Good morning all!
Yesterday we talked a bit about mankind and some of the ways we can get to know about God. We have to recognize a bit about ourselves to allow some good prayer and talking both ways.
So today I will talk a bit about the Ways of knowing God.
Living in a Physical Reality
We live in a physical realm. Everything is to some extent applicable to the senses. We can touch it, taste it, see it, measure it, etc etc We can very easily come to believe that these senses are all that are worthy of trust. A big push for the last 400 years or so has been the knowledge of testing these physical realities. The so-called enlightenment period has brought us an amazing amount of technological advances which allow me to record this message and bring it to you.
These are things that could not have happened as little as 15 years ago. The technology was here, but the ability to make the connection was not. So much good has come from scientific study. And we have learned a great deal. But it seems to me the more we learn the more we tend to learn about God as well. The best we can do is perhaps see reflections of God.
The Universe is Big
But as we learn more about the universe and our own world we have to recognize that there was a plan that put this all together. Space is immense. We can talk in somewhat esoteric terms when it comes to space. One galaxy is 375,000 light years away from this other galaxy. I don’t think we get exactly how big this is. Light travels at roughly 186,000 miles per second. Now that means that light goes around the earth 7 and ½ times in one second. If we take that to the next level un a light minute it goes around the Earth about 450 times or about 11.16 million miles… That means it takes 8.2 seconds or so for the light from the Sun to get to Earth…. Not too far… not to close… as Goldilocks said…it’s just right!!!
And we are just at a light minute… imagine the numbers when we are talking light hours, light days, and eventually light years… that is 5.88 trillion miles… The numbers are mind boggling
All of this set up in a perfect system of gravitational pull which means that everything is falling into everything else and in general is constantly changing but staying in place. Those rules of physics are fantastic… helps keep our feet on the ground so to speak.
Beauty for each of us
So there is this great order and as we look around, be it a butterfly or a supernova or the birth of a new Galaxy there is absolute beauty. We can recognize just how beautiful it is. We are made for the beautiful and we are made to be able to recognize it. We can recognize the repugnant as well… and when we see that we instinctively try to stay away. Our natural instincts are to be with the beautiful.
Getting back to the individual; Each and every one of us have a distinct pattern of likes and dislikes… but even individuals stay with what they like and repel from what they dislike. Through these likes we can find God. He is the creator of all and through whatever process He chose to use… we human beings are on this earth, seeing the good and being repelled from the bad.
God looks down and sees it as all good.
We are each open to beauty
From our own human point of view, we have an openness to beauty and truth and if you heard yesterday’s talk we still have that longing for God.
If we turn to Romans 1 verse 20.
“Ever since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity have been able to be understood and perceived in what he has made.”
Romans 1: 20 NAB translation
And we are one of his creations. So at the base of all the thoughts and proofs of the existence of god. be it the argument of the Prime Mover or any of the philosophical or cosmological proofs of God. We by our own knowledge can know that God exists and is there with us throughout our lives. Without this capacity to know with certainty the existence of God, we would not be able to welcome God’s Revelation.
But that starts us down the path of Knowing God through and according to the church. That is a discussion for another day… perhaps tomorrow.
I pray you are having a marvelous Holy week so far… Continue praying for all those suffering during this crisis and for all those working hard to help.
For now, I am praying for you, please pray for me as well.
Be good, Play nice Think God!
For more Information please see the Catechism of the Catholic Church Paragraphs 31 through 35