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The teachings of the Catholic Church on the reality of God might be summed up in the following points:
- The word “God” is a label we use to refer to the uncreated, unchanging Creator and Source of everything that exists.
- God has chosen to reveal things about God to us that we could not otherwise come to know. This is called revelation.
- Jesus Christ is the fullness of God’s revelation to the world. Everything God has to say to us, God has said in Christ, and everything that God had said before (e.g. the Old Testament) is now interpreted through and fulfilled by Christ. .
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Recommended Reading
- Read the Catechism of the Catholic Church, #26-184 (Web link)
- The first few chapters of Augustine's Confessions provide a striking and introspective example of what it means to find oneself in the presence of God. (PDF)
- Dominican priest and Catholic theologian Herbert McCabe offers a compact explanation of what we mean and don't mean by the term "God" (PDF)
- Likewise, street preacher and popular theologian F.J. Sheed meditates on what it means that God is Spirit. (PDF)
- Catholic theologian Monika Hellwig describes our experience of God as "powerful compassion" (PDF)
- Dei Verbum, The Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation (Link)
- Overview and summary of Dei Verbum (Web link)
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Weekly Meditation: Spend Time in Silence
Prayer is commonly described as the activity of raising the heart and the mind to God. In other words, we take our thoughts and our feelings, and instead of following them where they naturally lead us, we try to focus them on God, thinking about God and feeling toward God.
- Take a minute and let yourself grow quiet. Don't attempt to pray. Don't do anything in particular. Simply pay attention to the stream of thoughts and feelings as they arise and pass away. How long does it take before you forget what you're doing and get swept away by some interesting thought or attractive feeling?
In prayer, we try to think about God and feel toward God. The problem is that God, the Creator of not only the physical universe but of the very contents of our minds and hearts, is not present to us in the same way as anything else. Whatever we think or feel, God exceeds the content of our minds, cannot be captured in our imaginations.
- Take another minute and think about God. Consider, perhaps, how powerful God is. When God says that something should be, it simply is. When God says that something should not be, it simply isn't. Absolutely nothing contrains God. How does this realization make you feel? Take note of these thoughts and feelings.
In prayer, we think about God, and we feel toward God, and we use words to express what we're thinking and feeling, our needs, our desires, our hopes. So far, however, this is a one way conversation. As long as we're busy with the content of our own hearts and minds, we are unable to open ourselves up to God's invisible, inscrutable influence.
- Take a final minute to recognize that God is really, truly present, closer to you than you are to yourself. Having recognized this, simply open yourself up to whatever God wants to do with the time you're providing. Let silence be a bond of closeness between you and God. How long can you stay silent in God's presence?