Guardian Angel

Paragraph 5. Heaven and Earth (cont’d)

In Brief

(350) Angels are spiritual creatures who glorify God without ceasing and who serve his saving plans for other creatures: “The angels work together for the benefit of us all” (St. Thomas Aquinas, STh I, 114, 3, ad 3).

(351) The angels surround Christ their Lord. They serve him especially in the accomplishment of his saving mission to men.

(352) The Church venerates the angels who help her on her earthly pilgrimage and protect every human being.

(353) God willed the diversity of his creatures and their own particular goodness, their interdependence, and their order. He destined all material creatures for the good of the human race. Man, and through him all creation, is destined for the glory of God.

(354) Respect for laws inscribed in creation and the relations which derive from the nature of things is a principle of wisdom and a foundation for morality.

Paragraph 6. Man

(355) “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them.” Man occupies a unique place in creation: (I) he is “in the image of God”; (II) in his own nature he unites the spiritual and material worlds; (III) he is created “male and female”; (IV) God established him in his friendship.

I. “In the Image of God”

(356) Of all visible creatures only man is “able to know and love his creator.” He is “the only creature on earth that God has willed for its own sake,” and he alone is called to share, by knowledge and love, in God’s own life. It was for this end that he was created, and this is the fundamental reason for his dignity:

What made you establish man in so great a dignity? Certainly the incalculable love by which you have looked on your creature in yourself! You are taken with love for her; for by love indeed you created her, by love you have given her a being capable of tasting your eternal Good.

Source: USCCB

Sistine Chapel

II. The Visible World (cont’d)

(343) Man is the summit of the Creator’s work, as the inspired account expresses by clearly distinguishing the creation of man from that of the other creatures.

(344) There is a solidarity among all creatures arising from the fact that all have the same Creator and are all ordered to his glory:

May you be praised, O Lord, in all your creatures, especially brother sun, by whom you give us light for the day; he is beautiful, radiating great splendor, and offering us a symbol of you, the Most High. . . .

May you be praised, my Lord, for sister water, who is very useful and humble, precious and chaste. . . .

May you be praised, my Lord, for sister earth, our mother, who bears and feeds us, and produces the variety of fruits and dappled flowers and grasses. . . .

Praise and bless my Lord, give thanks and serve him in all humility.

(345) The sabbath—the end of the work of the six days. The sacred text says that “on the seventh day God finished his work which he had done,” that the “heavens and the earth were finished,” and that God “rested” on this day and sanctified and blessed it. These inspired words are rich in profitable instruction:

(346) In creation God laid a foundation and established laws that remain firm, on which the believer can rely with confidence, for they are the sign and pledge of the unshakeable faithfulness of God’s covenant. For his part man must remain faithful to this foundation and respect the laws which the Creator has written into it.

(347) Creation was fashioned with a view to the sabbath and therefore for the worship and adoration of God. Worship is inscribed in the order of creation. As the rule of St. Benedict says, nothing should take precedence over “the work of God,” that is, solemn worship. This indicates the right order of human concerns.

(348) The sabbath is at the heart of Israel’s law. To keep the commandments is to correspond to the wisdom and the will of God as expressed in his work of creation.

(349) The eighth day. But for us a new day has dawned: the day of Christ’s Resurrection. The seventh day completes the first creation. The eighth day begins the new creation. Thus, the work of creation culminates in the greater work of redemption. The first creation finds its meaning and its summit in the new creation in Christ, the splendor of which surpasses that of the first creation.

My apologies for getting this one up late. It has been quite a hectic day around the Pringle household…trying to get my brother’s family moved to their new place.

Source: USCCB

Earth | Source: NASA

I. The Angels

The angels in the life of the Church (cont’d)

(336) From its beginning until death, human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession. “Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life.” Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and men united in God.

II. The Visible World

(337) God himself created the visible world in all its richness, diversity, and order. Scripture presents the work of the Creator symbolically as a succession of six days of divine “work,” concluded by the “rest” of the seventh day. On the subject of creation, the sacred text teaches the truths revealed by God for our salvation, permitting us to “recognize the inner nature, the value, and the ordering of the whole of creation to the praise of God.”

(338) Nothing exists that does not owe its existence to God the Creator. The world began when God’s word drew it out of nothingness; all existent beings, all of nature, and all human history are rooted in this primordial event, the very genesis by which the world was constituted and time begun.

