La Parola 2025 edition: Credo

ISSUE 07 | MAY 2025

La Parola

CREDO © Daniel Ibáñez / EWTN News

An Angelicum Student Publication

LETTER FROM THE ASPUST PRESIDENT Dearest brothers and sisters,

Carrissimi fratelli e sorelle,

The 1700th anniversary of Nicaea invites not nostalgia but clarity. In returning to the Council’s confession—Credo in unum Deum—we are summoned to rediscover the shape of Christian faith as participation in the divine life, made possible through the Son who is God from God, Light from Light.

Il 1700° anniversario di Nicea non ci invita alla nostalgia ma alla chiarezza. Tornare alla confessione del Concilio—Credo in unum Deum—significa essere chiamati a riscoprire la forma della fede cristiana come partecipazione alla vita divina, resa possibile per mezzo del Figlio, Dio da Dio, Luce da Luce.

To believe, the Fathers insisted, is not simply to accept a proposition, but to be drawn into the very life of the one confessed. This year, that same confession has taken on renewed visibility for our community with the election of Pope Leo XIV—an alumnus of the Angelicum, formed in the tradition that has long sought to hold fides and ratio in generative tension.

Credere, insistevano i Padri, non è semplicemente accettare una proposizione, ma lasciarsi attrarre nella stessa vita di Colui che si confessa. Quest’anno, quella stessa confessione ha assunto un rinnovato rilievo per la nostra comunità con l’elezione di Papa Leone XIV— alunno dell’Angelicum, formatosi in una tradizione che ha sempre cercato di tenere insieme fides e ratio in una tensione generativa.

His election serves as a quiet testimony to the Church’s enduring need for men conformed to the regula fidei, capable of speaking peace not as sentiment, but as the fruit of the Resurrection, as our new Holy Father stressed in his very first words to his flock. The truths of Nicaea are not merely remembered; they are received again, lived again, precisely in the Church’s fidelity to her crucified and risen Lord.

La sua elezione è una silenziosa testimonianza del perdurante bisogno che ha la Chiesa di uomini conformati alla regula fidei, capaci di annunciare la pace non come un sentimento, ma come frutto della Risurrezione, come ha sottolineato il nostro nuovo Santo Padre nelle sue primissime parole al gregge. Le verità di Nicaea non sono soltanto ricordate; vengono nuovamente accolte, nuovamente vissute, proprio nella fedeltà della Chiesa al suo Signore crocifisso e risorto.

Let these pages, then, be approached not for novelty, but for nourishment—for echoes of the one Word, whose light has never ceased to illumine the path of those who believe.

Che queste pagine, allora, non siano cercate per novità, ma per nutrimento—per gli echi dell’unica Parola, la cui luce non ha mai cessato di illuminare il cammino di chi crede.

Sancta Maria, Sedes Sapientiae, ora pro nobis.

Father Joseph Hudson, OSB Presidente ASPUST LAYOUT & GRAPHIC DESIGN

Bénédicte Cedergren © Daniel Ibáñez / EWTN News

IN THIS ISSUE RESOLUTION OF THE PUST

LONGING FOR HOPE

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ACADEMIC SENATE ON THE

Lucy Taeuber

ELECTION OF POPE LEO XIV

YES, I BELIEVE!

Liam Daigle

BLIND FAITH

TO MARY, QUEEN OF PORTALS

HOPE AND RENEWAL

TO HAVE FAITH

AS FAR ROUND AS ILLYRICUM

Marci Vanderstraaten

MAN’S THIRST FOR GOD

Rafaella Figuerendo

LIGHT FROM LIGHT

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Taryn Watkins

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Father Joseph Hudson, OSB

THE COMMUNION

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DIMENSION OF OUR CREDO

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HABEMUS PAPAM!

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Leonora Tanushaj

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DEIFICATION GONE WRONG

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Sister Tereza M. Sinishtaj

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THINKING FAITH

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Cormac O’Hara

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Erica Saveri IZNIK

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Sister Bernadette Nguyen, OP

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Nico Lorenz Panlican LA BELLEZZA DEL CREDO

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Dominic Nalpon

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Judah Alexander Murdoch DE VERITATE RAPIENTE

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Father Joshua Joseph Moonjapilly, OP

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THE “WE” OF BELIEF

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Brother Amiel Joseph Sevilla, OSJ

A word from the editor Ancient and new: these are the words St. Augustine applied to God-

Antico e nuovo: queste sono le parole che Sant’Agostino ha applicato a

as-Beauty, the true Beauty that converted his heart. I felt this timeless

Dio come Bellezza, la vera Bellezza che ha convertito il suo cuore. Ho

pull of faith in a particular way last week in St. Peter’s Square. After

sentito questa attrazione senza tempo della fede in modo particolare

the thrill of white smoke, a sweet tension held the crowd, who

la settimana scorsa in Piazza San Pietro. Dopo il brivido della

collectively leaned toward the loggia. The ancient ritual was renewing

fumata bianca, una dolce tensione ha presa la folla, che si è inclinata

our Church, and we pilgrims were witnesses of it, waiting together,

collettivamente verso la loggia. L’antico rituale stava rinnovando la

cheering. I’ll always remember this pregnant pause, from the smoke

nostra Chiesa e noi pellegrini ne eravamo testimoni, aspettando insieme

and bells to the Habemus Papam, as a time of intense communal

e esultando. Ricorderò sempre questa pausa pregnante, dal fumo e dalle

gratitude and longing—longing to know our Holy Father.

campane all’Habemus Papam, come un momento di intensa gratitudine

I’ve been impressed by a similar longing in our poets

comunitaria e di desiderio—desiderio di conoscere il nostro Santo Padre.

and writers who have delved into the theme of “Credo” this year,

Sono stata colpita da un desiderio simile nei nostri poeti

enlivening ancient Nicaean wisdom with their own work. Every

e scrittori che quest’anno hanno approfondito il tema del “Credo”,

contributor is like a hopeful face in that crowd, a spiritual eyewitness

ravvivando l’antica saggezza nicena con le loro opere. Ogni collaboratore

raising a voice. I thank them all for sharing their words and images

è come un volto speranzoso in quella folla, un testimone spirituale che

that speak to our restless human desire to know and love God. May

alza la voce. Li ringrazio tutti per aver condiviso le loro parole e immagini

our heavenly Father bless us and our new Holy Father, Pope Leo

che parlano al nostro instancabile desiderio umano di conoscere e

XIV, who once also studied and wrote in these halls.

amare Dio. Che il nostro Padre celeste ci benedica e il nostro nuovo Santo Padre, Papa Leone XIV, che un tempo ha studiato e scritto in queste aule.

Gina Pribaz Editor-in-chief, La Parola

THE ANGELICUM JOYFULLY WELCOMES THE ELECTION OF OUR DISTINGUISHED ALUMNUS, POPE LEO XIV

The Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas – Angelicum joyfully welcomes the announcement of the election of the new Supreme Pontiff, Pope Leo XIV, Vicar of Christ, Successor of the Apostle Peter, Bishop of Rome, and Shepherd of the Universal Church.

This event marks a moment of grace and renewed hope for the entire ecclesial community and for all humanity. The academic community of the Angelicum offers fervent prayers to the Lord that the newly elected Pope may be filled with the light and strength of the Holy Spirit, so that he may lead the People of God with wisdom and charity in these times marked by profound cultural changes, global challenges, and new opportunities for evangelization.

