ONE GOD,

FATHER OF MEN
THE BLESSED TRINITY PART 1

STUDENT TEXTBOOK
Cover Image: The Baptism of Jesus by Daniel Bonnell

This translation is based on the work by Fr. Paolo Scarafoni, L.C.

En el nombre del Padre y del Hijo y del Espíritu Santo: Teologia Trinitaria
Mexico City: Nueva Evangelización, 1999
Translated by Althea Dawson Sidaway (2016)
.

Translation Copyright © CANELA USA 2018

The Catholic Association for the New Evangelisation in Latin America and Africa
265 Spithaler School Road, Evans City, PA 16033 USA
All rights reserved.
 CERTIFICATE IN CATECHESIS
COURSE 3: ONE GOD, FATHER OF MEN
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Session Title Page

One Coming to Know God 2

1.1 Knowledge of God in the New Testament
1.2 Human Knowledge
1.3 Knowledge of God
1.4 Man's Direct Knowledge of God
1.5 The Magisterium of the Church on Knowing God
Two Creation and the Relationship Between Creator and Creature 20
2.1 Creation: the Divine Act of Creating
2.2 Mediation
2.3 Evil
2.4 The Spiritual Creature: Obedience to God
2.5 The Spiritual Creature: Vocation and Mission
Three Creation and God's Act of Creation 31
3.1 The Act of Creation
3.2 The Created Reality
Four The Person of the Father 41
4.1 Paternity in Scripture
4.2 The Meaning of the Name Father
4.3 God, the Father
4.4 The Father: Omnipotent, Principle, and Origin
4.5 God, the Father is Love
4.6 The Father also Manifests His Maternity
 Session 1
COMING TO KNOW GOD
Lesson Plan:

1. Knowledge of God in the New Testament

2. Human Knowledge
3. Knowledge of God
4. Man's Direct Knowledge of God
5. The Magisterium of the Church on Knowing God
6. Suggested Readings
7. Self-Test

Deepen your Faith:

1.- Are we - as human beings - able to know God?

2.- What can man know about God? Can we know if He exists (existence)? ¿Can we
know who He is and what He is like (essence)?

3.- How can our human spirit know Him? What are the means by which we can know
God?

4.- How is a direct knowledge of God in time and in eternity possible?1

Catechism:

To gain a deeper understanding, consult the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Man's
Capacity for God, 31-73.

Doctrinal Body:

Introduction

We begin our study of God starting from the premise that it is possible for man to
come to know God. Sacred Scripture, particularly the New Testament, gives three ways
for man to come to know God: natural knowledge; knowledge through faith which
proceeds from Revelation; and direct knowledge through beatific vision. Natural
knowledge is an indirect and limited - although certain - knowledge, garnered through
our sensible (i.e. knowledge obtained through our senses) experience. From there, the
need to continue by means of abstractions and comparisons becomes necessary (i.e. the
use of reason, which proceeds by argument through evidence). Such limitations are then
reflected in language, which further complicates matters. Despite these limitations,

1
The way this question is formulated indicates that God is knowable, but that we, as humans, have a hard time doing so because of our limitations. This is why this questions
is being asked: can we come to know Him directly?

3
however, the human spirit shows the capacity to know God with certainty, although
indirectly, by making special use of analogy. 2
Knowledge of God through faith is called supernatural knowledge, either because
of the content, or because God Himself - and not the evidence produced by natural reason
- is the guarantor of this knowledge. The expression of faith (and, therefore, of theology 3)
must in any case make use of the concepts and language which arise from natural
knowledge.
Man's direct knowledge of God, both in time and in eternity, comes through God's
self-communication of His divine Essence to the individual person. Such an experience
is utterly indescribable and beyond words; those who have enjoyed this beatific vision
while alive are reduced to simply stating that the experience has taken place.

1. Knowledge of God in the New Testament

The New Testament testifies clearly to the existence of three levels of knowledge
of God which the human person can come to have. They are outlined below, and in later
chapters, we will go into them in greater depth.

1.1 Natural Knowledge Through the Signs of Creation

Saint Paul stands out in his preaching to the pagans in showing how man has a
natural knowledge of God based on the effects of the works of His Creation, which we
can observe and enjoy. In the first of these examples, Rom 1: 20-21, 28, we read several
affirmations concerning this natural possibility of coming to know God in such a real and
true way, and which constitutes, in fact, the starting point from which we contract
important responsibilities in our behavior.
Therefore, there is a sufficiently clear natural knowledge of God and His will which
can be obtained through God's manifestations in His Creation. These are sensible
manifestations from which it is possible to be raised up to divine perfection. However,
this knowledge, although true and sure, is very fragile, because we, as human beings, may
elect to have nothing to do with it, thus ignoring this knowledge, or willfully obscuring
its meaning, making the message ambiguous, harder to understand, or confusing. The root
of this willful obfuscation is of moral character. Egoism leads the person to justify deviant
behavior, to the degree that the person loses the ability to see by the light of the truth. We
are also subject to a certain degree of abandonment by God, in the sense that God permits
that these things happen. Here it becomes quite clear that the person retains the root of

2
"An analogy is a comparison between two objects, or systems of objects, that highlights respects in which they are thought to be similar. Analogical reasoning is any type of
thinking that relies upon an analogy. An analogical argument is an explicit representation of a form of analogical reasoning that cites accepted similarities between two systems
to support the conclusion that some further similarity exists." From Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Analogy and Analogical Reasoning, first published Jun 25, 2013.
Retrieved 12 Oct, 2016 from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/reasoning-analogy/#IntManRolAna
3
"The first and major formal difference between philosophy and theology is found in their principles, that is, starting points. The presuppositions of the philosopher, that to
which his discussions and arguments are ultimately driven back, are in the public domain, as it were. They are things that everyone in principle can know upon reflection; they
are where disagreement between us must come to an end. These principles are not themselves the products of deductive proof—which does not of course mean that they are
immune to rational analysis and inquiry—and thus they are said to be known by themselves (per se, as opposed to per alia). This is proportionately true of each of the sciences,
where the most common principles just alluded to are in the background and the proper principles or starting points of the particular science function regionally as the common
principles do across the whole terrain of thought and being. The fact that they are known per se does not imply that they are easily known to just anyone who considers them.
A good deal of experience of the world and inquiry, not to mention native intelligence, and the ability to avoid intellectual distraction, may be required for anyone in particular
to actually apprehend their truth.

By contrast, the discourse of the theologian is ultimately driven back to starting points or principles that are held to be true on the basis of faith, that is, the truths that are
authoritatively conveyed by Revelation as revealed by God. Some believers reflect on these truths and see other truths implied by them, spell out their interrelations and defend
them against the accusation of being nonsense. Theological discourse and inquiry look like any other and is, needless to say, governed by the common principles of thought and
being; but it is characterized formally by the fact that its arguments and analyses are taken to be truth-bearing only for one who accepts Scriptural revelation as true." Stanford
Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Saint Thomas Aquinas. Retrieved on 18 Oct, 2016 at http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aquinas/.

4
freedom with which he or she is gifted to contemplate the truth, as well as the influence
which this freedom exercises on knowledge.
In a second reading, Acts of the Apostles 14:15-17, St. Paul makes clear reference
to the natural knowledge of God. The Apostle Paul refers to a God whom can be known
from His benefits, considering His Providence, as well as joy and happiness - things
which deeply touch men's hearts. St. Paul says that all of these are the work and the gift
of God. This text also alludes to God's permission: He has left all people to follow their
own road. However, there is no reference made to that more radical distancing which is
caused by moral evil which engenders an absence of light. Rather, it would seem that the
divine signs are always made available to mankind, who can recognize God if He wishes
to call them back from their dispersal.
A third text which presents this natural knowledge of God is Paul's speech in the
Athenian Areopagus (Acts 17: 22-31).4 Paul introduces to the Greeks a God, One whom
the Athenians have adored without even realizing it, who is God of Creation, and above
all, of the Creation of man.
The presentation of the signs of Creation5 is focused particularly on man himself as
a sign (cf. Acts 17: 25), and thus the similarity between God and man. This comparison
must exclude any possible deformations in our way of conceiving of God. In this case,
the possibility of coming to know God through a natural way serves as preparation for a
more true and direct encounter, which is the encounter through faith.

1.2 Knowledge Through Faith

We can say that the entire New Testament is an invitation to this knowledge
through faith. This knowledge assumes, on the one hand, the explicit act of Revelation
made by God which goes beyond man's limited natural knowledge. On the other hand, it
assumes a grace which makes man capable of gaining access to this Revelation and
somehow making it his own. Now, this knowledge through faith is directly connected to
Jesus Christ. He is actually the Good News which we are to believe. We know God as He
has been revealed in Jesus Christ. The entire history of Israel acquires a meaning of
Revelation precisely because its end is Jesus Christ, and in this history we can see the true
preview of this Revelation of God's. Likewise, the seeds of Revelation scattered
throughout other religions may be considered as such precisely because Christ is also the
destiny of people of other faiths, and the seeds can only fully be explained in Him.
Nevertheless, Revelation and faith, properly speaking, occur with Christ and in function
of Christ. Paul's Letter to the Romans clarifies this point. The Gospel According to St.
John is no less explicit: "… because while the law was given through Moses, grace and
truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. The only Son, God, who is
at the Father's side, has revealed Him." (Jn 1: 17,18).
Mt 11:25-27 and Lk 10:21,22 are also very clear on this point: "I give praise to
You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although You have hidden these things from
the wise and the learned You have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has
been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to Me by My Father. No one
4
Cf Schneider, G. (1986). Gli Atti degli Apostoli, II, CTNT, Paideia, Brescia, 306,322; BRUCE, F.F.; The Book of the Acts, William B. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Mch 1988, 332-342.
5
Cf. CCC # 1151: "In his preaching, the Lord Jesus often makes use of the signs of Creation to make known the mysteries of the
the Kingdom of God. He performs healings and illustrates his preaching with physical signs or symbolic gestures. He gives new meaning to the deeds and signs of
the Old Covenant, above all to the Exodus and the Passover, for he himself is the meaning of all these signs."

5
knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone
to whom the Son wishes to reveal Him."6 Both of these gospels mention the God of
Creation, and state that only He knows the Son, Jesus Christ. This is the newness of
Revelation, which is not accessible to anybody, other than the wisest of this world. This
Revelation is a gift and this is why it is important to be meek and childlike in order to
receive the gift. It is the Father who grants the gift of knowing His Son, of knowing God
in the Son, in Jesus Christ. At the same time, the Son reveals the Father, which means
that He introduces us to the mystery of God, who had been hidden and is now revealed,
but only to the childlike. This idea is confirmed in Mt 16:15-17, when the Apostle Peter
recognizes Jesus Christ as the Son of God: "He said to them, 'But who do you say that I
am?' Simon Peter said in reply, 'You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.' Jesus
said to him in reply, 'Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not
revealed this to you, but My heavenly Father.'" The same expressions used in various
texts are evidence for the specificity of the faith, that is knowing Christ, which is above
other forms of knowledge. It must be noted, however, that this knowledge is accompanied
by an experience of plenitude and bliss, defined as the state of beatitude, not experienced
in the first way of knowing, the natural way, even when this is accompanied by joy, as
St. Paul has said.
Nevertheless, in this type of knowledge, the human person also assumes a
responsibility, as can be noted in Mt 11:25: "I give praise to You, Father, Lord of heaven
and earth, for although You have hidden these things from the wise and the learned, You
have revealed them to the childlike. "We must make ourselves childlike, and this has a
moral meaning. John is the Evangelist who most emphatically underscores man's
hardening of heart to Revelation and grace. Whoever believes in Him will not be
condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has
not believed in the name of the only Son of God. Consider Jn 3: 18-20: "And this is the
verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because
their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not
come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed." Here again we find a
moral root which either opens the way to knowledge of the faith, or, tragically and
decisively, closes it.

1.3 Knowledge Through Vision

The New Testament refers to a third way of knowing God, the direct, or beatific,
vision of God. This vision is presented to us in 1 Jn 3:2: "Beloved, we are God's children
now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we
shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as he is."7 This text describes our present condition
as people of faith, believers, which makes us children of God. Moreover, a further
condition is highlighted, although not yet clear, which implies a similarity with Christ in
His divine condition, bringing about the possibility of a direct vision. How this is to come
6
Cf. Gnilka, J. (1986). Il vangelo di Matteo, I, CTNT, Paideia, Brescia, 627-638.
7
Cf. the explanation of the concept of "hardening of the heart" in Schnackenburg, R. (1980). El Evangelio de San Juan, II, Herder, Barcelona , 508-516, which analyzes the fact
of the "enigmatic incredulity" which has come about from Jesus's ministry of revelation.

6
about is not described. Naturally, this does not mean that all differences between Creator
and creature are to disappear.8 This text contains a promise, taken up again in Rev 22:4:
"They will look upon His face, and His name will be on their foreheads", and also in two
Pauline texts which complement and repeat the same ideas as in John's letter: "At present
we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then
I shall know fully, as I am fully known." (1 Cor 13:12); All of us, gazing with unveiled
face on the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to
glory, as from the Lord who is the Spirit." (2 Cor 3:18). St. Paul clearly refers to our
condition of faith in which we find ourselves in the here and now, and presents the new
condition of one who knows God directly. Of importance is his allusion to the glory of
God: we are immersed in this glory and partake of it, having been gifted with the ability
to perfectly reflect it. These are images of a new condition, even with respect to our
condition of faith, although not foreign from it, and of a direct knowledge of God (the
glorified Christ), the so-called beatific vision. Even in this case of a direct vision of God,
Christ's specificity, novelty, and centrality are not lost, but rather acquire their fullness.
In the synoptic gospels, the central text which refers to the vision of God - which testifies
to the fact that the vision was already a part of the primitive Christian Tradition - is Mt
5:8: "Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God."9 "Pureness of heart - which is
the seat of feelings and desires - is the trait of a clean, sincere spirit (cf. 1 Tim 1:5; 2 Tim
2:22; 1 Pet 1:22), of an innocent conscience […] unblemished by idolatry or perjury" 10,
free of all forms of hatred or enmity towards one's brothers and sisters (cf. Mt 5: 23 ss.).
It is from this text that the ancient tradition of calling the definitive encounter with God
the "beatific vision", emphasizing that it is communion with God which permits this
vision, or that the vision permits the fruition of communion. 11 This text, too, again
establishes a moral condition, in which the human person has a clear responsibility. The
Letter to the Hebrews 12: 14 also confirms this condition: "Strive for peace with
everyone, and for that holiness without which no one will see the Lord."
The condition of believer is not entirely removed from the definitive condition of
being blessed with the vision as demonstrated in the texts quoted above, in which we can
perceive that the burning desire for the vision is enkindled precisely by the condition of
believers, of being God's children. What's more, even in the present life there are signs of
a vision of God: St. Paul speaks to us of a 'rapture' (2 Cor 12: 2-4): "I know someone in
Christ who, fourteen years ago (whether in the body or out of the body I do not know,
God knows), was caught up to the third heaven. And I know that this person (whether in
the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows) was caught up into Paradise and
heard ineffable things, which no one may utter." With these words, we penetrate the
deepest of mysteries; but let us now come back down to Earth.