(339) Each creature possesses its own particular goodness and perfection. For each one of the works of the “six days” it is said: “And God saw that it was good.” “By the very nature of creation, material being is endowed with its own stability, truth, and excellence, its own order and laws.” Each of the various creatures, willed in its own being, reflects in its own way a ray of God’s infinite wisdom and goodness. Man must therefore respect the particular goodness of every creature, to avoid any disordered use of things which would be in contempt of the Creator and would bring disastrous consequences for human beings and their environment.

(340) God wills the interdependence of creatures. The sun and the moon, the cedar and the little flower, the eagle and the sparrow: the spectacle of their countless diversities and inequalities tells us that no creature is self-sufficient. Creatures exist only in dependence on each other, to complete each other, in the service of each other.

(341) The beauty of the universe: The order and harmony of the created world results from the diversity of beings and from the relationships which exist among them. Man discovers them progressively as the laws of nature. They call forth the admiration of scholars. The beauty of creation reflects the infinite beauty of the Creator and ought to inspire the respect and submission of man’s intellect and will.

(342) The hierarchy of creatures is expressed by the order of the “six days,” from the less perfect to the more perfect. God loves all his creatures and takes care of each one, even the sparrow. Nevertheless, Jesus said: “You are of more value than many sparrows,” or again: “Of how much more value is a man than a sheep!”

Source: USCCB

St. Michael the Archangel

I. The Angels (cont’d)

Who are they?

(329) St. Augustine says: “‘Angel’ is the name of their office, not of their nature. If you seek the name of their nature, it is ‘spirit’; if you seek the name of their office, it is ‘angel’: from what they are, ‘spirit,’ from what they do, ‘angel.’” With their whole beings the angels are servants and messengers of God. Because they “always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven” they are the “mighty ones who do his word, hearkening to the voice of his word.”

(330) As purely spiritual creatures angels have intelligence and will: they are personal and immortal creatures, surpassing in perfection all visible creatures, as the splendor of their glory bears witness.

Christ “with all his angels”

(331) Christ is the center of the angelic world. They are his angels: “When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him…” They belong to him because they were created through and for him: “for in him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.” They belong to him still more because he has made them messengers of his saving plan: “Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to serve, for the sake of those who are to obtain salvation?”

(332) Angels have been present since creation and throughout the history of salvation, announcing this salvation from afar or near and serving the accomplishment of the divine plan: they closed the earthly paradise; protected Lot; saved Hagar and her child; stayed Abraham’s hand; communicated the law by their ministry; led the People of God; announced births and callings; and assisted the prophets, just to cite a few examples. Finally, the angel Gabriel announced the birth of the Precursor and that of Jesus himself.

(333) From the Incarnation to the Ascension, the life of the Word incarnate is surrounded by the adoration and service of angels. When God “brings the firstborn into the world, he says: ‘Let all God’s angels worship him.’” Their song of praise at the birth of Christ has not ceased resounding in the Church’s praise: “Glory to God in the highest!” They protect Jesus in his infancy, serve him in the desert, strengthen him in his agony in the garden, when he could have been saved by them from the hands of his enemies as Israel had been. Again, it is the angels who “evangelize” by proclaiming the Good News of Christ’s Incarnation and Resurrection. They will be present at Christ’s return, which they will announce, to serve at his judgment.

The angels in the life of the Church

(334) In the meantime, the whole life of the Church benefits from the mysterious and powerful help of angels.

(335) In her liturgy, the Church joins with the angels to adore the thrice-holy God. She invokes their assistance (in the funeral liturgy’s In Paradisum deducant te angeli…["May the angels lead you into Paradise..."]). Moreover, in the “Cherubic Hymn” of the Byzantine Liturgy, she celebrates the memory of certain angels more particularly (St. Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael, and the guardian angels).

Source: USCCB

Participants Carry American Flag at Immigration Rally

This Thursday, July 29th, the controversial Arizona immigration law is set to take effect. While the majority of Americans agree with the passage and enactment of this law, the Church has opposed it from the beginning.

In the most recent show of opposition, Bishop Gerald Kicanas testified before the House Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law on July 14th. In his testimony, the bishop of Tuscon remarked on the Arizona law, calling it an example of the frustration the American people have with Congress for the legislature’s laxity in passing immigration reform…

To read the full post, click here.

The Crucifixion of Jesus

Paragraph 4. The Creator (cont’d)

In Brief

(322) Christ invites us to filial trust in the providence of our heavenly Father (cf. Mt 6:26-34), and St. Peter the apostle repeats: “Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you” (1 Pet 5:7; cf. Ps 55:23).

