Yesterday at Mass after my pastor gave a homily on the readings he then went on to read from parts of the Pope’s encyclical Deus Caritas Est and also preached on the subject. He mentioned the fact that a Pope’s first encyclical is often seen and used as a roadmap for a pontificate. Now I have heard this before and I think it is true as far as it goes, but these first encyclicals also go much further than this. Deus Caritas Est is not just a roadmap for Pope Benedict’s XVI’s pontificate, but it is in fact a roadmap for all of us. As St. Terese said "0 Jesus, my Love, my vocation, at last I have found it … my vocation is Love!" This encyclical is a call to remind us of the dual and synchronous vocation of love of God and neighbor for all of us.