2. Human Knowledge12

After our discussion of the knowledge of God as expressed in the New Testament,

8
This interpretation is upheld by Schnackenburg, R. Cartas de San Juan, 209.
9
For a comment on this, Cf. Gnilka, J. (1990), Il vangelo de Matteo, I, Paideia, Brescia, 196-197.
10
Gnilka, J. (1990). Il vangelo di Matteo, I, Paideia, Brescia, 196.
11
The New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia distinguishes this vision from the natural attainment of knowledge: "The immediate knowledge of God which the angelic spirits and
the souls of the just enjoy in Heaven. It is called 'vision' to distinguish it from the mediate knowledge of God which the human mind may attain in the present life. And since in
beholding God face to face the created intelligence finds perfect happiness, the vision is termed 'beatific'.
12
Recommended reading to assist in understanding this section include: St. Thomas of Aquinas: Summa Theologica, I, 12 and 13; De Veritate: 2, 5, 6; Contra Gentiles, IV, 11;
ST. Augustine: Confessions10, 6, 9-10; Lucas y Lucas, Ramón: El hombre, espíritu encarnado [Man, incarnate spirit], Atenas, Madrid, 1995, chapter III.

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we must now pause and more thoroughly comment on these three ways of attaining
knowledge, making use of theological reflection and assisted by philosophy. Let us begin
by presenting what human knowledge is like. Since ancient classical times, many
philosophers have concerned themselves with this topic, including Socrates, Plato and
Aristotle. In Medieval philosophy, the topic continued to be of great interest, particularly
in the debate between Realism and Nominalism. With the Renaissance (1500 A.D.),
human knowledge became the focal point of philosophy. We shall take as our
fundamental basis the systematization which St. Thomas Aquinas offers to this problem,
but we won't get bogged down in the details. Almost all stances would agree with what
we put forth here since these are elementary concepts which only rarely provoke any
disagreement. We start off from the general affirmation that human knowledge "implies
a process of abstraction from the sensible".

2.1 Human Knowledge is Linked To That Which is "Sensible"

The first characteristic to be emphasized is the link between human knowledge and
the "sensible" or sensory. The sensible is comprised of the "sensations" and "perceptions"
we experience when we enter into contact with a material reality. Sensibility can perceive
only material forms. Sensations and perceptions are internalized, recognized and
compared on the level of the sensible. We also have a memory of sensations. The
Schoolmen dubbed this level of internalization of sensations as the "phantasm".13 In
everyday language we retain an allusion to this Scholastic term in the word "fantasy", a
Creation of the imagination or fancy, meaning the imagination of the sensations.
Our knowledge always keeps a hold on the sensible world, from which we cannot
completely remove ourselves. Human knowledge must always be grounded on the
sensible world. Even the most abstract ideas, such as mathematics, retain a reference to
the sensible world. Nevertheless, this fundamental piece of information constitutes a
limitation (or, if we prefer a more positive spin on the concept, we could call it, a way of
knowing that is peculiar to the human species) which we must establish. If we wished to
do away with this fundamental piece of information, we would be doing nothing other
than fooling ourselves and increasing our limitations.

2.2 Human Knowledge Implies a Process of "Abstraction"

A second consideration refers to the fact that our knowledge implies a process of
"abstraction". From the internalized sensations (the "phantasm"), our mind abstracts,
meaning, it separates or selects that which is intelligible, whatever it is that our intellect
can comprehend.14 The "reality to be known" which comes to us through our senses (or
sensibility, which means our ability to perceive or feel), and which has been predisposed
for our understanding, receives the name of species intelligibilis15 (which refers to a thing
that will be known, and is able to be known). At the given time, we carry out

13
cf. Redpath, Peter A.: Masquerade of the Dream Walkers: Prophetic Theology from the Cartesians to Hegel, p. 5. " Hobbes thinks that sensation is an act of imagination (what
scholastic thinkers call a "phantasm")". Cf. also Alexander I. Stingl's Blog, What is a phantasm?, 21 Sep, 2011. https://alexstingl.wordpress.com/2011/09/21/what-is-a-
phantasm-second-approach-towards-tackling-this-travelling-concept/: the author explains that a phantasm is an "illusory mental image", "a belief", "the concept of an objective
reality as it is perceived and, thus, distorted by the senses".

14
According to Thomistic thought, this "abstraction" is an operation of the intellect concerning the data which the "phantasm" provides; this is why the intellect receives the
name of "agent intellect" or active intellect.
15
Cf. The term species is used to indicate the concept, and at the same time, is one of the ways of referring to the essence; this term (species) refers to the "aspect" of things,
meaning "how" they are. See also New Advent Encyclopedia, entry at Species - http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14210a.htm

8
"intellection", the exercise of the intellect, meaning the formulation of the "concepts"
which are the knowledge that we have of the reality. The concepts receive the name of
"species intellecta" (the thing known or understood).
A person does not know all essences (an essence is described as that whereby a
thing is what it is16), or "forms"; only those forms which have a sensible reference. In
consequence, pure forms escape man's clear understanding. For example, man cannot
directly know angels because they are not sensible beings; we can know them only by
means of some of their effects which may accessible to our sensibility, or as sensible
manifestations. This limitation to our human knowledge with respect to pure forms is not
because the human spirit is absolutely unable to know them, but rather because the only
way of gaining access to what we wish to know is through our senses, to which we must
necessarily remain linked. Thus, our human means of acquiring knowledge is a rather
narrow way. We are forced to make abstractions from material forms since these are the
only ones which our sensibility has access to.
In consequence, the human person also experiences a second great limitation, which
is characteristic of our way of coming to know something: we know through abstraction.
We know as such only what we derive from the sensible forms (i.e. material essence); we
cannot directly know others per se, nor can we know pure forms (immaterial essence) per
se. However, we cannot claim that we are completely ignorant of all this either, but rather,
that we do not know them of themselves, directly, but only via references, such as news,
and by means of effects and stimuli which can be presented to our sensibility.

2.3 Human Knowledge Proceeds by "Comparisons"

Besides formulating concepts, knowledge carries out another operation which

perfects it: "assertion" or judgment. Judgment, according to St. Thomas' classical
definition is "an act of the intellect through which the mind unites or separates two parts
by means of an affirmation or a negation."17 Uniting and separating (or affirming and
denying) are actions that take place always in reference to the being18 because they mean
that they are answering a question: this thing that I know, "is it like this?" With the
assertion or judgment, which refers to knowledge of being, of reality, human knowledge
reaches its fullness because it succeeds in making the perfect adequacy of knowledge to
reality.
From here we can deduce a third and very important characteristic of human
knowledge: it implies, as we have seen, a process of abstraction from sensible matter, and
always operates by means of comparisons. Even at the level of sensibility, comparisons
are used to isolate, identify, remember, and, above all, organize sensations. These
comparisons are a confrontation of certain sensations against others and against reality.
In the final analysis, the abstraction which makes input from our senses intelligible is a
process of comparison which ends in a selection and separation. The assertion or
judgment is finally a comparison with the being. The final comparison, which is the
adequacy of knowledge with reality, is always made with reference to the being.

16
Cf. New Advent Encyclopedia, entry at Essence and Existence: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05543b.htm
17
Cf. De Veritate, q. 14, a.1.
18
A brief explanation of being is necessary here. We know an essence in the moment when we affirm that it "is". Therefore, the being is known first as a sort of immediate
horizon to which the intellect can always refer, without abstraction, but also without ceasing to know it. It is said that being is the intellect's immediate knowledge.
Transcendentalists say that it is the horizon of the concepts, a sort of limiting concept; idealists say it is an innate idea. We say it is an immediate, but not abstract, knowledge;
everything refers to it as the final point of comparison in all verification processes, and starting from which there is always the possibility of gaining new knowledge.

9
 Everything that the person knows is subjected to a process of comparison which
permits the discovery of the adequacy between the product of knowledge (concepts and
judgments) and the known reality.
Moreover, in the sphere of judgment or assertion, knowledge is articulated and
proceeds by means of reasoning. This is a procedure which allows us to relate several
judgments, and thus arrive at a new assertion or judgment in virtue of a necessary link
which the human intellect discovers amongst the truths of judgments which are already
known. The aim of reasoning is always to come to a new assertion or judgment.
Therefore, this stage of human knowledge does not imply an abstraction or later
intellection, but instead limits itself to making the implicit explicit, something which is
called "reason".
This quality is behind the description of man's knowledge as "rational", since it
arises through steps from a known context: knowledge comes about through comparisons
with knowledge that has already been acquired. Consequently, comparison is also an
important and characteristic element in the operations of reason.

2.4 Comparison and Analogy

When speaking of comparison, we must properly distinguish the various fruits

which arise from this operation. In the case of concepts and judgments (or assertions),
comparison leads us to knowledge that fits reality if the known realities are accessible to
our intellect, and, we might add, if they are currently accessible: in other words, the
"material essences". In this case, supposing that we encounter optimum conditions, the
comparison would conclude in a complete identity or univocity, or, a total diversity or
equivocity. In summary: either we know reality "as is", or not.
Let us turn now to those cases where our intellect does not have full access to the
reality which we aim to know, in other words, those cases in which we cannot directly
know reality, either because the object is not sensible of itself, except in an indirect way
by means of sensible effects and manifestations, or because we are dealing with a sensible
reality but one which is not directly accessible in the here and now to the person who
wishes to know it. In these cases, the process of comparison between the result of the
knowledge (concepts and judgments) and the reality which the person wishes to know
leads to the discovery of a proportion19 or an attribution20which may vary indefinitely
within the region marked out for the identity and the equivocity, inaccessible extremes
which serve as the reference point to express the partial knowledge, and at the same time,
to give clear proof of the existing difference. In this case, comparison does not lead us to
an exhaustive knowledge (even if it is adequate), but rather to a "certain knowledge",
meaning a proportion amongst the elements of the comparison; this is what in
philosophical language receives the name of analogy. Classically, analogy21 is subdivided
into "analogy of proper or intrinsic proportionality" and "analogy of attribution" or

19
We say there is a proportion when one particular property or connotation is found in various beings compared because all of them participate in one; this being of which all
participate has per se that property which the others have only as a participated property. Following Aristotle, St. Thomas (STh I, 31, a.5) offers the example of the property
"being healthy", and says that an animal is healthy and that therefore, the animal's urine is healthy because the animal is healthy.
20
An attribution is said to be present when a same property is found in several beings under comparison, for different reasons, but converging, reasons. St. Thomas (ibídem.)
offers the example of a medicine as healthy because it causes the animal to be healthy, and the urine is healthy because it comes from the healthy animal. Healthiness has been
attributed to the medicine and to the animal for different reasons.
21
Some authors are of the opinion that analogy is in all cases of proportion and attribution, not just one or the other, even when one prevails over the other. For example,
between the healthy medicine and the healthy urine, we have an analogy in which attribution prevails, given that both refer back to the animal which is healthy; but in a certain
way, although very limited, the medicine is in proportion to the healthy animal, as is the animal's food, in other words, as a substance which should belong to the animal but
which at this point is lacking.

10
"simple proportion"22, and is found within the two extremes which we previously set
forth: univocity and equivocity.
Finally, we should also add that in every knowledge-acquisition process, the
intellect also knows its own operation and the "products" of this operation, although only
through the awareness that accompanies the knowledge of the reality (which is always
the first thing which is intentionally known, the "object of primary intention" 23, which
means the original act of cognition); the products themselves, then, are not known as the
"primary intention"24but instead as an awareness which accompanies the knowledge of
the reality, which is the first to be intentionally known.
To summarize, we can affirm that our knowledge presents a triple limitation: the
reference to that which is sensible, abstraction, and the characteristic that it proceeds by
means of comparisons, all of which lead to the adequate knowledge of the reality, or, in
the case of the realities which are not directly accessible, means that an analogical
knowledge arises. In order for the human person to have knowledge of something, each
reality must be subjected to these conditions. It is from this that the triple difficulty in
knowing God comes about, since:

 God is not sensible matter;

 God cannot be subjected to a process of abstraction, and thus, cannot be converted

into a concept which is understandable by us25;

 God is not comparable to anything else, nor may He be deduced from something
else.

God should be known by a simple intellection, without the mediation of any other
type of species, and by a mind "capable of Him", thus, by God Himself. But this is
impossible for us to do… or at least, so it would seem.26

3. Knowledge of God

Despite the limitations described above, the triple limitation to knowledge, of itself
inadequate to arrive directly at God, and the limitations which are proper to language, we
must say that, nonetheless, God is cognizable by man. This assertion is based on two key
assumptions: the first starts with man himself and the second with his knowledge, as
proven by the desire for God and the particular use of analogy.

3.1 The Desire for God

For St. Thomas, who makes use of St. Augustine's observations, the desire for God

22
A good explanation of these two kinds of analogy in Thomistic Logic and Metaphysics can be found online at INTERS.org, Interdisciplinary Encyclopedia of Religion and Science,
http://inters.org/analogy
23
The New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia defines intention as "an act of the will by which that faculty efficaciously desires to reach an end by employing the means…First, there
is the actual intention, operating, namely, with the advertence of the intellect". Cf. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08069b.htm
24
This is why we say that when the human spirit knows something, it also knows itself: precisely because it carries out this verification of its cognoscitive (meaning, having the
ability to know or discover) process, in order to reach the certainty that it is knowing. Therefore, the truth, inasmuch as it is affirmed by the mind, is related to certainty; likewise,
the object that is known is linked to the subject it knows. Cf. ST. Thomas Aquinas, De potentia Dei, q.8, a.1,
25
St. Augustine and Saint Anselm said: "Si comprehendis, non est Deus". God is the being in its totality, and His essence is not a finite form, nor is it pure, nor sensible. The
human mind cannot reach God to conceptualize Him in the way that we do in order to attain a sensible form.
26
Referring to Aquinas' philosophical way to God, Fulvio Di Blasi says, "For him, God is not self-evident to our minds." In The Concept of Truth and the Object of Human
Knowledge, McInerny Center for Thomistic Studies, at website Thomas International Project online at http://www.thomasinternational.org/ralphmc/readings/diblasi001.htm.

11
is written in the human heart. This desire is innate because it is part of human nature, our
operating principle. The end to which man always tends, consciously or not, and which
also constitutes man's fulfillment, is God Himself.27 According to St. Thomas, the proof
of this affirmation is found in the observation of man's behavior in the act of knowing. In
all knowledge, there is always a quest for the why, the cause. This question can always
be asked, and of itself, implies a desire to go beyond. This manner of proceeding, so
peculiar to the human intellect, never ceases and is never satiated; it never comes to an
end even in itself, but only in God. Reflection on the end or finality28 has been important
throughout the history of human thought, and has a fundamental value in St. Thomas, as
we shall see in more detail when we talk about Creation. Wondering about the cause, the
question "why?", reveals a nature which in its actions tends invariably to its end, which
is God Himself. The human spirit, although limited, does not achieve its true fulfillment
except through contact with the absolute, known really as itself, to which human nature
unceasingly tends. And thus, despite our limitations, our openness to the question reveals
that the human spirit is somehow capable of God ("Capax Dei", according to St.
Augustine's expression).
This desire is what leads us to search for God and to know Him directly; the quality
of this desire is the guarantee or proof that God exists.
3.2 The Particular Use of Analogy Permits an Indirect Knowledge of God

In coming to know God, we can overcome the obstacles which our condition as
rational spirits imposes on our way of knowing by means of a sort of rodeo which lets us
know God as to His existence and as to His essence or nature, albeit imperfectly, but truly
and with certainty. We know God from His effects, comparing them with the One who is
their cause. And so:

 we attribute to God those things which we grasp in the effects;

 but we deny that they exist in God in the way which we know them; we make
a negative comparison, meaning, we compare so as to deny that the
comparison is in such a way ("nevertheless, it is not thus", St. Augustine
used to say29);

 we affirm that the information as to the effects are found in God in an eminent
and superlative way, meaning, we make a positive comparison and extend
it to the infinite, without knowing how far it goes, since we deny any
limitation.

