divine Redeemer continually loves the eternal Father and all human beings" without exception.118 IN BRIEF 479 At the time appointed by God, the only Son of the Father, the eternal Word, that is, the Word and substantial Image of the Father, became incarnate; without losing his divine nature he has assumed human nature. 480 Jesus Christ is true God and true man, in the unity of his divine person; for this reason he is the one and only mediator between God and men. 481 Jesus Christ possesses two natures, one divine and the other human, not confused, but united in the one person of God's Son. 482 Christ, being true God and true man, has a human intellect and will, perfectly attuned and subject to his divine intellect and divine will, which he has in common with the Father and the Holy Spirit. 483 The Incarnation is therefore the mystery of the wonderful union of the divine and human natures in the one person of the Word.
|