304. How did God reveal Himself in
salvation history?
First, through the
Covenant He made with the Israelites through Moses, Yahweh revealed
Himself as the One God who is Truth and Love.
Second, through his
personal knowledge and intimacy, Jesus, the only begotten Son, taught us that
God is our Father.
Moreover, the
Father and Christ are present to us by sending their Spirit into our hearts.
305. How do we exercise this
“Trinitarian” relationship?
Our constant and continual relation to the
Blessed Trinity:
• started
with our Baptism in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;
• continues
in every Christian prayer begun with the “Sign of the Cross,” marked by our
“Glory be. . .” and
• is
strengthened in our Eucharist/thanksgiving to the Father, through memory of
His Son’s Passion, Death and Resurrection, made present through the power of
the Holy Spirt.
306. Why do Christians affirm that God is
“Father”?
The Creed
affirms God is Father because Jesus taught us to relate to God as “Our Father”
(Mt 6:9). Jesus’ own experience of God as “Abba” (Father), was the
basis for his teaching. “No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, ever
at the Father’s side, who has revealed Him” (Jn 1:18).
307. What does the name “Father” tell us
of God?
“Father” tells
us that God is personal, close to us, not an impersonal force, distant
and far off. He cares for us even with motherly love (cf. Is 66:13; 49:15;
Hos 11). God the Father therefore is not a patriarchal or paternalistic
authoritarian God. Rather He is a God who welcomes and celebrates the return of
every son or daughter who was dead and has come back to life, who was lost and
is found (cf. Lk 15:24,
32).
308. What does “almighty” tell us of God?
“Almighty”
affirms God as all-powerful, first as Creator, able “to do all things” (cf.
Jb 42:2) and Ruler of all things (Pantokrator), secondly as Love
shown in Christ’s Cross and Resurrection, subjecting all other powers to the
ultimate sustaining presence of His love.
“Ah Lord
God, you have made heaven and earth by your great might, with your outstretched
arm; nothing is impossible to you” (Jer 32:17).
“As high as
the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways, and my
thoughts above your thoughts” (Is 55:9).
309. If God is “Father” and “Almighty”, why does
He allow so much evil and suffering?
First, much evil in
the world, especially physical evil, results from the kind of limited
universe in which we live.
Second, moral evil
and much of human suffering come from man’s abuse of his freedom in sin.
Third, much courage,
generosity, forgiveness, hope and sacrifice arise from the world’s sufferings
and evils.
Finally, Christ’s
Paschal Mystery shows how God draws out of the depths of evil the victory of
the Risen Christ and his transforming love.
“Through Christ and in Christ, light is
thrown on the riddle of suffering and death, which apart from his gospel,
overwhelms us” (GS 22).
“We know that God makes all things work
together for the good of those who love Him” (Rom 8:28).
Chapter 7
Creator of Heaven
and Earth
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the
earth . . . The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims
His handiwork.
(Gn 1:1; Ps 19:2)
He [Christ] is the firstborn of all creation. In him
everything in heaven and on earth was created . . . all were created through
him and for him, . . . In Him everything continues in being.
(Col
1:15-17)
OPENING
310. We all ask, at one time or another, “Where
does everything come from?” The Psalmist replies: “By the word of the Lord
the heavens were made; by the breath of His mouth all their host. . . He spoke,
and it was made; He commanded, and it stood forth” (Ps 33:6,9).
We ask: “What
is the purpose of it all? What is the meaning of our life and of death?” (Cf.
CCC 282.) Christian doctrine affirms that “the most perfect answer to these
questionings is to be found in God alone, who created us in His own image . . .
and this answer is given in the revelation of Christ His Son who became one of
us” (GS 41).
CONTEXT
311. The most spontaneous Filipino image of God
is that of Creator (cf. NCDP 199). Many Filipino folk legends
describe God’s creativity. One tale narrates how, after God had molded all the
other parts of the world, He shook his hands free of clay, and so formed the
7,141 islands of the Philippines.
Another tale humorously describes how after “baking” the black and white races,
God produced the perfect human person, the Filipino “kayumanggi.” These
and other Filipino creation myths indicate how indigenous to Filipino
culture is God the Creator.
