The Visible World
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Simplified
Six Days of Work (337-338)
Symbolically, Scripture pictures God working for six days and "resting" on the seventh. These texts teach us the truths we need to know for our salvation. All creation owes its existence to God and is rooted in the primordial event of God drawing the world out of nothingness and having time begin.
Because God saw his creation as "good," every creature has its own truth and goodness. Therefore, man must respect God's creation and avoid any action which would have disastrous consequences for the human race and its environment.
Dependent and Diverse (339-341)
All God's creatures are interdependent. No creature is self-sufficient and all must depend upon and serve each other. This diversity brings about the universe's beauty.
Progressively, man discovers the universe's beauty and the laws of nature which call forth admiration and should lead man to submit to his Creator.
Man at the Summit (342-343)
The "six days" of creation (from the less perfect to the more perfect) show a "hierarchy" of creatures. God, however, takes care even of the lowly sparrow (Lk 12:6-7).
Scripture shows that man is at the summit of creation and clearly distinguishes his creation from all others (Gen 1:26). Created by God and ordered to his glory, all creatures have a solidarity. "May you be praised, O Lord, in all your creatures" (St. Francis of Assisi).
Day of Rest (344-348)
"Since on the seventh day God was finished with the work he had been doing, he rested on the seventh day" (Gen 2:1). These inspired words contain much instruction. God has placed in nature a foundation of his laws which man must respect.
God's work looked forward to the Sabbath. Therefore, worship of God is inscribed in creation.
Keeping the Sabbath corresponds to God's wisdom and law.
Eighth Day (349)
The seventh day completed the first creation, but the eighth day (Christ's Resurrection) begins a new creation which culminates in the greater work of redemption. This second creation surpasses the first in splendor.
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