93
stands completely in need of life in societyâ
86
and
always exists in reference to society, finding there
a concrete way of relating to reality. The human
person is always situated in a culture: ânature and
culture are intimately linkedâ.
87
Grace supposes
culture, and Godâs gift becomes flesh in the cul-
ture of those who receive it.
116.âIn these first two Christian millennia,
countless peoples have received the grace of
faith, brought it to flower in their daily lives and
handed it on in the language of their own culture.
Whenever a community receives the message of
salvation, the Holy Spirit enriches its culture with
the transforming power of the Gospel. The his-
tory of the Church shows that Christianity does
not have simply one cultural expression, but
rather, âremaining completely true to itself, with
unswerving fidelity to the proclamation of the
Gospel and the tradition of the Church, it will
also reflect the different faces of the cultures and
peoples in which it is received and takes rootâ.
88
In the diversity of peoples who experience the
gift of God, each in accordance with its own
culture, the Church expresses her genuine catho-
licity and shows forth the âbeauty of her varied
faceâ.
89
In the Christian customs of an evange-
lized people, the Holy Spirit adorns the Church,
86
âIbid, 25.
87
âIbid, 53.
88
âJ
ohn
P
aul
II, Apostolic Letter
Novo Millennio Ineunte
(6
January 2001), 40: AAS 93 (2001), 295.
89
âIbid.
