On the Way to Jesus Christ

by Joseph Ratzinger

To speak of the unique and universal Mediator of salvation, Jesus Christ, in no way implies disdain for other religions; but it is decidedly opposed to the resignation of those who say that man is incapable of truth and to the convenient inaction of letting everything continue as before. The Christian message appeals to the yearning deep in the heart of all men, to the longing that awaits something greater, God himself, the truth that is common to all. Moreover, this applies to Christians as well: they, too, must not content themselves with habitual Christianity, with mere ritualized observances and the customs with which they were brought up. They, too, must break with custom, again and again, in order to encounter the truth that has taken flesh in Jesus Christ.