(323) Divine providence works also through the actions of creatures. To human beings God grants the ability to cooperate freely with his plans.

(324) The fact that God permits physical and even moral evil is a mystery that God illuminates by his Son Jesus Christ who died and rose to vanquish evil. Faith gives us the certainty that God would not permit an evil if he did not cause a good to come from that very evil, by ways that we shall fully know only in eternal life.

Paragraph 5. Heaven and Earth

(325) The Apostles’ Creed professes that God is “Creator of heaven and earth.” The Nicene Creed makes it explicit that this profession includes “all that is, seen and unseen.”

(326) The Scriptural expression “heaven and earth” means all that exists, creation in its entirety. It also indicates the bond, deep within creation, that both unites heaven and earth and distinguishes the one from the other: “the earth” is the world of men, while “heaven” or “the heavens” can designate both the firmament and God’s own “place”—”our Father in heaven” and consequently the “heaven” too which is eschatological glory. Finally, “heaven” refers to the saints and the “place” of the spiritual creatures, the angels, who surround God.

(327) The profession of faith of the Fourth Lateran Council (1215) affirms that God “from the beginning of time made at once (simul) out of nothing both orders of creatures, the spiritual and the corporeal, that is, the angelic and the earthly, and then (deinde) the human creature, who as it were shares in both orders, being composed of spirit and body.”

I. The Angels

The existence of angels—a truth of faith

(328) The existence of the spiritual, non-corporeal beings that Sacred Scripture usually calls “angels” is a truth of faith. The witness of Scripture is as clear as the unanimity of Tradition.

Source: USCCB

Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden

Paragraph 4. The Creator (cont’d)

In Brief

(315) In the creation of the world and of man, God gave the first and universal witness to his almighty love and his wisdom, the first proclamation of the “plan of his loving goodness,” which finds its goal in the new creation in Christ.

(316) Though the work of creation is attributed to the Father in particular, it is equally a truth of faith that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit together are the one, indivisible principle of creation.

(317) God alone created the universe freely, directly, and without any help.

(318) No creature has the infinite power necessary to “create” in the proper sense of the word, that is, to produce and give being to that which had in no way possessed it (to call into existence “out of nothing”) (cf. DS 3624).

(319) God created the world to show forth and communicate his glory. That his creatures should share in his truth, goodness, and beauty—this is the glory for which God created them.

(320) God created the universe and keeps it in existence by his Word, the Son “upholding the universe by his word of power” (Heb 1:3) and by his Creator Spirit, the giver of life.

(321) Divine providence consists of the dispositions by which God guides all his creatures with wisdom and love to their ultimate end.

Source: USCCB

Our Lady of Divine Providence

V. God Carries out His Plan: Divine Providence (cont’d)

(308) The truth that God is at work in all the actions of his creatures is inseparable from faith in God the Creator. God is the first cause who operates in and through secondary causes: “For God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” Far from diminishing the creature’s dignity, this truth enhances it. Drawn from nothingness by God’s power, wisdom, and goodness, it can do nothing if it is cut off from its origin, for “without a Creator the creature vanishes.” Still less can a creature attain its ultimate end without the help of God’s grace.

Providence and the scandal of evil

(309) If God the Father almighty, the Creator of the ordered and good world, cares for all his creatures, why does evil exist? To this question, as pressing as it is unavoidable and as painful as it is mysterious, no quick answer will suffice. Only Christian faith as a whole constitutes the answer to this question: the goodness of creation, the drama of sin, and the patient love of God who comes to meet man by his covenants, the redemptive Incarnation of his Son, his gift of the Spirit, his gathering of the Church, the power of the sacraments, and his call to a blessed life to which free creatures are invited to consent in advance, but from which, by a terrible mystery, they can also turn away in advance. There is not a single aspect of the Christian message that is not in part an answer to the question of evil.

(310) But why did God not create a world so perfect that no evil could exist in it? With infinite power God could always create something better. But with infinite wisdom and goodness God freely willed to create a world “in a state of journeying ” toward its ultimate perfection. In God’s plan this process of becoming involves the appearance of certain beings and the disappearance of others, the existence of the more perfect alongside the less perfect, both constructive and destructive forces of nature. With physical good there exists also physical evil as long as creation has not reached perfection.

