Dear One and All:
Just as this was read in our refectory from
Pope Leo’s recent encyclical, we celebrated the
solemnity of the Holy Trinity. It is a very fine
description of the human person and the respect
she or he deserves. Peace, Michael
The human person: image of the Triune God
living God, revealed in Jesus Christ, who, as a communion of Persons — Father, Son and Holy
Spirit — is love itself in relationship, expressed in the mutual gift of self and in sharing with the
world. [51] As the Council recalled, human persons are called to communion with God and
“can fully discover their true selves only in sincere self-giving.” [52] Indeed their deepest
vocation is to enter into the Trinitarian dynamic of love received and shared.
expression in the face of Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word. By becoming man, the Son of God
enters our history and takes on human flesh, bringing with him the love that unites him to the
Father and the Holy Spirit. In him, “the mystery of humanity truly becomes clear” [53] because
his humanity is completely free, open to others, capable of building healthy and beautiful
relationships and committed to the total gift of self. Those who believe in him are engaged in
the great work of renewal that began with the mystery of his passion, death and resurrection,
and they cooperate in building up the Kingdom of God, learning to embrace all men and
women as brothers and sisters, children of one Father. In this way, both the proclamation of
the Gospel and Christian life, guided by the action of the Holy Spirit, tend to bring about social
consequences in the world. [54]
affirmation that men and women are created in the image and likeness (cf. Gen 1:26-27) of the
Triune God. Created for relationship, every human person is planned and willed by God to
enter into communion with him, with others and with creation. Human dignity does not depend
on a person’s abilities, wealth or position in life, nor on the right or wrong choices made;
instead, it is a gift that precedes and transcends each person, endowed by God as an
expression of his unfailing love. For this reason, the human person always remains the “way
for the Church” [55] and the heart of every authentic path of integral human development. [56]
[51] Cf. Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the
Church, Vatican City 2004, 32.
[52] Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 24: AAS 58
(1966), 1045.
[53] Ibid., 22: AAS 58 (1966), 1042.
[54] Cf. Pontifical Council For Justice and Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the
Church, 38.
[55] Saint John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Redemptor Hominis (4 March 1979),
14: AAS 71 (1979), 284.
[56] Cf. Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate (29 June 2009), 11: AAS 101 (2009),
647-648.
[57] Saint John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Veritatis Splendor (6 August 1993), 31: AAS 85
(1993), 1159.
[58] Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes,
26: AAS 58 (1966), 1046-1047.