19. Pius XII, Encyclical Letter Mediator Dei (20 November 1947): AAS 39 (1947), p. 548.
20. John Paul II, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, n.12.
21. Ibid., n.11.
22. John Paul II, Catechism of the Catholic Church, n.1085.
23. John Paul II, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, n.11.
24. Ibid., n.5.
25. Jurgens, The Faith of the Early Fathers – Volume One, passage 234, p. 95. 26. Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, n. 11.
27. John Paul II, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, n.1.
28. Ibid., n.15.
29. Paul VI, Encyclical Letter Mysterium Fidei (3 September 1965): AAS 57 (1965), p. 764.
30. Jurgens, The Faith of the Early Fathers – Volume One, passage 707, p. 311. 31. Ibid.
32. Ibid.
33. 1 Corinthians 11:27.
34. Ibid.
35. 1 Corinthians 11:28.
36. Ibid., passage 410, 179.
37. Ibid.
38. John Paul II, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, n.9.
39. Ibid., n.18.
40. Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, Second Vespers, Antiphon to the Magnificat.
41. John Paul II, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, n.18.
42. John Paul II, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, n.59.
43. Second Vatican Council, Lumen Gentium, n.11.
44. Jurgens, The Faith of the Early Fathers – Volume One, passage, 249, p. 99.
45. Ibid., passage 362, p. 149.
46. Ibid., passage 559, p. 223.
47. St Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, Pt. III, Q.79, Art. 4.
48. Father Benedict J Groeschel, CFR & James Monti, In the Presence of Our Lord, The History, Theology, and Psychology of Eucharistic Devotion, Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division, Huntington, Indiana, 1997, p. 60, as cited in Eucharistic Faith and Practice by Yngve Brilioth.
49. Ibid.
50. Pope John Paul II, May we be One, n.72. (see www.vatican.va)
51. See Lambeth Conference Resolutions 1998 via www.lambethconference.org orwww.ewtn.com/library/Theology/Arcicgf3.htm.
52. www.aco.org/lambeth/4/sect4rpt.html.
53. See www.ewtn.com/library/CURIA/pccujnt4.htm.
54. See www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/6305/
55. Ibid.
56. Ibid.
.
CHAPTER 19
PERSONAL GOD Who is God? What is God? With these questions we ponder our very existence. You may have the perception that God is an out there Being who is looking down from above, watching, waiting for you to step out of line and then wham you are obliterated. Or maybe you think God is still out there but like a watch He has set the cosmos ticking and He’s bored with little you and me, and gets a thrill out of seeing humanity suffer and kill each other. But is God really like this?
Power of God Only a God with incredible power could create the universe. But this word ‘power’ is limiting as we have misconceptions due its abuse. But why did the Creator of the universe create it? He did so for us mere mortals to enjoy, treasure and explore. Furthermore we believe through revelation that without God sustaining the universe it would not exist.
God is also moral as He created the moral law. Therefore He truly knows the difference between right and wrong. Not only is God moral, but He is good as He created goodness. He is also love; God created love and is Love. Whatever creates something that is true, e.g. love, must be that in essence (a cause can’t give what it hasn’t got). Therefore God is moral, good, and love.
I could use this line of reasoning to go into other characteristics of God, but this gives you the idea. You can think of the other good characteristics such as mercy, peace, truth, etc and attribute these to God.
But the bad characteristics such as those encompassing evil are not of God. As mentioned in the chapter on evil, evil is the ‘absence of a due good’ and substitutes something foreign.
Who Caused God? There is a question many ponder: If God caused the Big Bang, so then who caused God? But when we ask this question we use a filter, which blocks the truth, and blinds us to the answer. It is only when we say that an effect needs a cause, that we ask this question. But when we ask whether a Creator outside of our time needs a beginning the answer is no.