(311) Angels and men, as intelligent and free creatures, have to journey toward their ultimate destinies by their free choice and preferential love. They can therefore go astray. Indeed, they have sinned. Thus has moral evil, incommensurably more harmful than physical evil, entered the world. God is in no way, directly or indirectly, the cause of moral evil. He permits it, however, because he respects the freedom of his creatures and, mysteriously, knows how to derive good from it:

For almighty God . . ., because he is supremely good, would never allow any evil whatsoever to exist in his works if he were not so all-powerful and good as to cause good to emerge from evil itself.

(312) In time we can discover that God in his almighty providence can bring a good from the consequences of an evil, even a moral evil, caused by his creatures: “It was not you,” said Joseph to his brothers, “who sent me here, but God. . . . You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive.” From the greatest moral evil ever committed—the rejection and murder of God’s only Son, caused by the sins of all men—God, by his grace that “abounded all the more,” brought the greatest of goods: the glorification of Christ and our redemption. But for all that, evil never becomes a good.

(313) “We know that in everything God works for good for those who love him.” The constant witness of the saints confirms this truth:

St. Catherine of Siena said to “those who are scandalized and rebel against what happens to them”: “Everything comes from love, all is ordained for the salvation of man, God does nothing without this goal in mind.”

St. Thomas More, shortly before his martyrdom, consoled his daughter: “Nothing can come but that that God wills. And I make me very sure that whatsoever that be, seem it never so bad in sight, it shall indeed be the best.”

Dame Julian of Norwich: “Here I was taught by the grace of God that I should steadfastly keep me in the faith . . . and that at the same time I should take my stand on and earnestly believe in what our Lord shewed in this time—that ‘all manner [of] thing shall be well.’”

(314) We firmly believe that God is master of the world and of its history. But the ways of his providence are often unknown to us. Only at the end, when our partial knowledge ceases, when we see God “face to face,” will we fully know the ways by which—even through the dramas of evil and sin—God has guided his creation to that definitive sabbath rest for which he created heaven and earth.

Source: USCCB

Our Lady of Divine Providence

IV. The Mystery of Creation (cont’d)

God upholds and sustains creation

(301) With creation, God does not abandon his creatures to themselves. He not only gives them being and existence, but also, and at every moment, upholds and sustains them in being, enables them to act and brings them to their final end. Recognizing this utter dependence with respect to the Creator is a source of wisdom and freedom, of joy and confidence:

For you love all things that exist, and detest none of the things that you have made; for you would not have made anything if you had hated it. How would anything have endured, if you had not willed it? Or how would anything not called forth by you have been preserved? You spare all things, for they are yours, O Lord, you who love the living.

V. God Carries out His Plan: Divine Providence

(302) Creation has its own goodness and proper perfection, but it did not spring forth complete from the hands of the Creator. The universe was created “in a state of journeying” (in statu viae) toward an ultimate perfection yet to be attained, to which God has destined it. We call “divine providence” the dispositions by which God guides his creation toward this perfection:

By his providence God protects and governs all things which he has made, “reaching mightily from one end of the earth to the other, and ordering all things well.” For “all are open and laid bare to his eyes,” even those things which are yet to come into existence through the free action of creatures.

(303) The witness of Scripture is unanimous that the solicitude of divine providence is concrete and immediate; God cares for all, from the least things to the great events of the world and its history. The sacred books powerfully affirm God’s absolute sovereignty over the course of events: “Our God is in the heavens; he does whatever he pleases.” And so it is with Christ, “who opens and no one shall shut, who shuts and no one opens.” As the book of Proverbs states: “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will be established.”

(304) And so we see the Holy Spirit, the principal author of Sacred Scripture, often attributing actions to God without mentioning any secondary causes. This is not a “primitive mode of speech,” but a profound way of recalling God’s primacy and absolute Lordship over history and the world, and so of educating his people to trust in him. The prayer of the Psalms is the great school of this trust.

(305) Jesus asks for childlike abandonment to the providence of our heavenly Father who takes care of his children’s smallest needs: “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ . . . . Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.”

Providence and secondary causes

(306) God is the sovereign master of his plan. But to carry it out he also makes use of his creatures’ cooperation. This use is not a sign of weakness, but rather a token of almighty God’s greatness and goodness. For God grants his creatures not only their existence, but also the dignity of acting on their own, of being causes and principles for each other, and thus of cooperating in the accomplishment of his plan.

(307) To human beings God even gives the power of freely sharing in his providence by entrusting them with the responsibility of “subduing” the earth and having dominion over it. God thus enables men to be intelligent and free causes in order to complete the work of creation, to perfect its harmony for their own good and that of their neighbors. Though often unconscious collaborators with God’s will, they can also enter deliberately into the divine plan by their actions, their prayers, and their sufferings. They then fully become “God’s fellow workers” and co-workers for his kingdom.

http://www.catholicvoteaction.org

Over the last couple of months, as I have transitioned out of the seminary, the blog has taken on a new approach, as many of you have witnessed. Three years ago, when I began that awesome journey of faith as a seminarian, the blog’s purpose was to keep my family, friends and supporters up-to-date on my progress. I shared countless stories about what seminary life was all about and how my experiences developed and shaped my faith. However, when my life outside of priestly formation began, the blog took on a new role, keeping Catholics informed about the internal workings of the Church (new appointments, installation Masses, etc.) as well as the external issues currently facing the Church.

About three weeks ago, I was approached about possibly joining the blogging team at Catholic Vote Action. To tell you the truth, I was ecstatic to even be considered for the opportunity. Since then, I have been thinking about what issues I could write about. While pro-life issues were number one on the list, I have also considered the debates surrounding gay marriage, immigration reform and the death penalty.

Politics is something that is very unique to every individual. Each of us, as we grow older, has the opportunity to develop our own thoughts and opinions on the issues facing our country. The mainstream political parties have a set of beliefs that make them stand out from the others. Our first political decision is choosing the correct political affiliation: does the Democratic party platform match the majority of our thoughts or do we tend to agree with the Republican platform? Or, in some circumstances, is there no political party that matches our beliefs? While this is an important choice to make, the greatest freedom we have is making our voices heard in the voting booth.

As Catholic Christians, we believe that a well informed conscience is essential in any political decision. We have an obligation to make the best moral selection we can. However, we cannot make the correct moral choice if we do not inform ourselves about the candidates or the impact of a proposed statute. If we simply vote based on party lines or by “Christmas treeing” the ballot, we are committing a disservice to our country, to ourselves, and, more importantly, to our faith.

Some Catholics believe that faith is something reserved for Sunday and they object to having it in the public arena. If we were to follow that example, we would have no faith. Catholics and ALL Christians have the responsibility to be the moral voice throughout the world. We are all bound by our baptismal call to go out into the world preaching Jesus’ message of salvation, love and compassion. How then, can we reserve our faith for Sunday?

Ultimately, I decided to join CVA because I thought it would give me an opportunity to maybe lend a helping hand in the discernment process of Catholic voters. We need to discern the decisions we make about the future of our country. We need to discern how we can make a difference in the lives of all people while still respecting their dignity and their rights. And finally, we need to discern how we are going to be an advocate for our faith.

If the Holy Spirit allows me to reach one person and assist them in voting their conscience, I will consider my job done. I look forward to this opportunity.

On a side note, while I will be blogging on CVA, I will also continue to write on Catholica Omnia. This site has given me a unique opportunity to continue to share my faith with all of you. I hope that you will follow me over at CatholicVoteAction.org and that we can continue to learn from each other.

As always, please be assured of my prayers for all of you and, if you would, please remember me in your prayers.

Adam and Eve by Domenichino

III. “The World Was Created for the Glory of God (cont’d)

(294) The glory of God consists in the realization of this manifestation and communication of his goodness, for which the world was created. God made us “to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace,” for “the glory of God is man fully alive; moreover man’s life is the vision of God: if God’s revelation through creation has already obtained life for all the beings that dwell on earth, how much more will the Word’s manifestation of the Father obtain life for those who see God.” The ultimate purpose of creation is that God “who is the creator of all things may at last become ‘all in all,’ thus simultaneously assuring his own glory and our beatitude.”

IV. The Mystery of Creation

God creates by wisdom and love

(295) We believe that God created the world according to his wisdom. It is not the product of any necessity whatever, nor of blind fate or chance. We believe that it proceeds from God’s free will; he wanted to make his creatures share in his being, wisdom, and goodness: “For you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” Therefore the Psalmist exclaims: “O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all”; and “The LORD is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made.”

God creates “out of nothing”

(296) We believe that God needs no pre-existent thing or any help in order to create, nor is creation any sort of necessary emanation from the divine substance. God creates freely “out of nothing”:

If God had drawn the world from pre-existent matter, what would be so extraordinary in that? A human artisan makes from a given material whatever he wants, while God shows his power by starting from nothing to make all he wants.