At a time when the voice of the Church is called to resound with evangelical clarity in the many and diverse contexts of the contemporary world, our University—faithful to the mission entrusted to it by the Popes and rooted in the rich tradition of Thomistic thought—renews its commitment to place itself at the service of the Church’s Magisterium. Aware of the immense responsibility that accompanies the Petrine ministry, we wish to assure the new Pope of our spiritual closeness, our filial obedience, and our full willingness to collaborate in the ecclesial mission, in the spirit of communion, study, and teaching that has always animated the Angelicum.

Our joy is made all the greater by the knowledge that the new Pontiff is an alumnus of the Angelicum.

It was within these very halls that he completed a significant part of his formation, earning both a Licentiate (1983) and a Doctorate (1987) in Canon Law from our University. This solid academic path, cultivated in the heart of the Dominican tradition, helped to shape in him the theological depth and pastoral sense of justice that now accompany him in leading the universal Church. It is a source of deep consolation and pride to see one of our former students called to such a high service. This event reminds us of the great value of the educational mission entrusted to the Angelicum and strengthens our conviction that serious study, lived in the light of the Gospel and with a docile openness to the Spirit, can truly prepare men capable of serving the Church with discernment, humility, and wisdom.

Once again, we join the whole Church in giving thanks to the Lord for the gift of a new Pontiff, and we invoke upon him the maternal intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of the Apostles, as well as of Saints Dominic of Caleruega and Thomas Aquinas, and of all the saints of the Church.

Ad multos annos, Pope Leo XIV! Photos courtesy of the Midwest Augustinian Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel

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L’ANGELICUM ACCOGLIE CON GIOIA L’ELEZIONE DI PAPA LEONE XIV, NOSTRO ALUNNO

La Pontificia Università San Tommaso d’Aquino – Angelicum accoglie con profonda gioia l’annuncio dell’elezione del nuovo Sommo Pontefice, Papa Leone XIV, Vicario di Cristo, successore dell’Apostolo Pietro, Vescovo di Roma, e Pastore della Chiesa universale.

Questo evento segna un momento di grazia e di rinnovata speranza per l’intera comunità ecclesiale e per l’umanità tutta. L’intera comunità accademica dell’Angelicum eleva al Signore una fervente preghiera affinché il neoeletto Papa sia colmato della luce e della forza dello Spirito Santo, perché possa guidare con sapienza e carità il Popolo di Dio nel tempo presente, segnato da profondi mutamenti culturali, sfide globali e nuove possibilità di evangelizzazione.

In un’epoca in cui la voce della Chiesa è chiamata a risuonare con chiarezza evangelica nei contesti più diversi del mondo contemporaneo, la nostra Università, fedele alla missione affidatale dai Pontefici e radicata nella grande tradizione del pensiero tomista, rinnova il proprio impegno a porsi al servizio del Magistero della Chiesa. Consapevoli della grande responsabilità che accompagna il servizio petrino, desideriamo assicurare al nuovo Papa la nostra vicinanza spirituale, la nostra obbedienza filiale e una piena disponibilità alla collaborazione ecclesiale, secondo quello spirito di comunione, studio e insegnamento che da sempre anima l’Angelicum.

La nostra gioia si fa ancora più profonda nel sapere che il nuovo Pontefice è un ex alunno dell’Angelicum.

Proprio tra queste aule, egli ha compiuto un significativo tratto della sua formazione, conseguendo la Licenza (1983) e il Dottorato (1987) in Diritto Canonico presso la nostra Università. Questo solido percorso accademico, maturato nel cuore della tradizione domenicana, ha contribuito a forgiare in lui quella profondità teologica e quel senso di giustizia pastorale che oggi lo accompagnano nella guida della Chiesa universale. È motivo di grande consolazione e orgoglio vedere uno dei nostri ex studenti chiamato a un così alto servizio. Questo evento ci ricorda quanto sia preziosa la missione educativa affidata all’Angelicum, e rafforza in noi la convinzione che uno studio serio, vissuto nella luce del Vangelo e con apertura docile allo Spirito, possa realmente preparare uomini capaci di servire la Chiesa con discernimento, umiltà e sapienza.

Ci uniamo, ancora una volta, a tutta la Chiesa nel rendimento di grazie al Signore per il dono di un nuovo Pontefice, e invochiamo su di lui l’intercessione materna della Beata Vergine Maria, Regina degli Apostoli, nonché dei santi Domenico di Caleruega e Tommaso d’Aquino, e di tutti i santi e sante della Chiesa.

Ad multos annos, Papa Leone XIV!

© Daniel Ibáñez / EWTN News

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CREDO IN UNUM DEUM, Patrem omnipotentem, factorem caeli et terrae, visibilium omnium et invisibilium, Et in unum Dominum Iesum Christum, Filium Dei unigenitum, et ex Patre natum, ante omnia saecula, Deum de Deo, Lumen de Lumine, Deum verum de Deo vero, genitum, non factum, consubstantialem Patri: per quem omnia facta sunt.

Qui propter nos homines et propter nostram salutem descendit de caelis.

Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto ex Maria Virgine, et homo factus est.

Crucifixus etiam pro nobis sub Pontio Pilato; passus et sepultus est, et resurrexit tertia die, secundum Scripturas, et ascendit in caelum, sedet ad dexteram Patris.

Et iterum venturus est cum gloria, iudicare vivos et mortuos, cuius regni non erit finis.

Et in Spiritum Sanctum, Dominum et vivificantem: qui ex Patre Filioque procedit.

Qui cum Patre et Filio simul adoratur et conglorificatur: qui locutus est per prophetas.

Et unam, sanctam, catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam.

Confiteor unum baptisma in remissionem peccatorum.

Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum, et vitam venturi saeculi.

AMEN.

Ryland’s Greek Papyrus 6 is the oldest extant manuscript of the Nicene Creed, dated to the 6th century.

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THE “WE” OF BELIEF Liam Daigle

The Latin Church is accustomed to singing its profession of Nicene faith with the well-known and ancient words: credo in unum Deum. This symbol of faith, encapsulating in a creed truths of apostolic origin and episcopal confirmation, received its form from the baptismal liturgy and catechesis of the early Church. The first person singular, credo, highlights the faith of the individual, especially as this faith is received for the first time in baptism. Nevertheless, another important aspect of the profession of faith is the belief of the entire Church considered as the mystical body.

This perspective is expressed in a specific way in certain creedal formulations of the Eastern Church and the original formulation of the Nicene Fathers. For example, the Nicene creed presents its opening words in Latin translation as credimus in unum Deum.

In addition, some Eastern Catholic rites, such as those of the Maronite and Syro-Malabar Churches, begin their version of the creed by saying, similarly, “we believe in one God.” Pope St. John Paul II wrote in Ut Unum Sint that the Church must breathe with both of her lungs; the longstanding and traditional usages of the Eastern Churches, and the original wording of the Council, provide profound insight for us as

Western Christians as we profess our faith in Christ.

The Creed is both our individual profession of faith and a manifestation of our call to communion. The singular “I believe” (credo) highlights our individual adherence to revealed truth, while the plural “we believe” (credimus) emphasizes the spiritual bond that is inherent in such faith. With regards to this bond, a simple conclusion is that our faith is not meant to be practiced in private or in isolation from others, but it begins with the profound “we” that signifies the supernatural union of minds and hearts within the Church. This ideal of communion is reflective of the Lord’s desire that “they all may be one” (Jn 17:21).

