语言

Franciscan at Home

Forming those who form others

El gran milagro: La Encarnación

Catequesis sobre los milagros de Jesús

‘El milagro central que afirman los cristianos es la Encarnación. Dicen que Dios se hizo Hombre. Todos los demás milagros lo preparan, lo exhiben, o resultan de esto…. [Todo] milagro cristiano manifiesta, en su particular tiempo y lugar, el carácter y significado de la Encarnación’ (C.S. Lewis, Milagros).

Antes de examinar los milagros particulares de Jesús, sería bueno considerar lo que Lewis designa el ‘milagro central’. Sostiene que ‘es vana toda discusión de ellos (los milagros particulares) en aislamiento de éste’.

Para ilustrar su argumento, Lewis propone una analogía. Suponiendo que poseemos partes de una novela o de una sinfonía; luego llega alguien con una pieza recién descubierta del manuscrito original afirmando que éste es el elemento perdido de la obra - la parte de la que depende todo el tema de la sinfonía o toda la trama de la novela. Nuestra tarea sería luego ver si este pasaje de hecho sí ‘ilumina todas las partes que ya habíamos visto y las une… Aun si el nuevo pasaje o tema principal contuviera grandes dificultades en sí, deberíamos de creerlo genuino siempre y cuando elimina dificultades en otras secciones. Algo así debemos de hacer con las doctrinas de la Encarnación. Aquí, en lugar de una sinfonía o de una novela, tenemos toda la masa de nuestro conocimiento. Su credibilidad dependerá del grado al cual la doctrina, si es aceptada, pueda iluminar e integrar toda esa masa. De mucho menor importancia es que la doctrina en sí pueda ser completamente entendible. Creemos que el sol está en el cielo a medio día en el verano, no porque podamos ver claramente el sol (porque de hecho, no lo podemos ver), sino porque podemos ver todo lo demás.’

The rest of this online article is available for current Guild members.

Join the Guild today!

Msgr. Paul J. Watson is the Director Emeritus of Maryvale Institute, where he teaches Scripture, spirituality and catechesis. Ordained January 12, 1974, he has served as pastor for many parishes. He was awarded an S.T.L. Summa Cum Laude (Spirituality) from Gregorian University in Rome, and has written a course book for Maryvale’s BA in Applied Theology / BA Divinity on the “Church’s Developing Vision of Catechesis” as well as a course book on "The Christian Tradition of Spiritual Formation" for the MA in Religious and Educational Studies. Msgr. Paul jointly launched, and regularly contributes to, a monthly magazine Bible Alive of Scriptural catechesis and personal spirituality. 

This article is from The Sower and may be copied for catechetical purposes only. It may not be reprinted in another published work without the permission of Maryvale Institute. Contact [email protected]

Categorized Under
Categorized Under: 
Issue: 

Articles from the Most Recent Issue

Editor's Reflections— The Eucharistic Congress and the Missionary Year

Catholics in the United States have a long history of hosting both national and international Eucharistic congresses. The first of these was in Washington, DC, in 1895, and the last was in Philadelphia in 1976. If your ancestors were Catholic and lived in North America, they may have participated in one of these congresses—in St. Louis (1901), or New York... Read more

Missionary Worship

There is an interesting phenomenon that occurs in nearly every culture across history: man ritualizes worship. All over the world the similarities are astounding—animal sacrifices, burnt offerings, gifts of grain, the joy of ecstatic praise. It points to a universal sense within man that not only recognizes that there is a God but also knows that man is called to... Read more

Ask, Seek, Knock: The Pitfalls and Potential of Catholic Door-to-Door Evangelization

“He’s just too small,” sobbed a woman we had just met. It was a sunny summer day, and the pastor, transitional deacon, and I were out knocking on doors within our parish boundaries. This woman’s door was within eyesight of the rectory, and it happened to be the first one we had visited. The conversation had started off just as... Read more
Designed & Developed by On Fire Media, Inc.