The Creation
1. God is infinitely perfect in Himself and has therefore no need of
creatures for His eternal happiness. He knows Himself fully; and this
act of knowing is not transient, but substantial and eternal. It is the
perfect image of His own Essence, the Word which expresses His Divine
Infinity.
Knowing Himself in the infinite depths of His truth, beauty, and goodness, God
naturally loves Himself. This love, also substantial and eternal, is
the Holy Spirit, Who proceeds not only from the Father, but also from
the Word, since God loves Himself because He knows Himself perfectly.
The happiness of God, as St. Gregory Nazianzen writes, is not a solitary
state of beatitude. He has within Himself the Word, His consubstantial
Son, in Whom is reflected the perfection of His nature, and to Whom He
repeats from eternity: “You are my son; this day I have begotten you.”
(Ps. 2:7) Moreover, in an act equally substantial and infinite, He pours
forth His love, the Holy Spirit. Because He is infinitely happy and
perfect in Himself, God wished to manifest His perfection and to
communicate His happiness to others. According to St. Thomas, the only
reason why God has created is to manifest His glory and to share His
happiness. Creation is, therefore, an act of love. “I have loved thee
with an everlasting love; therefore have I drawn thee, taking pity on
thee.” (Jer. 31:3) “God,” says St. Irenaeus, “did not create man because
He had need of him, but because He wished to have creatures on whom He
could shower His gifts.” That is why Sacred Scripture tells us that “the
Lord has made everything for His own ends.” (Prov. 16:4)
Turning over these reflections in our minds, we should make an act of
profound humility before God and acknowledge that we are nothing without
Him. We should express our deep gratitude to God for our very existence
and for all the other gifts which He has enriched us.
Finally,
we should pay Him the tribute of our love, which should be expressed in
a practical manner, as well as verbally, by complete and constant
fidelity to His commandments.
2. Dante describes the Creation
beautifully as “Eternal Love expanded into new loves.” Heaven and earth,
angels and men, and all created beings are nothing more than an
expansion of this Eternal Love into new loves. Love unites and fills
everything. Everywhere in Heaven and on earth, there is love, there is
need of love. But whom shall we love? The creatures who surround us?
Yes. We may and should love them. They are rays of the light and beauty
of God. We should love them because they reflect the power and glory of
God. But we must not become attached to them. We must not try to find in
them happiness and peace of mind. They cannot give us contentment
because our hearts are made for something greater. God made creatures
for Himself, as St. Augustine says, and therefore our hearts will not
rest until they rest in Him.
3. Creatures should form a ladder
by which we climb to God. God should be the first thought, aim, and love
of our lives. If we were to substitute creatures for God, our journey
to Heaven would be impeded. Worse still, they could drag us into sin and
towards eternal damnation.
Showing posts with label creation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label creation. Show all posts
Sunday, 14 September 2014
Wednesday, 26 March 2014
Why God Created Us - Cardinal Bacci
Why God Created Us
1. God is infinitely happy in Himself from all eternity. He contemplates His own Essence, which contains every beauty and perfection. In the inconceivable joy of this contemplation He generates the substantial image of Himself which is the Eternal Word, “the brightness of his glory and the image of his substance.” (Heb. 1:3) When He contemplates Himself in the Eternal Word, He naturally loves Himself. This substantial and infinite Love proceeds from God as an eternal principle in so far as He knows Himself, and thence proceeds from the Father Who contemplates and the Word Who is contemplated. In this mysterious circle of the divine life God enjoys an eternal infinite and perfect happiness. Consequently, He is not in need of anything. Nevertheless, He wishes to radiate even outside of Himself the splendour of His power, beauty and goodness. He created the world and placed Man in it as the sovereign being. Unfortunately, sin came to disturb our being and to deprive us of the splendour of divine grace, and in this way it weakened the sovereignty which God had given us over all other creatures. But Jesus, the Eternal Word made man, has raised us once more to the supreme dignity of sons of God and heirs of Heaven. These reflections should arouse immense gratitude to God on our part, because He gave us life and made us masters of the universe. They should also make us deeply grateful to Jesus, because in His infinite mercy He raised us up after we had fallen and redeemed us with His precious blood.