In the end, regardless of one’s belonging to East or West, our faith in Christ is bolstered when we recall that this faith brings us into the community of the Church and establishes us in solidarity with all those who “holding onto the truth, hand on the Catholic and Apostolic faith.” As we remember the anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, let us pray for the grace of unity, that the bonds of fraternity and community be strengthened within the Church, and that each of us find ways to practice our faith in common.

Liam Daigle, from Worcester, Massachusetts, USA, is a seminarian for the Diocese of Worcester.

He is a first-cycle student in theology.

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To Mary, Queen of Portals Judah Alexander Murdoch

In the beginning was the WORD Who was and was with God Through Him were made all things that are “Let there be,” and there they were The nearest stone, the farthest star, The proud, the undertrod “Hail, full of grace,” the angel sang Who came from God on high “Let it be done” she said and He Who speaks all things with “Let there be” Became her son in Galilee And man was blest for aye For the “Fiat” of the Virgin brought The WORD to dwell with men Whose “Fiat” made the earth and sky And split the wet land from the dry Who came to bear our sins and die At the end of ages when The mighty sat on high seats And the prince of earth ran wild And a wicked king in Galilee Would cut the rose of Jesse’s tree And from his malice you must flee Who bore the Holy Child But He lifted up the lowly And He showed His mighty hand And the wise grew old for reasonings And the wealthy wearied of golden rings And in their pride the earthly Kings Scattered like so much sand But you now stand in Heaven’s door Threshold of the Way For you believed the prophecies That God keeps faith in His decrees Teach me to believe like thee Teach me how to pray Judah Murdoch, a layman from Louisville, Kentucky, USA, is an extraordinary student in the faculty of theology.

The Immaculate Conception, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, 1767–1768

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DE VERITATE RAPIENTE Nico Lorenz Panlican

Ravish me, O Truth so brightly astounding, carry me away along the paths of knowing.

Thy delightful rays my own eyes blinding, to see but Thee, thy splendors all glowing!

Ravish me, O Truth so kindly revealing, draw me after Thee by ways endearing.

Thy sure embrace—ah! my soul possessing, to be for Thee alone for eternity unending.

Nico Lorenz Panlican, a layman from Capas, Philippines, is an extraordinary student in the faculty of theology.

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La Bellezza del Credo Erica Saveri

La bellezza del Credo, luce di vita, perfezione di Amore.

Credo in un solo Dio… In un attimo la Parola Lascia respiro all’eterno…

Se si volta indietro vede l’immensità e non teme ombre.

Fiducia infinita perché sa che oltre c’è l’abbraccio sicuro del Padre che è guida e maestro ed è pieno e sommo bene.

Credo come forza, solida pietra miliare nel maestoso tempio del Signore.

Signore che accoglie, dona, plasma e rincuora.

Nel Credo volano il profumo intenso del Padre e del Figlio e del Santo Spirito, nell’intensità delle anime strette in una perfezione di amore che è una sola, quella Divina.

Erica Saveri, da Udine, Italia, è una studentessa nel terzo ciclo in Scienze Sociali.

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IZNIK Marcia Vanderstraaten

The stars of Abraham do not lie strewn across cloudless sky, waiting for gnarled fingers to sort them like some celestial abacus.

They drift gently on the sandy floor at the bottom of every heart, making friends with the shipwrecks of dreams, the detritus of broken love, the skeletons of impotent promises.

They sense the shadow of a doubt whenever one spreads above them; eyeless, they perceive it undulating through currents as it searches for hope to devour.

In 2014, an underwater basilica was discovered off the shores of Lake Iznik in Turkey.

The stars of Abraham stir occasionally, untroubled, biding their time.

They were born of a faith forged before the foundations of the earth like the other stars that share their name, a faith so deep you must drown yourself to find it.

After all, that is where faith lies – at rock bottom, buried in the depths of the heart where it can only truly be seen from above.

It is believed by some to be constructed as a result of the First Council of Nicea in 325 AD.

The stars of Abraham pulse gently, waiting.

God’s challenge to count them was a wager of love, And He never plays to lose.

And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” (Gen 15:5)

Marcia Vanderstraaten, a laywoman from Singapore, is a first-cycle student in theology.

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“THINKING FAITH”: RESTLESS TOWARD THE TRUTH Rafaella Figueredo

In the spirit of Nicaea and motivated by the mission to which St. John Paul II calls theology in Fides et Ratio, faith and reason can collaborate together in a restless diakonia (service) of truth. The Council of Nicaea fulfills this diakonia by relying on ontological ratio to better understand the truth the Church is called to serve. In an attempt to bring clarity to the truths of faith, Nicaea reaffirms the ontological and soteriological foundation of our Redemption. To respond to Arianism, which denied that the Son is truly and fully God, the Council Fathers borrowed the Greek term homoousion in order to affirm that the Son participates in the same divine substance as the Father. If the Son were not truly God, our redemption would fall short. In this way, Nicaea represents the first time the Church “thought faith” in an ecumenical pursuit of the truth, and it is a celebration of the greatness that can be achieved when theology opens itself to non-Christian logos.

Seventeen hundred years later, the Church must fulfill the diakonia of truth in a pluralized and relativized world. In The Many Altar of Modernity, sociologist of religion Peter Berger reflects on how relativization produced by pluralization leads to the end of “taken-forgrantedness.”1 Simply put, when surrounded by views and beliefs that differ, if not contradict, one’s own, one can no longer take one’s own certainties for granted. Two opposite extremes that emerge as two sides of the same coin are fundamentalism and relativism.

Fundamentalists try to impose their view as the new or regained taken-for-granted reality,

while relativists celebrate this uncertainty and may go so far as to declare that absolute truth does not exist or is simply not accessible. By taking part in humanity’s challenging journey towards truth, the Church goes against the relativist’s “defeatist attitude” that resigns when faced with the difficulty of arriving at truth—generating indifference, nihilism, and moral paralysis. With the humility that “every certitude arrived at is but a step towards the fullness of truth” (Fides et Ratio §2), the Church defies fundamentalists, who claim that only they possess and control truth in its fullness, and that anyone who does not share this view must be disregarded—or, in extreme cases, removed.

It’s not all bad—the bright side of relativization is that deliberate and reflective assent emerges more strongly as a part of restless faith, a faith grounded in metanoia, in thinking and rethinking. St. John Paul II draws inspiration from St. Augustine when he reminds us that faith is nothing if it does not think (Fides et Ratio, 79), and that the truth may initially come to the human being as a question (Fides et Ratio, 26). This means that believers must never be afraid to ask themselves questions, to preserve curiosity, and remain restless. For God makes us restless for Himself, so our hearts may fulfill the diakonia of truth, the veritas that dwells inside us.

How may theologians fulfill this diakonia? In Semi del Verbo Segni dei tempi,2 the fundamental theologian Giuseppe Lorizio draws an analogy from Millet’s painting The Gleaners. The theologian is called to “glean” the seeds of the Word in history, culture, art, science,

1 Peter L. Berger, The Many Altars of Modernity: Toward a Paradigm for Religion in a Pluralist Age (New York: Walter De Gruyter, 2014), 2-9.

