Pope Benedict XVI continued his catechesis on the Creed, focusing on God as Creator of heaven and earth. The Holy Father addressed thousands of pilgrims at the Paul VI Audience Hall during his weekly General Audience.
“God manifests himself as Father in creation, inasmuch as He is the origin of life, and in creating, reveals his omnipotence,” the Pope said.
Citing various examples in Scripture, Pope Benedict XVI said the image of God’s love and loyalty to his creations never diminishes.
“Thus, the creation becomes a place in which to know and recognize the omnipotence of the Lord and his goodness, and becomes an appeal to faith as believers so that we proclaim God as Creator.”
Focusing particularly on the story of Creation, Pope Benedict emphasized on several of God’s thoughts presented in the book of Genesis. The first thought, the pope said, “was to find a love responding to His love.”
“The second thought is then create a material world in which to place this love, these creatures who answer him in freedom.”
“This structure,” he continued, “causes the text to be marked by some significant repetitions. Six times, for example, the phrase is repeated: “God saw that it was good”, and finally, the seventh time, after the creation of man: “God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good”. Everything that God creates is good and beautiful, full of wisdom and love, the creative action of God brings order, sets things in harmony, bestows beauty.”
The Omnipotence of the Loving Father
In today’s age of science and technology, “does it make sense to speak of creation?”, the Holy Father asked. Pope Benedict stated that the Bible was not intended as a science manual, but more importantly, as a way to teach “the authentic and profound truth of things.”
“The fundamental truth that the Genesis stories reveal to us is that the world is not a collection of contrasting forces, but has its origin and its stability in the Logos, in God’s eternal Reason, who continues to sustain the universe,” the Holy Father said.
“There is a plan for the world that arises from this Reason, from the creating Spirit. Believing that such a reality is behind all this, illuminates every aspect of life and gives us the courage to face the adventure of life with confidence and hope. Thus, the Scriptures tell us that the origin of being, of the world, our origin is not irrationality or necessity, but rather reason and love and freedom. Hence the alternative: either priority of the irrational, of necessity, or priority of reason, freedom and love. We believe in this latter position.”
After concluding his catechesis, the Holy Father greeted the faithful present in various languages and addressed in particular the youth, the sick and the newlyweds who were in attendance.
“May today’s memorial of St. Paul Miki and companions, martyrs in Japan, urge you, dear young people […] to spend your energies for the cause of the Gospel; may it help you, dear sick people, to accept the cross in spiritual union with the heart of Christ; and may it encourage you, dear newlyweds, to always have faith in Providence, even in the difficult moments of your married life,” the Holy Father said.
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On ZENIT’s web page:
For the full text of the Holy Father’s General Audience, go to:
http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/on-god-as-creator-of-heaven-and-earth