The comparison which extends from the effects of God, from the creatures to God,
is possible by affirmation, negation and eminence.
We may wonder what kind of complex comparison is used to know God: attribution

27
Cf. STh I-II, 1, a. 7, c; 2, a. 8, c; 3, a. 8, c. Given that the end which man seeks is God, we also say that we cannot attain Him on our own, but rather we must receive it directly
from God. (I-II 5, aa. 5 e 6).
28
In Christian thought, finality is the philosophical expression of faith in Creation; further on we will have the opportunity to return to this topic in further detail. Existentialist
philosophy and "personalism" - at least according to some of their exponents - are perplexed when considering finality because this implies a consideration of a nature
predetermined to an end, something which both of these philosophical currents deny, alleging that the person has a full dignity, capable of determining each one's own being
autonomously. Nevertheless, what these authors cannot deny are the consequences of the finality: peace and rejoicing to which the person aspires and which cannot be self-
generated, only enjoyed freely, as gifts.
29
Cf. St. Augustine, Confessions, 10,6,9.

12
or proportion? The answer is attribution, but also proportion, even though their
"procedures" are the inverse of each other. There is an inversion in the attribution because
all of the beings converge in God, but God does not converge in any other being, and in
consequence, the property which we affirm in God, we do so not inasmuch as God
converges, as do all creatures, but rather because God is the convergence point of all
creatures. There is also an inversion in the proportion, because even when we have taken
from the effects the property which we proclaim is God's, we say that that property occurs
first and foremost in Him, while in the effects it occurs in a shared way.
Thus, we can say that man can know God truly and certainly as to His existence 30;
and with certainty, but imperfectly as to His essence. This knowledge is acquired
indirectly.
It is important that we not lose sight of the limitations to both human knowledge
and the final objective of the person - of the human soul - clear indicators of the existence
of the absolute. It is useful for us to recognize these limitations. In this way, we are able
to re-consider the dimensions of knowledge as such and consider it in function of being,
which also helps us step out of the subjectivism which turns the capability of the human
mind into an absolute. This premise of humility is necessary to gain access to the
knowledge of God, even from a simply natural point-of-view.
An "aporia"31 becomes evident, a disproportion: God is greater than the spiritual
creature, He is so much more than man, yet man is for God. It is a mistake to say that we
are like God, but we can truly say that we are for God. This disproportion is seen in man
himself: even when we tend towards knowing God directly (which is made manifest by
our desire to do so), we are lacking the light of glory to be able to know Him like that,
and instead we find ourselves always oriented towards that which our sensory perception
can register. It is precisely this privation which causes man to be a "wayfarer", in other
words, in a condition of temporality. This condition of being deprived of the grace of the
vision of God and our inclination towards creatures as a way of knowledge and fulfillment
is due, properly speaking, to original sin. It is because of this that holiness and spiritual
life are conceived as a conversio ad Deum et aversio a creaturis.
In any case, it is particularly important to maintain that human understanding truly
knows the essence of things, of beings as they truly are - although abstractedly, and thus,
incompletely. Being this as it is, we have, at the disposal of our human understanding,
a point of true comparison. If our intellect could not know finite and material things as
they are, a fortiori we would also be unable of knowing anything about God, because we
would have no foothold from which to apply comparisons. The doctrine of Creation
corroborates and clarifies this latter consideration. This doctrine illumines the relationship
between Creator and creatures, between God and finite beings. Both topics (the
knowledge of God and the relationship between Creator and creature) are closely linked.

3.3 Faith

The indirect knowledge of God, obtained by means of the signs of sensible things,
is a part of man's temporary dimension as a wayfarer. We have established the great
difficulty which this process implies. In effect, God being so greatly superior that He

30
We have not developed here the proofs for the existence of God, which we presume the reader already knows. The enlightenment we offer concerning the acquisition of
human knowledge should facilitate the understanding of these proofs.
31
This philosophical term refers to a paradox, an insurmountable impasse in logic.

13
always escapes from our manner of knowing, for many, certainty is very difficult to
attain.32 This is why God chose to grant us His Revelation, knowledge through faith. In
other words, we may say that God has revealed within the sensible world His existence
and other aspects of His essence: He reveals that He exists and what He is like. Moreover,
as we have already demonstrated, the specific aspect of the knowledge of faith is the
knowledge of God in Christ: the knowledge of Christ as God and of the Trinity revealed
by and in Him.
Faith is also said to be supernatural because it deals with a direct intervention from
God. It is supernatural, then, as to its contents, both because it touches on what God
reveals and gives the guarantee of the truth, and because it has to do with assent, which
is also a grace, given to God Himself. Nevertheless, faith (Revelation and assent) is
communicated to us by means of sensible signs ("words and deeds that are intrinsically
inter-connected"33), and therefore, takes into consideration our natural way of human
knowing. In short, we can say that while faith is not the beatific vision, it does
nevertheless constitute the supernatural way which is proper to our temporal condition34,
and, consequently, continues to be indirect knowledge of God. It is a concession which
God makes to our present condition. God adapts with His communication to our limited
way of knowing. As to the assent which the human spirit gives, we must say that faith is
knowledge by trust: you don't arrive at the affirmation through comparisons, but rather
through the trust which you voluntarily attribute to the One who reveals Himself. In this
type of knowledge, the responsibility given to human freedom is much more intense.

4. Man's Direct Knowledge of God

We must also answer the question concerning the possibility of the human person's
direct knowledge of God. We have seen that the Christian tradition, from the beginning,
has given a positive response. St. Thomas also asks himself this question35, and he
responds in the affirmative because, if it were not so, man's natural desire for God or for
his chief end, would be frustrated. In effect, indirect knowledge does not permit the
fulfillment of this desire because God remains exclusively in the background of the
comparison being used, without our intellect actually embracing Him.

4.1 The Direct Knowledge of God in Time

The direct knowledge of God in time is only possible in a totally extraordinary way,
by divine grace. When a human person is united to God in love, God can permit Himself
to be known through direct experience. Several saints have enjoyed such an experience:
St. Paul, St. Bonaventure, probably St. Thomas and St. John of the Cross. This is an
experience that is more common than is generally believed. In effect, we find numerous
references to this point in the speeches, homilies and commentaries on the beatitudes,
concerning the sixth beatitude: "Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God" (Mt
5:8). St. Thomas tackles this question when he speaks of the "rapture" (STh II-II, q.

32
Beyond the difficulties that arise from our way of coming to know something, there are other difficulties which point out how wise it was of God to intervene with revelation.
In reference to this, St. Anselm (Commentary on the Psalms, 43, 89) writes the following: "We believe that God has hidden His face from us when we find ourselves in the midst
of some tribulation. Then there spreads over our spirit a dark veil which prevents us from seeing the splendor of the truth. But if God tends to our intelligence and even visits
our mind, we have the certainty that nothing can lock us into darkness".
33
Dei Verbum, 2 (DH 4202).
34
Cf. Dei Filius, «faith», DH 3008 ss.
35
STh I, 12, a 1. See the whole question.

14
175). St. Thomas clarifies that this direct contact, or direct knowledge of God, takes place
according to man's nature, meaning, in accordance with the end to which man tends,
which is God. Nevertheless, this does not occur according to the human way of attaining
knowledge, but instead by forcing the way in which human understanding comes to know
something. Here are the words of St. Thomas in the corpus of Article 1 of the question
cited above:

"Rapture denotes violence of a kind […]. Wherefore he who is carried away by

some external agent, must be carried to something different from that to which his
inclination tends. This difference arises in two ways: in one way from the end of
the inclination - for instance a stone, which is naturally inclined to be borne
downwards, may be thrown upwards; in another way from the manner of tending
-for instance a stone may be thrown downwards with greater velocity than
consistent with its natural movement.
Accordingly man's soul also is said to be carried away, in a twofold manner, to
that which is contrary to its nature: in one way, as regards the term of transport -
as when it is carried away to punishment […]; in another way, as regards the
manner connatural to man, which is that he should understand the truth through
sensible things. Hence when he is withdrawn from the apprehension of sensibles,
he is said to be carried away, even though he be uplifted to things whereunto he
is directed naturally: provided this be not done intentionally, as when a man
betakes himself to sleep which is in accordance with nature, wherefore sleep
cannot be called rapture, properly speaking.
This withdrawal, whatever its term may be, may arise from a threefold cause.
First, from a bodily cause, as happens to those who suffer abstraction from the
senses through weakness: secondly, by the power of the demons, as in those who
are possessed: thirdly, by the power of God. In this last sense we are now speaking
of rapture, whereby a man is uplifted by the spirit of God to things supernatural,
and withdrawn from his senses, according to Ezekiel 8:3, "The spirit lifted me up
between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the vision of
God into Jerusalem."36
In the Reply to Objection 2 of the same Article, St. Thomas adds: "It belongs
to man's mode and dignity that he be uplifted to divine things, from the very fact that he
is made to God's image (Gen 9:6). And since a divine good infinitely surpasses the
faculty of man in order to attain that good, he needs the divine assistance which is
bestowed on him in every gift of grace. Hence it is not contrary to nature, but above the
faculty of nature that man's mind be thus uplifted in rapture by God." In his Reply to
Objection 1, Aquinas had already specified that "It is natural to man to tend to divine
things through the apprehension of things sensible", quoting Romans 1:20 as proof: "The
invisible things of God . . . are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made."
St. Thomas says that in the rapture one sees God in His very essence, because we
are gifted with the light of glory, in other words, direct contemplation of God. This
happens in time, in our earthly life in a relative, non-definitive manner (it would seem
that this beatitude does not redound to the body, still subject to its temporal condition),
and with an abstraction of the senses: instead, it occurs like a prophecy ("now, but not

36
This text is available on the New Advent website: http://www.newadvent.org/summa/3175.htm

15
yet"37). The intense love between man and God brings about the rapture, taking the person
out of him or herself into union with God, as a total transportation from the intensity of
the love, where everything else falls away, and has as its consequence the effusion of the
feeling of love.38 God's essence is not palpable on a sensory level as if it were a
"phantasm".39 Neither can the vision of God's essence be conceived of through the created
intelligible species. Therefore, in order to see God, man must do without his natural way
of coming to know, and must pay attention with all of his might. Intense love can do that.
Only then can he receive the gift of seeing God directly, His essence, with the light which
God Himself sheds.40
This manner of understanding our human knowledge of God permits us to affirm
that Christ, during His earthly life, habitually enjoyed the beatific vision of His Father,
through the clarity of glory. As St. Thomas reasoned, "Further, Christ was truly a
wayfarer, and also enjoyed an uninterrupted vision of the Divine essence, without,
however, being withdrawn from His senses." 41 Christ saw God, the Father directly: "The
intellect of Christ's soul was glorified by the habit of the light of glory, whereby He saw
the Divine essence much more fully than an angel or a man. He was, however, a wayfarer
on account of the passibility of His body, […], by dispensation, and not on account of any
defect on the part of His intellect. Hence there is no comparison between Him and other
wayfarers."42 Based precisely on our human nature which tends towards God, and
therefore by means of a gift, but also as an intrinsic requirement of the end to which Christ
is united (God), He attains human understanding through the lumen gloriae (the light of
glory), in other words, the direct contemplation of God. We must keep in mind that Christ
could not be deprived of this end, with all of the ensuing graces, and His nature as a
wayfarer (in time) was not like ours (in our current deprived condition of such an end),
except as a concession. This means that, even when His human soul was in direct and
habitual contact with God (as is proper to the soul of a man who had not fallen into
imperfection or failure), His body remained in a condition which lacked the glorified
state. In other words, His body was intentionally not glorified: such a glorification was
held back until the time was right, since the body which enjoys the direct beatific vision
of God automatically participates of this glorification. Christ participated in His
humanity, of a state of temporality, not because He was limited or were subject to the
condition of original sin, but rather because He granted this temporality to Himself "on
our behalf".

4.2 Direct Knowledge of God in Eternity43

The direct knowledge of God, or better said, the direct vision of God, is attained
definitively and with complete stability in eternity, meaning beyond time and space. Our
final end is God Himself, and if we do not reach this end, we remain frustrated forever.
At our death, our spirit abandons the reference to the sensible world which deprived us
of the direct knowledge of God. This liberating breakaway from the sensible world is not
enough to gain access to the knowledge of God, since God is infinitely superior to the

37
Cf. STh II-II, 175, a.3. See also the summary - which is quite clear - offered in the corpus of Article 4 concerning man's way of coming to know something.
38
Cf. STh II-II, 175, a.2.
39
Cf. S Th. II: q. 175, Art. 4, Answer.
40
Cf. STh II-II, 175, a.4.
41
S Th II, q. 175, Art. 4, Obj. 2.
42
STh: II, q. 175, Art. 4, Reply to Obj. 2.
43
For this topic, Cf. STh I, 12; I-II, 1-5; II-II, 180 (particularly a. 5); De Veritate, 8; Summa contra Gentiles, IV, 22.

16
human spirit. We must receive a grace which enables us to see God directly. This grace
is given the name of "lumen gloriae" in classical theology and in the writings of St.
Thomas. As we have discussed earlier, Holy Scripture guarantees the existence of this
direct vision of God in eternity (particularly 1 Jn3:2; 1 Cor 13:12). The beatific vision
takes place "outside and beyond" the senses, without our intervention. There is no
phantasm or intelligible species. There is a direct contact with God Himself, with His
essence. This is not to imply that we can understand Him as if He were a concept, the
fruit of an abstraction. Instead, it is more like being totally captured and enraptured by
His vision. Any abstract way of getting to know God becomes completely superfluous
and is left behind. It is not necessary either for us to direct our attention to these things,
because all is known directly in Him (if it were not so, then we would not yet have reached
our definitive fulfillment).
In that condition, corporality is not the main reference point: it becomes implicit in
the fullness and beatitude of the spirit.
The concept of the beatific vision, as has been explained here, incorporates as its
basis, a Christian anthropological basis, and implies the mystery of Christ's humanity. It
manifests people made for God, but while subject to temporality, deprived of the
fundamental grace which permits us to achieve our fulfillment. Consequently, there is no
other road to follow than the one before us paying heed to the signs, waiting to receive
the grace which we are lacking.44 With all of the above, it becomes clear that the human
person's fulfillment is accomplished only in reciprocity with God.