2 Giuseppe Lorizio, Semi del Verbo Segni dei tempi (Milano: Edizioni San Paolo, 2021), 5.

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different disciplines, and religions endowed with truth. These seeds can be found by God’s gratuitous initiative to make Himself known.

God becomes flesh, becomes man to redeem all man, to offer to all the possibility of arriving at truth. The theologian embraces this gift, being near to the context while maintaining the proper distance needed to discern these seeds of truth and interpret them in the light of Revelation, that is, through the witness of Scripture and Tradition, and therefore the Magisterium and its transmission. The contemplation of truth means being attentive to the world around us, for the seeds of the Word are in the signs of the times. This is possible only if the theologian fosters the harmony

between faith and reason, preserves curiosity, refuses prepackaged answers, and rejects defeatist attitudes and know-it-all hypocrisy.

St. John Paul II’s successors reiterate these principles. Addressing the International Pontifical Theological Commission in 2011, Pope Benedict XVI called upon a theology that may avoid the opposition between reason and religion. In his November 2023 motu proprio Ad theologiam promovendam, Pope Francis reminded theology of its “archetype,” the Mystery of the Incarnation, and called for a “fundamentally contextual theology” that may bring hope to a world that so desperately longs for certainty—but not at the cost of its restlessness, which draws it to Truth.

Rafaella Figueredo, originally from Caracas, Venezuela, is a thirdcycle student in theology at the Pontifical Lateran University, where she earned her STL in fundamental theology in 2025.

This article has been adapted from her presentation given at the Angelicum on April 29 at the “John Paul II: Belief and Hope in a Changing World” ASPUST student conference.

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Des glaneuses, Jean-François Millet, 1857

DEIFICATION GONE WRONG: Thomas Aquinas on Photinus of Sirmium Father Joseph Hudson, OSB See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God—and so we are. (1 Jn 3:1)

Christian theology has long negotiated the tension between fidelity to mystery and the distortions that inevitably arise in attempts to express it.

Deification—the creature’s participation in divine life—has proven especially susceptible to both maximalist overreach and minimalist erasure.

The former, paradigmatically Luciferian, seeks divine likeness as an autonomous possession; the latter, subtler but no less distorting, recasts Christ’s Sonship as a merely archetypal instance of what is granted to the redeemed—a superlative adoption without ontological distinction.

For Aquinas, Photinus of Sirmium,1 a bishop who challenged the Council of Nicaea, exemplifies this minimalist error. His reduction of Christ’s divinity to merit-based glorification functions not merely as a doctrinal misstep but as a lens through which Aquinas illuminates the profound asymmetry between natural and adoptive sonship. Photinus, as Aquinas presents him in the Compendium Theologiae (I, c. 202), taught that Christ was a purus homo, a pure man born of Mary who attained divine honors by merit. Christ, in this schema, is not divine by nature but by adoption, much like the saints, though to a more eminent degree (non per naturam, sed per adoptionis gratiam).

Aquinas finds this view not only mistaken but inverted in its logic. According to Photinus, deification ascends from below: Christ achieves exaltation through human excellence. Yet for Aquinas, salvation descends from above. The mystery of the Incarnation lies not in a man becoming God, but in God becoming man (Deus homo factus est). As he notes, the Gospel of John proclaims, “I came down from heaven” (Jn 6:38), and the Apostle affirms that

Christ “descended first into the lower parts of the earth” (Eph 4:9). Within the Photinian framework, Christ could not truly descend; He could only ascend, thus emptying the Gospel’s language of its force (evacuavit). For Aquinas, the Incarnation is nothing less than the divine initiative of redeeming love, not the reward of human sanctity.

This distortion becomes even clearer when Aquinas contrasts Photinus’s error with that of Nestorius (Compendium Theologiae II, c. 203).

Nestorius partially affirms Christ’s divine Sonship but envisions the Incarnation as a moral association rather than a true personal union. The divine Son indwells the man Jesus, but the two remain distinct persons. Thus, Aquinas detects a repetition of Photinian logic, more subtly veiled. In both cases, Christ’s union with divinity is treated as external and additive. Against this, Aquinas insists on the true unio hypostatica, the hypostatic union proclaimed by the Apostle in Philippians 2:6–7: the one “being in the form of God” emptied Himself, taking “the form of a servant.” God does not “empty” Himself by merely inhabiting another; He becomes man.

The divine Ego who speaks in John 8:58—“Before Abraham was, I am”—is the same I who suffers, dies, and rises again. Christ’s person is the eternal Son; there is no second human person alongside.

Even the Manichaean error, described in Compendium Theologiae I, c. 207, mirrors this fundamental crisis. Whereas Photinus denied Christ’s divine nature, the Manichaeans denied His true human nature, claiming that Christ’s flesh was merely apparent. Yet Aquinas points to the Gospel narratives: Christ is born, eats, suffers, dies—not in illusion, but in reality. If Christ merely appeared human, He would not be bearing witness to the truth (Jn 18:37), but deceiving. The post-Resurrection invitation— “Touch me and see; for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have” (Lk 24:39)—

1 Photinus of Sirmium (c. 300–c. 376), a bishop active in the midfourth century, was condemned for teaching that Christ was a mere man exalted by divine favor. His views, condemned at the Synod of Sirmium (351) and the Council of Milan (355), represent a subtle yet profound deformation of the Church’s confession of Christ’s eternal Sonship.

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disarms such illusions. Thus, whether denying Christ’s divinity or His humanity, the heresy collapses under the substance of the Gospel.

Aquinas offers a broader, systematic treatment of Photinus in the Summa Contra Gentiles IV. 4. Here, Photinus is presented as the exemplar of adoptionist Christology: Christ is a man who achieves divinity through merit, not through eternal generation. Aquinas acknowledges that Scripture speaks of believers as “sons of God” or as “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Pet 1:4), language that might superficially support Photinus.

Yet, he insists, Christ’s sonship is of a different order. Others are sons by participation; Christ is Son by essence. The Gospel of John declares, “In the beginning was the Word” (Jn 1:1–3), and “all things were made through him.” A creature cannot be the agent of creation. If Christ were merely predestined for exaltation, He could not be the one through whom all things came to be.

Photinus’s real error, then, is not simply Christological; it is soteriological. Salvation, in Photinian logic, becomes a human achievement crowned with divine favor. Yet Paul speaks not of ascent but of descent: Christ, “being in the form of God,” empties Himself (Phil 2:6–7). If Christ were Son only by grace, Aquinas asks, why not call Moses or other saints by the same name? Yet Hebrews distinguishes Christ as Son and Moses as servant.

Christ sanctifies; He is not merely sanctified.

In Summa Contra Gentiles IV. 6–7, Aquinas sharpens the point. Photinus posits that Christ took His beginning from Mary, denying any eternal preexistence. In doing so, he obliterates the eternal relation between Father and Son. He confuses adoptio filiarum with eternal generation, essence with appointment. Christ’s divine identity is not an honor bestowed but an unveiled truth of His eternal being.

This theological strategy culminates in the Summa Theologiae In III, q.2, a.11, Aquinas confronts the idea that any merits preceded the Incarnation.

