Day 7: God Reveals Himself

God, who "dwells in unapproachable light", wants to communicate his own divine life to the men he freely created, in order to adopt them as his sons in his only-begotten Son. By revealing himself God wishes to make them capable of responding to him, and of knowing him and of loving him far beyond their own natural capacity. (Catechism 52)

Through reason and observation of his creation, we can have assurance of God's existence. Yet it is only through Divine Revelation, freely given by God to us, that we come to truly know more about him. In today's reading from the Catechism, it's all about God slowly revealing himself to us. From the "intimate communion with himself" that he offered to Adam & Eve, our first parents, down to the covenant he established with Noah after the Flood with more to come afterward. It's a pity that our first parents in effect rejected that intimate communion with God through their sin, though I'm quite sure I wouldn't have done any better in their place. It does show, however, the deep love God has for us that even after the Fall he gave us hope of redemption, which of course would be fulfilled through Jesus Christ.

I like how the Catechism Companion puts it by quoting from this early saint:

As St. Irenaeus of Lyons writes, "The Word of God dwelt in man and became the Son of man in order to accustom man to perceive God and to accustom God to dwell in man, according to the Father's pleasure" (quoted in CCC 53).

Day Six: Knowing God With Certainty

Man is by nature and vocation a religious being. Coming from God, going toward God, man lives a fully human life only if he freely lives by his bond with God. Man is made to live in communion with God in whom he finds happiness... Without the Creator, the creature vanishes (GS 36). This is the reason why believers know that the love of Christ urges them to bring the light of the living God to those who do not know him or who reject him. (Catechism 44-49)

Today's reading is short, covering the In Brief section at the end of Chapter 1. This section summarizes what was covered in the chapter on man's built-in desire for God and our capacity for knowing Him. I like how the Catechism Companion puts it:

The very fact that you exist reveals that God wanted you to exist, which means he loves you. He does not have to love you, but he chose to love you when he chose to create you. You are alive on purpose. (p. 16)

Remembering this, especially in the hard times that life can throw at us, can be a struggle. In some ways, figuring out what God's purpose is in our lives can be even more difficult. It is good to be reminded of these truths, for not only do we have a "crisis in meaning" in modern culture but the mind does tend to wander in life.

Lastly, I like how the Catechism Companion points out that contrary to popular belief in modern culture, faith and science are not opposed to each other. 

Faith asks about supernatural realities, and science asks about natural realities. (p. 16)

Again, the teaching from Pope St. John Paul II in Fides et Ratio comes to mind, as well as Thomas Woods' excellent book How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization.