Br. John Henry Peters
If we are faithful to God in small things, and offer our lives and all our actions more and more to the service of his divine will, he can and will accomplish untold good through our lives.
One of my favorite prayers by Saint John Henry Newman begins: “God has created me to do Him some definite service.” In that prayer, part of a larger meditation entitled “Hope in God—Creator,” Newman couches all that we do within the context of God’s providential guidance. In words reminiscent of the first paragraph of the Catechism, Newman begins his meditation by observing:
God was all-complete, all-blessed in Himself; but it was His will to create a world for His glory. He is Almighty, and might have done all things Himself, but it has been His will to bring about His purposes by the beings He has created.
This fact—that God accomplishes his purposes through his creatures—is easy to recognize in the great figures of salvation history: Adam and Eve received the mission to populate the world; the promise of salvation came through the covenant with Abraham; through the Blessed Virgin Mary, God gave the world his only-begotten Son. Throughout history, God freely chose to involve his creatures in his work of creation, redemption, and sanctification. Salvation is God’s work, but it is accomplished in, with, and through the actions of human beings.
This is still true today. God continues to accomplish his providential plan for the salvation of the human race in and through the actions of human instruments—including you and me. This should be immensely gratifying to us, but it should also make us tremble. Our actions really do contribute to the salvation of other people. Think of the priest who baptizes a baby; think of the person who introduces a friend to the Catholic faith; » Read More
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