Day 49: We Are Created for Worship

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. As the rule of St. Benedict says, nothing should take precedence over "the work of God", that is, solemn worship. This indicates the right order of human concerns. CCC 347

In today's reading, we find the Catechism speaking again that all of Creation comes from God, "from minerals, atoms, and even time itself". This is to draw attention to the Sabbath and the belief that man was created for worship. Indeed, "all of creation, everything that exists, is oriented toward worship". I really like this line from the Catechism Companion, Vol I about this:

Every time we go to Mass, we enter into the place where time and eternity meet. (p. 102)

We find in the Old Testament that the Sabbath was "a sign of [God's] irrevocable covenant with [the Jews]". Yet Christians quickly came to worship on the "eighth day" or Sunday. The Catechism explains that this is because:

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 splendor of which surpasses that of the first creation. CCC 349

Mass celebrated in the field during World War II (1944)