Pe a Afio le Atua i le Lalolagi Atoa

O LE UPU NEI I FAITAUGA TELE
mo Me 12, 2014
Aso Gafua o le Vaiaso Fa o le Eseta

Ua oʻo mai le filemu, saunia e Jon McNaughton

E FAAPEFEA tele Katoliko masani lava ona taofi le manatu o loo i ai se fuafuaga o le faaolataga i le lalolagi atoa o fai? O lena Atua o loo galue i taimi taʻitasi ma agaʻi atu i le faʻataunuʻuina o lena fuafuaga? A tilotilo aʻe tagata i luga o ao ua opeopea ane, e toʻaitiiti lava e mafaufau i le lata tele atu o le vanimonimo ma paneta o loʻo vaʻaia i talaatu. Latou vaʻaia ao, se manulele, se afa, ma faaauau pea e aunoa ma le toe manatunatu i le mea lilo o lo oi tua atu o le lagi. Faʻapea foi, toaitiiti agaga vaʻai i talaatu o le taimi nei manumalo ma matagi ma iloa o loʻo latou agaʻi atu i le faʻataunuʻuina o folafolaga a Keriso, faʻaalia i lenei aso Evagelia:

I will lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd.

In the first reading, we see Christ’s plan for unity among all peoples beginning to unfold, as some of the first Gentiles begin to enter the Church. And the key word here is amataga. For there is a logical question that arises: how far and long must the plan of Christ extend until it reaches fulfillment? There are three answers to this question found in the Scriptures, Sacred Tradition, and the voice of the Magisterium:

I. Until all the nations acknowledge Jesus as Lord. ^[1]Isa 11:9-10; Matt 24:14

II. Until there is universal peace. ^[2]Isa 11:4-6; Rev 20:1-6

III. Until the Church follows her Lord in His “death and resurrection.” ^[3]Eph 5 :27; Rev 20:6

And lest anyone think that these are rogue interpretations of Scripture, listen to the voice of Christ in the mind of the Church:

“Latou te faalogo foi i loʻu leo, ma e tasi le lafu ma tasi le leoleo mamoe.” Talosia ia Atua faʻatoa uma ona faʻataunuuina Lana valoaga mo le liliuina o lenei faʻamafanafanaga o le lumanaʻi i le taimi nei ... O le galuega a le Atua le aumaia o lenei fiafia itula ma faʻalauiloa i tagata uma… A taunuʻu, e faʻapea e mamalu itula, tasi lapopoʻa ma faʻaiuga e le gata mo le toefuataiga o le Malo o Keriso, ae mo le faʻamalieina… o le lalolagi. Tatou te tatalo faatauanau, ma fai atu foi i isi e tatalo foi mo lenei filemu o loo manaʻomia tele e tagata. —POPE PIUS XI, Ubi Arcani dei Consilioi "I le Filemu o Keriso i lona Malo", Tesema 23, 1922

O le lotogatasi o le lalolagi o le a. O le mamalu o le tagata soifua e tatau ona amanaʻia e le gata i le aloaʻia ae ia lelei. O le le faʻamalosia o le ola, mai le manava i le matua ... O le le tutusa tulaga lautele o le a faʻatoʻilaloina O sootaga i le va o tagata o le a filemu, talafeagai ma uso. Poʻo le manatu faʻapito, poʻo le faʻamaualuga, poʻo le mativa… [o le a] puipuia le faʻavaeina o se moni faʻatonuga a tagata, o se lelei lautele, o se malo fou. —POPE PAUL VI, Urbi et Orbi Message, April 4th, 1971

This is precisely the teaching of the early Church Fathers: that the kingdom of God will reign to the ends of the earth, though not in that perfection reserved only for Heaven, but in fulfillment of Christ’s promise that he will be the sole and Good Shepherd over all the nations.

So, le faamanuiaga foretold undoubtedly refers to le taimi o Lona Malo... O e na vaai ia Ioane, o le soo o le Alii, [taʻu mai ia i matou] na latou faalogo ia te ia pe na faapefea ona aoao ma fetalai mai le Alii i nei taimi… —St. Irenaeus o Lyons, Tama a le Ekalesia (140–202 TA); Adversus Haereses, Irenaeus o Lyons, V.33.3.4, O Tama o le Ekalesia, CIMA Lomiga

O se “faamanuiaga" ^[4]ff. O Le Faʻatasiga ma le Faʻamanuiaga that will come about, as it did in today’s first reading, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

…and I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, ‘John baptized with water but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’

… I le "taimi faaiu" o le a faafouina ai e le Agaga o le Alii loto o tagata, vaneina o se tulafono fou i totonu ia i latou. O le a ia faʻaputuputu ma faʻalelei le faʻataʻapeʻapeina ma fevaevaeaʻi tagata; o le a ia suia le muamua foafoaga, ma o le a mau ai le Atua iina ma tagata i le filemu. -Catechism o le Katoliko Ekalesia, l. 715

But lest we be overcome with euphoria and tempted toward a “new millenarianism,” St. John reminds us that man’s fallen nature will always accompany him until the end of the world: the peace and unity to come is only temporary (see Rev 20:7-8). But this is precisely why the pacification and unity of the nations will be, as it were, a final testament and witness to the world that Jesus Christ is the only source of salvation—before the Last Judgment ^[5]ff. O Faamasinoga mulimuli and conflagration of all things. ^[6]ff. O Le Faʻamaonia o le Poto

… O le a folafola atu lenei talalelei o le malo i le lalolagi atoa as a witness i atunuu uma, ona oʻo mai ai lea o le iʻuga. (Mata 24:14)

So brothers and sisters, look beyond the clouds of this moment, beyond the temporal and transitory things of this world, toward the present and imminent plan of God unfolding right now, that is bringing the Church into a…

... “new and divine” holiness with which the Holy Spirit wishes to enrich Christians at the dawn of the third millennium, in order to make Christ the heart of the world. —STST. JOHN PAUL II, LʻOsservatore Romano, Igilisi Igilisi, Iulai 9th, 1997

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