(297) Scripture bears witness to faith in creation “out of nothing” as a truth full of promise and hope. Thus the mother of seven sons encourages them for martyrdom:

I do not know how you came into being in my womb. It was not I who gave you life and breath, nor I who set in order the elements within each of you. Therefore the Creator of the world, who shaped the beginning of man and devised the origin of all things, will in his mercy give life and breath back to you again, since you now forget yourselves for the sake of his laws. . . . Look at the heaven and the earth and see everything that is in them, and recognize that God did not make them out of things that existed. Thus also mankind comes into being.

(298) Since God could create everything out of nothing, he can also, through the Holy Spirit, give spiritual life to sinners by creating a pure heart in them and bodily life to the dead through the Resurrection. God “gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.” And since God was able to make light shine in darkness by his Word, he can also give the light of faith to those who do not yet know him.

God creates an ordered and good world

(299) Because God creates through wisdom, his creation is ordered: “You have arranged all things by measure and number and weight.” The universe, created in and by the eternal Word, the “image of the invisible God,” is destined for and addressed to man, himself created in the “image of God” and called to a personal relationship with God. Our human understanding, which shares in the light of the divine intellect, can understand what God tells us by means of his creation, though not without great effort and only in a spirit of humility and respect before the Creator and his work. Because creation comes forth from God’s goodness, it shares in that goodness—”And God saw that it was good . . . very good”—for God willed creation as a gift addressed to man, an inheritance destined for and entrusted to him. On many occasions the Church has had to defend the goodness of creation, including that of the physical world.

God transcends creation and is present to it

(300) God is infinitely greater than all his works: “You have set your glory above the heavens.” Indeed, God’s “greatness is unsearchable.” But because he is the free and sovereign Creator, the first cause of all that exists, God is present to his creatures’ inmost being: “In him we live and move and have our being.” In the words of St. Augustine, God is “higher than my highest and more inward than my innermost self.”

The Creation of Adam

I. Catechesis on Creation (cont’d)

(287) The truth about creation is so important for all of human life that God in his tenderness wanted to reveal to his People everything that is salutary to know on the subject. Beyond the natural knowledge that every man can have of the Creator, God progressively revealed to Israel the mystery of creation. He who chose the patriarchs, who brought Israel out of Egypt, and who by choosing Israel created and formed it, this same God reveals himself as the One to whom belong all the peoples of the earth, and the whole earth itself; he is the One who alone “made heaven and earth.”

(288) Thus the revelation of creation is inseparable from the revelation and forging of the covenant of the one God with his People. Creation is revealed as the first step toward this covenant, the first and universal witness to God’s all-powerful love. And so, the truth of creation is also expressed with growing vigor in the message of the prophets, the prayer of the psalms and the liturgy, and in the wisdom sayings of the Chosen People.

(289) Among all the Scriptural texts about creation, the first three chapters of Genesis occupy a unique place. From a literary standpoint these texts may have had diverse sources. The inspired authors have placed them at the beginning of Scripture to express in their solemn LANGUAGE the truths of creation—its origin and its end in God, its order and goodness, the vocation of man, and finally the drama of sin and the hope of salvation. Read in the light of Christ, within the unity of Sacred Scripture and in the living Tradition of the Church, these texts remain the principal source for catechesis on the mysteries of the “beginning”: creation, fall, and promise of salvation.

II. Creation—Work of the Holy Trinity

(290) “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”: three things are affirmed in these first words of Scripture: the eternal God gave a beginning to all that exists outside of himself; he alone is Creator (the verb “create”—Hebrew bara—always has God for its subject). The totality of what exists (expressed by the formula “the heavens and the earth”) depends on the One who gives it being.

(291) “In the beginning was the Word…and the Word was God…all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.” The New Testament reveals that God created everything by the eternal Word, his beloved Son. In him “all things were created, in heaven and on earth…all things were created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” The Church’s faith likewise confesses the creative action of the Holy Spirit, the “giver of life,” “the Creator Spirit” (“Veni, Creator Spiritus”), the “source of every good.”

(292) The Old Testament suggests and the New Covenant reveals the creative action of the Son and the Spirit, inseparably one with that of the Father. This creative cooperation is clearly affirmed in the Church’s rule of faith: “There exists but one God…he is the Father, God, the Creator, the author, the giver of order. He made all things by himself, that is, by his Word and by his Wisdom,” “by the Son and the Spirit” who, so to speak, are “his hands.” Creation is the common work of the Holy Trinity.