312. But today the Filipino Catholic’s belief in
God as Creator of heaven and earth faces new challenges. For example, how can
the Genesis account of creation in six days be reconciled with the modern
scientific theory of evolution? Or, if God creates and sustains everything,
then bahala na, all is decided already. Or again, even if God created
the world at the beginning of time, what has that got to do with our
opportunities and problems today?
313. Such difficulties indicate the urgent need
for a better understanding of what the Creed means: 1) in proclaiming God as Creator
and stressing His creative action; 2) in describing what He created as “heaven
and earth”; and 3) in proposing this not as something proven by scientific
reason, but as basic convictions in our personal act of faith as
Christians.
EXPOSITION
314. The Catholic doctrine of creation basically
affirms that: 1) the world and everything in it comes from the loving power of God
who is its ultimate Origin, Ruler, and Goal;
2) all created things and human history have a meaning, purpose, and destiny;
and 3) the life of every person is not a “private” possession, but is created,
sustained and guided now by the creative, saving will and love of
Almighty God.
Creation
is the foundation of God’s saving plan and the beginning of salvation history
which culminates in Christ (cf. CCC 280). The revelation of God’s
creating everything is inseparable from the revelation and realization of His
covenant with His people (cf. CCC 288).
I.
CREATOR
315. “Creator” is perhaps the most
fundamental image we can have of God. It sets God apart from all created things
as the only Uncreated Reality. At the same time, it relates Him
to every person, place or thing as their Primary Cause for
existing. Thus God the Creator is both transcendent (beyond) all He
made, yet immanent (remaining) in it, constantly sustaining it in
existence (cf. CCC 300).
316. But the Creator we proclaim by faith in the
Creed is not simply some philosophical First Cause. He is rather the saving God
of the Covenant. Thus the Psalmist sings: “How manifold are your works, O Lord!
In wisdom you have wrought them all __ the earth is full of
your creatures” (Ps 104:24). And “May the Lord bless you from Zion, the maker of heaven
and earth” (Ps 134:3; cf. CCC 287).
317. Likewise the prophet Isaiah presents the
oracle of the Lord: “Thus says the Lord, your redeemer, who formed you from the
womb: I am the Lord who made all things” (Is 44:24). Again, even more
forcefully, the prophet declares:
For thus says the Lord, the Creator of the heavens,
who is God, the designer and maker of the earth, who established it . . . I am
the Lord, and there is no other . . . There is no just and saving God but me.
Turn to me and be safe, all you ends of the earth, for I am God; there is no
other! (Is 45:18,22).
The Blessed Trinity Is the Creator
318. The Creed links “Creator” directly with
“Father Almighty”. This has led to the over-simplified, mistaken idea
that the Father alone creates (and the Son alone redeems, and the Holy Spirit
alone sanctifies). Actually, Christian Faith teaches that all three
Divine Persons act together as ONE GOD in creating, redeeming and sanctifying.
Here we affirm God the Father creates through His Son, Jesus Christ, in
the Holy Spirit. Thus St. Paul wrote: “For us there is one God, the
Father, from whom all things come, and for whom we live; and one Lord Jesus
Christ through whom everything was made and through whom we live,” and the Holy
Spirit who “gives life” (1 Cor 8:6; 2 Cor 3:6; cf. Jn 1:1-3; Col 1:15-17).
319. St. Irenaeus explained how God is Father,
Creator, Author, who made all things through His Word (Son) and Wisdom
(Spirit), who are like His “two hands” (CCC 292).
For with Him (Father) were always present the Word and
Wisdom, the Son and Spirit, by whom and in whom, freely and spontaneously, He
made all things, saying “Let us make man after our image and likeness” (Adv.
Her., Bk. 3, Chap. 20, sec. 1).
320. Church teaching confirms that “the one true
God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is the Creator of all things” (Council of
Florence, ND
408). “The works of the Trinity, in fact,” states Leo XIII, “are undivided
just as undivided is the essence of the Trinity, because as the three Divine
Person cannot be separated, they likewise operate inseparably.” (Encyclical
Divinum illud, May 9, 1897.
Cf. DS 3326). Therefore, “though the work of creation is altributed to the
Father in particular, it is equally a truth of faith that the Father,
Son and Holy Spirit together are the one, individual principle of creation (CCC
3166).
II.
GOD’S CREATIVE ACTION
321. God commits Himself to us by His free
creative activity. Genesis describes creation in two accounts. In the first (Gen
1:1-2:4a) God appears as the sovereign Lord who establishes creation in a
formal six-day pattern. The second account (Gen 2:4b-25) presents God in
a closer relationship with human beings. He creates and settles them in the
Garden of Eden, and puts them over all other creatures. Both accounts are
obviously not modern scientific descriptions of how everything came to
be. Rather, they present the religious faith insight into why all
things exist, and what is their ultimate meaning and significance.
322. Another picturesque biblical image of the
Creator, close to the Filipino creation myths, is that of the potter forming
clay into whatever kind of object he desires. “ ‘Can I not do to you, house of Israel,
as this potter has done?’ says the Lord. ‘Indeed, like clay in the hand of the
potter, so are you in My hand, house of Israel’ ” (Jer 18:6).
A. Biblical
and Scientific Accounts
323. The difference between these biblical
accounts and a scientific explanation of creation can be compared to two ways
of describing a work of art, for example, a beautiful portrait painting. The “how”
(scientific) explanation focuses on the materials used, the size, weight, age,
colors and the whole mechanics of portrait painting. A different type of
explanation is the “why” which interprets both the artist’s motivations
and intentions, and the “meaning and truth” of the portrait itself. The
portrait “reveals” the character and personality of the person portrayed.
Both types
of “explanation” are valid and necessary. They complement each other and
together give a fuller understanding of the painting.
324. The Genesis accounts of creation focus on
the “why,” the meaning and purpose of everything. The Bible does
not teach how heaven was constructed but how to get there, as John Paul II once
remarked. The Genesis accounts neither teach nor oppose the scientific theory
of evolution. The six “days” do not mean 24 hour solar days (the sun was not
made till the “4th day”). They are simply the inspired author’s way of presenting
in a Biblical poem the religious truths which Genesis proclaims. Today we could
do no better.
325. The Bible presents God’s creative activity
as a simple act of speech. “God said ‘Let there be light’ ” (Gn 1:3).
“For He spoke, and it was made; He commanded, and it stood forth” (Ps 33:9).
This clearly rejects the pagan myths about the gods’ mortal combat with evil
forces and powers, or of some blind, aimless cosmic generation of everything by
chance. Instead, the Bible proclaims one Creator, source of all that exists, by
a free loving act of His divine will and wisdom. “How manifold are your works,
O Lord! In wisdom You have wrought them all!” (Ps 104:24)
“O Lord
our God, You are worthy to receive glory and honor . . . for You have created
all things; by Your will they came to be and were made!” (Rv 4:11; cf. CCC
295).
B. Church
Teaching
326. The Church’s teaching on creation is
clearly set forth by the First Vatican Council:
This one and only true God, of His own goodness and
almighty power, not for the increase of His own happiness, nor for the
acquirement of His perfection, but in order to manifest His perfection . . .
with absolute freedom of counsel, from the beginning of time made at
once out of nothing both orders of creatures, the spiritual and the corporeal,
. . . and then the human creature, who as it were shares in both orders, being
composed of spirit and body (ND 412).
327. This teaches, first, that God
creates out of His divine goodness, to
share His goodness with others, not because of any need or imperfection.
Second, He creates by a free, intentional, purposeful act, not
by any sort of natural emanation such as the pantheists propose, or by any
“natural” evolution that would deny God’s freedom. Third, He creates “out
of nothing,” that is, not from any matter or any gods already existing (cf. CCC 296-98). All so-called
“dualistic” views (matter as evil vs. spirit as good) are rejected. Both
spiritual and corporeal creatures are good.
But what
precisely has God created? What is the object of his creative act?
III.
CREATED REALITY
328.
Contrary to some Asian religious views, our Christian faith proclaims all
creation as real (not an illusion), intelligible
(not meaningless and purposeless) and good (nothing created is
intrinsically evil) (cf. CCC 299).
This
Christian vision can be summarized as follows:
1) as a product of divine wisdom, creation is intelligible
and meaningful; therefore
2) evil is not an essential or necessary
dimension of our existence; and thus
3) creation is open to God’s saving activity, and
4) our present lives have an inner divine
purpose which we can discern in faith.
A. Two
Consequences
329. All creation, then, is both utterly dependent
upon God (contingent), and at the same time, precisely because of that dependence,
real and good in itself. This means that there is nothing in the world
that must be feared, but also there is nothing that should be worshipped!
We can explain this briefly as follows.
330. First,
since everything depends on God, there is no power in creation that can rival
God. “For I am certain that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the
future, nor powers; neither height nor depth nor any other creature will be
able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord” (Rom 8:38-39). Therefore Christians
are liberated from the anxious dread of any power or force in the
world, visible or invisible, or any magical snare.
331. But second, neither is there in all
creation anything to be worshipped. Idolatry has been the mark of our
infidelity before God since the beginning. Today in our increasingly
secularistic environment, the temptation to idolize wordly success is greater
than ever. Yet rejecting such temptations must not lead us to denying the
rightful autonomy of created things, as proposed by Church teaching.
332. Vatican II expresses it this way:
Created things and societies have their own laws and
values which we must gradually come to know, use and organize; this is in
accordance with the will of the Creator. It is by virtue of their very creation
that all things are provided with a stability, truth and goodness of their own,
with their own laws and order. We must respect all this . . . (GS 36; cf.
CCC 339-40).
333. This does not, of course, deny the
essential dependence of all things on God, and more importantly, of our
conscious reference to the Creator in our use of them. For without God,
creatures vanish into nothingness (cf. CCC 338).
B. Man
as Crown of Creation
334. Christian faith teaches that man
is the crown and key to God’s creation. “According
to the almost unanimous opinion of believers and unbelievers alike, all things
on earth should be related to human persons as their center and crown” (cf.
GS 12; cf. CCC 343, 356ff). The Psalmist expresses this vividly:
“Truly you
have formed my inmost being;
you knit
me in my mother’s womb.
I give you
thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made.”
(Ps
139:13-14)
And again:
What is man that you should be mindful of him,
or the son
of man that you should care for him?
You have made him little less than the angels,
and
crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him rule over the works of your hands,
putting all
things under his feet (Ps 8:5-7).
C. Visible
and Invisible: Angels
335. To the phrase “heaven and earth” the Nicene
Creed adds “all things visible and invisible.” This implies that “earth” refers
not only to our planet, but to all reality “visible” to us. In contrast,
“heaven” signifies the invisible spiritual world of God, such as the angels.
Angels are said to be pure spirits, centered on Christ (cf. Mt 25:31; Heb
1:6). St. Augustine explains that the term “angel” does not designate their
nature, but rather their function as “ministering spirits sent to serve those
who are to inherit salvation” (Heb 1:14). The Gospels speak of the care
of angels (Mt 4:11; l8:10; 26:53). “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” (CCC 330).
Angels had
a vital role in the history of salvation. The Old
Testament gives these powerful spiritual creatures different names which reveal
both their function and their different
degree of perfection. They are called: angels, archangels,
cherubim, seraphim. They play important
roles both in the life of individuals like Lot,
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Tobiah (cf. the book of Genesis and of Tobit). . . and
in the life of the People of God, especially by protecting them
during the Exodus (cf., for instance, Ex 14:19-20). Indeed, angels and archangels, throughout
the Old testament, are not only members of God’s court in heaven, but also signs
and instruments of God’s love and care for His people.
336. Angels were also closely associated with the earthly existence and
mission of our Lord. “From the Incarnation to the Ascension, the life
of the Word Incarnate is surrounded by the adoration and service of angels. . .
They protect the child Jesus in his infancy, serve him in the desert,
strengthen him in his agony in the Garden” (CCC 333). Jesus is their
Lord who could call legions of them in his defense (cf. Mt 26:53). When
he rose from death, it was some angels who announced to the women the great
event (cf. Lk 24:4-6 and parallels). They will escort the glorious Son
of Man at the end of time when he will come to judge all human beings (cf.
Mt 25:31).
The infant Church experienced the protection of
God’s angels especially in time of persecution or difficulties,
like in the case of Peter saved from jail and Paul strengthened against
forthcoming trials (cf. Acts 12:6-11, and 27:23-25). All through the
centuries the Church has enjoyed the protection and guidance of angels, whether
as God’s People, or as communities and individuals in
difficulty. In response that the Church honors the angels in the liturgy
and encourages all believers to trust in their help and live in their presence.
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