“And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.”[i] Are you among those who think that things are bad and are only getting worse? Does it just seem that there is no good news to be had? Are you worried? Remember that being worried is not the same as bending a knee in prayer.
The Lord is present and providing for all things, even contagious viruses and political situations. To this, what should be our response? “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.”[ii] For as the Psalmist says:
But the Lord sits enthroned forever.
He has set up his throne for judgment;
he will judge the world with justice,
he will judge the peoples with his truth.
For the oppressed let the Lord be a stronghold,
a stronghold in times of distress.
Those who know your name will trust you;
you will never forsake those who seek you. [iii]
You may wonder, how is the Lord present to me? To borrow from Saint Thomas Aquinas, God is present by His essence, His presence, and His power.[iv] What does this mean?
God is present by His essence in that all things exist in Him. He created all things, and He holds all things together in Himself.[v] God is present by His power in that He keeps all the universe going in order and harmony. God sustains order and harmony directly, through how he has created things in their natures, and by means of one thing acting on another (secondary causes). He is also the source of the laws that govern all creation. God is present by His presence in that He sees all things and knows all things. He knows us better than we know ourselves and sees into the depth of our hearts. In all of these ways, God is in all things.
God dwells in the souls of the baptized
There is a fourth way that He is present, and this is in the souls of the just, those who have been reborn into Christ in Baptism. These remain as adopted sons and daughters by means of a supernatural nature or sanctifying grace. In these, God dwells in their souls as in a temple.[vi]
In this reading from Saint Andrew of Crete Behold, Your King Is Coming to You, the Holy One, the Savior from the last days of the liturgical year, we read:
He is coming who is everywhere present and pervades all things; he is coming to achieve in you his work of universal salvation. He is coming who came to call to repentance not the righteous but sinners, coming to recall those who have strayed into sin. Do not be afraid then: God is in the midst of you, and you shall not be shaken.
Receive him with open, outstretched hands, for it was on his own hands that he sketched you. Receive him who laid your foundations on the palms of his hands. Receive him, for he took upon himself all that belongs to us except sin, to consume what is ours in what is his. Be glad, city of Zion, our mother, and fear not. Celebrate your feasts. Glorify him for his mercy, who has come to us in you. Rejoice exceedingly, daughter of Jerusalem, sing and leap for joy. Be enlightened, be enlightened, we cry to you, as holy Isaiah trumpeted, for the light has come to you and the glory of the Lord has risen over you.[vii]
Born for such a time as this
Even now, it is a time to stand firm with joyful hope for the inbreaking of the Kingdom. Each one of us may say, “I was born ‘for such a time is this,[viii]’” and know with faith and in truth that our acts and sacrifices matter. Our God is with us and will be made manifest.[ix] We should not be fearful, but rather know that our God is with us and that the King will come again.
Viva Christo Re!
If you would like to hear more about Aquinas’ wisdom on the presence of God, including the reality of the Indwelling of the Holy Trinity in the souls of the Baptized, check out this podcast / lecture by Rev. James Dominic Brent, OP:[x]
Rev. James Dominic Brent, OP |
“The Presence of God: The Wisdom of St. Thomas Aquinas”
Not into podcasts or
even sure what a podcast is?
See The Presence of God
by Rev. Anselm Moynihan, OP
Read
The Meaning of the
Divine Indwelling
by Rev. T.U. Mullaney, OP
Image Credit:
“The Mosaic Ceiling of the Baptistery of Florence.” Wikimedia Commons, March 11, 2020. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_mosaic_ceiling_of_the_Baptistery_of_Florence.
[i] “Matt 24:6 ESV.” Accessed November 22, 2020. https://biblehub.com/matthew/24-6.htm.
[ii] John 19:11
[iii] “Psalm 9: The Messiah, King and Conqueror.” Week 33 Monday – Office of Readings. Accessed November 22, 2020. http://www.liturgies.net/Liturgies/Catholic/loh/week33mondayor.htm.
[iv] Saint Thomas, Aquinas. “Whether God Is Everywhere by Essence, Presence and Power?” SUMMA THEOLOGIAE: The existence of God in things (Ia, q.8, a.3). Accessed November 22, 2020. https://www.newadvent.org/summa/1008.htm.
[v] Col. 1:16-17
[vi] Mullaney, T.U. “The Meaning of the Divine Indwelling.” Internet Archive. St. Louis, Mo. : B. Herder Book Co., January 1, 1964. https://archive.org/details/meaningofdivinei00mull/page/4/mode/2up.
[vii] Saint Andrew, of Crete. “Behold, Your King Is Coming to You, the Holy One, the Savior.” Week 33 Tuesday – Office of Readings. Accessed November 22, 2020. http://www.liturgies.net/Liturgies/Catholic/loh/week33tuesdayor.htm. (Orat. 9, in ramos palmarum: PG 97, 1002)
[viii] Esther 14:4.
[ix] Ps 50:3.
[x] Brent, James Dominic. “The Presence of God: The Wisdom of St. Thomas Aquinas.” Sound Cloud. Lecture presented at the The Presence of God: The Wisdom of St. Thomas Aquinas and the Witness of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity. Accessed November 22, 2020. https://soundcloud.com/thomisticinstitute/the-presence-of-god-the-wisdom-of-st-thomas-aquinas-fr-james-brent-op.