Photinus would claim that Christ became divine through merit. Aquinas rejects this absolutely: the Incarnation is not the reward of human striving but the gratuitous fruit of divine mercy. No holiness, not even Mary’s, could have compelled the Word’s assumption of flesh (assumptio carnis).

Similarly, in III, q.16, a.1, Aquinas defends the truth of the proposition “God is man.” For Photinus, it would be metaphorical;

for Aquinas, it is literal. Because of the hypostatic union, what belongs to either nature can be predicated on the single person. God truly became man; the Word truly suffered; the Son truly died according to His assumed humanity.

Thus, through his engagement with Photinus, Aquinas clarifies two essential truths.

First, Christ’s Sonship is not deification in any participatory sense. The Incarnation is not an ascent into divinity but a descent into humanity— the manifestation of a divine truth preceding all created reality. Photinus mistook glorification for essence; what appeared to be Christ’s exaltation was the unveiling of the eternal Son’s humility. Second, and consequently, our adoption is intelligible only because Christ’s is not. If Christ were adopted, we would be imitators of a fellow creature; instead, we are adopted into the divine life by union with the one who is Son by nature.

The mystery of Christ’s divine Sonship and our filial adoption has long been rendered in sacred art. Pietro Perugino’s Baptism of Christ in the Sistine Chapel depicts this moment.

The descending dove, the parted heavens, and the Father’s voice—“This is my beloved Son”—unveils that Christ is the Eternal Son.

Baptism of Christ, Pietro Perugino ca. 1482

Photinus, in collapsing the distinction between Creator and creature, obscures the grandeur of our true adoption. Yet his overstatement reveals by contrast what Aquinas sees so clearly: deification is not ambition but reception; not a striving into divinity, but the astonishing gift of being made children of God by grace. It is not a merit but a mercy.

Father Joseph Hudson, OSB, is a monk from Clear Creek Abbey in Hulbert, Oklahoma, USA. He is studying in the third cycle of dogmatic theology.

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HABEMUS PAPAM! “I ended up in the same spot for the funeral of Pope Franci s and the election of P ope Leo XIV .

What a bless ing to get to say goodbye to one pope and greet th e next in su ch a hopefilled atmosphere! ” - Josefina Alt am from Connec iranda ticut, USA

words to ere are no “For me, th rprise and joy—a e su erica, describe th eart of Am h e th m o pope fr y own wn city, m feel, in from my o makes one It y. it rs e univ ay, that rofound w p d n a w e truly are an is Church H d n a st ri Ch universal.” n, OSB, seph Hudso - Father Jo , Illinois, USA ago from Chic

ione, abbiamo ice! Durante la lez “Sono davvero fel lasciato o, e subito abbiamo visto il fumo bianc le, sorel insieme alle mie tutto per andare, o Papa. Ma, ov nu il are ut sal in Vaticano per mi viene in ando penso a lui, sinceramente, qu una grande a nt ese pr gioia rap mente che questa n deve essere r la Chiesa. E no responsabilità pe nde quanto compito tanto gra facile per lui; è un attutto noi pr so o, ro? Dobbiam pesante, non è ve lo Spirito per lui e invocare religiose, pregare e forza nel guidi con saggezza Santo affinché lo iesa.” suo servizio alla Ch

- Suor Maria Tran

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from Vietnam

On May 8, 2025, more than 150,000 gathered for the first Urbi et Orbi blessing by Pope Leo XIV. Angelicum students were among them. “Witnessing this historical moment of joy and unity firsthand was a truly moving experience,” said Peter Feng, from China, who captured this panoramic photograph of Saint Peter’s Square.

“Very blessed !”

- Virginia G race Gapuz from El Dorado H ills California, U , SA

“It was a beautiful spring day, the air was electrifying, an d it truly felt like the Holy Spirit was with us!”

“I was overfl owing with joy and hop e for the Universal C hurch!”

- Nicole Nguyen fro m Diocease of Orange , California, USA

- Sister Bern adette Huong Ngu yen, OP from Houst on, Texas, USA

“Being in St . Peter’s squ are for the electi on of the firs t American Po pe is perhap s the most his toric and th e most exhilar ating momen t I’ve ever exp erienced!”

- Leo Wilso n from Phoenix, Ari zona, USA

“Innanzitutto vede re una nuova guida , un nuovo pastore de lla Chiesa, riempie sempre il cuore di gio ia. Vedete una personalità così mi te così umile, ma co sì ferma, nobile d’anim o, con gli occhi fissi su quella pace offerta dal Cristo risorto —di cui si è fatto portavoce sin dalle prime parole. È una gioia immens a che riempie il cuor e: un momento straordinario di gra zia.”

- Luca Colacino, fro

m Rome, Italy

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Photo courtesy of Peter Fang

Longing forHope Lucy Taeuber

AFTER PSALM 42

I hear that you are there…why can’t I seem to find you?

I am longing for you, panting for the rush of freshness that is awoken by one drop of your waters.

My soul calls out and longs for your depths, and yet your coursing freedom is nowhere to be found.

Others have obviously found you for I see their thirst has been abated, hear their un-parched voices singing praises.

And yet, though I look, though I search, though I run after you, I cannot find the land which your streams pour into, the ground others have broken to have you spring forth, the hills you have run down, the mountains you have cascaded over.

But still I listen for you, listen to the silence of you moving underground.

Somewhere deep below the surface, I will seek—I will find…

Lucy Taeuber, a lay woman from Adelaide, Australia, is a second-cycle student in theology.

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A winter blossom catches golden sunlight, defying the season’s chill–holding on to the last rays of hope.

Photo courtesy of Darine Abi-Karam, a laywoman from Cornet Chehwan, Lebanon, and a first-cycle philosophy student.

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YES, I BELIEVE! Father Joshua Joseph Moonjapilly, OP

In my life’s journey, I did not see God. So, I doubted His presence in my life.

Then I looked at the sky, the stars, the sun.

Then I said to myself, Oh Abba – Yes, I Believe!

In my life’s journey, I could not see Good winning.

So, I doubted, damned to perish Then I looked at the Cross and the tomb emptied.

Then I said to myself, Oh Christ – Yes, I Believe!

In my life’s journey, I thought nothing new will dawn.

And I thought life in all the world is lifeless.

Then I looked up and saw the glow in the upper room.

Then I said to myself, Oh Life Giver – Yes, I Believe!

In my life’s journey, I was lost and found.

The Spirit drove me and the door was opened, And I was brought to the Merciful Bosom.

Then I said out loud, Oh Triune God – I do Believe!

Father Joshua Joseph Moonjapilly OP, from Ernakulam, India, is a third-cycle student in biblical theology. He belongs to the Dominican Province of India, Cochin.

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BLIND FAITH Dominic Nalpon

I do not see, I do not hear.

I know of nothing that is near; When senses fail or are unclear, and darkness overwhelms: A steady light illuminates and insecurity abates; What was unknown now captivates my being with its glow.

The certainty with which I see and hear and know: I disagree that seeing is believing for belief requires no sight— to understand, to trust, to know; to have faith in that steady glow, and go not where I’d rather go if based on what I see.

To trust in what I cannot see, and then refuse to disagree with what is then made known to me requires a seed of faith.

This seed I want, and must receive, so that my heart faith will conceive, so much I want just to believe: Please help my unbelief.

Dominic Nalpon, a layman from Singapore, is a second-cycle student in dogmatic theology.