5. The Magisterium of the Church

The position of the Magisterium of the Church concerning God's cognoscibility is

expressed in the negative, stating that it is an error to say that the human mind is incapable
of knowing Him. The Magisterium has made declarations on the assistance which God
grants us so that we can come to know Him. The Second Council of Orange (Cf. Canon
7) had to intervene in the year 529 to rectify those who would hold that man can through
our own natural powers reach God. The Council recognized the need for God's help. 45
In 1215 A.D., the Fourth Lateran Council, in its intervention on the Florentine
monastery's Abbot Joachim of Fiore's various positions concerning the relationship
between the Creator and creatures, expressed the following comparison: " "Be . . . perfect,
as also your heavenly Father is perfect" [Matt. 5:48 ], as if He said more clearly, "Be
perfect" in the perfection of grace "as your heavenly Father is perfect" in the perfection
of grace, that is, each in his own manner, because between the Creator and the creature
so great a likeness cannot be noted without the necessity of noting a greater dissimilarity
between them (Cf. Denzinger, 432)46. This comparison also applies to the knowledge of
God which we as humans can hope to attain.

44
One might notice in this conception the admirable way in which grace is found perfectly connected to man's nature and redemption to Creation. Its gratuitous character does
not eliminate dependence and need for that grace in order to reach the end. Another important observation refers to the mystery of original sin, which determines man's
condition as a "wayfarer", deprived of the grace of the vision of God.
45
"Canon 7. If anyone affirms that we can form any right opinion or make any right choice which relates to the salvation of eternal life, as is expedient for us, or that we can be
saved, that is, assent to the preaching of the gospel through our natural powers without the illumination and inSpiration of the Holy Spirit, who makes all men gladly assent to
and believe in the truth, he is led astray by a heretical spirit, and does not understand the voice of God who says in the Gospel, "For apart from Me you can do nothing" (John
15:5), and the word of the Apostle, "Not that we are competent of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our competence is from God" (2 Cor. 3:5)." Cf.
https://www.ewtn.com/library/COUNCILS/ORANGE.HTM
46
The English-language text of the H. Denzinger-A Schönmetzer, Enchiridion Symbolorum Definitionum et Declarationum de Rebus Fidei et Morum, Editio XXXV, Rome 1973,
can be found online at: http://web.archive.org/web/20110724134133/http://www.catecheticsonline.com/SourcesofDogma5.php

17
 The First Vatican Council also addressed those who denied man's capacity to
come to know God: "If anyone shall have said that the one true God, our Creator and our
Lord, cannot be known with certitude by those things which have been made, by the
natural light of human reason: let him be anathema [cf. 1785]. (Cf. Dei Filius, Canon 1
On Revelation, Denzinger, 1806). The canon remits the reader to Chapter 2 on
Revelation47, where we perceive the continuity of natural knowledge with faith. "The
same Holy Mother Church holds and teaches that God, the beginning and end of all things,
can be known with certitude by the natural light of human reason from created things;
"for the invisible things of Him, from the Creation of the world, are clearly seen, being
understood by the things that are made" [Rom 1:20]; nevertheless, it has pleased His
wisdom and goodness to reveal Himself and the eternal decrees of His will to the human
race in another and supernatural way, as the Apostle says: "God, who at sundry times and
in divers manners, spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, last of all, in these
days hath spoken to us by His Son" [Heb 1:1 f]. Indeed, it must be attributed to this divine
Revelation that those things, which in divine things are not impenetrable to human reason
by itself, can, even in this present condition of the human race, be known readily by all
with firm certitude and with no admixture of error." In effect, God wished to reveal
Himself to the human race in a supernatural way so that, in our present state of
temporality, we might easily come to know Him, with absolute certainty and without
error. All of this highlights how difficult it is for human reason to experience the indirect
knowledge of God, and therefore, how fitting it is that our knowledge be confirmed
through divine authority.
The Second Vatican Council, in chapter 1 of Dei Verbum (2-6, DH 4202-4206), on
Revelation, once again confirms the capacity of the human mind to come to know God,
while at the same time exalting the beauty of the gift of Revelation, which is known and
received in faith in Christ, in order to attain access to the Father and participate in His
divine nature. The accent is on the specificity of faith, which is Christ Himself. The two
quotes from the New Testament with which the chapter opens and ends are Eph 1:9 and
Rom 1:20: the first deals with Revelation and the second with knowledge starting from
the condition as creatures.

47
Dogmatic Constitution Dei Filius, Vatican Council I, 1870. Available online at INTERS.org website: http://inters.org/Vatican-Council-I-Dei-Filius

18
6. Suggested Readings

From John Paul II's magisterium, we particularly recommend Redemptor hominis and
Veritatis splendor.

St. Gregory of Nyssa, Homily 6, on the Beatitudes, PG 44, 1263-1271 (cf. Roman
Breviary, Thursday-Staurday of the 12th week of Ordinary Time).

St. Thomas Aquinus, In Boethii De Trinitate, q. VI, 2: Utrum sit in divinis imaginatio
requirenda.

7. Self-Test

1) Which are the three types of knowledge of God to which the New Testament testifies?
Recall one Biblical citation for each type.

2) State the three aspects which characterize and limit man's natural knowledge.

3) What is analogy?

4) State the signs which show that it is possible for man to come to a true knowledge of
God.

5) Is faith a supernatural knowledge of God? Is faith a direct knowledge of God?

6) Can a direct knowledge of God be had within the confines of time and space?

7) Recall the various interventions by the Church's Magisterium concerning the

possibility for man to come to know God and to know the assistance which God gives us.

19
 Session II

CREATION AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN

CREATOR AND CREATURE

Lesson Plan:

1. Creation (the divine act of creating)

2. Mediation
3. Evil
4. The Spiritual Creature: Obedience to God
5. The Spiritual Creature: Vocation and Mission
6. Self-Test

Deepen your faith:

1.- What does the divine act of creating consist of?

2.- With reference to the relation that exists between the Creator and the creature: can
both autonomy and dependence occur at the same time?

Magisterium: Fourth Lateran Council (1215 A.D.), Vatican Council I (1870 A.D.), Dei
Filius (DH 3001-3003), Catechism of the Catholic Church ( 279-324)

Doctrinal body:

Introduction

The first great step - the starting point to our faith - is recognition of our Creator
and of ourselves as creatures. In this chapter we shall begin, then, our discussion of God
by an explanation of faith in our Creator and our condition as creatures in relation to the
Creator. We shall first express - in accordance with our Christian faith - the divine action
of creating and the fruit of that Creation which is the creature, in our relationship to the
Creator.

1. Creation (the divine act of creating)

20
1.1 Divine Omnipotence 48

Before tackling the fundamental questions of this chapter, it is necessary to

introduce the principle of Divine Omnipotence so as to ease understanding of the topic of
Creation. Speaking of God's nature, Vatican Council I proclaimed: "[The one, living, and
true God and His distinction from all things.] The holy, Catholic, Apostolic, Roman
Church believes and confesses that there is one, true, living God, Creator and Lord of
heaven and earth, almighty, eternal, immense, incomprehensible, infinite in intellect and
will, and in every perfection; Who, although He is one, singular, altogether simple and
unchangeable spiritual substance, must be proclaimed distinct in reality and essence from
the world; most blessed in Himself and of Himself, and ineffably most high above all
things which are or can be conceived outside Himself [can. 1-4]."49

a) We can and must recognize that God has infinite power: this is His divine
nature, taking the term "nature" as applied to creatures in an analogical sense. We see
diverse effects which have God as their cause: creatures, their intrinsic end, their
preservation, salvation, etc. Therefore, we must affirm that in God there is infinite power
which produces effects. Then we must also consider His "divine nature" as His principle
for action. Nevertheless, we cannot limit God's action to that which a finite nature might
do, or think that there are things He cannot do or effects which He cannot carry out. His
power is indeed infinite, He is "almighty". God's nature is all-powerful and thus we cannot
admit to any limit to His capacities or to the range of His nature, since he and His power
are infinite.
We must also note another difference between the way of conceiving of "nature" in
God and in creatures as a principle of vital operations. In the case of creatures, operations
produce an effect in themselves, by which they add something to their being, and by this
we can distinguish between their essence and their acts (for example, a thought or an act
of will which we carry through with add a perfection to our mind). The nature of creatures
can also produce effects in others, and this is why we also speak of operational faculties
in this sense. Nevertheless, in the case of God, His acts are His being, and add nothing to
Him.
We have used analogy and the process of affirmation, negation and
eminence."Omnipotence" means God can do anything.

b) What does it mean when we say that God can do everything? St. Thomas states
that indeed He can do all things "possible".50 We must exclude the limitation of any
effects because that would mean admitting to a limit to His nature. Man can do all that he
is capable of doing. But God can do all that is possible in the absolute sense. He cannot
do contradictory things, for example, He cannot do evil, because He is perfectly good and
true. In fact, evil cannot be considered an entity, but rather the lack of being in an entity.
Therefore, God does not conceive of such a thing simply because it cannot be done.

c) When we speak of divine power or omnipotence, or of the divine nature (all of

48
Cf. STh, Part I, Article 25; De potentia Dei, question 2, retrieved on 17 Oct 2016, from New English Translation of St. Thomas Aquinas's Summa Theologiae (Summa Theologica)
by Alfred J. Freddoso, website at http://www3.nd.edu/~afreddos/summa-translation/Part%201/st1-ques25.pdf
49
Cf. 3001 Dz 1782, retrieved from Clerus.org on 17 Oct 2016 at http://www.clerus.org/bibliaclerusonline/en/dxn.htm
50
Aquinus. S Th. op.cit.

21
these expressions correspond), we could seem to be referring to the immanent action of
God constituted by the Trinitarian processions, which are Generation and Spiration. But,
these actions being proper to the divine immanence, they better correspond to Who God
is than to what God does.

d) Creation is the first "effect" of divine omnipotence. God's creatures themselves

provide this datum.

e) God in fact does not create all that He could create, but He is free and able to
always create new things. There is an infinite number of possible entities which God does
not currently create. His free will determines what and when He will create them.
Therefore, God can do what He does not do.

f) The Catechism of the Catholic Church (302) states: "Creation has its own
goodness and proper perfection." All creatures have the character of the good which God
has instilled in them, and for that reason, they have a relative perfection as to their essence.
With their operations, creatures pursue that perfection as their end. This is not to say that
in other creatures there is a greater or lesser goodness. The relative goodness of each
creature is the maximum for each creature.

1.2 The Act of Creating Which is Proper to God

a) The Catechism states: "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."51 The term "creates" is used in an analogical sense. Before
Creation, there were no creatures at all. Instantaneously, there is the creature which God
has wanted. Creation resides in the act of divine will: the simple act of His will produces
the effect instantaneously.

b) What we have said can be deduced from the two effects of Creation:
 "to produce and give being to that which had in no way possessed it"52;

 "Creation in the creature is only a certain relation to the Creator as to the

principle of its being"53;
The first effect (giving existence to all things) means that God grants existence to
the creature itself, which enjoys an autonomy that can be summarized with three
characteristics: it possesses existence of itself; its way of being is proper to itself and is
intrinsic; it tends towards its own particular perfection with its own operations. We can
formulate a first extremely important conclusion: creatures truly exist outside of God.
The second effect (the creature's having a certain relation to God) means that the

51
CCC, 296.
52
CCC, 318; Cf. also Aquinas. STh. I, Q 45, Article 4, Objection 2: "Further, whatever is created is from nothing." Retrieved 17 Oct, 2016 at
http://www.newadvent.org/summa/1045.htm
53
Aquinus. STh. I, Q 45, Article 3, Answer, Retrieved 17 Oct, 2016 at http://www.newadvent.org/summa/1045.htm

22
creature really and always is from God, belongs to God, has a real relation to Him because
the creature receives from Him his being and his end, in other words, the reason for the
goodness to which he tends. The creature is truly derived from God, and what is - is, is
truly from God and is granted to the creature. As St. Thomas said: "every creature is
naturally such that, given what it is, it belongs to God".54
St. Thomas in Summa Theologiae I, question 60 notes this belonging to God which
forms a part of the creature's nature (principles of operation): he says that the creature's
natural love is directed primarily towards God, and secondly, to himself. In other words,
the creature naturally loves God more than he loves himself, precisely because of the real
relation which creatures have with God: a relation of dependence, of being derived from
Him and of truly belonging to Him. The common good of the creature is written in the
absolute good which is God.
The Old Testament is very rich in examples of Creation's belonging to God, and
God makes use of this as His in an immediate and real way (Cf. Ps 89:112-13; 95:4,5;
50:10-12). In these texts inspired by the Holy Spirit, and in many others, we note that
"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."55
We express this second effect of Creation - referring here to the fact that the creature
truly exists outside of God, yet belongs to Him completely - when we attempt to respond
to the question, "Where is God?".
We must answer, "God is everywhere". Nevertheless, the adverb "everywhere"
must be used in the opposite way from how we usually understand it: we cannot say that
God changes place, or goes from one place to another, nor does He occupy all of the
space. Instead, when we use this adverb we mean to say that all creatures are immediately
present before God and subject to His dominion.56
With St. Thomas we say there is a first way in which God is omnipresent: by power,
presence, and essence.57 "By power", because everything is immediately subject to Him,
both spiritual and material realities, and there is no power which God is deprived of. "By
presence" means that everything is completely cared for by His divine Providence;58
everything is known, created and guided to perfection by God, Who does not permit
anything to remain in an autonomy which would mean abandonment of the creature. "By
essence" denotes that everything is created immediately by God: in other words, God
wills and creates each creature as that particular creature, without limiting Himself to
creating just a few at the beginning, giving them the essence, so that they can then transmit
it to other creatures; but instead God creates each individual essence, crafted uniquely
according to God's will.
A second way in which God is present in the creature is the way of the end of the
creature's activity. God can only be the final end of spiritual creatures. In them, God is
present as the object desired by the one who desires it, or as the object known in the one
who knows. God Himself is the end, intentionally sought after and loved.

54
Aquinas. STh., Question 60, Article 5, Answer.
55
CCC, 304
56
Cf. Reference to the all-knowing and ever-present God in Ps 139:7-12.
57
Aquinas. STh. I, Question 8.
58
Cf. CCC, 321: "Divine Providence consists of the dispositions by which God guides all his creatures with wisdom and love to their ultimate end."

23
1.3 Solid Points on Creation

When conceiving of Creation, we must understand that the creature has been
endowed with autonomy, but at the same time remains dependent on God.

a) Existence is truly bestowed on the creature: this is not a simple appearance. In

consequence, this endowment is two-sided:

 A "subject" which possesses being of itself (classical philosophy expresses this with
the concept of substance59 or subsistent60), or which has its being in another,
which, nevertheless has being of itself;

 the "manner of being" (or essence) is truly granted to the creature: "what the
creature is like" is intrinsic to the creature. This is why creatures have their own
vital operations, a particular way of acting, specific to the species, that leads them
to their perfection (act). Essence is also called nature or power, the principle - or
starting point - of operation or action.61 As St. Thomas said, "Further, the powers
of the soul are the principles of its vital operations" (Summa Th. Q. 78, Obj. 2).

b) How we conceive the final end or purpose of Creation is fundamental. In Creation,

each creature moves towards its perfection with an inclination which is intrinsic to it in
particular.62 All inclinations and acts of the creature emanate from its nature, from its
grade of being with which it has been constituted in Creation. The good to which the
creature and all Creation is inclined is the perfection of each species, written in the nature
of each species; it is God Who has established this goodness, and thus is part of the total
goodness which is God Himself.
c) Every creature has been directly brought into existence by God from nothing,
and whenever there is a new entity, God's creative act takes place. Whenever there is a
"newness" in Creation, in other words, a new creature, all creatures' capacity of operation
and change is confirmed, and at the same time, God's divine intervention. This is apparent
in living things which enjoy a greater autonomy, and particularly in the case of human
beings and in general, of spiritual beings which are free of material requirements. We are
present in God's creative act for each of them. Our relation with God is very intimate: our
origin is directly in Him, and we belong to Him, for "in Him we live and move and have
our being" (Acts 17:28).

