Benedict XVI: God Has A Face

In a questions–and answers–session with the clergy of Rome on February 22, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI returned to what had already become a leitmotif of his teaching: the mystery of the Face of Christ.  Throughout his pontificate, Pope Benedict XVI directed our gaze to the Holy Face and to the Pierced Side, never separating the Face of Jesus from His Sacred Heart.

Brought Near to God in Christ

Saint Paul says in his Letter to the Ephesians: “Remember that you were at that time… having no hope and without God…. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near” (Eph 2: 12-13). Thus, life has a meaning that guides me even through difficulties.

Christ, the Living Face of God

It is therefore necessary to return to God the Creator, to the God who is creative reason, and then to find Christ, Who is the living Face of God. Let us say that here there is a reciprocity. On the one hand, we have the encounter with Jesus, with this human, historical and real figure; little by little, He helps me to become acquainted with God; and on the other, knowing God helps me understand the grandeur of Christ’s Mystery which is the Face of God.

The Face of Mercy

Only if we manage to grasp that Jesus is not a great prophet or a world religious figure but that He is the Face of God, that he is God, have we discovered Christ’s greatness and found out who God is. God is not only a distant shadow, the “primary Cause”, but He has a Face. His is the Face of mercy, the Face of pardon and love, the Face of the encounter with us.