Mankind is the pinnacle and steward of God’s creation. Human beings are the only creatures with a spiritual intellect which allows us to reason between right and wrong, and especially the only ones with an eternal soul which we have discovered through divine revelation. Furthermore, we think abstractly, understand and love truth, ponder our very existence, are highly creative (able to change our environment and traverse not only our habitat, but oceans, skies, and our universe) and can truly love selflessly as self-gift. We are the only ones with a three-fold relationship, loving God, self and others. It is through Jesus that we realise how great God’s love truly is for mankind. God chose to send His beloved Son to die so that we could be free from the power of sin (moral evil) and death (we too can have eternal life), and that we could return to the love that God freely offers us. Jesus selflessly gave His life in atonement for the sins of all humankind.
We can also reflect on how spectacular, gigantic and also finetuned for life our universe is, as already covered in God: Fact or Fiction?, and that this magnificent universe is a gift to us from the Creator. We can gaze in wonder at its beauty, power and immensity, and often this wonder leads us to God. This gift of creation is an expression of God’s love for us. Mankind was created with other creation as his base or structure; and so mankind is built upon existing creation. This creation was for us and we are its stewards.
Because God is the Alpha and the Omega, He is also known as the Necessary Being. He created everything, set everything in our universe into motion and is outside time, space, matter and energy. Whatever created before time existed, must have lived forever and so has no beginning. Therefore if this Creator lived forever, He is all powerful. If there was nothing greater than this Creator and He is all goodness then there is such a powerful God who created out of love, is eternal and all powerful. God is the Omega; He is the end because all is directed to the glory of God. He created this magnificent universe out of His awesome love for us. He ordained us as the crown of creation to share in His life, and thus in His glory.
Personal God The divine features I have outlined remind us that God is a Personal God. He has created this world as a gift; and a loving one at that. What an amazing gift for mankind! This gift includes the magnificent cosmos with all the laws of nature that were there for humanity to discover.
God is not an out there God but a God very close to us; through revelation He reveals more to us of who He is and His will for humanity for He created the cosmos and loves His creation. The first words of Sacred Scripture begin with: ‘In the beginning God created heaven and earth. Now the earth was a formless void, there was darkness over the deep, with a divine wind sweeping over the waters.’ Genesis 1:1. Then God speaks creation into being. He says ‘Let there be light’. God is all all-powerful because He can create from nothing and by willing something into existence. Light is brought into being by the word of God. God divides the light from darkness. He shows His authority when He names the light, day and the darkness, night. Next God creates heaven and the earth.
On the 3rd day God creates the greater and lesser lights. Ancient Near East myths refer to the sun, moon and stars as gods. With this in mind we see that God has power over all, including the creation of sun, moon and stars.
On the 4th day God creates living creatures for the waters, and birds of the air. Scripture then says: ‘God saw that it was good. God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the waters of the seas; and let the birds multiply on land.” Evening came and morning came: the fifth day (Genesis 1:21-23).’
Then scripture says: God said, ‘Let the earth produce every kind of living creature in its own species: cattle, creeping things and wild animals of all kinds.
’ And so it was. God made wild animals in their own species, and cattle in theirs, and every creature that crawls along the earth in its own species. God saw that it was good (Genesis 1:24-25).
On the 5th day God creates humanity: God said, ‘Let us make man in our own image, in the likeness of ourselves, and let them be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle, all the wild animals and all the creatures that creep along the ground.’
God created man in the image of himself,
In the image of God he created him,
male and female he created them (Genesis 1:26-27).
God then blesses the human beings and commands them, ‘Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it (Genesis 1:28).’ This is the same command that He gave to the other living creatures on the 4th day. But then He gives a unique command to the humans: ‘Be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven and all the living creatures that move on earth.’ He thus allows them to share in His kingship role and gives them authority to rule lovingly; mankind is the pinnacle of His creation. With creation complete Scripture says: ‘God saw all he had made, and indeed it was very good (Genesis 1:31.).’