59 " A substance, on the other hand, is something that is both subsistent and complete in a nature—a nature being an intrinsic principle of movement and change in the subject.
A human soul is a constitutive element of the nature of a human substance. It is the formal principle of a human substance. It is what is specified when we say what the
substance is. But it is incomplete. What it is for a soul to be is to be the form of some substance. In that sense it is a principle of a substance, ‘principle’ being a technical term
that refers back to the first entry, arche, in Aristotle's philosophical lexicon in the Metaphysics, as well as Thomas' commentary on it, and Thomas' On the Principles of Nature.
As the principle of a nature, its nature is to be the formal element of a complete substance. Consequently, it doesn't have its own nature and is not a substance in its own right,
even if it is capable of subsisting apart from the living body. It is because it is naturally incomplete as subsisting apart from the body that Thomas sees this state as unnatural
for it, and an intimation of, but not an argument for, the resurrection of the body." Cf. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, entry on Saint Thomas Aquinus. See also a good
explanation of substance in Thomistic Philosophy Page, Natural Philosophy - Substance and Accident, at http://www.aquinasonline.com/Topics/substacc.html
60 "A subsistent is something with an operation of its own, existing either on its own or in another as an integral part, but not in the way either accidental or material forms
exist in another. Existing on its own is not distinctive of substances alone. A chair is a particular thing, and thus a subsistent. But on Aquinas' account it is not a substance; it is
rather an accidental unity of other subsistents which may or may not be substances. A hand has an operation distinctive of it as an integral part of a living body, an operation
different from the operation of the stomach; it is a particular thing and also a subsistent. (Summa Theologiae Ia.75.2 ad1; also Quaestiones Disputate de Anima 2.) And yet being
an integral and functional part of a substance, it does not have the complete nature of a substance.…"Cf. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, entry on Saint Thomas Aquinus
61 Cf. Dauphinais, Michael & Levering, Matthew, ed.. Reading John with St. Thomas Aquinas: Theological Exegesis and Speculative Theology, Washington, D.C: Catholic University
of America Press, p. 43.
62 Generically, the will is an appetite, that is, a power of the soul by which we are inclined toward something. Cf. Thomistic Philosophy Page, Aquinas and the Freedom of the
Will. Retrieved on 18 Oct, 2016 at http://www.aquinasonline.com/Topics/freewill.html

24
 d) In the case of the spiritual creature, the end is consciously and freely desired. 63
It is intrinsic to the spiritual creature, but the final end is beyond the creature, since it is
God. Spiritual creatures enjoy a greater autonomy than others, yet that autonomy implies
a greater dependence on God since our participation in the good is also greater, given that
God is our good. God attracts us to Him since He is the one we seek. God can only be
sought for Himself, which means, loved and known, by one who can freely love and know
Him.

e) We must also add the concept of order: creatures are ordered one to the other,
and all to God, because they are His. The search for one's own perfection is to the benefit
of the other creatures. Order shows the deep unity of Creation.64

f) As to the finality, purpose or end, the spiritual creature's end stands out, as God
is consciously his or her end. All other creatures are ordered by God's providence to their
end, but they are also ordered to man and the other spiritual creatures who can
intentionally direct themselves to God as their own end. In a way, man makes use of the
purpose of all of the other creatures which contribute to his being able to act towards his
end which is God Himself.

1.4 Divine Providence

We wonder if creatures, called by God into existence, are abandoned to

themselves. The answer is no: Creation does not escape from God's care. The Catechism
tells us: "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.' (Wis 11: 24-26)"65 Creation makes God's providential
plan manifest.

a) Purpose and order lead us to Divine Providence. God orders all things according
to their end so that they may offer to the others what is lacking in them. Since Creation is
directly God's work, Providence means that God conceives of all creatures with their final
ends, and in this way contributes sustenance for other creatures, so that each creature
might reach the end according to what He has established for each one. In this way each
creature reaches its end as He has envisioned, and likewise all of Creation reaches its
maximum perfection as God has planned. As the Catechism remarks: "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

63 Cfr. STh I-II, 1, a. 2.

64 "For Aquinas, the twofold ordering is both God's work of art in arranging the constituents of the world hierarchically so they can function internally in relation to one another
and God's providence in ordering them to their end to achieve their common good and the good of the universe. God's ordering the constituents of the universe to one another
is the cause of the ordering of the parts to each other."Schaefer, Jame (2009). Theological Foundations for Environmental Ethics: Reconstructing Patristic and Medieval Concepts.
Comment on Aquinas, De Veritate, 5.1.9. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press. P. 141
65 CCC, 301.

25
providence" the dispositions by which God guides his Creation toward this perfection"
(CCC, 302)." Two considerations show that the universe is governed: the fixed order of
things towards ends, and the nature of God's goodness, which requires that He brings
things to their ends."66 The concrete carrying out of His Providence is called God's
governance, and in it we grasp the reality of the influence of some creatures on others and
which God makes use of in His actions. "And so, as nothing can exist that God does not
create, so nothing can exist that is not subject to his governance."67 "God's providence
governs everything directly, but He executes His Providence by means of some created
things causing other created things."68
With Divine Providence and Divine Governance, the bonds of solidarity amongst
all creatures are made clear: every creature, no matter how simple or undemanding in its
degree of perfection, is important and necessary.

b) With respect to the human being, a spiritual creature, since God Himself is his
end, the concept of Providence means that man is offered all of the natural and
supernatural creatures which can help him reach his end. God undertakes this work with
the conscious collaboration of man: this cooperation, no matter how limited it may be, is
real and undeniable. Men, who are free beings, search for the good by means of their
decisions and actively participate in carrying out God's providential plans for each and
every one. God's providential action in history inasmuch as it guides our freedom, touches
on men's freedom. Later on, the divine providential plan acquires fullness, is completed
and also is truly revealed when God personally intervenes in history, and not just through
intermediaries, offering Himself to man with expressions in history which man can
understand. God's appearance in history requires a kenosis of Him, a self-emptying, or
self-limitation, so as to make Himself as at our level. In the Old Testament we can identify
such a presence of God in history when He makes the Covenant with man, which
represents the way in which God "governs" man: God talks with him, makes proposals,
points out laws and demands that man adhere to Him. God's actions in history reach their
summit and fullness with the Incarnation of His Word.

c) The freedom of men and spiritual beings in general poses an aporetic problem of
evil. Evil upsets God's projects for men and for Creation, precisely because of the
connection and deep solidarity amongst all created things. Evil, properly speaking, can
only arise from a free spiritual being who does not accept the end which Providence has
assigned to him or her. Repairing evil requires, then, God's further intervention - the
magnitude and intensity of which varies in proportion to the need to redirect the deviation
in the freedom of the spiritual creature's from His original plan. Such a divine intervention
appears as a kenosis, even deeper, if that is possible, of the Creator, as we see happened
in the events surrounding our salvation, carried out by Christ. The Catechism exemplifies:
"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." 178 From

66 Regan, Richard J. (2003). Aquinas: A Summary of Philosophy. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company. P. 54.
67 Regan, op. cit., P. 57
68 Regan, op. cit., p.55.

26
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",179 brought
the greatest of goods: the glorification of Christ and our redemption. But for all that, evil
never becomes a good." (CCC, 312) God's love, forgiveness, and fresh start is called
mercy, and is what guides God's actions.

d) Any discussion of Providence must not lead us to think that everything that exists
is necessary for the end that we in particular are seeking. God can foresee a multiplicity
of contingent things, as well as others which are necessary. We must not box God in to
our concepts. We need to leave Him some space for his infinite creativity.
God's Providence makes us see what happens with renewed eyes. It makes us see
as God's envoys all of the creatures that surround us. Afterwards, when considering God's
direct intervention, His "Divine Mission", we shall see how Providence is complemented.

e) The consideration of Providence also finds support in the observation of the fact
that every creature, and particularly the spiritual creature, loves God more than him or
herself, as mentioned earlier.

f) Lastly, we find that in classical terminology "Divine Providence" is applied to

the governance of spiritual creatures, including human beings, precisely in order to
differentiate it from the governance of non-spiritual creatures. It also has a sense of
determining the assistance to be given to spiritual creatures so that we may achieve our
end, taking into consideration our freely given response.

2. Mediation

a) The Prologue to the Gospel of St. John speaks of the Word's mediation in
Creation: "All things came to be through Him, and without Him nothing came to be" (Jn
1:3). This idea is also found in Col 1:15-16: "He is the image of the invisible God, the
Firstborn of all Creation. For in Him were created all things in heaven and on earth, the
visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all
things were created through Him and for Him"; and in Heb 1: 2: "in these last days, He
spoke to us through a Son, whom He made Heir of all things and through whom He
created the universe".

b) God creates and permits each creature to have its being and way of being. He
considers the concrete essence of each creature. The Word is the Mediator in Creation as
He offers the way in which each creature can be fulfilled in God. Sacred Scripture
proclaims that the Word is the Wisdom which accompanies the act of Creation. For this
reason, Creation and all creatures are in some way made in the image of the Word of God.

c) God does not change or enter into any movement when He creates. Everything
occurs outside of Him. Yet, thanks to the concept of mediation, we can clearly see how
united God is to Creation, and how much of Himself He puts into Creation, particularly

27
into mankind. What God is, becomes imprinted in the creature in one way, and the
creature reproduces it.

d) The New Testament reveals to us that all that God creates is done in function of
the Word, His Son, so that it can be His inheritance, come under His dominion. In this
sense, everything tends toward the Son as its end, and nothing escapes from expressing
the Word's participation some way. The Word, then, is the Mediator of Creation inasmuch
as He is Creation's chief end.

3. Evil

God does not and cannot wish for evil, but He does permit it. This is the
consequence of our autonomy from our Creator. Our way of being and acting according
to our nature is in our hands. As humans with free will, instead of cooperating with the
good, we can choose to deviate from it and not want to do the good that would perfect us
and fulfill us in God. Evil means a choice for a wrong good which causes damage to all.
Creation suffers a general damage when the free creature provokes evil. "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.'" (CCC, 311)
Since the final end of the free spiritual being is God Himself, evil is directly related
to God. Evil is an aversion to God, a separation from Him, and thus, although it does not
always constitute grave matter, all evil is always an offense against God.
The bond between creature and Creator, particularly the spiritual creature, created
in His likeness and image, are more visible after reflecting on mediation. This concept
shows us how great and serious an offense evil is. It also helps us understand God's
interest in remodeling the creature, disfigured by evil, back into the image of the Son.

4. The Spiritual Creature: Obedience to God

If all spiritual creatures (ie. angels and humans) belong to God and He guides them
to perfection and to reach the end for which He has created them, spiritual creatures,
although they belong to God, possess a special autonomy and are called to consciously
confirm their own belonging to God and the fulfillment of their purpose. The defining
expression of the creature, then, is obedience to God. Non-spiritual creatures necessarily
obey God, while spiritual creatures freely obey God, give our consent to God's actions
and cooperate with them.

6.1 The act of obedience to God

The spiritual creature's act of obedience to God is his "constituent" act because it

28
characterizes him as a spiritual creature. All of his free, spiritual being is inclined
immediately towards the accomplishment of this act. The first, absolute, most important
and most fundamental act is acceptance of one's own condition as a creature.
The spiritual creature's conscious act of obedience has two aspects:

 submission: acceptance of God as Creator, and self-recognition as His creature;

 communion: active cooperation with Him and participation in reciprocating His

love to a degree infinitely above that expected of non-spiritual creatures.

Neither of these aspects should be forgotten, or even underestimated. At different times

and under the influence of varying cultural sensitivities, one or the other of these two
aspects concerning the fundamental relation between God and humans has been stressed.
But if one aspect is lacking, the reality of the human condition is falsified.
In this way, the conscious obedience of the spiritual creature is so fundamental for
us that our destiny and happiness depend on it. Obedience has a deep relationship with
identity and fulfillment. In fact, when spiritual creatures refuse to accept their condition
as creatures, their life will turn into unhappiness. A clear model of this occurs in the case
of the demons, "the fallen angels" who turned away from God.
6.2 Jesus Christ and Obedience

Jesus Christ illustrates the condition of being a spiritual creature, a man, and this,
in turn illuminates the reality of Christ. Christ, as Son of God belongs also to God, but
not in the same way we do as creatures, because Christ did not have a beginning. His
communion with God is perfect because He Himself is God. There is no submission, but
instead identity. Nevertheless, with the Incarnation, the Son assumed the condition of
creature, and as such, learned obedience. Christ's Incarnation has as its end to teach us
submission and communion with the Father, and thanks to Him, the obedience of
creatures acquires a totally new dimension. His submission is related to His divine
Filiation, and His communion to His identity as One with the Father. All human beings
are called to participate in this great mystery of the union between the Father and the Son.
We can gain access to the reality of Divine Filiation and Paternity.

5. The Spiritual Creature: Vocation and Mission

In God's project, the existence of each spiritual creature, of every human being, is
important to the temporal and eternal good of all other creatures, particularly the other
spiritual creatures, the other human beings, and consists of communion with God. But,
since the collaboration of all spiritual beings towards the good according to God's
providential plan can only happen when it is freely given, the existence of each spiritual
creature implies a vocation or calling from God to communion with Him as the end to be
sought, and at the same time to procure such an end also for others within the concrete
circumstances which God has wished. As a result, the response to God is developed and
articulated as a mission for the attainment of an end, which is God. Any human existence,
no matter how humble, brief, or hidden it is, is desired by God to carry out a mission in
order to obtain an end for that person and for many others, provided that person so wishes

29
to carry it out.
In Sacred Scripture and in the experience of the saints and of so many people,
adhesion to God and full cooperation with Him is expressed as the response to His calling,
or vocation, which is intrinsically tied to the full availability for the mission to help our
own "brothers and sisters", our fellow men, reach the fullness of their encounter with
God.

6. Self-Test

1) What does "divine omnipotence" mean?

2) Present some of the effects of the divine act of creating.

3) What is meant by the terms "subject", "way of being", and "end" of the creature?

4) Explain the concepts of "providence" and "predestination".

5) What is the role of the Word in Creation?

6) What is the spiritual creature's own expression, meaning his "constituent act"? What
two aspects does this include?

7) What is the meaning of every spiritual creature's having a vocation and a mission?

30
 Session III

CREATION AND GOD'S ACT OF CREATION

Note: This session was taken from an article in Spanish on the website, Catholic.net,
retrieved 21 Oct, 2016 from http://www.es.catholic.net/op/articulos/14519/cat/571/tema-
6-la-creacion.html, titled Tema 6. La Creación, written by Santiago Sanz and uploaded
originally at the Opus Dei website, http://opusdei.sv/es-sv/article/tema-6-la-
creacion/#_ftn13.

Lesson Plan:

1. The Act of Creation

2. The Created Reality
3. Other Suggested Readings
4. Self-Test

Deepen your Faith:

1.- Creation is the common work of the Holy Trinity.

2.- The world has been created for the glory of God.

