• La Civiltà Cattolica
  • Newsletters
  • Podcast
  • Contact us
  • Login
  • Register
SUBSCRIBE
LA CIVILTÀ CATTOLICA
Advertisement
  • Home
  • Church Life
    • Faith
    • Mission
    • People
    • Pope Francis
    • Spirituality
  • Church Thought
    • Doctrine
    • Scripture
    • Theology
  • Culture
  • Politics
  • Editions
  • Authors
  • Donate

No products in the cart.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Church Life
    • Faith
    • Mission
    • People
    • Pope Francis
    • Spirituality
  • Church Thought
    • Doctrine
    • Scripture
    • Theology
  • Culture
  • Politics
  • Editions
  • Authors
  • Donate

No products in the cart.

No Result
View All Result
LA CIVILTÀ CATTOLICA
No Result
View All Result
     
Home 2001

Each Couple is like a Garden: A Biblical Perspective

Jean-Pierre Sonnet, SJbyJean-Pierre Sonnet, SJ
January 9, 2020
in 2001, Church Thought, Edition, INCULTURATION IN AFRICA: CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS
0
Each Couple is like a Garden: A Biblical Perspective

Song of Songs III by Marc Chagall

0
SHARES
41
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

The Bible begins with the garden planted by God in Eden (cf. Gen 2:8). It ends with the evocation of a garden-city, the heavenly Jerusalem: “In the middle of the city square and on either side of the river, there is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations” (Rev 22:2). Even at its center, the Bible houses a garden, that of the Song of Songs. The “center” in question, it should be specified, is that of the sequence of books in the Catholic tradition, taken from the Greek version of the Old Testament, the Septuagint. At the center of this “book of books,” in the booklet that Rabbi Akiva described as the “Holy of Holies” of the Scriptures, there is a garden with flowing waters and flowering trees.

The phenomenon just described is repeated with regard to the human couple.[1]

The Bible recounts in its opening pages the appearance of the human couple (cf. Gen 2-3), and in its last lines we hear the invitation of the bride to the groom, of the Church to Christ who comes in glory: “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’” (Rev 22:17). The Bible also rings out the entwined voices of the lover and the beloved in the center of its corpus, in the sanctuary that is the Song of Songs: “Ah, you are beautiful, my love!”; “Ah, you are beautiful, my beloved!” (Song 1:15-16).

In the following pages we would like to reflect on this twofold perspective that associates the “mystery” of the garden with that of the human couple. Why does the couple meet in the garden? How is the affinity of the couple and of this living space understood phenomenologically? In what way is the anthropological and cosmic figure of the couple in the garden the bearer of a theological truth? The Song of Songs provides the environment for such a reflection; its pages express explicitly the invitation of the lovers to go to the garden: “Let my beloved come to his garden […]. I come to my garden, my sister, my bride” (Song 4:16-5:1).

In parallel to the exploration of the biblical texts, we will examine the links that unite – as through a network of common roots – two important texts of the teaching of Pope Francis: his encyclical letter Laudato Si’: On the Care of our Common home (2015) and the apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia: The Joy of Love in the Family (2016). The human couple considered in this second text has its background and perspective in the first,  with its expressions of the divine design.

This article is reserved for paid subscribers. Please subscribe to continue reading this article
Subscribe

Welcome to
La Civiltà Cattolica !
This article is reserved for paid subscribers
Please login or subscribe to continue reading this article
LOGIN
SUBSCRIBE
What is La Civiltà Cattolica?

Tags: Amoris LaetitiaDouglas PavlicekEdengangananGenesislaudato si'PèsaḥRichard PowersRumiSolomonSong of SongsThe CanticleThe Overstory
Previous Post

 ‘Source of Peace’ The Turkish Operation against the Syrian Kurds

Next Post

Human Trafficking and the Dignity of Work

Jean-Pierre Sonnet, SJ

Jean-Pierre Sonnet, SJ

Related Posts

‘A Divine Plot’
Biography

‘A Divine Plot’

byPope Francisand2 others
February 2, 2023
Is a Climate Catastrophe Inevitable?
Church Thought

Is a Climate Catastrophe Inevitable?

byFernando de la Iglesia Viguiristi SJ
January 29, 2023
Jeremiah lamenting the destruction of Jerusalem. Rembrandt, 1630
Bible Studies

‘The Book of Revolutions’: The battles of priests, prophets and kings that birthed the Torah

byDavid Neuhaus, SJ
January 25, 2023
Religious Nationalism and Pope Francis’ ‘Culture of Encounter’
Church Life

Religious Nationalism and Pope Francis’ ‘Culture of Encounter’

byDavid Hollenbach, SJ
January 23, 2023
A moment of the work of the Second Vatican Council (photo: Lothar Wolleh)
Canon Law

The Principles of Discernment of the Second Vatican Council

byGerald O'Collins, SJ
January 18, 2023
Next Post
Human Trafficking and the Dignity of Work

Human Trafficking and the Dignity of Work

Premium Content

Map of the Middle East by Erika Wittleib, via Pixabay

The Long Political Transition of Iraq

May 3, 2021
Fortitude: A demanding virtue

Fortitude: A demanding virtue

July 7, 2021
The Atlantic Divide

The Atlantic Divide

January 21, 2022

Browse by Category

Subscription Offers

BEATUS POPULUS CUIUS DOMINUS DEUS EIUS

The most respected digital Catholic journal from Rome. A must-read on all the present issues alive in the Church. Discover top Church scholars interpreting the history, politics, culture, science and art in the light of the Christian faith.

Categories

  Editions
  Church Thought
  Authors
  Church 
 
  Culture
  Perspective Series
  Politics & Socitey

 

About Us

   Contact Us
   La Civiltà Cattolica  
   China Forum
   Feedback
   Terms & Conditions
   Privacy Policy
    Email : [email protected]
My IP Address : 44.212.99.248
Facebook Twitter Instagram

© Union of Catholic Asian News 2022 | All Rights Reserved.
Except for any fair dealing permitted under the Hong Kong Copyright Ordinance, no part of this publication may be reproduced by any means without prior permission.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Church Life
    • Faith
    • Mission
    • People
    • Pope Francis
    • Spirituality
  • Church Thought
    • Doctrine
    • Scripture
    • Theology
  • Culture
  • Politics
  • Editions
  • Authors
  • Donate
SUBSCRIBE

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?
Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
  • Login
  • Sign Up
Forgot Password?
Lost your password? Please enter your username or email address. You will receive a link to create a new password via email.

laciviltacattolica.com uses cookies and similar technologies to optimize the user experience,  analyze site traffic and communicate with subscribers. To read more about how we use cookies and how you can control them click on settings, or click Accept to start browsing our site.

Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?
LA CIVILTÀ CATTOLICA
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.