God is\nAbsolute, which points to the greatest paradox of all; He is both infinite and\nfinite. Infinite, in terms of God is the sum of infinity, again another\nparadox, one that is true, because there is nothing greater than God, and there\nis no situation in which there is God and something more. Finite, because as in\nany absolute there must be limitations, because if it is absolute it can\u2019t be\nsomething else, again another paradox and necessarily so. It\u2019s important that\nboth aspects of God, the infinite and finite be paradoxical, because both\ndescribe a condition which cannot be, but is. Now, we see on closer\nexamination, that when two elements in the same thought or sentence are\ncontradictory yet true, this is when paradox becomes analogy. G.K. Chesterton said,\n\u201cParadox is the truth standing on its head to get attention.\u201d I am saying this in response to your homily\nconcerning summoning God\u2019s forgiveness at the time of confession. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
On one\nhand, you are categorically correct, no one can invoke or provoke God into\ndoing anything. On the other hand, you are correct again, because you as a\npriest do give His blessings at the time of confession. This make sense, that\nyou can give something from God, when we just established you can\u2019t invoke\nanything from Him, if we agree that God is absolute. Consider this: by His\nword, He made what is. He said it would be and it is. So, when Jesus proclaimed\nby His word, by His oath (as in Matthew 18: 15-20), He established a covenant\ndefinitive in its manifestation and infinite in its mercy. If this points to\nthe truth, and I think it does, then what follows are limitations God places on\nHimself, by His manifestation in this distinctive reality which He created.\nLet\u2019s consider several conditions: God cannot create a God greater than\nHimself, if He could He wouldn\u2019t be God. God cannot be evil; evil is the\nabsence of God. God cannot sin. Jesus in His worldly realm did not sin. In His\nhuman condition He certainly chose not to sin. However, in His divine nature He\ncould not sin. God cannot punish. He can heal, He can cure, He can re-align, He\ncan rehabilitate, He can discipline, and He can put us through therapy however\nnone of this is punishment. Our worldly father sent us to our room for what we\ndid, our Heavenly Father sends us to our room for what we will become. God\ncannot lie. There are no circumstances, no contingencies in which God would\nmisdirect or misinform us for our own good. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Perhaps\nmost importantly is the reality of this distinctive creation of His.\nUnderstanding He is the author who gave each created character the freedom to\nwrite their own script. This binds each of us to a covenant relationship with\nthe Triune God we call God. In the beginning, Adam and Eve had the choice to be\nobedient to God\u2019s parameter or write their own script. They put themselves\nahead of God and made the wrong choice. I know God pleaded and prayed to them,\nspoke in the tender voice of a loving Father; please don\u2019t do this, think what\nyou are doing and realize the grave mistake you are making. They heard but\nweren\u2019t really listening, they did it anyway. In the beginning, God spoke to\nAbraham, He pleaded and prayed to him, don\u2019t take Hagar as your own, trust in\nMy power and purpose. Abraham heard, but wasn\u2019t really listening, he made the\nwrong choice and did it anyway. The Lord in His loving generosity gave us the\npower to create, the free will to choose to surrender to His loving embrace or\nwrite our own script. Jesus\u2019 promise is to give us anything we wish as long as\nit is in accordance with His will. God\u2019s prayers for us will never be stronger\nthan our free will, His love is our gift, ours to receive and accept or write\nour own script. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mercy,\nunderstanding and unconditional love demand honesty and sincerity. All of God\u2019s\ncommandments are possibilities. All of God\u2019s promises are true. God is\nAbsolute, He cannot be anything other than God. God did create a world where\ngreat tragedies both natural and manmade can and have occurred. Why He did this\nis another discussion, how He intervenes during these times is His decision for\nHis purpose and plan. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
God is Absolute, which points to the greatest paradox of all; He is both infinite and finite. Infinite, in terms of God is the sum of infinity, again another paradox, one that is true, because there is nothing greater than God, and there is no situation in which there is God and something more. Finite, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[13,50,49],"class_list":["post-241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-essays","tag-catholic-faith","tag-catholic-homily","tag-catholic-spirituality"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reflectionsonfaith.net\/reflections\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reflectionsonfaith.net\/reflections\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reflectionsonfaith.net\/reflections\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reflectionsonfaith.net\/reflections\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reflectionsonfaith.net\/reflections\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=241"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.reflectionsonfaith.net\/reflections\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":242,"href":"https:\/\/www.reflectionsonfaith.net\/reflections\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241\/revisions\/242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reflectionsonfaith.net\/reflections\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reflectionsonfaith.net\/reflections\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reflectionsonfaith.net\/reflections\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}