Catechism:

To gain a deeper understanding, consult the Catechism of the Catholic Church, The
Creator, 279-374.

Doctrinal Body:

Introduction

The importance of the truth about Creation resides in the fact that: "Creation is the
foundation of 'all God's saving plans', the 'beginning of the history of salvation' that
culminates in Christ."69 Both the Bible, in Gen 1:1, "In the beginning, when God created
the heavens and the earth", and the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, "I believe in one
God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and
invisible" begin with the confession of faith in God, the Creator. Unlike the other great
mysteries of our faith (the Holy Trinity and the Incarnation), Creation "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

69 CCC, 280.

31
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." 70 "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."71 Philosophical reflection has attempted to find the answer to these questions
too. "All these attempts bear witness to the permanence and universality of the question
of origins. This inquiry is distinctively human."72 Yet, the specificity of the notion of
Creation has only been grasped through the Judeo-Christian Revelation.
Creation is a mystery of faith, and at the same time, a truth which is accessible to
natural reason. As the Catechism states: "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.'"73 This particular position between faith and reason makes
of Creation a good starting point in the task of evangelization and dialogue which
Christians have always - and perhaps even more so in our times74 - been called to carry
out, as did St. Paul in the Athenian Areopagus (Acts 17:16-34).

1. The Act of Creation

1.1. "Creation is the Common Work of the Holy Trinity" (Catechism, 292)
Revelation presents God's creative action as the fruit of His Omnipotence, His
Wisdom and His Love. Creation is often particularly attributed to the Father, while
salvation is attributed to the Son, and sanctification to the Holy Spirit. Yet, while the
Trinity's works ad extra (the first of which is Creation) are common to all three Persons,
it is interesting to ask what specific role each Person played in Creation, since "each
divine Person performs the common work according to His unique personal property." 75
This is the meaning of the equally traditional appropriation of the essential qualities
(omnipotence, wisdom, love) attributed respectively to the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit. "Thus the Church confesses, following the New Testament, 'one God and Father
from whom all things are, and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom all things are, and
one Holy Spirit in whom all things are'. "76
In the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, we confess our faith "in one God, the
Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and of Earth"; "in one Lord, Jesus Christ…by Whom
all things were made"; and "in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life" (DS, 150).
Christian faith speaks, then, not only of a Creation ex nihilo, "out of nothing", which
shows God the Father's omnipotence, but also a Creation made with intelligence, with the

70 CCC, 282.
71 CCC, 285.
72 CCC, 285.
73 CCC, 286.
74 Amongst many other interventions, Cf- Pope Benedict XVI, Speech to the Members of the Roman Curia, 22-XII-2005; Faith, Reason, and University (Regensburg Speech), 12-
IX-2006; Ángelus, 28-I-2007.
75 CCC, 258.
76
CCC, 258.

32
wisdom of God - the Logos, or Word, through which all was made (Jn 1:3); and a Creation
ex amore (GS, 19), fruit of the freedom and love that is God Himself, the Spirit which
proceeds from the Father and the Son. In consequence, the eternal procession of the
Persons are the basis of Hid creative works.
Just as there is no contradiction between God's unicity and His being as three
Persons, analogously, there is nothing to contradict the creative principle with the
diversity in the ways of acting of each of the three Persons.

1.2 "Creator of the Heavens and the Earth" (Catechism, 258)

"'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."77
Only God can create in the purest sense of the term, meaning causing things to come
into being out of nothing (ex nihilo), and not from something preexisting. Creation
requires an active infinite power, such as only God has (Cf. CCC, 296-298). It is thus
congruent to appropriate the creative omnipotence to the Father, since He is in the Trinity
- according to a classical expression - fons et origo - the source and origin, the Person
from Whom the other two proceed, beginning without a beginning.
Christian faith affirms that the fundamental distinction in reality is that which is
found between God and creatures. This was a novel concept in the first centuries, during
which time the polarity between matter and spirit gave rise to irreconcilable points of
view (materialism and spiritualism, dualism and monism). Christianity broke those
molds, particularly with their affirmation that matter too (as well as spirit) is a Creation
of the one and only transcendent God. Later on, St. Thomas Aquinus developed a
metaphysics of Creation which describes God as the same subsistent Being. As First
Cause, He is absolutely transcendent to the world and at the same time, in virtue of the
participation of His Being in the creatures, He is intimately present with them, and they
are entirely dependent on Him, the source of their being. "[B]ecause 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' (Acts 17:28)." 78 In the words of St.
Augustine, "You, Lord, You were more inward to me than my most inward part; and
higher than my highest."79

1.3 "By Whom All Things Were made"

The Old Testament Wisdom Literature presents the world as the fruit of God's
Wisdom: "Now with You is Wisdom, Who knows your works and was present when You
made the world; Who understands what is pleasing in your eyes and what is conformable
with your commands." (Wis 9:9) "We believe that God created the world according to his
wisdom.141 It is not the product of any necessity whatever, nor of blind fate or chance,"80
77
CCC, 290.
78
CCC, 300.
79
St. Augustine. Confessions. Book III, Chapter 6, Verse 11.
80
CCC, 295.

33
but rather, "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." 81 We
are not unlike Job who said: "I have dealt with great things that I do not understand; things
too wonderful for me, which I cannot know" (Job 42:3). This development reaches its full
expression in the New Testament: by identifying the Son, Jesus Christ, with the Logos
(Jn 1:1 ff), Scripture affirms that God's Wisdom is a Person, the Word made flesh, through
Whom all things have come to be (Jn 1:3). St. Paul formulates this relation of what has
been created with Christ, clarifying that all things have been created in Him, through Him
and before His sight (Col 1:16-17).
There is, then, a creative reason in the origin of the cosmos. From the start,
Christianity holds confidence in the capacity of human reason to come to know; and an
enormous surety that reason (science, philosophy, etc.) can never come to conclusions
that are contrary to faith, since both reason and faith come from the same source.
It is quite logical, therefore, that from the beginning the Church should have sought
a dialogue with reason; a conscious reason stemming from man's created condition, since
we have not given existence to ourselves, nor do we dispose fully of our future; a reason
that is open to that which transcends it, definitively - the originating Reason.
Paradoxically, reason which is closed unto itself, which believes it can find within itself
the answer to its deepest questions, ends up declaring the senselessness of existence,
unable to recognize the intelligibility of that which is real (nihilism, irrationalism, etc.).

1.4 "The Lord and Giver of Life"

"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' (Rev 4.11). 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' ( Ps 104:24; 145:9)."82 Therefore,
"because Creation comes forth from God's goodness, it shares in that goodness - 'And
God saw that it was good. . . very good' (Gen 1:4,10,12,18,21,31) 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."83
This character of goodness and freely willed gift allows us to discover in Creation
the action of the Spirit - Who "swept over the waters" (Gen 1:2), the Person-Gift84 in the
Trinity, subsistent Love between the Father and the Son. The Church confesses its faith
in the creative work of the Holy Spirit, Giver of life and Source of all good.
The Christian affirmation of the creative divine freedom overcomes the narrowness
of other points of view which place a need in God, and finish by upholding a fatalism or
determinism. There is nothing, either "inside" or "outside" of God that obliges Him to
create. What, then, is the end which moves Him? What has He planned by creating us?

81
CCC, 299.
82
CCC, 295.
83
CCC, 299.
84
Cf. John Paul II (18 May, 1986). Encyclical Dominum et vivificantem, 10.

34
1.5 "The World was Made for the Glory of God"85(Catechism, 293,294)

"Scripture and Tradition never cease to teach and celebrate this fundamental truth:
'The world was made for the glory of God' (Dei Filius, can. § 5: DS 3025). St.
Bonaventure explains that God created all things 'not to increase His glory, but to show
it forth and to communicate it' (St. Bonaventure, In II Sent. I,2,2,1), 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' (St. Thomas Aquinas, Sent. II, Prol.). 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. . .' Dei Filius, I: DS 3002; cf. Lateran Council IV (1215):
DS 800.)"86
"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' (Eph 1:5-6.), for 'the glory of God is man fully alive; moreover man's life
is the vision of God…' (St. Irenaeus, Adv. haeres. 4,20,7: PG 7/1,1037)".87
Far from being a dialectic of opposing principles (as occurs with Manichean
dualism, and also in the Hegelian monistic idealism), affirming the glory of God as the
end of Creation is not a denial of man, but rather an indispensable prerequisite to man's
fulfillment. Christian optimism digs its roots into the joint exaltation of God and of man:
"man is great only if God is great". This is an optimism and a logic that affirm the absolute
precedence of the good, but this is not to say that we are blind to the presence of evil in
the world and in history.

1.6. Sustenance and Providence

Creation is not just the initial act of creating: "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."88 Sacred Scripture compares this performance of God in history with
His creative action (Is 44:24; 45:8; 51:13). Wisdom Literature makes explicit God's action
in sustaining the existence of His creatures. "And how could a thing remain, unless You
willed it; or be preserved, had it not been called forth by You?" (Wis 11:25) St. Paul takes
this further and attributes this preserving action to Christ: "He is before all things, and in
Him all things hold together" (Col 1:17).
The Christian God is not a clockmaker or architect who, after finishing his work,
casts it aside. These images are proper to a deist conception, according to which God does
not get involved in the business of the world. This represents a distortion of the authentic
God the Creator, since it drastically separates Creation from the sustenance and divine
governance of the world.

85
Dei Filius, can. § 5: DS 3025, Vatican Council I
86
CCC, 293.
87
CCC, 294.
88
CCC, 301.

35
 The notion of sustenance "acts as a bridge" between the creative action and the
divine governance of the world (Providence). God not only creates the world and keeps
it in existence, but through the dispositions of His Divine Providence, also "leads His
creatures toward their ultimate end".89
Sacred Scripture presents God's absolute sovereignty, and bears constant witness to
His paternal care, both in the smallest of things as in the greatest events of history. In this
context, Jesus reveals Himself as God's Providence "Incarnate", who, as the Good
Shepherd, tends to men's material and spiritual needs (Jn 10,11.14-15; Mt 14,13-14, etc.)
and teaches us to abandon ourselves to His care (Mt 6,31-33).
If God creates, sustains and directs everything with goodness, where does evil come
from? "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 through 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."90
"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."91 To carry out His master plan, God makes use of His creatures'
concurrence, granting His creatures a participation in His providence, respecting their
freedom even when they do evil. What is truly surprising is that "God in His almighty
providence can bring a good from the consequences of an evil".92 It is a mystery, but a
great truth that "in everything God works for good for those who love Him" (Rom 8:28).
The experience of evil seems to manifest a tension between divine omnipotence and
goodness in their action throughout history. There is an answer to this, which is certainly
mysterious, in the event of the Cross of Christ, which reveals "God's way of being", and
is thus a source of wisdom to mankind.

1.7. Creation and Salvation

Creation is the "first step towards the covenant of the one God with His People".93
In the Bible, Creation is open to God's salvific action in history, which reaches its fullness
in Christ's Paschal mystery, and will reach perfection at the end of time. Creation was
made looking towards the Sabbath, the seventh day on which the Lord rested, the day on
which the first Creation reaches its culmination and which opens to the eighth day which
begins an even more marvelous work: Redemption, the new Creation in Christ (2 Co 5:7).
The continuity and unity of the divine plan of Creation and Redemption is thus
shown forth. Between both, there is no hiatus, since the sin of men has not totally
corrupted the divine work, just a bond. The relation between both - Creation and salvation

89
Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 55.
90
CCC, 309.
91
CCC, 302.
92
CCC, 312.
93
CCC, 288.

36
- can be expressed saying that, on the one hand, Creation is the first salvific occurrence;
and on the other hand, the redemptive salvation has the characteristics of a new Creation.
This relation illustrates important aspects of Christian faith, such as the ordering of nature
to grace or to the existence of a sole supernatural end for man.

2. The Created Reality

The effect of God's creative action is the totality of the created world, "the heavens
and the earth" (Gen 1:1). God is "Creator of all visible and invisible things, of the spiritual
and of the corporal; who by His own almighty power at once from the beginning of time
created each creature from nothing, spiritual, and corporal, namely, angelic and mundane,
and finally the human, constituted as it were, alike of the spirit and the body".94
Creative action belongs to God's eternity, but the effect of such action is marked by
temporality. The Revelation confirms that the world was created as a world with a
temporal beginning, as noted in the Fourth Lateran Council: "This Holy Trinity according
to common essence undivided, and according to personal properties distinct, granted the
doctrine of salvation to the human race, first through Moses and the holy prophets and
His other servants according to the most methodical disposition of the time".95 This means
that the world has been created together with time, which is congruent with the unity in
the divine plan in the revealing of the history of salvation.
2.1. The Spiritual World: Angels

"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."96 Both sources show angels to have a dual function: to praise the Lord, and to
serve as messengers of His salvific plan. The New Testament presents angels in relation
to Christ: created through Him and before Him (Cf. Col 1:16), angels surround the life of
Jesus from His birth to His Ascension, announcers of His second glorious coming.
Angels are also present from the beginning of the life of the Church, which benefits
from their powerful help, and the Church's liturgy joins them in adoring God. Each of us,
from our birth, is accompanied by a guardian angel who watches over us our whole life,
and helps to lead us to eternal Life.
Theology, particularly that of St. Thomas Aquinus, and the Church's Magisterium
have done in-depth research as to the nature of these purely spiritual creatures, gifted with
superior intelligence and will, affirming that they are personal, immortal creatures, which
outdo us visible creatures in their perfection.
Angels were created in a trial state, as are we. Some of them rebelled irrevocably
against God. Having fallen into sin, Satan and the other demons - who had been created
good, became evil of themselves and their own free will - and incite us to sin, beginning
with our first parents. (Cf. CCC, 391-395).97

94
Lateran Council IV (1215), Chap. 1, 800Dz428. Retrieved on 20 Oct 2016 from http://www.clerus.org/bibliaclerusonline/en/dwz.htm
95
Lateran Council IV (1215), Chap. 1, 800Dz428. op. cit. Vatican Council I refers to the Lateran Council's statement (Cf. DH 3002). This is revealed truth which reason cannot
demonstrate, as St. Thomas taught in the famous dispute about the eternity of the world: Cf. Contra Gentiles, Bk. 2, Chap. 31-38; and his philosophical opus, De aeternitate
mundi.

96
CCC, 328
97
Recommended reading on the nature and objectives and everything else you ever wanted to know about demons is the book by Spanish priest, theologian and exorcist, Fr.
José Antonio Fortea Cucurull (2007). Summa daemoniaca. México, D.F.: Editorial El Arca.

37
2.2. The Material World

"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 (Cf. Gen 1: 1,2,4)."98 "On many
occasions the Church has had to defend the goodness of Creation, including that of the
physical world (Cf. DS 286; 455-463; 800; 1333; 3002)."99
The Catechism states: "By the very nature of Creation, material being is endowed
with its own stability, truth and excellence, its own order and laws." This goodness and
truth come from the one Triune God Creator. "Each of the various creatures, willed in its
own being, reflects in its own way a ray of God's infinite wisdom and goodness." 100 This
reflection in each creature shows the actions of each of the three divine Persons: "the trace
of "the Trinity appears in creatures."101
The cosmos has a beauty and dignity which are the work of God. There is solidarity
and a hierarchy amongst all beings, which must lead us to an attitude of contemplative
respect towards what has been created and the natural laws which govern it. Certainly the
cosmos has been created for man, who has received from God the mandate to have
dominion over the other living things of the earth (Gen 1:28). Such a mandate is not an
invitation to despotically exploit nature, but rather to participate in God's creative power:
by means of our work, man cooperates in perfecting Creation.
The Christian must share in the just demands which a greater sensitivity to ecology
has made manifest in the past few decades, taking care to not fall into a vague divinization
of the world, and affirming the superiority of man over the rest of beings as the "summit
of Creation".