You were created in the image of God. Verse 26 says, ‘Let us make man in our own image.’ One can interpret this as meaning the Trinity (angels can’t create), though the writer at that time would not have viewed it as such. The more likely view of the writer is that it is the term used by kings – the royal we. In fact the three divine Persons, but one God, created you. You are the greatest of God’s creation – created in the image of the Trinity. God is the loving Creator of the universe, and you, I and all mankind are the pinnacle of His creation. His love is so personal that He knows you by name:
Yahweh, you examine me and know me,
you know when I sit, when I rise,
you understand my thoughts from afar.
You watch when I walk or lie down,
You know every detail of my conduct.
A word is not yet on my tongue
before you, Yahweh, know all about it.
You fence me in, behind and in front,
you have laid your hand upon me.
Such amazing knowledge is beyond me,
a height to which I cannot attain.
Where shall I go to escape your spirit? Where shall I flee from your presence? If I scale the heavens you are there, if I lie flat in Sheol, there you are.
If I speed away on the wings of the dawn, if I dwell beyond the ocean,
even there your hand will be guiding me, your right hand holding me fast (Psalm 139).
Mankind was given a choice to either love, obey and trust God or not. Unfortunately their failure to utilise reason resulted in trusting the word of a creature, Satan, over that of their Creator. The following Scripture depicts the snake as a good creature gone bad:
Now, the snake was the most subtle of all the wild animals that Yahweh God had made. It asked the woman, ‘Did God really say you were not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?’ The woman answered the snake, ‘We may eat the fruit of the trees in the garden. But of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden God said, ‘You must not eat it, nor touch it, under pain of death.’ Then the snake said to the woman, ‘No! You will not die! God knows in fact that the day you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, knowing good from evil (Genesis 3:1-6).’
The serpent thus twists the truth. Ironically they were already like God because they were created in His image and likeness. But they were tempted to disbelieve God and to take His throne. Thus they would not be answerable to anyone. Eve saw how enticing for wisdom the fruit of the tree was. She did not heed God’s warning of impending death, spiritual death. She took the fruit and gave some to her husband.
When I was giving a talk about this Scripture I asked the men present who was the first to disobey. Then a friend in the audience said that Adam should have looked after Eve. Eve was a mutual gift to Adam as a helpmate. They both fulfilled each other. Yes Adam should have done everything to persuade Eve not to take what was not hers and been the example of refusing the temptation.
When they were standing before God, He questioned whether they had eaten from the forbidden tree. The man accused the woman of being the instigator and the woman accused the snake. The tempter was Satan depicted by the snake and mankind believed the lie. Therefore humanity did not trust God and so did not truly love the Creator of life. In fact they thought they could have God’s power and not be subject to Him anymore. This is classified as the Fall of Humanity; because of mankind’s rebellion there would be repercussions. One of the repercussions was that Original Sin would be passed onto the offspring of each generation. The Book of Romans says, ‘Well then; it was through one man that sin came into the world, (Wisdom 2:24) and through sin death, and thus death has spread through the whole human race because everyone has sinned (Romans 5:12.).’ But the answer to the conquering of sin is through Jesus Christ: ‘It was by one man’s offence that death came to reign over all, but how much greater the reign in life of those who receive the fullness of grace and the gift of saving justice, through the one man, Jesus Christ (v 17).’ St Paul then explains that it is through baptism into Christ’s death and His resurrection that we are redeemed: ‘So by our baptism into his death we were buried with him, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the Father’s glorious power, we too should begin living a new life…so that the self which belonged to sin should be destroyed and we should be freed from the slavery of sin (Romans 6:3).’ Therefore through the sacraments and loving others God gives us the grace to live the fullness of life.
As you read in the chapter, Evil: Does it Exist? Satan wants to spoil the life that God wants us to enjoy. In contrast God wants us to have heaven on earth now. That is the reality. God’s master plan was to restore right relationship with Him, a personal relationship not bound on fear, sending His only Son to become one of us – God became man.
