Lumen Fidei: The Light of Faith

by Pope Francis, Scott Hahn (Foreword by)

Overview

Pope Francis’s first papal letter, reflecting on the nature of belief and the need to renew our faith for a bright future of charity and love for all

“Precisely because it is linked to love, the light of faith is concretely placed at the service of justice, law and peace. Faith is born of an encounter with God’s primordial love, wherein the meaning and goodness of our life become evident; our life is illumined to the extent that it enters into the space opened by that love, to the extent that it becomes, in other words, a path and praxis leading to the fullness of love.”—Pope Francis

“The encyclical letter Lumen Fidei is the great monument of the Year of Faith declared by Pope Benedict XVI and brought to completion by Pope Francis,” writes Scott Hahn in his foreword. “It is a capstone of the year, but at the same time a milestone of a long road, a road we have only begun to travel: the road of the New Evangelization.”

Here is an illuminating work inviting all to lead a more spiritual and faith-based life, a reminder that with faith comes service, and with service to others and to God comes heaven on earth.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780804185851
Publisher:	PRH Christian Publishing
Publication date:	11/19/2013
Pages:	96
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.80(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Pope Francis was born in Buenos Aires on December 17, 1936, son of Italian migrants, the first of five children born in the working-class barrio of Flores. He qualified as a chemical technician, graduated in philosophy in 1963, became a priest in 1969, joined the provincial of the Jesuits of Argentina in 1973, was named auxiliary bishop in 1992, archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998, created cardinal in 2001, and on March 13, 2013, Bishop of Rome and the 266th Pope of the Catholic Church. The first Jesuit and Latin American pontiff, Pope Francis passed away on April 21, 2025.

Table of Contents

The Light of Faith [1] 3

An illusory light? [2-3] 4

A light to be recovered [4-7] 5

Chapter 1 We Have Believed in Love (cf. 1 Jn 4:16)

Abraham, our father in faith [8-11] 11

The faith of Israel [12-14] 14

The fullness of Christian faith [15-18] 18

Salvation by faith [19-21] 22

The ecclesial form of faith [22] 25

Chapter 2 Unless You Believe You Will Not Understand (cf. Is 7:9)

Faith and truth [23-25] 29

Knowledge of the truth and love [26-28] 32

Faith as hearing and sight [29-31] 36

The dialogue between faith and reason [32-34] 41

Faith and the search for God [35] 45

Faith and theology [36] 48

Chapter 3 I Delivered to You What I Also Received (cf. .7 Cor 15:3)

The Church, mother of our faith [37-39] 51

The sacraments and the transmission of faith [40-45] 54

Faith, prayer and the Decalogue [46] 61

The unity and integrity of faith [47-49] 63

Chapter 4 God Prepares a City for Them (cf. Heb 11:16)

Faith and the common good [50-51] 69

Faith and the family [52-53] 71

A light for life in society [54-55] 73

Consolation and strength amid suffering [56-57] 76

Blessed is She Who Believed (cf. Lk 1:45) [58-60] 79