Christ and Vatican II (pt.1)

"The Church firmly believes that Christ, who died and was raised up for all, can through His Spirit offer man the light and the strength to measure up to his supreme destiny. Nor has any other name under the heaven been given to man by which it is fitting for him to be saved. She likewise holds that in her most benign Lord and Master can be found the key, the focal point and the goal of man, as well as of all human history. The Church also maintains that beneath all changes there are many realities which do not change and which have their ultimate foundation in Christ, Who is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever. Hence under the light of Christ, the image of the unseen God, the firstborn of every creature, the council wishes to speak to all men in order to shed light on the mystery of man and to cooperate in finding the solution to the outstanding problems of our time." - Gaudium et Spes - Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World

After finishing the Ratzinger Report - a really long interview with Cardinal Ratzinger at the time, now, Pope Benedict XVI. He encourages those who wish to be truly faithful to the teaching of the Church not to return to Latin liturgy and pre-conciliar neo-scholasticism, but rather to go boldly into the future and to look directly at the documents.

I am reading Gaudium et Spes now (I'm pretty sure I've read Lumen Gentium and Dei Verbum before) and I just had to put this quote up because it was so Christocentric. I love that they say that all of human history finds it's focal point in Jesus. Amen.