Redemptor Hominis
Overview
Pope John Paul II promulgated Redemptor Hominis (Redeemer of Man) only five months after his election to the pontifical throne. The encyclical letter provided an outline for the objectives of his pontificate. Rooted in the pope's characteristic "personalism," the letter explores the far-reaching implications of the fact that "the Redeemer of man, Jesus Christ, is the center of the universe and of history." In section one, "Inheritance," the pope expressed the need to continue the work of the Second Vatican Council, especially with regards to ecumenism. In section two, "The Mystery of the Redemption," the Incarnation is placed at the very center of human reality, redeeming the true dignity of humanity and of all creation. In section three, "Redeemed Man and His Situation in the Modern World," the pope expresses that the condition of humanity in the world must be the concern of the Church because of the inherent dignity of man as confirmed in Christ. In the final section, "The Church's Mission and Man's Destiny," the Church is posited as the living reality of man's redeemed vocation, a reality that is most perfect in the Eucharist.
Top Highlights
“Man cannot live without love. He remains a being that is incomprehensible for himself, his life is senseless, if love is not revealed to him, if he does not encounter love, if he does not experience it and make it his own, if he does not participate intimately in it. This, as has already been said, is why Christ the Redeemer ‘fully reveals man to himself’.” (source)
“THE REDEEMER OF MAN, Jesus Christ, is the centre of the universe and of history.” (source)
“Our spirit is set in one direction, the only direction for our intellect, will and heart is—towards Christ our Redeemer, towards Christ, the Redeemer of man.” (source)
“The man who wishes to understand himself thoroughly—and not just in accordance with immediate, partial, often superficial, and even illusory standards and measures of his being—he must with his unrest, uncertainty and even his weakness and sinfulness, with his life and death, draw near to Christ. He must, so to speak, enter into him with all his own self, he must ‘appropriate’ and assimilate the whole of the reality of the Incarnation and Redemption in order to find himself. If this profound process takes place within him, he then bears fruit not only of adoration of God but also of deep wonder at himself. How precious must man be in the eyes of the Creator, if he ‘gained so great a Redeemer’65, and if God ‘gave his only Son ‘in order that man ‘should not perish but have eternal life’” (source)
“The truth is that only in the mystery of the Incarnate Word does the mystery of man take on light. For Adam, the first man, was a type of him who was to come (Rom 5:14), Christ the Lord. Christ the new Adam, in the very revelation of the mystery of the Father and of his love, fully reveals man to himself and brings to light his most high calling’.” (source)