The Pope's Saved by Hope ... or for those Latin lovers, Spe Salvi.

I have just finished reading the Pope's encyclical, Spe Salvi. I'll need to read it many more times, because it is a very deep and moving opus.

What struck me about it is that anyone can read it and get something out of it, even readers who are not theologians, or philosophers, but are regular folks, who have to make common and banal everyday decisions. In fact, I would argue, the encyclical letter was written with these latter individuals in mind. One immediate reading provides some clear, illuminating information. And, after that immediate reading, one gets the urge to dig a little deeper, and a little deeper, and even deeper still.

Quite frankly, although the Pope's encyclical is supposedly a message for Catholics, it is interesting that Catholics are only mentioned twice. Among those mentioned in important ways are Jews, Protestants, Romans, Saints and Christians overall.

In my cursory first reading, my favorite passage was the Pope's quote of St. Augustine:

29. For Augustine this meant a totally new life. He once described his daily life in the following terms: “The turbulent have to be corrected, the faint-hearted cheered up, the weak supported; the Gospel's opponents need to be refuted, its insidious enemies guarded against; the unlearned need to be taught, the indolent stirred up, the argumentative checked; the proud must be put in their place, the desperate set on their feet, those engaged in quarrels reconciled; the needy have to be helped, the oppressed to be liberated, the good to be encouraged, the bad to be tolerated; all must be loved.” 22 “The Gospel terrifies me” 23—

For an eloquent description of what the Pope's message really is all about, read John R. Allen, Jr.s column. I think he captures the essence of the Pope's encyclical letter here:

Benedict XVI is a classic music lover who, at age 80, still enjoys passing time at a piano keyboard. To evoke another musical metaphor, Spe Salvi amounts to Ratzingerian “variations on a theme,” reworking and refining key leitmotifs of his thought. The question is whether the new score in Spe Salvi will also catch the ears of those who, to date, have not yet started humming the tune.

Spe Salvi Benedict XVI encyclical Saved by Hope