Paragraph 5. HEAVEN AND EARTH
325
The Apostles' Creed professes that God is "creator of heaven and
earth". the Nicene Creed makes it explicit that this profession includes
"all that is, seen and unseen".
326
The Scriptural expression "heaven and earth" means all that exists,
creation in its entirety. It also indicates the bond, deep within creation,
that both unites heaven and earth and distinguishes the one from the other:
"the earth" is the world of men, while "heaven" or
"the heavens" can designate both the firmament and God's own
"place" - "our Father in heaven" and consequently the
"heaven" too which is eschatological glory. Finally,
"heaven" refers to the saints and the "place" of the
spiritual creatures, the angels, who surround God.186
327
The profession of faith of the Fourth Lateran Council (1215) affirms that God
"from the beginning of time made at once (simul) out of nothing both
orders of creatures, the spiritual and the corporeal, that is, the angelic and
the earthly, and then (deinde) the human creature, who as it were shares in
both orders, being composed of spirit and body."187
I. THE
ANGELS
The
existence of angels - a truth of faith
328
The existence of the spiritual, non-corporeal beings that Sacred Scripture
usually calls "angels" is a truth of faith. the witness of Scripture
is as clear as the unanimity of Tradition.
Who are
they?
329
St. Augustine
says: "'Angel' is the name of their office, not of their nature. If you
seek the name of their nature, it is 'spirit'; if you seek the name of their
office, it is 'angel': from what they are, 'spirit', from what they do,
'angel.'"188 With their whole beings the angels are servants and
messengers of God. Because they "always behold the face of my Father who
is in heaven" they are the "mighty ones who do his word, hearkening
to the voice of his word".189
330
As purely spiritual creatures angels have intelligence and will: they are
personal and immortal creatures, surpassing in perfection all visible
creatures, as the splendour of their glory bears witness.190
Christ
"with all his angels"
331
Christ is the centre of the angelic world. They are his angels: "When the
Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him. . "191
They belong to him because they were created through and for him: "for in
him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities - all things were
created through him and for him."192 They belong to him still more
because he has made them messengers of his saving plan: "Are they not all
ministering spirits sent forth to serve, for the sake of those who are to
obtain salvation?"193
332
Angels have been present since creation and throughout the history of
salvation, announcing this salvation from afar or near and serving the
accomplishment of the divine plan: they closed the earthly paradise; protected
Lot; saved Hagar and her child; stayed Abraham's hand; communicated the law by
their ministry; led the People of God; announced births and callings; and
assisted the prophets, just to cite a few examples.194 Finally, the
angel Gabriel announced the birth of the Precursor and that of Jesus
himself.195
333
From the Incarnation to the Ascension, the life of the Word incarnate is
surrounded by the adoration and service of angels. When God "brings the
firstborn into the world, he says: 'Let all God's angels worship
him.'"196 Their song of praise at the birth of Christ has not
ceased resounding in the Church's praise: "Glory to God in the
highest!"197 They protect Jesus in his infancy, serve him in the
desert, strengthen him in his agony in the garden, when he could have been saved
by them from the hands of his enemies as Israel had been.198 Again, it
is the angels who "evangelize" by proclaiming the Good News of
Christ's Incarnation and Resurrection.199 They will be present at
Christ's return, which they will announce, to serve at his
judgement.200
The angels
in the life of the Church
334
In the meantime, the whole life of the Church benefits from the mysterious and
powerful help of angels.201
335
In her liturgy, the Church joins with the angels to adore the thrice-holy God.
She invokes their assistance (in the Roman Canon's Supplices te rogamus. .
.["Almighty God, we pray that your angel..."]; in the funeral
liturgy's In Paradisum deducant te angeli. . .["May the angels lead you
into Paradise. . ."]). Moreover, in the
"Cherubic Hymn" of the Byzantine Liturgy, she celebrates the memory
of certain angels more particularly (St. Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael, and
the guardian angels).
336
From infancy to death human life is surrounded by their watchful care and
intercession.202 "Beside each believer stands an angel as
protector and shepherd leading him to life."203 Already here on
earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and
men united in God.
II. THE
VISIBLE WORLD
337
God himself created the visible world in all its richness, diversity and order.