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Hope and Renewal Sister Bernadette Nguyen, OP Clutching my worn rosary beads and dodging groups of noisy tourists on the uneven cobblestones, the blaring police sirens startle me and quickly bring me back to reality. I am actually here! This all seems like a dream.

I am in the Eternal City—a place filled with layers upon layers of ancient history and the great witness of Christians who unwaveringly professed their faith.

I never dared to dream that I would receive the precious gift of being in Rome, even for a day, much less during the Jubilee Year of the Church. My journey to the Eternal City is no accident by any stretch of the imagination. This opportunity during this particular season of my life has been ordained by God in His wondrous plans for me. I often find myself passing through the Imperial Forum on my daily walks to school, stumbling upon historical landmarks and famous statues and seeing iconic structures unfold before my eyes. And with unexpected ease of access, I am able to visit St. Peter’s Basilica or the countless churches where the saints, my predecessors in faith, once graced these spaces with their presence while here in Rome.

During a conversation a few months ago, the following question was posed: “Sister, what brings you to Rome this year of all years?”

When I think about it, that is truly a great question. What brings me here? Is it the tender belief of my mother who was a convert to Catholicism or perhaps the faith of my ancestor, St. DaMinh Nhi, a martyr from the Christian persecution of the 1800s in Central Tonkin, Vietnam? Was it my parents’ heartbreaking decision to perilously flee their beloved homeland in search of freedom? Or was it perhaps my Provincial’s willingness to grant her approval to my bold request? Why am I here?

After a number of challenging and difficult years in ministry, I arrived in early October 2024 with nervousness, wide-eyed amazement, and exhaustion beyond capacity.

It was my first time to live abroad and also be away from friends, family, and my religious community for an extended period. Everything was new to me—the language, the culture, the environment. Rome welcomed me with plentiful scaffolding, dust, and chaos in preparation for the Jubilee Year. In a way, all of that was quite an accurate reflection of my own state of life.

Yet in the past months, not only has the city been miraculously transformed but I have also experienced a transformation within myself. As the statues and fountains throughout the city have been restored to their original beauty, the Church has joyfully welcomed excited pilgrims from all corners of the world to the heart of the Catholic Church. I am also a living witness to transformation. Not only am I no longer afraid to walk and cross the streets of Rome, my spirit has been renewed and my heart is full again. The classes and community at the Angelicum, and the classroom of the city with the saints’ witness of their lives, are part of the spiritual heritage that have renewed me.

Most importantly, it has been a transformation of healing and of hope that has been manifested through prayer and rest, study and fellowship from my time in the Eternal City.

In response to the question posed to me back on that cold December evening, I say that God’s abiding love and abundant grace has led me to Rome during this Jubilee Year with hope and graces unbounded. I have experienced God’s immense healing. My heart has been transformed and revitalized because Jesus Christ is my Lord, my God, and my Beloved. May we all continually experience the fullness of the graces of this Jubilee Year with much love and hope within our hearts. Amen.

Sister Bernadette Huong Nguyen, OP, is a member of the Dominican Sisters of Mary Immaculate Province in Houston, Texas, USA. She is studying for the diploma in spiritual theology.

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TO HAVE FAITH Cormac O’Hara

What is faith? This thought-provoking question has spilled ink for centuries. Philosophers and theologians alike have written essays, books, and treatises attempting to find an answer to this age-old question. Kierkegaard believed it meant that we were to take a leap of faith in the absurd power of God, while Hegel believed faith was simply an idea.

Church Councils have sought to define faith, more precisely the Catholic faith, throughout the centuries. Supernaturally, to have faith is to possess one of the theological virtues.

In his discussion of faith in the Summa Theologiae (IIa IIae q.1 a.4), Thomas Aquinas relies on Hebrews 11:1, that tells us that faith is “…the belief of things unseen.”

What does it mean to have faith? My answer to this question does not come from immersing myself in theological textbooks but instead comes from a deeply personal experience. In my later teen years, my father, Diarmid, fell gravely ill. He battled non-smoking lung cancer for four years. When my two siblings and I were told of the fateful news, an emotional whirlwind of anguish, fear, disbelief, and denial ensued. However, amidst this chaos, I still hear the distinct rustle of rosary beads. My father would say calmly, “Come, let us say a decade of the rosary together.” Henceforth, every evening, we would pray a rosary around our large wooden antique coffee table in our living room. My father would sit on his worn out brown footstool, always positioned at the head of the table, piously leading us into a spiritual battle where our belief, our hope, and our trust in God would be tested to the limit, all the while fully knowing the fate that awaited him.

Amidst these four years of uncertainty, of close calls and emotional highs and lows, there was one constant, one theme, one ever-present essence: faith.

My father embodied this faith with his calmness, his fortitude, his unwavering hope in a miracle, and in the love that he showed us. Despite him being the one who was unwell, he was the calmest of all of us. Order amidst the chaos. He would always emphasize to us that this cancer was “his cross” which he has been given, and that we will also be given crosses in life. He would deliver this message with an even demeanour, not sugar-coating anything, preparing us for the spiritual battles that we will encounter.

My father never complained, never said “why me,” never took any emotional downturns. He was exceptionally

strong. On the day my father died, his tranquility never left him, even in his final moments. Fittingly, his patron was St. Joseph, the patron of a happy death.

We encounter many blessings and experience the supernatural grace of God, but to truly reach sanctification, there also come times of trial and tribulation. My father embodied what faith is supposed to look like in this life.

For me faith is defined by the words which Christ spoke: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Mt 16:24-26). My father echoed this spiritual fortitude throughout the entire four years of his battle. We say in the Lord’s prayer “…thy will be done…” signifying whatever he wills, we will, and we strive to embrace the will of God. However, the will of God may not always be something we desire. This is the true test of our faith. If the pain is too great, will you give up? When you look at the scourged flesh of Christ, his face coated in blood, his skull being pierced with the thorns, his legs buckling under the weight of the cross, do you drop your cross and leave him there alone, thinking, “I came halfway, that’s enough”? mentality of taking up our cross is imprinted on Christian thought since the beginning. From my experience, the culture of today’s world does not talk about this undeniable fact that to grow, one has to go through sufferings and take up one’s cross(es) in life. I learned this when observing my father’s ordeal, that it is an arduous journey to embrace the crosses we are given, to carry them alongside Christ, ascending Calvary, dying in Christ, and uniting our suffering with his, all the while maintaining this endurance and persevering spirit. It helps calm the chaos that comes with challenges all throughout life. God at times may command that we sacrifice those things that we hold most dear, our possessions, our families, and even our lives.

Nevertheless, these great periods of pain are but a grain of sand on the beach of eternity. Ultimately, witnessing firsthand my father’s most remarkable and steadfast embodiment of faith has done so much more than any textbook, theologian, or catechesis class will ever do to help contribute to my understanding of faith.

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Cormac O’Hara, a layman from Glasgow, Scotland, is studying for the diploma in spiritual theology.

As Far Round as Illyricum I have Fully Preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Rom 15:19) Sister Tereza M. Sinishtaj It is now well-attested by historical documents that bishops from what would eventually be known as Albania and Kosovo attended the First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD. This was ultimately thanks to the apostolic preaching of St. Paul, who followed the Lord’s invitation and set out for Macedonia on the Via Egnatia: “And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing beseeching

him and saying, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ And when he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them” (Acts 16:9-10).