III. “The World Was Created for the Glory of God”

(293) Scripture and Tradition never cease to teach and celebrate this fundamental truth: “The world was made for the glory of God.” St. Bonaventure explains that God created all things “not to increase his glory, but to show it forth and to communicate it,” for God has no other reason for creating than his love and goodness: “Creatures came into existence when the key of love opened his hand.” The First Vatican Council explains:

This one, true God, of his own goodness and “almighty power,” not for increasing his own beatitude, nor for attaining his perfection, but in order to manifest this perfection through the benefits which he bestows on creatures, with absolute freedom of counsel “and from the beginning of time, made out of nothing both orders of creatures, the spiritual and the corporeal…”

Source: USCCB

Encounter with the Risen Christ

Paragraph 4. The Creator (cont’d)

(280) Creation is the foundation of “all God’s saving plans,” the “beginning of the history of salvation” that culminates in Christ. Conversely, the mystery of Christ casts conclusive light on the mystery of creation and reveals the end for which “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”: from the beginning, God envisaged the glory of the new creation in Christ.

(281) And so the readings of the Easter Vigil, the celebration of the new creation in Christ, begin with the creation account; likewise in the Byzantine liturgy, the account of creation always constitutes the first reading at the vigils of the great feasts of the Lord. According to ancient witnesses the instruction of catechumens for Baptism followed the same itinerary.

I. Catechesis on Creation

(282) Catechesis on creation is of major importance. It concerns the very foundations of human and Christian life: for it makes explicit the response of the Christian faith to the basic question that men of all times have asked themselves: “Where do we come from?” “Where are we going?” “What is our origin?” “What is our end?” “Where does everything that exists come from and where is it going?” The two questions, the first about the origin and the second about the end, are inseparable. They are decisive for the meaning and orientation of our life and actions.

(283) The question about the origins of the world and of man has been the object of many scientific studies which have splendidly enriched our knowledge of the age and dimensions of the cosmos, the development of life-forms and the appearance of man. These discoveries invite us to even greater admiration for the greatness of the Creator, prompting us to give him thanks for all his works and for the understanding and wisdom he gives to scholars and researchers. With Solomon they can say: “It is he who gave me unerring knowledge of what exists, to know the structure of the world and the activity of the elements . . . for wisdom, the fashioner of all things, taught me.”

(284) The great interest accorded to these studies is strongly stimulated by a question of another order, which goes beyond the proper domain of the natural sciences. It is not only a question of knowing when and how the universe arose physically, or when man appeared, but rather of discovering the meaning of such an origin: is the universe governed by chance, blind fate, anonymous necessity, or by a transcendent, intelligent and good Being called “God”? And if the world does come from God’s wisdom and goodness, why is there evil? Where does it come from? Who is responsible for it? Is there any liberation from it?

(285) Since the beginning the Christian faith has been challenged by responses to the question of origins that differ from its own. Ancient religions and cultures produced many myths concerning origins. Some philosophers have said that everything is God, that the world is God, or that the development of the world is the development of God (Pantheism). Others have said that the world is a necessary emanation arising from God and returning to him. Still others have affirmed the existence of two eternal principles, Good and Evil, Light and Darkness, locked in permanent conflict (Dualism, Manichaeism). According to some of these conceptions, the world (at least the physical world) is evil, the product of a fall, and is thus to be rejected or left behind (Gnosticism). Some admit that the world was made by God, but as by a watchmaker who, once he has made a watch, abandons it to itself (Deism). Finally, others reject any transcendent origin for the world, but see it as merely the interplay of matter that has always existed (Materialism). All these attempts bear witness to the permanence and universality of the question of origins. This inquiry is distinctively human.

(286) Human intelligence is surely already capable of finding a response to the question of origins. The existence of God the Creator can be known with certainty through his works, by the light of human reason, even if this knowledge is often obscured and disfigured by error. This is why faith comes to confirm and enlighten reason in the correct understanding of this truth: “By faith we understand that the world was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made out of things which do not appear.”

Florida's 8th Congressional District | Source: National Atlas

Over the last several weeks, campaign ads for the upcoming November elections have begun to increase, especially in high priority, battleground districts. Florida’s 8th Congressional District is one such district. Jockeying for the seat in the House of Representatives are one outspoken, ultra-liberal Democrat, Alan Grayson, and a handful of conservative Republican hopefuls. Not to mention those running for the seat who have other or no party affiliations.

