By Patty Mann, Carlsbad, CA
We are only eight days into Lent, but often we need some encouragement at this point. If we had a slip in our efforts, the devil would love to entice us to give up. Let us not give him that satisfaction and begin again if we need to. This is a reprise on moral order that can inspire us.
By his acts man can neither add anything to God nor subtract anything from Him as He is in Himself, yet man can, so far as in him lies, offer something to God or deny Him something by observing or failing to observe the order God has instituted. St. Thomas Aquinas
Order is such an important word when we speak about God. He created this world in perfect order: Isaiah clearly states that God formed the earth to be inhabited. This would imply that every aspect of the environment has been designed for the growth and maintenance of life. This includes everything from the air we breathe, the water we drink, to even the various types of atoms and molecules from which life is made. Over the past century and a half, man has made great technological advances that have increased our knowledge and understanding of chemistry and the environment in which we live. With this increase, many have become acutely aware of just how uniquely suited the earth is for life.
God also designed the world with moral order. When our first parents were created their spiritual selves were in sync just as the physical world was. Their choice to sin and to disobey God broke the moral equilibrium of original justice; they ignored the natural law that was written on their hearts. Adam and Eve chose instead to decide for themselves what would be right and what would be wrong, and so they began to hide from God.
Fifty years ago, it was every bit as possible as it is now to choose wrong rather than right and try to justify ourselves for doing so, but fifty years ago it was also easier to know and agree on the difference between right and wrong. At that time, we still shared cultural values about the truth of the natural moral law. What is new today is that now the very idea of knowing right and wrong is called into question.
We can’t change the culture by ourselves, but we can follow St. Thomas’ guidance above. The world and our lives are perfected to the degree that we seek to live as best we can according to God’s created order. When we follow the commandments and embrace the beatitudes, we contribute to the order in our own lives, in those of whom we encounter, in the Church and in the world.
We cannot add anything to God’s greatness, nor does He experience happiness in the sense that we do. Yet by making our contribution to the divine order of things, we render Him the glory He deserves and offer Him living thanks for His generous gift of our lives.