2. We should ask the reason for everything which comes from the hands of God. Have you ever seriously considered why you are in this world ? It is certainly not for the sake of this passing earthly existence, for the sake of earning your living or enjoying yourself. You know well that the passing pleasures of this life do not satisfy the human heart and cannot be the final goal of life. Each one of us has a thirst for all that is infinite, eternal and perfect. God alone can satisfy this thirst. Just as we are created by God, so we are created for Him. Just as we came from God, so we are gradually travelling back towards Him, for He is the final goal of our earthly journey. We should meditate on this great truth, which we were first taught in the Catechism, namely, that we were created to know, love and serve God on this earth and to be happy with Him forever in Heaven. Let us not allow ourselves to be dazzled by earthly beauty. God alone is the eternal beauty which will satisfy our hearts.
3. If we are to reach God, Who is our goal, it is necessary for us to know, love and serve Him. Everything speaks to us of God, from the blade of grass to the cedar of the Lebanon, from the insect which glows in the darkness of the night to the highest stars of the firmament. In the hidden depths of our own being we hear His voice. The more we grow in the knowledge of God, the more we feel the need to love Him. We see how so much beauty, goodness and power is alone worthy of all our love. As our Creator, Redeemer and Benefactor, God has the right to the undivided affection of our hearts. This love should not be empty and sterile, however; it should be active and effective. Knowing and loving God, we should feel the obligation of serving Him as our Master in whatever He commands, even when this demands a heavy sacrifice on our part.
1. God is infinitely happy in Himself from all eternity. He contemplates His own Essence, which contains every beauty and perfection. In the inconceivable joy of this contemplation He generates the substantial image of Himself which is the Eternal Word, “the brightness of his glory and the image of his substance.” (Heb. 1:3) When He contemplates Himself in the Eternal Word, He naturally loves Himself. This substantial and infinite Love proceeds from God as an eternal principle in so far as He knows Himself, and thence proceeds from the Father Who contemplates and the Word Who is contemplated. In this mysterious circle of the divine life God enjoys an eternal infinite and perfect happiness. Consequently, He is not in need of anything. Nevertheless, He wishes to radiate even outside of Himself the splendour of His power, beauty and goodness. He created the world and placed Man in it as the sovereign being. Unfortunately, sin came to disturb our being and to deprive us of the splendour of divine grace, and in this way it weakened the sovereignty which God had given us over all other creatures. But Jesus, the Eternal Word made man, has raised us once more to the supreme dignity of sons of God and heirs of Heaven. These reflections should arouse immense gratitude to God on our part, because He gave us life and made us masters of the universe. They should also make us deeply grateful to Jesus, because in His infinite mercy He raised us up after we had fallen and redeemed us with His precious blood.
2. We should ask the reason for everything which comes from the hands of God. Have you ever seriously considered why you are in this world ? It is certainly not for the sake of this passing earthly existence, for the sake of earning your living or enjoying yourself. You know well that the passing pleasures of this life do not satisfy the human heart and cannot be the final goal of life. Each one of us has a thirst for all that is infinite, eternal and perfect. God alone can satisfy this thirst. Just as we are created by God, so we are created for Him. Just as we came from God, so we are gradually travelling back towards Him, for He is the final goal of our earthly journey. We should meditate on this great truth, which we were first taught in the Catechism, namely, that we were created to know, love and serve God on this earth and to be happy with Him forever in Heaven. Let us not allow ourselves to be dazzled by earthly beauty. God alone is the eternal beauty which will satisfy our hearts.
3. If we are to reach God, Who is our goal, it is necessary for us to know, love and serve Him. Everything speaks to us of God, from the blade of grass to the cedar of the Lebanon, from the insect which glows in the darkness of the night to the highest stars of the firmament. In the hidden depths of our own being we hear His voice. The more we grow in the knowledge of God, the more we feel the need to love Him. We see how so much beauty, goodness and power is alone worthy of all our love. As our Creator, Redeemer and Benefactor, God has the right to the undivided affection of our hearts. This love should not be empty and sterile, however; it should be active and effective. Knowing and loving God, we should feel the obligation of serving Him as our Master in whatever He commands, even when this demands a heavy sacrifice on our part.
Sunday, 9 February 2014
The Use of Creatures - Cardinal Bacci
The Use of Creatures
1. God has created all things for Himself, as He is the most perfect being and the final end of all things. He has made man supreme in the world, however, and has made all other creatures subject to him. (Cf. Gen. 1:28) This God-given supremacy over the universe continues even after the fall of Adam. It can no longer be exercised without trouble and suffering as it was in the state of innocence, however. Now it must be acquired by hard manual labour, and by keen intellectual research and study.
