Christ for the world,: The heart of the lamb; a treatise on christology

by Bertrand de Margerie

The internationally known author and professor wrote this book as the fruit of two lecture courses on Christology and the doctrine of the Trinity. The title "Christ for the World" is taken from Our Lord's eucharistic "my flesh for the life of the world" (Jn 6, 51), and expresses briefly and at the same time symbolizes the vision of Christ as Redeemer, who is not at all against the world or wishes to condemn the world, but has come for this purpose that he might give Himself for the salvation of the world. In this vision Christ appears in the world through the Church and through the Eucharist with the dynamism of his divinizing power; Christ appears, who in every man and in mankind wishes to live and grow for the glory of the Father. "The Heart of the Lamb" in the subtitle indicates that the sacrificial love of Christ illuminates and transfigures each and every special Christological aspect. By this designation the author reduces to a synthesis those symbols which sum up Christian Shepherd and Lamb in the first millennium, the Heart that manifests itself gradually in the second millennium. The subtitle also emphasizes the thought of Pope Paul VI that devotion to the Sacred Heart is the most effective instrument for the moral and spiritual renewal of our postconciliar world, and for making fruitful the fight against atheism. In fact, the devotion to the Sacred Heart seems, to the author, a source of renewal for theology itself. Three themes are treated in as many Jesus, why? Jesus, how?, and the universal mission of the Lamb of God. The book is authentically postconciliar and centered on the paschal mystery. Faithfully knitting together the threads of Christian tradition, the author brings them into unity for the end that the love of Christ may appear in accepting this world of ours — one of the preoccupations of Vatican II.

528 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1974