My letter from the Pope . . .

Pope Francis' first encyclical, Lumen Fidei (Light of Faith) was released July 2013.  An encyclical is a letter from the pope to a particular audience.  Lumen Fidei was addressed to 'the bishops, priests, and deacons, consecrated persons, and the lay faithful.'  So, that means we each got a letter from the Pope.  Have you read your letter yet?

Encyclicals are not really scary, other than maybe in their spelling and pronunciation.  I admit, I'm just now taking time to read it, and it's really good.  This particular encyclical was started by Pope Benedict as a part of the Year of Faith.  Pope Benedict had already written about the virtue of charity (Deus Caritas Est) and the virtue of hope (Spe Salvi).  I think the word encyclical has me pretty intimidated.  Why else would I stop myself from reading what our Popes have had to say on topics that they find particularly important?  I'm still learning, I guess.