Deus caritas est - Bog je ljubav (D-143)

Deus caritas est - God is love, is the inaugural encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI. Joseph Ratzinger has already been ranked among the greatest contemporary theologians, and this is also evident in this encyclical. The Pope takes up the theme from the First Epistle of John (14:6): God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God in him, and treats it in two parts. In the first part of the encyclical Deus caritas est - God is love, the Pope philosophically, philologically and theologically treats the concept of love and, starting from the ancient Greek term "eros", which primarily denotes physical love, analyzes various forms of human love. He ultimately elevates his consideration to the supernatural love between God and man. In the second part of the encyclical Deus caritas est - God is love, the Pope emphasizes that the Church must fulfill the commandment of love that she received from her Master, Jesus Christ. She does this through charitable activity, which began in the first centuries of her existence in the form of a service of helping those in need called "diakonia". After pointing out some misconceptions about the Church's charitable work throughout history, recalling the long and fruitful tradition of the Church's social teaching, the Pope clarifies what it should truly be and ends the encyclical with an exhortation to the prayer with which charitable work should be inspired and nourished.