Jesus gave the following parable which rings with irony; mankind treated God’s only Son this way: ‘There was a man, a landowner, who planted a vineyard; he fenced it round, dug a winepress in it and built a tower; then he leased it to tenants and went abroad. When vintage time drew near he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his servants, thrashed one, killed another and stoned a third. Next he sent some more servants, this time a larger number, and they dealt with them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them thinking, “They will respect my son.” But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, “This is the heir. Come on, let us kill him and take over his inheritance.” So they seized him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him… (Matthew 21:33-43).’
Trinity God sent His messengers so His children would turn back to Him; but we discover that each messenger (the prophets) in Sacred Scripture was severely mistreated and some killed. But the messengers were only a small part of the master plan, that God the Father planned to send His only Son (the Incarnation – God becoming man while retaining his divinity) to take upon the sins of the world by dying for humanity and thus opening the doors to a personal relationship with Him, His Son and the Holy Spirit (the Blessed Trinity). The Trinity is also known as the Triune God, three persons but one God – God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the love between the two – the Holy Spirit. What is so awesome is that the Holy Spirit is love, and we are given the Trinity at our baptism. God is so intimate! We have been given so many gifts – life itself, the universe, the Eucharist, and the indwelling presence of the Trinity.
Theologian and reverend, Ian McKenzie in The Dynamism of Space explores the role of angels and the Trinity. He says the angels witnessed God creating in the twinkling of an eye. By the power of His word He created all that is, space, time, matter and energy. Thus He created merely by willing creation into existence. The Angels witnessed God creating humans in His image and likeness, and giving them the power and authority to lovingly rule the rest
of creation, like loving kings.
In Son of God, taken from the BBC One series Tilby explains that if Jesus was truly the Son of God, born in a humble stable as a crying and hungry innocent baby then His coming to earth was deeply personal and significant. He says: ‘Not only does it make God seem more approachable, but it gives a dignity to the beginning of human life that has not been present in all cultures.’1
Awesome! The Son of God became one of us for our salvation – for love! He did so to give humanity dignity and reveal Himself – thus we have a God of love! If we want to love the Father, we must love the Son and the Holy Spirit too.
The Incarnation McKenzie also explains the relationship of the incarnation and humanity. God in the second person of the Blessed Trinity took our being and integrated it into His existence. Thus there was a union of two distinct natures, God and humanity.2 This is the primary mystery in which God has chosen to reveal Himself. Just imagine what the incarnation is really like. It’s like you becoming an ant and yet retaining your human nature to save the ant race from eternal destruction. The difference is that you didn’t create ants and so you have no immense or personal love for them. God created you in His image and likeness and gave you a soul which will never die. He loves you! His heart is burning with love for you! Love desires a response and so He longs for you to turn back and love Him in return. How radically profound and mysterious the incarnation really is! Many have written entire books on this subject alone, but I can only touch on it.
Death of Christ Mankind disobeyed God and so had to suffer the consequences. But with the death, resurrection and glorification of Jesus, death was conquered so that we could spend eternity with God. Why did Jesus have to die? His death was reparation for the sins of humanity. The ultimate sin being when Adam and Eve not only distrusted God but sought to usurp His power; they wanted His power for themselves. To rebel against an infinite God meant that the only one who could atone for that sin would have to be a divine Being who also had a human nature. Therefore Jesus who had a divine and mortal nature was sent by the Father to die in our place. In complete obedience Jesus surrendered unto death, death on a Cross. God knew that this gift of His son would come at a major cost. This cost included humanity turning away from their Creator because they chose to; God bore the vulnerability of freedom; and Jesus bore the pain of rejection and hatred (through His humanity) as well as the joy of love and adoration in becoming the Word made flesh. God the Father’s plan was for Jesus to be sacrificed in order to save us from eternal destruction.
God: Fact or Fiction?: Exploring the Relationship Between Science Religion and the Origin of Life Page 29