Scripture presents the work of the Creator symbolically as a succession of six
days of divine "work", concluded by the "rest" of the
seventh day.204 On the subject of creation, the sacred text teaches the
truths revealed by God for our salvation,205 permitting us to
"recognize the inner nature, the value and the ordering of the whole of
creation to the praise of God."206
338
Nothing exists that does not owe its existence to God the Creator. the world
began when God's word drew it out of nothingness; all existent beings, all of
nature, and all human history are rooted in this primordial event, the very
genesis by which the world was constituted and time begun.207
339
Each creature possesses its own particular goodness and perfection. For each
one of the works of the "six days" it is said: "and God saw that
it was good." "By the very nature of creation, material being is
endowed with its own stability, truth and excellence, its own order and
laws."208 Each of the various creatures, willed in its own being,
reflects in its own way a ray of God's infinite wisdom and goodness. Man must
therefore respect the particular goodness of every creature, to avoid any
disordered use of things which would be in contempt of the Creator and would
bring disastrous consequences for human beings and their environment.
340
God wills the interdependence of creatures. the sun and the moon, the cedar and
the little flower, the eagle and the sparrow: the spectacle of their countless
diversities and inequalities tells us that no creature is self-sufficient.
Creatures exist only in dependence on each other, to complete each other, in
the service of each other.
341
The beauty of the universe: the order and harmony of the created world results
from the diversity of beings and from the relationships which exist among them.
Man discovers them progressively as the laws of nature. They call forth the
admiration of scholars. the beauty of creation reflects the infinite beauty of
the Creator and ought to inspire the respect and submission of man's intellect
and will.
342
The hierarchy of creatures is expressed by the order of the "six
days", from the less perfect to the more perfect. God loves all his
creatures209 and takes care of each one, even the sparrow.
Nevertheless, Jesus said: "You are of more value than many sparrows",
or again: "of how much more value is a man than a sheep!"210
343
Man is the summit of the Creator's work, as the inspired account expresses by
clearly distinguishing the creation of man from that of the other
creatures.211
344
There is a solidarity among all creatures arising from the fact that all have
the same Creator and are all ordered to his glory: May you be praised, O Lord,
in all your creatures, especially brother sun, by whom you give us light for
the day; he is beautiful, radiating great splendour, and offering us a symbol
of you, the Most High. . .
May you be praised, my Lord, for
sister water, who is very useful and humble, precious and chaste.
May you be praised, my Lord, for sister earth, our mother, who bears and feeds
us, and produces the variety of fruits and dappled flowers and grasses. . .
Praise and bless my Lord, give thanks and serve him in all humility.212
345
The sabbath - the end of the work of the six days. the sacred text says that
"on the seventh day God finished his work which he had done", that
the "heavens and the earth were finished", and that God
"rested" on this day and sanctified and blessed it.213 These
inspired words are rich in profitable instruction:
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In
creation God laid a foundation and established laws that remain firm, on which
the believer can rely with confidence, for they are the sign and pledge of the
unshakeable faithfulness of God's covenant.214 For his part man must
remain faithful to this foundation, and respect the laws which the Creator has
written into it.
347
Creation
was fashioned with a view to the sabbath and therefore for the worship and
adoration of God. Worship is inscribed in the order of creation.215 As
the rule of St. Benedict says, nothing should take precedence over "the
work of God", that is, solemn worship.216 This indicates the right
order of human concerns.
348
The
sabbath is at the heart of Israel's
law. To keep the commandments is to correspond to the wisdom and the will of
God as expressed in his work of creation.
349
The eighth day. But for us a new day has dawned: the day of Christ's
Resurrection. the seventh day completes the first creation. the eighth day
begins the new creation. Thus, the work of creation culminates in the greater
work of redemption. the first creation finds its meaning and its summit in the
new creation in Christ, the splendour of which surpasses that of the first
creation.217
IN BRIEF
350 Angels are spiritual
creatures who glorify God without ceasing and who serve his saving plans for
other creatures: "The angels work together for the benefit of us all"
(St. Thomas Aquinas, STh I, 114, 3, ad 3).
351 The angels surround
Christ their Lord. They serve him especially in the accomplishment of his
saving mission to men.
352 The Church venerates the
angels who help her on her earthly pilgrimage and protect every human being.
353 God willed the diversity
of his creatures and their own particular goodness, their interdependence and
their order. He destined all material creatures for the good of the human race.
Man, and through him all creation, is destined for the glory of God.
354 Respect for laws
inscribed in creation and the relations which derive from the nature of things
is a principle of wisdom and a foundation for morality.
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