ARTICLE I
"I BELIEVE IN GOD THE FATHER ALMIGHTY, CREATOR OF
HEAVEN AND EARTH"
Paragraph 3. The Almighty
268 Of all the divine attributes, only God's omnipotence is
named in the Creed: to confess this power has great bearing on our lives. We
believe that his might is universal, for God who created everything also rules
everything and can do everything. God's power is loving, for he is our Father,
and mysterious, for only faith can discern it when it "is made perfect in
weakness".103
"He does whatever he pleases"104
269 The Holy Scriptures repeatedly confess the universal
power of God. He is called the "Mighty One of Jacob", the "LORD
of hosts", the "strong and mighty" one. If God is almighty
"in heaven and on earth", it is because he made them.105 Nothing is
impossible with God, who disposes his works according to his will.106 He is the
Lord of the universe, whose order he established and which remains wholly
subject to him and at his disposal. He is master of history, governing hearts
and events in keeping with his will: "It is always in your power to show
great strength, and who can withstand the strength of your arm?107
"You are merciful to all, for you can do all
things"108
270 God is the Father Almighty, whose fatherhood and power
shed light on one another: God reveals his fatherly omnipotence by the way he
takes care of our needs; by the filial adoption that he gives us ("I will
be a father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord
Almighty"):109 finally by his infinite mercy, for he displays his power at
its height by freely forgiving sins.
271 God's almighty power is in no way arbitrary: "In
God, power, essence, will, intellect, wisdom, and justice are all identical.
Nothing therefore can be in God's power which could not be in his just will or
his wise intellect."110
The mystery of God's apparent powerlessness
272 Faith in God the Father Almighty can be put to the test
by the experience of evil and suffering. God can sometimes seem to be absent
and incapable of stopping evil. But in the most mysterious way God the Father
has revealed his almighty power in the voluntary humiliation and Resurrection
of his Son, by which he conquered evil. Christ crucified is thus "the
power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than
men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men."111 It is in Christ's
Resurrection and exaltation that the Father has shown forth "the
immeasurable greatness of his power in us who believe".112
273 Only faith can embrace the mysterious ways of God's
almighty power. This faith glories in its weaknesses in order to draw to itself
Christ's power.113 The Virgin Mary is the supreme model of this faith, for she
believed that "nothing will be impossible with God", and was able to
magnify the Lord: "For he who is mighty has done great things for me, and
holy is his name."114
274 "Nothing is more apt to confirm our faith and hope
than holding it fixed in our minds that nothing is impossible with God. Once
our reason has grasped the idea of God's almighty power, it will easily and
without any hesitation admit everything that [the Creed] will afterwards
propose for us to believe - even if they be great and marvelous things, far
above the ordinary laws of nature."115
IN BRIEF
275 With Job, the just man, we confess: "I know that
you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted" (Job
42:2).
276 Faithful to the witness of Scripture, the Church often
addresses her prayer to the "almighty and eternal God"
("omnipotens sempiterne Deus. .."), believing firmly that
"nothing will be impossible with God" (Gen 18:14; Lk 1:37; Mt 19:26).
277 God shows forth his almighty power by converting us from
our sins and restoring us to his friendship by grace. "God, you show your
almighty power above all in your mercy and forgiveness. . ." (Roman
Missal, 26th Sunday, Opening Prayer).
278 If we do not believe that God's love is almighty, how
can we believe that the Father could create us, the Son redeem us and the Holy
Spirit sanctify us?
Copyright © 2016 by ONE TRUE FAITH
SOCIETY
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No part of this publication may be
produced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without
the prior written permission from the publisher.
No comments:
Post a Comment