This preaching journey later took St. Paul to the province of Illyricum, the presentday heart of Durrës and Shkodër, Albania:

For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has wrought through me to win obedience from the Gentiles, by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Holy Spirit, so that from Jerusalem and as far round as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ, thus making it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on another man’s foundation, but as it is written, “They shall see who have never been told of him, and they shall understand who have never heard of him” (Rom 15:18-21).

After centuries of vibrant and flourishing Christian and monastic communities, Albania lived through its own “dark ages” during which nearly 500 years of Ottoman rule, followed by a brutal atheistic communist regime, sought to extinguish Catholicism. Yet even in this long winter of trial, the Word of Truth continued to dwell in hearts by faith, “sed Verbum Dei non est alligatum” (2 Tim 2:9). Crucifixes hidden in walls, rosaries made of pebbles, hymns recited in hushed voices—all bear eloquent testimony to the gift received through the fullness of truth being preached to them—and their faith was not in vain (1 Cor 15).

Today in Albania, thirty years after the fall of the communist regime, the entire Southern region of the country is canonically an Apostolic Administration. The Church is

scattered within this vast territory—it is small and young, yet vibrant with the joy of souls who have encountered Jesus Christ for the first time. Conversions continue in steady stream, and young converts themselves are seeking for deeper formation in the faith. Akin to the Ethiopian eunuch’s yearning—they long not only for a preacher, but to personally know the depth and beauty of the Truth. “Philip ran to him, and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and asked, and asked, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ And he said, ‘How can I, unless someone guides me?’ And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him” (Acts 8:3031). Similar to St. Paul and attentive to the Holy Spirit, St. Philip responds to the desire already in the Ethiopian’s heart. Yet, note that he ran after the chariot.

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If it were not for St. Paul’s docility to the Holy Spirit, Albania and the Balkans could not claim Christian nor apostolic origins. What is more, at stake both then as it is now is the salvation of souls. In light of the witness of St. Paul and 1,700 years since the proclamation of the Credo at the Nicene Council, Christians continue the preaching journey begun by the apostle, responding to the intimate call of Christ resounding in their hearts. Indeed, his missionary journey along the Via Egnatia has not ended, as many souls await a preacher so they too can join their voice in the confession of faith, “Credo in unum Deum […].”

Perhaps this is what Pope St. John Paul II wished to highlight within the Church’s missionary mandate in his opening line of Redemptoris Missio, “The mission of Christ the Redeemer, which is entrusted to the Church, is still very far from completion.” Further on, he

asks: “Why mission? Because to us, as to St. Paul, ‘this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ’ (Eph 3:8). Newness of life in him is the ‘Good News’ for men and women of every age: all are called to it and destined for it. Indeed, all people are searching for it, albeit at times in a confused way, and all have a right to know the value of this gift and to approach it freely. The Church, and every individual Christian within her, may not keep hidden or monopolize this newness and richness which has been received from God’s bounty in order to be communicated to all mankind” (Redemptoris Missio, 11).

Sanctus Paulus, ora pro nobis!

Sister Tereza M. Sinishtaj, a second-cycle student in theology, is from Rochester Hills, Michigan, USA. She is a missionary for the Diocese of Sapa, Albania.

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MAN’S THIRST FOR GOD Leonora Tanushaj-O’Connell

Our Holy Mother Church, through the authority given by God, has always upheld with firm certainty that man, having a spiritual soul which has its origin in God, has a natural tendency to seek Him and the capacity of finding Him. However, even in this innate capacity to seek God, still man stands before God waiting for Him to reveal Himself in ways that exceed his understanding.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church highlights two ways of approaching God, through which we come to know Him: through the created world and through the human person (CCC #31).

Now, since our knowledge of God is limited and our fallen human condition creates obstacles in our ways of understanding, speaking, and relating to Him, we need help.

Let’s take some examples of those who were like us, the Saints, who despite these obstacles, went beyond their limitations and grasped with confidence the ways through which God chose to manifest Himself in their quest for Him.

When recalling her first experience of God, St. Bakhita said, “Seeing the sun, the moon and the stars, I said to myself: ‘Who could be the Master of these beautiful things?’ And I felt a great desire to see Him, to know Him and to pay Him homage.”2 This agrees perfectly with what we read in the book of Wisdom: “For from the greatness and beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator” (Wis. 13:5).

Pope Benedict XVI, in his encyclical Spe Salvi, gives St. Josephine as an example of hope, indeed as the one having been “redeemed” through hope. He writes, “Now she had ‘hope’ —no longer simply the modest hope of finding masters who would be less cruel, but the great hope: ‘I am definitively loved and whatever happens to me—I am awaited by this Love.

And so my life is good’” (Spe Salvi, 3). Hers is a profound awareness of being deeply loved, and in return she loves her Creator and claims that ‘sonship’ which is hers and ours by our baptismal birth.

ENCOUNTERING GOD IN AND THROUGH THE CREATED WORLD The 20th-century Saint Josephine Bakhita was kidnapped and sold into slavery at the age of seven. She was not baptized, but her soul, bearing the mark of God’s own image and searching for God, was able to rise above her physical pain and the human cruelty she was experiencing. Although she did not know His name, because she had not had the privilege of hearing about Him through the witness of others, she identified Him as a “mysterious force supporting her.”1

ENCOUNTERING GOD IN AND THROUGH THEaHUMAN Nico Lorenz Panlican, layman fromPERSON Capas, Philippines, is an extraordinary student thetime, is St. Another great example, a saint ofinour Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who in her untiring service to others sought to live out the reality of the gospel “You did it to me “(Mt. 25: 40).

She had a deep insight of God’s tender love for each human being, and she insisted that her mission be described in no other way except as “a beautiful story of God’s tender love for His children.”3 For her, who experienced the most painful and prolonged years of darkness, 12

2 Mother Josephine Bakhita, https://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/documents/ns_lit_ doc_20001001_giuseppina-bakhita_en.html, accessed on May 5, 2025.

3 Brian Kolodiejchuk. ed. Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light: The Private Writings of the Saint of Calcutta (New York: Doubleday, 2007) p. 205.

1 Francis, General Audience (Rome, Oct.11, 2023), https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/audiences/2023/documents/20231011-udienza-generale.html, accessed on May 5, 2025.

d

d

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where the perceived “absence of God” within her soul gave her the most torturing pain, the meeting place with her “hidden God” had become reality while serving others, especially the poorest of the poor.

She wrote, “The streets, Kalighat (home of the Missionaries of Charity for the dying), slums and sisters have become places where He lives His own life of love to the fullest.”4 It was in her service to the poor that she was best able to pour out her love for Him, Whom she would call the “Hungry One” and the “Thirsty One,” recognizing the free gift of God’s

love for man and man’s thirst for his Creator.

These are just two examples of the story of man’s thirst for God. Through them, who both suffered, though in different ways, we can learn the path they followed in living out their faith as a response to God’s manifestation of Himself.

We firmly believe that God does not cease to draw all creation to Himself, so that every man and woman on earth by their response to this reciprocal relationship may find the meaning and purpose of their lives, which is to love and be loved.

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4 ibid p. 168

Leonora Tanushaj-O’Connell, a laywoman from Gjakovë, Kosovo, is the Rome representative to the Mother Teresa Institute in Washington, DC. She received a diploma in spiritual theology at the Angelicum in 2023.