2.3. Man

Human beings enjoy a privileged position in God's creative work, by participating

in both material and spiritual realities. Scripture only refers to the human being as having
been created in His "image and likeness" (Gen 1:26). The human person has been placed
at the head of the visible reality, and enjoys a special dignity: "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"102
Both man and woman, in their diversity and complementarity, so wished by God,
enjoy the same dignity as persons. In both, there is a substantial union of body and soul,
being this the form of the body. As a spiritual being, the human's soul is created
immediately by God (not "produced" by the parents, nor is it preexistent), and is immortal.
Both points (spirituality and immortality) can be demonstrated philosophically.
Therefore, it is reductionism to affirm that man proceeds exclusively from biological
evolution (absolute evolutionism). At the present time, there are ontological leaps which

98
CCC, 337.
99
CCC, 299.
100
CCC, 339
101
St. Thomas, STh I, q. 45, a. 7, co.; Cf. Catechism , 237.
102
CCC, 356.

38
cannot be explained by evolution alone. Moral conscience and human freedom, for
example, manifest the human being's superiority over the material world, and are a
demonstration of our special dignity.
The truth of Creation helps us to overcome both the denial of freedom
(determinism), and the extreme opposite, an undue exaltation of our freedom: human
freedom is created, not absolute, and there exists a mutual dependence between the truth
and the good. The dream of freedom as pure power and arbitrariness responds to a
deformed image not only of man, but also of God.
By means of our activity and our work, human beings participate in God's
creative power. Moreover, our intelligence and will are a participation, a spark of divine
wisdom and love.

39
3. Other Suggested Readings

John Paul II, Catecheses on God the Father and Creator. First part of JPII's Catechesis
on the Creed (March 1985 to August 1986). Available online through the website
TotusTuus - Totus2us, retrieved on 21 Oct, 2016 at http://totus2us.com/teaching/jpii-
catechesis-on-god-the-father/.
Leithart, Peter J. (24 September, 2015). Creation and Providence. Article in First Things
online magazine: https://www.firstthings.com/blogs/leithart/2015/09/Creation-and-
providence

Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church , 51-72.

Second Vatican Council, Declaration on Human Liberty, Dignitatis Humanae (7
December, 1965). 125, 150, 800, 806, 1333, 3000-3007, 3021-3026, 4319, 4336, 4341.
Second Vatican Council II, Pastoral Constitution The Church in the Modern World,
Gaudium et spes. 10-18, 19-21, 36-39.
St. Augustine, Confessions, Book XII.
St. Thomas Aquinus, Summa Theologiae , I, qq. 44-46.
St. Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer (8 October, 1967), Homily: Passionately Loving the
World, given at the University of Navarre. Available online at the Opus Dei website at
http://opusdei.lk/en-lk/article/passionately-loving-the-world-2/. Taken from
"Conversations with Josemaría Escrivá", Scepter, 2002.
Ratzinger, Joseph (1986). In the Beginning: A Catholic Understanding of the Story of
Creation and the fall. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans

John Paul II (2005). Memory and Identity. Phoenix: New Ed.

4. Self-Test:

1.- What does Revelation present to us?

2.- What is the first answer to the fundamental questions concerning our origin and our
final end?

3.- What does Vatican Council I teach us about Creation?

4.- For whom and for what purpose was the cosmos created?

5.- In what way does the truth of Creation help us?

40
 Session IV

THE PERSON OF THE FATHER

Lesson Plan:

1. Paternity in Scripture
2. The Meaning of the Name Father
3. God, the Father
4. The Father: Omnipotent, Principle, and Origin
5. God the Father is Love
6. The Father also Manifests His Maternity
7. Self-Test

Deepen Your Faith:

1.- How does God make Himself manifest to us as the Father?

2.- Is the love of God the way we perceive it to be?

Magisterium:

To gain a deeper understanding, consult the following sources -

Catechism of the Catholic Church, 198 to 231;
Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Section Two, Chapter 1: I Believe
in God the Father;
Summa Theologiae, First Part, Questions 27: The Procession of the Divine Persons, 28.
The Divine Relations, 33: The Person of the Father;
Mulieris dignitatem, 8.

Doctrinal Body:

Introduction

After studying the images of the Blessed Trinity, we shall now take a look at each
of the Persons of the Trinity. We shall underscore the personal traits, without losing sight
of divine Unity, the other Persons and their relationship to Creation, particularly that of
man and the work of salvation. We will also consider Sacred Scripture's allusions to
divine Paternity. We will also reflect on the intra-divine Paternity; the sense of the Father
as origin; and the Father's love.

1. Paternity in Scripture

41
1.1 The Old Testament

There are not many quotations from the Old Testament in which God is referred to
as the Father, although the Hebrew people knew well the sense of God's Paternity. God
manifests Himself as a Father before Creation because He gives existence and preserves
and guides Creation to its final end. Above all, God is a Father to His people - the people
He has chosen and which He treats as a true child of His own, a favorite child. What's
more, God appears as a Father in the special case of some human beings whom He has
blessed, and in the case of orphans and widows, meaning, those who are abandoned and
the poor, as well s those who are suffering tribulations or suffering.
The Catechism details Israel's vision of God as Father: "Many religions invoke God
as "Father". The deity is often considered the "father of gods and of men". In Israel, God
is called "Father" inasmuch as he is Creator of the world.103 Even more, God is Father
because of the covenant and the gift of the law to Israel, "His first-born son".104 God is
also called the Father of the king of Israel. Most especially he is "the Father of the poor",
of the orphaned and the widowed, who are under His loving protection.105" (CCC, 238)

1.2 The New Testament

It is in the New Testament, however, where God reveals Himself completely as

Father, with a personal meaning. God's Paternity is expressed in two senses: 1.) His
Paternity towards His Son Jesus Christ, which is the eternal Paternity which is the
responsibility of the Father of the eternally begotten Son; and 2.) His Paternity vis-à-vis
Creation, within which His Paternity of the human race holds a very special value. We
are able to grasp all of the intensity of this Paternity in the light of the mystery of Christ,
His only-begotten Son.
As both reference and starting point, let's consider the Trinitarian Baptismal
Formula from Mt 28:19: "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit".
In the Synoptic Gospels, the difference between the Father's Paternity towards
Christ and His Paternity towards mankind is made patent. Christ is called the Son of God
in a messianic sense, but also in an intra-divine and consubstantial sense. In the Sermon
on the Mount (Mt 6 and 7), several times Christ distinguishes between "My Father" and
"your Father", giving the terms clearly distinct connotations. In Mk 13:32 when Christ
speaks about the end of time remaining secret, He states that "But of that day or hour, no
one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." Christ makes
the distinction between Him and us, a special intimacy between the Father and the Son in
which do not participate. Above all, it is in Jesus' "cry of exultation" (Mt 11:25; Lk 10:22)
that the unique intimacy between the Father and the Son is clearly expressed. All others
are excluded from this relationship: "All things have been handed over to Me by My

103
Cf. Deut 32:6; Mal 2:10.
104
Cf. Ex 4:22.
105
Cf. 2 Sam 7:14; Ps 68:6.

42
Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and Who the Father is except the
Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal Him.”
Sapiential language is used here; expressions that are typically found in the
Sapiential books, particularly the Book of Wisdom appear in this passage. The Son is the
Father's Wisdom, Knowledge and Revelation. Let's look again at Mt 11:25: "At that time
Jesus said in reply, “I give praise to You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although
You have hidden these things from the wise and the learned You have revealed them to
the childlike." The Father is presented as "Lord of heaven and earth", and is this almighty
Creator. It is precisely the Father who knows the Son with a wisdom which none other
possesses; and the Son knows the Father perfectly. All others are excluded from this
knowledge, particularly those who presume to be learned.
In Mt 16:17: “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not
revealed this to you, but My heavenly Father"106, Jesus is saying that the knowledge which
men acquire of Him as God, and their confession of this, is the work of God's Revelation.
here, too, Jesus affirms that there is no earthly manner of gaining access to this knowledge
(neither flesh, nor blood has revealed this). This reference to the Father's direct initiative
in the work of Revelation is interesting. The Gospels put this aspect into relief on a
number of occasions, and it is clearly seen that the Father fulfills the work of Revelation
of His Son's identity. Take, for example, the interventions of the "Father's voice" during
the Theophanies (Jesus' Baptism, His Transfiguration, just before His Passion in
Jerusalem in Jn 12:28107). In John's Gospel (8:17), "Even in your law it is written that the
testimony of two men can be verified", Christ openly declares that the Father gives
testimony in His favor.
It is in Saint John that the topic of divine Paternity and Filiation is most fully
developed. The entire content of this Gospel can be understood only in the light of this
mystery. Divine Filiation implies total identification with the Father, which goes beyond
human levels. The Father gives everything to the Son, Who does noting of His own
accord. The Son is eternally begotten of the Father, and is God from the beginning. He is
the Only-Begotten Son who comes into the world and "becomes flesh". From the
Prologue to his Gospel, St. John presents this doctrine which will be the leitmotiv of his
work. St. John writes of God's infinite transcendence using the word "glory", as was
mentioned earlier in this book, which shines in His works, but, only fully irradiates His
light in the Son. In eternity the Son receives that divine glory from His Father and shows
it to the world.108 To know the Son as the Son means knowing His "glory", which is from
the Father and also the Son. One cannot tear the Son-man away from His "glory" even
when the demon and the forces of evil, of the world and of death would like to separate
Him from His glory. The Father grants His Son this glory which is way beyond any such
obstacles, even after Jesus has assumed His humanity. In this light of glory, the events of
Christ's life are grounded. The beginning and the end of His earthly existence are
expressed in these words: "And the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among

106
Mt 16:17 footnote to NABRE Bible: "Flesh and blood: a Semitic expression for human beings, especially in their weakness. Has not revealed this…but My heavenly Father:
that Peter’s faith is spoken of as coming not through human means but through a revelation from God is similar to Paul’s description of his recognition of who Jesus was; see Gal
1:15–16, “…when he [God]…was pleased to reveal his Son to Me….”".
107
“I am troubled now. Yet what should I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice
came from heaven, “I have glorified it and will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd there heard it and said it was thunder; but others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” 30 Jesus
answered and said, “This voice did not come for My sake but for Yours."
108
The concept of glory means the Son's splendour, and also, as its source, the Father's divine splendour.

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us, and we saw His glory,
the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth" (Jn 1:14). "Now glorify Me,
Father, with You, with the glory that I had with You before the world began" (Jn 17:5).
Perceiving this mystery of divine Paternity and Filiation is precisely what brings
about the discovery of the relation of true filiation, grace, divine love in which man can
participate through the Son. It is a grade above which constitutes an identification, a
transformation through supernatural grace and which only the Son can ensure. This is
understood through all the expressions which St. John uses to depict our divinization: the
grapevine and the shoots (Jn 15:1, 5) remain in God (Jn 15:4 10; 2 Jn 1:9; Rom 11:22; 1
Jn 2:28), God abides in us (1 Jn 4:13), to be one like the Father and Son are one (Jn 17:
21,22; Jn 10:30), and many others.

2. The Meaning of the Name Father

In the light of what we have said concerning Paternity in the New Testament, and
particularly concerning St. John's reflections on divine "glory", it is also important to note
the mystery of the Trinitarian Father, from the theological point of view; the beauty of
this mystery is put into relief through comparison with creatures.
In the Summa Theologica109, St. Thomas says that the name Father must be
attributed to God above all in the Trinitarian sense, which means as a name which
indicates the Person who is in a paternal relationship to the Person of the Son. In effect,
when compared to the other forms of paternity found in creatures, divine Paternity is
infinitely superior and more perfect.
The Catechism (239) states: "By calling God "Father", the language of faith
indicates two main things: that God is the first origin of everything and transcendent
authority; and that he is at the same time goodness and loving care for all His children.
God's parental tenderness can also be expressed by the image of motherhood, 110 which
emphasizes God's immanence, the intimacy between Creator and creature. The language
of faith thus draws on the human experience of parents, who are in a way the first
representatives of God for man. But this experience also tells us that human parents are
fallible and can disfigure the face of fatherhood and motherhood. We ought therefore to
recall that God transcends the human distinction between the sexes. He is neither man nor
woman: He is God. He also transcends human fatherhood and motherhood, although He
is their origin and standard:111 no one is father as God is Father."

2.1 Divine Paternity in Relation to the Son is the Source of All Other Paternity

In divine Generation, Paternity is higher and more perfect and truer when compared
to the paternity of creatures, who obtain their name from God's Paternity (Cf. Eph 3:14-
15, cited by St. Thomas): "For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every
family in heaven and on earth is named".
Starting from the meaning of generate, the preeminence of divine Generation with

109
Cfr. STh I, 33, a. 2, ad 4; a. 3, c.
110
62 Cf. Isa 66:13; Ps 131:2.
111
Cf. Ps 27:10; Eph 3:14; Isa 49:15.

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respect to the way paternity is present in creatures is made visible. See also CCC, 240:
"Jesus revealed that God is Father in an unheard-of sense: he is Father not only in being
Creator; he is eternally Father in relation to His only Son, who is eternally Son only in
relation to His Father: "No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the
Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him."" To generate
means to produce a being with a nature similar to one's own. In God this brings about the
absolutely perfect Son Who is perfectly equal to His Father, and does not even change
the number because the substance is the same. The only principle of individuation is the
relation which is established between the Father and the Son (the other exists due to the
fact that they are in relation), without other principles intervening. On the contrary, in the
Generation of creatures, the species remains, but the number changes, and the simple
relation is not enough as it is rather a consequence of diversity and not of the origin.
The mystery of this Generation is the deepest that can exist, and is the primordial
reality: the Father, source and origin, gives existence to the Son, who exists inasmuch as
He receives everything from the Father. All that is the Father is given to the Son, and the
Son subsists in that He receives everything from the Father and remains in Him.
Remaining in the source, in the Father's bosom, the Son has it all, He has life in
abundance.