In November 2008, Democratic newcomer Alan Grayson was able to oust Republican Ric Keller who represented the district since 2001. Now, Grayson is up for re-election. After his vote on the health care bill and the stimulus, many of his constituents are beginning to question whether or not he is the right person to represent their district.

Before we can get to the November general election, however, we must first go through primary voting season, which takes place for this particular district on August 24th. While there are no Democrats running against Grayson in the Democratic primary, there are seven Republicans who will have to duke it out come August. However, there is only one that stands out to me.

Daniel Webster | Source: Palm Beach Post

Former State Senator Daniel Webster is running to secure the nomination in order to defeat Alan Grayson. Since his time in the Florida State Senate, Webster has repeatedly defended the rights of the most vulnerable among us, staunchly supporting multiple pro-life efforts.

According to Project Vote Smart, while in the Florida Legislature, Senator Webster voted yes on two key votes backed by members of the pro-life movement: SB 2400 and CS HB 1497. SB 2400 would have required women seeking an abortion to undergo an ultrasound; however, the bill did not go on to the Governor’s desk. CS HB 1497 determined that:

1. Third trimester abortions can only be performed if there is a certified statement of a medical emergency and if they are performed in a hospital;
2. An ultrasound be performed before an abortion;
3. Women seeking an abortion must be given the option to view the ultrasound;
4. A 24 hour waiting period for abortions, except in the case of a medical emergency;
5. A guardian must be appointed to act on behalf of a minor when a minor petitions a court for an exception to the parental notification requirements;
6. A civil cause of action for parents of a minor who has had an abortion for failure to provide actual or constructive notice against the physician who performed the abortion.

Over the last several days, I have been in communication with the Webster campaign seeking more information on the former State Senator’s viewpoint on immigration reform. In my communications I repeatedly wrote about the Catholic stance on immigration. After my initial email seeking Webster’s position, I received a reply from one of his aides:

Our country is a nation of immigrants. Those immigrants, however, came through the front door legally. America is a nation of laws, and must follow and enforce them in order to maintain justice and the fundamental freedom we hold dear.

With that being said, while in the Legislature, Daniel Webster did move legislation forward that would speed up the process for immigrants currently in the country who were seeking citizenship. While we cannot excuse illegal entrance, we can direct them toward the front door, and provide incentives to moving in the right direction.

While it is a bit vague and does not go into too much detail, Webster’s views are similar to that of the Church. Mind you, the Catholic view on immigration reform is complex so a 100% compliance with our position is, in no way, likely for one lawmaker. However, it is something to strive for and I commend Mr. Webster for his viewpoint on the issue.

Since the passing of the Arizona Immigration Law, many people, including some of our lawmakers, have come out in support of the deportation of those undocumented individuals in our country. Many Americans believe that the “illegals” in this country are here to expand the drug trade, cause violence in our cities and take American jobs. In reality, this only describes a small percentage of the actual immigrants. They seem to forget that this country is a country founded by immigrants. They often criticize the Catholic Church for being accepting of “illegals.”

After Bishop Kicanas appeared before the House Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law on July 14th, one person even went to the lengths of calling the Church greedy, arguing that the only reason the Catholic Church is open to Hispanic immigrants is because the church would benefit. While many of the Hispanics are Catholic, the church seeks only to accept immigrants because we stand for the advancement of the rights and dignity of all individuals.

That being said, the Church respects the rights of countries to develop immigration statutes in order to protect their borders. However, in doing so, countries must also guarantee that all persons will be respected and given the dignity that was given to them by their Creator. The Church also believes that countries should work together to ease the causes for migration, which is easier said than done most of the time.

As a country founded on Christian principals, I think it fitting that we be reminded of the words of the Holy Scriptures:

• “So, you, too, must befriend the alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt” (Deut. 10:17-19)
• “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” (Mt. 25:35)

As a resident in Florida’s 8th Congressional District, this race is of interest to me. However, because I am not a registered Republican, I cannot vote in the primary because Florida is a closed primary state. Nonetheless, because of his stance on pro-life and immigration issues and his determination to bring fiscal responsibility to a Washington that has become broken, I will do everything I can to support Senator Webster’s candidacy. If he is fortunate enough to win the primary, I vow to throw my support behind him come November. He is our only chance to defeat Alan Grayson.

In my book, Rocco was one of the founding fathers, if you will, of the Catholic blogging movement. Without him and a host of others, the Catholic presence on the internet would not be as significant as it is today.

Thanks for keeping us informed and up-to-date on all of the happenings in the Catholic Church! Keep up the good work, Rocco!!