The mystery of the world, Israel and the Church in the vision of Jacques Maritain

It seems that man cannot observe the world without some lenses or some prism. That is why the author in this article tries to construct a three-sided worldview prism that includes three secrets or mysteries – the mystery of the world, the mystery of Israel and the mystery of the Church – in accordance with the vision of the great French philosopher Jacques Maritain (1882 – 1973). The term »mystery« here means something that transcends, attracts and warms the reason and, if humble, makes it more fruitful, but which the reason cannot comprehend. So, mystery is not against but above and in favor of reason, and it differs from a problem in that it is in principle unknowable or unsolvable within the horizon of human reason. Jacques Maritain was born into a liberal Protestant family, he had great sympathy for the Chosen People and was the husband of a Russian Jewess with whom he was baptized in the Catholic Church (1906), which represents a relatively rare and very interesting phenomenon. In addition, Maritain played a significant role in clarifying the problem of the relationship between the Church and the Jews in the 20th century, mostly in understanding the compatibility of their supernatural missions, which goes beyond the mere political level, why he still represents a guiding star when it comes to Jewish-Christian dialogue, to which this paper also aims to make a small contribution.