After man's disobedience to God, even the relationship which existed between him and created things was disturbed. But these things are still a ladder which leads to God if they are properly used. They are a distant reflection of His beauty and omnipotence. “The heavens,” says the Psalmist, “declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.” (Ps. 18:2)
Let us listen to the voice of creation, for it speaks to us of God. St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus wept when she beheld the fragile beauty of a flower, and said "How great is God's love for us!" St. Francis of Assisi saw the image of the common Creator everywhere around him and called all these things including fire and water, his brothers and sisters. He even conversed with them in a simple way. He looked upon death itself as the good sister who was to free him from the slavery of the body and unite him to God.
2. The Saints understood clearly what our attitude to creatures should be. Created things should be a reflection of eternal beauty which entices us to love God, the source and origin of all things. They should form a ladder which makes it easy for us to ascend towards God and to achieve unity with Him. But is this what creatures really mean to us? Or do they, more often than not, lead us away from God? Perhaps we are held up too frequently by our love for creatures and tend to forget God. The passing loveliness of this earth causes us to forget the everlasting beauty for which we are destined. Worse still, the use of creatures may divert us from God altogether and cause us to disobey His law. Let us examine ourselves thoroughly on this point. Let us see if it is necessary to alter the direction of our thoughts and desires and to purify our hearts in such a way that we shall think, love and act for God alone.
3. St. Ignatius of Loyola investigates this subject in his Spiritual Exercises. He writes that we ought to use things in so far as they bring us nearer to our final end. We ought to avoid things completely, he continues, in so far as they separate or distract us from this end. The function of creatures in our regard is to lead us nearer to God, to remind us of God, and to make us love God. But if they are a source of scandal to us, we must avoid them. The Gospel is very strict on this matter when it says: “If thy hand or foot is an occasion of sin to thee, cut if off and cast it from thee.” (Mt. 5:29-30; 18:8) This means that we must be ready to give up anything rather than endanger our souls and risk the loss of divine grace.
1. God has created all things for Himself, as He is the most perfect being and the final end of all things. He has made man supreme in the world, however, and has made all other creatures subject to him. (Cf. Gen. 1:28) This God-given supremacy over the universe continues even after the fall of Adam. It can no longer be exercised without trouble and suffering as it was in the state of innocence, however. Now it must be acquired by hard manual labour, and by keen intellectual research and study.
After man's disobedience to God, even the relationship which existed between him and created things was disturbed. But these things are still a ladder which leads to God if they are properly used. They are a distant reflection of His beauty and omnipotence. “The heavens,” says the Psalmist, “declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.” (Ps. 18:2)
Let us listen to the voice of creation, for it speaks to us of God. St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus wept when she beheld the fragile beauty of a flower, and said "How great is God's love for us!" St. Francis of Assisi saw the image of the common Creator everywhere around him and called all these things including fire and water, his brothers and sisters. He even conversed with them in a simple way. He looked upon death itself as the good sister who was to free him from the slavery of the body and unite him to God.
2. The Saints understood clearly what our attitude to creatures should be. Created things should be a reflection of eternal beauty which entices us to love God, the source and origin of all things. They should form a ladder which makes it easy for us to ascend towards God and to achieve unity with Him. But is this what creatures really mean to us? Or do they, more often than not, lead us away from God? Perhaps we are held up too frequently by our love for creatures and tend to forget God. The passing loveliness of this earth causes us to forget the everlasting beauty for which we are destined. Worse still, the use of creatures may divert us from God altogether and cause us to disobey His law. Let us examine ourselves thoroughly on this point. Let us see if it is necessary to alter the direction of our thoughts and desires and to purify our hearts in such a way that we shall think, love and act for God alone.
3. St. Ignatius of Loyola investigates this subject in his Spiritual Exercises. He writes that we ought to use things in so far as they bring us nearer to our final end. We ought to avoid things completely, he continues, in so far as they separate or distract us from this end. The function of creatures in our regard is to lead us nearer to God, to remind us of God, and to make us love God. But if they are a source of scandal to us, we must avoid them. The Gospel is very strict on this matter when it says: “If thy hand or foot is an occasion of sin to thee, cut if off and cast it from thee.” (Mt. 5:29-30; 18:8) This means that we must be ready to give up anything rather than endanger our souls and risk the loss of divine grace.
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