2.2 Divine Paternity in Relation to Creatures

We can say that God is the Father of all creatures, and particularly of spiritual
creatures. But even from this point of view, when comparing divine paternity in the
Trinitarian sense, we must say that God is the Father, above all, of the Son, and
afterwards, is Father of Creation. It is clearly evident that His Paternity with respect to
the Son is superior to that which God has in relation to Creation. The reason is always the
same: the equality that exists between Father and Son is not to be found between any
creature and God. With respect to non-spiritual creatures, God is Father due to traces of
His which we can find in them. In relation to human beings, it is possible to discover
God's Paternity at three levels: through His image and likeness in men; through grace
which makes us adoptive children; through participation in His glory in eternal life. None
of these likenesses can be compared to the eternal Generation of the Son, consubstantial
and equal in everything to the Father. Therefore, the Trinitarian Paternity is Paternity par
excellence.
If the Father has given everything to the Son, everything to which He gives
existence is also in function of the Son, in the Son and for the Son. Creation's filiation
with respect to God is participation in this total and primordial Filiation to differing
degrees for different creatures.
The mystery of our union with Christ intimately introduces human beings into the
mystery of this eternal Paternity. Humans outdo the type of filiation which the Creator
has with the other creatures, precisely because humans come to be children in the Son.
No matter how marvelous this participation may be, it does not signify that we are equals
with God. The marvel of the gift and privilege which men receive is more splendid still
because we are able to grasp divine Paternity in relation to the Son, eternal, infinite,
transcendent.
We must conclude these first observations on the meaning of the word "Father" in

45
God by saying that the meaning of divine Paternity in the Trinitarian sense cannot be
reduced to any of the meanings which we may take from creatures or from the contact of
creatures with God: this contact belongs to the intimate and totally transcendent mystery
of God. All other manifestations of paternity are but limited participation.
The meaning of the deep mystery of divine Paternity, of the "relationship" between
Father and Son to which Christ refers in the Gospel, as we have seen, proposes a new
meaning to infinite, divine transcendence and gives rise to deep adoration in the person
who draws near to this mystery. We find ourselves before the most intimate mystery of
God Himself, the very roots of His identity, of whose splendor, of itself so marvelous, we
can only appreciate the reverberation.
Pope John Paul II explains the anthropomorphism of Biblical language - and its
limits - in Mulieris dignitatem: "The presentation of man as "the image and likeness of
God" at the very beginning of Sacred Scripture has another significance too. It is the key
for understanding biblical Revelation as God's word about himself. Speaking about
himself, whether through the prophets, or through the Son" (Cf. Heb 1:1, 2) who became
man, God speaks in human language, using human concepts and images. If this manner
of expressing himself is characterized by a certain anthropomorphism, the reason is that
man is "like" God: created in His image and likeness. But then, God too is in some
measure "like man", and precisely because of this likeness, he can be humanly known. At
the same time, the language of the Bible is sufficiently precise to indicate the limits of the
"likeness", the limits of the "analogy". For biblical Revelation says that, while man's
"likeness" to God is true, the "non-likeness"112 which separates the whole of Creation
from the Creator is still more essentially true. Although man is created in God's likeness,
God does not cease to be for him the One "who dwells in unapproachable light"
(1 Tim 6:16): He is the "Different One", by essence the "totally Other".
"This observation on the limits of the analogy - the limits of man's likeness to God
in biblical language - must also be kept in mind when, in different passages of Sacred
Scripture (especially in the Old Testament), we find comparisons that attribute to God
"masculine" or "feminine" qualities. We find in these passages an indirect confirmation
of the truth that both man and woman were created in the image and likeness of God. If
there is a likeness between Creator and creatures, it is understandable that the Bible would
refer to God using expressions that attribute to Him both "masculine" and "feminine"
qualities."

3. God, the Father

In the expressions of the Liturgy, Tradition and Magisterium, the Father is called
God. In the New Testament, in particular, He is referred to in this way (some 120 times),
in reference to the God the Hebrews knew, and whom Christ called Father. Christ is also
called God, although on fewer occasions (explicitly only on six). However, the novelty
of the New Testament is the Trinity, and - given that the New Testament refers us to the
words of Christ, whom we did not know until then in His category as God, Who speaks
to us of God, the Father - it is logical that the Father is named with greater frequency. But
it is precisely Paternity which leads us to understand the Son's Divinity, and this increases

112
Cf. Num 23:19; Hos 11:9; Is 40:18; 46:5; cf. also Fourth Lateran Council (DS 806).

46
over time, until we reach the very clear formulas which say that God is the Father, God
is the Son, God is the Holy Spirit (Eleventh Council of Toledo). In the beginning, the
word Theos was used for the Father, without any intention of excluding the other two
Persons from being God: " I believe in one God, Father almighty…".

4. The Father: Omnipotent, Principle, and Origin

The Father is referred to as Omnipotent, Principle, and Origin. These are the
adjectives found in the Old Testament, in Christ's expressions in the Gospel, and in other
New Testament writings. Tradition, liturgical formulas, the Creeds and the councils
repeat them.
The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed begins thus: "I believe in one God, Father
almighty". In Greek, almighty is Pantokrator (also spelled Pantocrator), an adjective
which Tradition also attributes to Christ.
God's omnipotence refers to the active power as principle of action which, because
God is pure act (actus purus)113, is found in Him to a maximum degree. God, Who alone
is pure act, in other words, completely realized in everything, is in the fullest condition
of realizing everything.114 Therefore, God can do all that is possible. This divine
omnipotence is attributed in first place to the Father, as the One in whom it resides.
The Father's omnipotence is applied in two senses:

 the first is in an intra-Trinitarian sense, with reference to the Father's power or

capacity to generate the Son and to spirate the Holy Spirit. In this sense
"omnipotence" also receives other names: origin, principle.

 the second sense refers to the Father's capacity or power to create all that is
attributed to the Father (as we had mentioned when discussing His
attributions), even when this is an act of God as Trinity.

In the first sense, the Person of the Father puts into action the power to generate.
Nevertheless, both senses of omnipotence (Generation and Creation) reside in the divine
essence.115
According to St. Thomas' reflections, comparing divine Generation with human
Generation, the power to generate (not Paternity) is proper to the divine essence, which
when put into action constitutes the Father as Father. If said power resides in the Person
of the Father, then the essence would be the Paternity and not God, the divine essence.
This is shown because the Father does not generate another father, but rather generates
God, Who is constituted in the Son with respect to Him, but is God as He is. What does
the Father transmit to the Son? His being God, and not the fact of being Father. As in
human Generation, nobody can transmit oneself, only one's humanity.
These reflections on divine omnipotence help us to better understand the relation
between God's unity and His Trinity. In this sense the Father, called almighty, appears as
the first interpreter and guarantor of divine Unity, and is constituted always as the first in

113
"In scholastic philosophy, actus purus ( literally "pure act") is the absolute perfection of God." Part of a series on Thomas Aquinus in Wikipedia. Consulted 4 Nov, 2016 at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actus_purus
114
Cf. STh I, 25, a. 1-2-3; see also De Potentia Dei, q. 1, a. 1, c.
115
Cf. Saint Thomas Aquinus. Summa Th. Q. 33, Article 2.

47
the divine Triad. In Him rest a first place and a final resting place, all divinity.
As principle, both in Scripture as in Tradition, the Father is designated as the One
who generates and spirates, and the One who sends. However, the Father as "source" must
not lead us to think as strange the work of humanity's salvation leaving others to do the
job by sending off the Son and the Holy Spirit. The sending forth must not be construed
as distance. The relationship of deep commitment with history and salvation is certainly
and above all, His. The dimension of infinite transcendence, accentuated in the Father by
the fact that the origin and the principle in God is the Creator (and thus, His divine aspect
is strongly underlined), must not lead us into the error of thinking of Him as distant and
disinterested in salvation. All ad extra (or historical) actions are Trinitary. The Father is
the One who preserves since eternity the salvation plan in its mystery, and who carries it
out by sending forth His Son and the Holy Spirit. The unity between the Father and the
Son is made manifest even more, if that can be said, in the Mission of the Son. Jesus
Christ insists: "The Father who dwells in Me is doing His works" (Jn 14:10). The fruit of
salvation consists of God's indwelling in man, and Jesus stresses that: “Whoever loves
Me will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make
our dwelling with him." (Jn 14:23).

5. God the Father is Love

What we have just covered concerning man's salvation leads us to underline the
meaning of love contained in the Father's Revelation. The expression "Father" which
Jesus uses to speak of God and to address Him has a clear sense of love; what's more, it
precisely reveals the love that is God Himself in His intimacy. The sense of complete
confidence and abandonment into the Father's hands which Jesus Christ lives - as He
wants to do His will in all, and He awaits everything of His Father, reflects the Father's
goodness. Christ clearly affirms that "This is why the Father loves Me, because I lay down
My life in order to take it up again" (Jn 10:17). Jesus invites and teaches His disciples to
have the same trust as He does in His loving Father. In the "Our Father" in particular He
teaches that they must always pray with simplicity and trust, with the certainty that they
will be listened to, and not as the pagans who think that they need to say magic formulas
to force a hostile, threatening divinity, or like some Hebrews who thought they could
ensure God's blessing by means of a strict observance to the prescribed norms.116 The
God whom Christ reveals is the Father, and we can trust in Him completely because we
come from Him and He always procures what is good for us.117 Moreover, He is a Father
Who does good to the good and to the evil118, and Who - when facing the wicked, the
sinners, the weak, and those who deserve punishment - knows how to be merciful and
give in abundance. His Son, Jesus Christ, manifests this love to us clearly. In this way we
understand that the most intimate secret of God's is His immense mystery of love: "Christ,
then, reveals God who is Father, who is "love," as St. John will express it in his first
letter119; Christ reveals God as "rich in mercy," as we read in St. Paul.120 This truth is not
just the subject of a teaching; it is a reality made present to us by Christ. Making the

116
Cf. Mt 6:5-7.
117
Cf. Lk 11:9-13; Mt 7:11.
118
Cf. Lk 6:27,38.
119
1 Jn 4:16
120
Eph 2:4

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Father present as love and mercy is, in Christ's own consciousness, the fundamental
touchstone of His Mission as the Messiah; this is confirmed by the words that He uttered
first in the synagogue at Nazareth and later in the presence of His disciples and of John
the Baptist's messengers."121 As we read in Saint Luke: "And He said to them in reply,
"Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind regain their sight, the lame
walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the good news
proclaimed to them"" (Lk 7:22).

6. The Father also Manifests His Maternity

The topic of the Father's mercy gives us cause to speak of His "maternity". We
frequently hear this objection: "God is called 'father' because of the macho culture which
has dominated Jewish culture, and determined how the Bible was written, up to our own
day. The father is the one who gives the orders and everybody obeys: that's why God is
considered a father." Thus we find that some women, who nowadays are more sensitive
and aware of their dignity which is equal to that of men in the eyes of God, may take
offense at this way of referring to God and may even turn away from the Bible and
Catholicism, claiming they are 'sexist'.
We shall attempt to provide some answers in this section. First, as we have already
pointed out, we must stress the distinct meaning of the term "father" as applied to a man
vs. its application to God. Remember that Christians speak of God as a Father because
Jesus has revealed Him to be so, and therefore we do not consider Him as a sort of earthly
father. John Paul II122 explains these "masculine" and "feminine" traits which are used in
the Bible: "We may quote here some characteristic passages from the prophet Isaiah: "But
Zion said, 'The Lord has forsaken me, My Lord has forgotten me'. 'Can a woman
forget her sucking child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you'" (49:14-15). And elsewhere: "As one
whom his mother comforts, so will I comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem"
(66: 13). In the Psalms, too, God is compared to a caring mother: "Like a child quieted at
its mother's breast; like a child that is quieted is my soul. O Israel, hope in the
Lord" (Ps 131:2-3). In various passages the love of God who cares for His people is
shown to be like that of a mother: thus, like a mother, God "has carried" humanity, and
in particular, His Chosen People, within His own womb; He has given birth to it in travail,
has nourished and comforted it (cf. Is 42:14; 46: 3-4). In many passages God's love is
presented as the "masculine" love of the bridegroom and father (Cf. Hos 11:1-4; Jer 3:4-
19), but also sometimes as the "feminine" love of a mother.
"This characteristic of Biblical language - its anthropomorphic way of speaking
about God - points indirectly to the mystery of the eternal "generating" which belongs to
the inner life of God. Nevertheless, in itself this "generating" has neither "masculine" nor
"feminine" qualities. It is by nature totally divine. It is spiritual in the most perfect way,
since "God is spirit" (Jn 4:24) and possesses no property typical of the body, neither
"feminine" nor "masculine". Thus even "fatherhood" in God is completely divine and free
of the "masculine" bodily characteristics proper to human fatherhood. In this sense the
Old Testament spoke of God as a Father and turned to Him as a Father. Jesus Christ -

121
John Paul II (1980). Dives in misericordia, 3. It is worthwhile reading the first nine paragraphs of this encyclical.
122
Mulieris dignitatem, 8.

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who called God "Abba Father" (Mk 14: 36), and who as the only-begotten and
consubstantial Son placed this truth at the very centre of His Gospel, thus establishing the
norm of Christian prayer - referred to fatherhood in this ultra-corporeal, superhuman and
completely divine sense. He spoke as the Son, joined to the Father by the eternal mystery
of divine Generation, and he did so while being at the same time the truly human Son of
His Virgin Mother."
The traits of our heavenly Father, as revealed by Christ, include many new aspects
beyond those which an earthly father might have. In particular, we shall put into relief
some of His qualities which tend to be more closely associated with the feminine gender,
and more specifically with the tenderness of a mother, such as the manifestation of a
merciful heart, "filled with compassion" or "His heart went out to him" (Lk 15:20)123.
These traits, in fact, are what make up the most intimate aspect of God's identity. God,
therefore, transcends human paternity and maternity; recalling what was mentioned in
Section 2 above, the Catechism of the Catholic Church (239) makes it clear that "human
parents are fallible and can disfigure the face of fatherhood and motherhood. We ought
therefore to recall that God transcends the human distinction between the sexes. He is
neither man nor woman: He is God".
At the same time, human parents are blessed in that they may receive great
illumination on what they should be thanks to the Revelation of divine Paternity, source
of all parenthood. "He also transcends human fatherhood and motherhood (Cf. Ps 27:10),
although He is their origin and standard (Ps 27:10; Eph 3:14; Isa 49:15.): no one is father
as God is Father", continues the Catechism (239).
In his encyclical on the dignity and vocation of women, Mulieris dignitatem124,8,
Pope John Paul II repeats these same thoughts: "Although it is not possible to attribute
human qualities to the eternal Generation of the Word of God, and although the divine
Fatherhood does not possess "masculine" characteristics in a physical sense, we must
nevertheless seek in God the absolute model of all "Generation" among human beings.
This would seem to be the sense of the Letter to the Ephesians: "I bow my knees before
the Father, from Whom every family in heaven and on earth is named" (3:14-15). All
"generating" among creatures finds its primary model in that generating which in God is
completely divine, that is, spiritual. All "generating" in the created world is to be likened
to this absolute and uncreated model. Thus every element of human Generation which is
proper to man, and every element which is proper to woman, namely human
"fatherhood" and "motherhood", bears within itself a likeness to, or analogy with the
divine "generating" and with that "Fatherhood" which in God is "totally different", that
is, completely spiritual and divine in essence; whereas in the human order, Generation is
proper to the "unity of the two": both are "parents", the man and the woman alike."

7. Self-Test

1) Explain why divine Paternity towards the Son is the source of all paternity.

123
Cf. Is 49,13-15; 66,13; Hos 11,8; Jer 31,20; Ezra 34,6-7. Different Bible versions express this with different words. An allusion to this heart-felt, merciful tenderness is found
in Lk 15:20. For commentary on this point, Cf. Galot, J. (1998). Dio Padre, chi sei?, Cinisello Balsamo; Central Committee for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, God, Merciful
Father, 1998, 67-71. Different Bible versions express this with different words.
124
Mulieris dignitatem, 15 Aug, 1988.

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2) Explain how the Father is the "source" of the entire Trinity.

3) Explain how divine Paternity shows that God is love.

51