Day 41: Origins and Ends

Among all the Scriptural texts about creation, the first three chapters of Genesis occupy a unique place. From a literary standpoint, these texts may have had diverse sources. The inspired authors have placed them at the beginning of Scripture to express in their solemn language the truths of creation - its origin and its end in God, its order and goodness, the vocation of man, and finally the drama of sin and the hope of salvation. Read in the light of Christ, within the unity of Sacred Scripture and in the living Tradition of the Church, these texts remain the principal source for catechesis on the mysteries of the "beginning": creation, fall, and promise of salvation. CCC 289

In today's reading, the Catechism completes the section on the Catechesis on Creation. Even with our finite minds, we can use reasoning to question the origins of everything and come to know the existence of God, even if that "knowledge is often obscured and disfigured by error". It is with faith that we confirm what our reasoning tells us about these and leads us to a "correct understanding of truth". To be sure, we have found ourselves led astray in seeking faith in God, even to this day, mistaking other views for the truth. As the Catechism Companion, Vol I notes:

Ancient religions and cultures have many myths about the origin of the world. Polytheism, Manichaeism, Gnosticism, Deism, and materialism are some of the worldviews that are incompatible with Christianity (see CCC 285). (p. 86)

It is through divine revelation that we have come to know God, as He slowly revealed the truth about Himself and Creation. From the patriarchs to prophets, to finally, the coming of His Son, we have been given more insight into God beyond what our reasoning can discern from the wonders found in science and the splendor of His creation. It is through His grace, by faith, that we gain this more so than anything our intellect alone can muster. 

I like how the Catechism Companion wraps up this section in pointing us to what is most important in this:

God has revealed everything we need to know (but not every fact there is) about creation. God created the world so that we could have a relationship with him. (p. 86)

The first day of creation, by Jean Colombe from the Heures de Louis de Laval