The Mystery of Creation
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Simplified
Freely Willed by God (295)
The created world did not happen by necessity, nor by blind chance. God freely willed to create so that every creature would share in his life and goodness. "By your will they existed and were created" (Rev 4:15).
Starting from Nothing (296-297)
No created thing "pre-existed" nor did creation just emanate from God. "God shows his power by starting from nothing to make all he wants" (St. Theophilus of Antioch).
By creating from nothing, God gives us hope that there is more than a material world. At their martyrdom, the valiant mother told her seven sons, "Look at the heaven and the earth and see everything that is in them, and recognize that God did not make them out of things that existed" (2 Macc 7:28).
Beyond Bodily Life (298)
Because God created out of nothing, he can give spiritual life to sinners and bodily life to the dead through the Resurrection. God "gives life to the dead and calls into existence those things that do not exist" (Rom 4:17).
Sharing in God's Goodness (299)
Through wisdom, God ordered the universe, especially human persons who are "called into a personal relationship with him" (Col 1:15).
The human intellect can grasp what God tells us through material creation, but only with great effort. Creation is God's gift to man and shares in his goodness.
Above Yet Present (300)
Although God's greatness is unsearchable (Ps 145:3), he is always present to his creation. "In him, we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28). God is "more inward than my most innermost self" (St. Augustine).
Bringing to Completion (301)
God always sustains the whole world and will bring human history to its final goal. Recognizing this total dependence on God is the source of wisdom. "How would anything have endured if you did not will it?" (St. Augustine).
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