C.S. Lewis (part III)

Faithful announcer of the Truth of the Gospel

Author: Fr. Massimo Cardamone

Without any hesitation, Lewis expressed his own thought with evangelical frankness even on today’s widely debated anthropological question. His position is clearly based on the biblical truth of man’s being a creature, however caught in the light of the full Christ centric relationship. He says about it: “It is a serious matter to live in a society of possible gods or goddesses, to remind that the least interesting, flattest person with whom we have ever spoken could one day be a creature that if we saw it now we could be strongly tempted to worship or it could be a horror, a corruption, like the one we meet now, if we meet it in a bad dream. Throughout the day we are somehow caught up in trying to help us get to one of these destinations. There are no ordinary people, common people. We never spoke to a pure mortal. Nations, cultures, arts and civilizations, these things are mortal and their life is for us like the life of a fly, but the immortals with whom we joke, with whom we work, whom we marry, whom we also sometimes exploit, they are immortal horrors or splendours that last forever. Alongside the Holy Sacrament itself, your neighbour is the most sacred thing that is presented to your senses. If your neighbour is a Christian, he is a holy person in almost the same way because in him also “the true Christ is hidden”. The Glorifier is the glorified, the Glory itself is truly hidden”.

It is truly hoped that by reading these pages, you have been surprised by the joy of getting to know an authentic Christian, whose works have been so esteemed by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, as well as by St. John Paul II, who expressed his good opinion with the following words: “Lewis knew what his apostolate was and he carried it out.” Indeed, once converted, Lewis lived concretely and fully his being a witness to the Gospel in the world, placing his talent and his pen, at the service of God and Christianity, announcing and defending with his written and spoken word, as well as with his whole lived life, the Truth and Reality of the Incarnation, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection and the divinity of Christ.

His testimony of Christian life can help each of us learn how we can faithfully respond to the call that Heaven has addressed to each one, through the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Redemption, calling us to be Church and urging us to offer our life and our gifts with joy in order to build the kingdom of God in the world and increase the Church of holy children, daily committing ourselves to live the prophetic, missionary and saving mandate entrusted to us, translating – that is, announcing – in simplicity of heart and word the truth of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who converts, sanctifies, redeems and saves, in imitation of our inspirer and founder, Mrs. Maria Marino, who continues to make the Eternal Word of the Father resound in the world from her bed of pain and suffering.

Mother of the Redemption make us obedient to the will of the Father, docile to the indications of the Mother Church, persevering and faithful to your command of love.