Sign of contradiction

In Catholic theology, a sign of contradiction is someone who, upon manifesting holiness, is subject to extreme opposition. The term is adopted from the New Testament phrase "a sign that is spoken against", found in Luke 2:34^[1] and in Acts 28:22,^[2] where the texts refer first to Jesus Christ, and then to the early Christians. Contradiction comes from the Latin contra, "against", and dicere, "to speak".

According to Catholic tradition, a sign of contradiction points to the presence of Christ or the presence of the divine due to the union of that person or reality with God. Pope John XXIII referred to the child Jesus as "the sign of contradiction" in his speech at the opening of the Second Vatican Council in 1962,^[3] and in his book entitled Sign of Contradiction (1979), Pope John Paul II writes that "sign of contradiction" might be "a distinctive definition of Christ and of his Church".^[4]

The cross and mortification as signs of contradiction

Edith Stein, called the Patron of Europe by Pope John Paul II, taught on the day of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, September 14, 1939:

More than ever the cross is a sign of contradiction. The followers of the Antichrist show it far more dishonor than did the Persians who stole it. They desecrate the images of the Cross, and they make every effort to tear the cross out of the hearts of Christians. All too often they have succeeded even with those who, like us, once vowed to bear Christ's cross after him. Therefore, the Savior today looks at us, solemnly probing us, and asks each one of us: Will you remain faithful to the Crucified? Consider carefully! The world is in flames, the battle between Christ and the Antichrist has broken into the open. If you decide for Christ, it could cost you your life.
— ^[5]

Views on the cross creates divisions: "The division between those whose first love is God, and those whose first love is self – might also be expressed as the division between those who accept the place of the Cross in the following of Christ, and those who reject all sacrifice except it be for personal gain."^[6]

The Church and Christians as signs of contradiction

The second biblical phrase is from Acts 28:22, where the writer quotes a Jew in Rome with whom Paul was talking:

We desire to hear from you what your views are: for with regard to this sect we know that everywhere it is spoken against.

According to Catholic theologians and ecclesiologists like Charles Journet and Kenneth D. Whitehead in One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic: The Early Church was the Catholic Church,^[7] the sect being referred to here by the Jews is the early church of Christians.

The Church and the early Christians, according to these Catholic theologians, are one with Jesus Christ. As an example, they say that when Paul was persecuting the early Church, Jesus Christ appeared to him and said: "Why do you persecute me?"

The passage from the Acts of the Apostles is related to John 15:5–8:^[8]

I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.

This passage shows the double-movement depending on the two possible attitudes towards Christ: whoever is united to Christ in holiness will rise and bear fruit, while those who are disunited to Christ will fall down and wither.

Pope John Paul II

Sign of Contradiction is also the title of Lenten meditations^[9] preached by and written about upon the request of Pope Paul VI by Pope John Paul II. The theme of the book, according to one review, is "the human encounter with God in a world that seems to contradict the reality of divine power and love."^{[This quote needs a citation]} Pope John Paul II says in his conclusion that "It is becoming more and more evident that those words (Luke 2:34) sum up most felicitously the whole truth about Jesus Christ, his mission and his Church."

When Pope John Paul II passed away in 2005, John Cawte on ABC^[9] and activist Judie Brown on The Washington Dispatch^[10] each described the late Pope himself as a "sign of contradiction".

Endnotes

^ Luke 2:34
^ Acts 28:22
^ Pope John XXIII, Gaudet Mater Ecclesia, in Italian: segno di contraddizione, paragraph 2.4, accessed on 10 November 2024
^ Wojtyla, Karol (1979). Sign of Contradiction. New York: The Seabury Press. p. 8. ISBN 0-8164-0433-X.
^ Unknown^{[permanent dead link]}
^ Duffner, Paul A. (March–April 1995). "Light & Life Vol 48 No 2 - A Sign of Contradiction". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2006-10-05.
^ "Catholic.net - Catholics on the net".
^ John 15:5–8
^ ^a ^b John Cawte. "Pope John Paul II - Influence". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 7 April 2005. In 1976, he was invited to preach the Lenten retreat for the papal household of Pope Paul VI; the published title of these sermons was "A Sign of Contradiction". His first two years as pope would indicate that he too was a sign of contradiction: an undisputed champion of human rights and an unrelenting opponent of married priests, women priests, birth control, abortion and even loyal dissent. [...] Within the Catholic Church, John Paul II was a sign of contradiction: liberal in social thought, conservative in theology. His programmatic first two years stamped his whole pontificate.
^ "The Washington Dispatch". www.washingtondispatch.com. Archived from the original on 14 February 2006. Retrieved 17 January 2022.

References

Wojtyla, Karol. Sign of Contradiction.
Woods, Thomas. How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization.
Quasten, James. Patrology.
Carrol, Warren. History of Christendom.
Journet, Charles. The Church.
Allen, John. Opus Dei: An Objective Look at the Most Controversial Force in the Catholic Church.
Casciaro, Josemaria, et al. Navarre Bible.
José Miguel Cejas, Piedras de escandalo