Photo courtesy of Darine Abi-Karam.

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LIGHT FROM LIGHT Taryn Watkins

Breathless, waiting for the morning star In dripping dark, so vast and deep, The singing stars, like warriors far, Drown in a sea of fire and weep.

Eternal splendor, dazzling white, It blinds, it burns, it sears the tongue, Yet lips once touched are made aright, And hearts made pure are fierce and young.

The pink sound of the streaming rays Shoots forth and tears the sky in two, While whispered words in secret ways Fall down where once the blood-wind blew.

Alabaster wax, like pillars tall, Carry fire to earth again, And all is lost, yet lost to call The holy flame to purge all men.

A voice descends, so soft, so small, To him who climbed the shattered wood, Who bore the weight, who drank it all, The spattered, dark, and burning flood.

The cost of worship, bright and high, A lamp before the throne of flame, The shining one, with burning eye, Who blazed with joy and bore the name.

The gilded sap of the cross still flows, It rises hot in mortal veins, The seed once sown in blood still grows, And light still lingers where He reigns.

From torn and tattered darkness black, Streams of golden light now fall, And men look up, then do not lack, But rise to Him who calls them all.

Eternal brightness, hushed and bright, Falls silent, soft as holy dew, Like pearls of tears in crimson light, More eloquent than blood once knew.

Golden thread, like bands of love, Wounded, pierced, yet bound and bright, Lightning-stitched from skies above, A cloth embroidered fierce with light.

A spear has split the sacred side, A fissure wide where lava lies, It flows so still, yet deep inside, It burns as fast as light that flies.

Drinking deep the blood of God, From cups of fire, holding love’s pyre, Eating the circle, broken bread, A feast that burns—a consuming fire.

In both the painting and the poem, the themes of darkness and light play with one another. This reflects the implied themes of creation, the fall, redemption, and resurrection. This visual meditation on the mysteries of faith, as expressed in the Nicene Creed, aims to deepen our understanding of God’s promises, those of the past and those we await. Christ’s return at the end of time, mirrored in His presence at Mass, highlights how these creedal mysteries are embodied in the Holy Eucharist. The comparison of Christ’s blood to lava emphasizes the radiant intensity of God’s love, which both consumes and creates. This light is shared with the resurrected bodies—little flames, echoing Pentecost and the Holy Spirit. We long for this fulfillment as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Taryn Watkins, a consecrated virgin of the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, USA, is a first-cycle student in philosophy.

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THE COMMUNION DIMENSION

OF OUR CREDO Brother Amiel Joseph Sevilla, OSJ Seventeen hundred years ago, leaders of the Christian world gathered for the first ever general council of Christendom, the Council of Nicea, to resolve a number of doctrinal and pastoral disputes, some minor, some crucial.

This unprecedented step taken by the Church establishes that our Credo is not only individualistic but also communitarian.

Indeed, each of us individually professes our faith, but each individual profession of faith dwells within a community of believers who also profess the very same Credo that each of us professes. Certainly, there exists a dimension of communion in our faith, not only superficially but also profoundly. The Catechism of the Catholic Church helps us reflect on this communion dimension of our Credo in Part I, Section I, entitled “I Believe – We Believe.”

It seems also providential that as we celebrate the 1700th anniversary of the council of Nicaea this year, leaders of the Church from all parts of the world gathered anew as they, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, elected a new Vicar of Christ on earth, the Pope, manifesting further the communion dimension of our Creed.

CREATED FOR COMMUNION In Genesis, we find that God created man after His own image and likeness (imago Dei). Man is then “called to share, by knowledge and love, in God’s own life” (CCC #356). Forthrightly, man is called to communion with God, his Creator.

However, despite the fact that God provided for all his bodily needs, Adam still asked God for a partner who is the same creature as he is. Thus, upon laying eyes on the woman God created as his partner, he cried out with joy, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called Woman, for out of Man this one was taken” (Gen 2:18-23). This desire of Adam reveals our

human tendency to belong to a community.

With humanity as its pinnacle, creation reveals in itself the imprint of God as communion, God as Trinity, as Fabio Ciardi notes in Koinonia: Spirituality and Theology of Growth of Religious Community. Hence, all of creation is

created for communion.

CALLED BACK TO COMMUNION This precious communion with God was cut off when man decided to turn away from God and lead a life of sin. But God did not give up easily on His creation and thus sent His only begotten Son to the world for the redemption of creation. ​​ To redeem means to retrieve or reclaim something of which one originally had possession. Therefore, God sending His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, as the Redeemer of creation, signifies that God desires to call back His creation to Himself and thus reclaim or reinstate the communion that He had with them in the first place. Jesus Christ has come to call us back to communion so that we might be once again called children of God. This mission of redemption is fulfilled through the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ.

UNIFIED IN COMMUNION The Holy Spirit is the principle of unity and love, not only within the Trinity, but also among the people with each other as well as between mankind and God. At Pentecost, the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, enabling them to speak in tongues understood by the multitude of people with different languages from different nations, leading them all together to the faith.

Pentecost was an event of communion initiated by the Holy Spirit which led to the formation of the early Church. For this reason,

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The First Council of Nicaea, wall painting at the church of Stavropoleos, Bucharest, Romania.

Pentecost is often considered the birth of the Church. Hence, the Church is unified in communion through the Holy Spirit.

come into communion with Christ. And since the entire Catholic Church, from different parts of the world, celebrate the same Eucharist, all of us who are partakers in the sacrament also come into communion with our fellow believers everywhere. Indeed, the Eucharist is a meal of communion.

A CHURCH OF COMMUNION The term “Church” finds its roots from the Greek word ekklesia and the Latin ecclesia, which both mean “convocation.” The name itself is very telling of the fundamental identity of the Church. It is a Church of communion where the people of God are convoked or gathered together by the Holy Spirit and nourished by the Body of Christ in order to give praise and worship to the Father. Moreover, as a sacramental expression, the Church is a “sacrament of salvation, the sign and the instrument of the communion of God and men” (CCC #780).

MISSION TOWARDS ESCHATOLOGICAL COMMUNION Christ was sent by God into the world to gather all people and the whole of creation to Himself and to restore the original state of communion of people and creation with the Father. Then, Christ called a community of disciples to make them as models of communion and eventually to carry on His mission of communion. This mission of communion was handed down to the Church who is guided by the Holy Spirit.

Hence, today, filled with the hope of this Jubilee year, we share in this mission of giving witness and bringing others to our Credo. And may this Credo, which we share within the entire community of the faithful, ultimately lead us to the eschatological communion with our heavenly Father.

EUCHARIST: A MEAL OF COMMUNION Now, the Eucharist is the most characteristic sacrament of our faith. In the Eucharist, the anamnesis of Christ’s death and resurrection occurs. This anamnesis is not just an ordinary remembrance of what transpired 2,000 years ago. Anamnesis means to actively make present and effective today the Paschal Mystery of Christ. Henceforth, as we participate in the celebration of the Eucharist and receive the Body of Christ in “Holy Communion,” we

Brother Amiel Joseph B. Sevilla, OSJ, of Batangas, Philippines, is an extraordinary student in the faculty of philosophy.

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Photo courtesy of Dana Marie Buchanan