Monday, August 19, 2019

How Does God Reveal Himself? (Part 1/4)


Bulletin Column – August 4, 2019
            Fr. Benedict Groeschel, in his fascinating book Spiritual Passages (highly recommended!), said that God reaches out to each person individually in one of four ways: truth, beauty, goodness, or unity (often known as the transcendentals). Each person resonates with a different aspect. For some, they come to God by studying about Him – reading His Word, learning about the Catholic Faith. For others, it’s more about the experience of beauty – seeing their child’s first breath, watching a tremendous sunset, or listening to Beethoven. Still others are attracted to God by the witness of saints – both saints in Heaven and those still here on earth. Finally, some have God as the unifying factor in their life. Over the next few weeks I’d like to take a look at each way God reaches us.
            A few years ago I was in a Catholic conference about faith formation. They were discussing why so many young people leave the Faith after Confirmation, and were critical of the typical “classroom” model for passing on the Faith. The presenters brought up this idea about the ways God reaches us, and they said, “In modern times, we have to move away from the classroom setting because we live in a post-truth society. Young people are not interested in the truth – instead we need to show them beauty and goodness.” I thought that was false and was the furthest thing from the truth (pun intended!).
            Many people are still drawn to God through truth. I recall a particular young man in my Confirmation class eight years ago, who at 13 was asking all sorts of particularly deep questions. It was clear he was really wrestling with the Faith even though his family did not attend Mass or pray together. By the end of the year-long class, he was so convinced of the truth of the Faith that he started forcing his parents to drive him to Mass every week. When he was old enough, he drove himself to Mass and now he is discerning the priesthood! God used Truth to draw him to Himself.
            There is an elegance about our Catholic Faith that resonates deeply within the human person, because we all want a truth to build our lives on. In a way, the truths of the Catholic Faith are interwoven as a web, with each truth touching on other truths. For example, because the Eucharist is the Body and Blood of Christ, we must confess our serious sins before receiving It. And because we confess our sins, then we must live the moral life. But the goal of the moral life is union with God, and the most perfect form of union with God on this earth is to receive the Eucharist. And we’re back at the beginning!
            We are blessed, in the 21st Century, to have a theological library at our fingertips that the Church Fathers would have loved to read. For free on the Internet, I can find the entire Bible, the complete works of St. Thomas Aquinas, every document that the Vatican has ever produced, the complete works of the Church Fathers, Mass times for every city in the world, talks and presentations by the best speakers in the world. There’s no excuse for not discovering the Truth of our Catholic Faith! (Some great websites include: www.newadvent.com; www.vatican.va; www.biblegateway.com; and www.masstimes.org).
            All people have the ability to appreciate and understand the Truth; for some people, though, the Truth is how God draws them to Himself. These are those who sit back while pondering or discovering a new aspect of our Faith, and are just in awe. I remember a professor in college who, when speaking of the Gospel of John, would actually break into tears, being so moved by the encounter with God in Truth.
            If God moves you through Truth, that is wonderful! Continue to study the Faith to encounter Him. He will reveal Himself through His Word and the teachings of the Magisterium. If you have never had a deep encounter with God through Truth, do not despair…there are three other ways in which God reaches out to us…stay tuned for next week!

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