All Our Life Depends on How We Perceive God
(Blessed Paolo Manna)
God is the Heart of Mission
From the First Letter of John
“We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us. God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.
In this is love brought to perfection among us, that we have confidence on the day of judgment because as he is, so are we in this world.We love because he first loved us.” (1Jn 4:16-17,19)
From the Magisterium of the Catholic Church
“God, who through the Word creates all things (see John 1:3) and keeps them in existence, gives men an enduring witness to Himself in created realities (see Rom. 1:19-20).” (Paul VI, Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Dei Verbum, 3)
“In His gracious goodness, God has seen to it that what He had revealed for the salvation of all nations would abide perpetually in its full integrity and be handed on to all generations.” (Paul VI, Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Dei Verbum, 7)
“The glory of God consists in the realization of this manifestation and communication of his goodness, for which the world was created.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 294)
From the writings of Blessed Father Paolo Manna
Literal English translation from P. Manna, Chiamati alla santità, Naples 1977, p. 13:
“What is the center of life? Its beginning, its end? Around what do all the speculations of mankind revolve? By what is a man’s worth, depth, virtue measured? By his idea of God.”
(Paraphrase: What is at the centre of our lives? Around what do all our thoughts and theories revolve? How do we measure and people’s value, their depth and their virtue? By their idea of God.)
Literal English translation from P. Manna, Chiamati alla santità, Naples 1977, p. 13:
“It is all about what this God is that everyone believes and talks about, even if they deny Him. [...] Our whole life depends on our concept of God.”
(Paraphrase: Our whole life depends on our understanding of who God is. This is what everyone talks about, be they believers or not.)
Literal English translation from P. Manna, Chiamati alla santità, Naples 1977, pp. 13-14:
“God is the highest Being, than whom nothing greater is thinkable. [...] God is a personal being [...], existing in himself, distinct from every other being. [...] God is infinite, eternal, immutable, necessary, absolute, and the world is finite, temporary, mutable, contingent, relative.”
(Paraphrase: God is above all creation and there is nothing greater than God. God exists in himself […], unique and distinct from every other being. […] God is infinite, eternal, unchanging, essential and absolute. The world is finite, transient, changing, contingent and relative.)
Questions for reflection
- Who is God the Father to me?
- What is my relationship with God the Father?
- In daily life, what situations and events do I recognise the Father’s presence and action in others?
PRAYER
LITANY OF GOD THE FATHER
Kyrie eleison – Christe eleison – Kyrie eleison
Christ, hear us. Christ, hear us.
God our Father in heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
God the Most Holy Trinity, (one God), have mercy on us.
God our Father, who art in heaven, accept our praise.
God our Father, infinite and eternal…
God our Father, Whose glory surpasses our comprehension…
God our Father, you are perfect and unchanging…
God our Father, you are the beginning and the end of all creatures…
God our Father, you brought forth your beloved Son, your incarnate Word…
God our Father, your Son so loved the world that he gave his life for our solvation…
God our Father, your holiness is glorified by the angels and saints in heaven…
God our Father, you rule the Church of Christ through the Holy Spirit…
God our Father, you created us in your image and likeness…
God our Father, you are worthy of all honour and our love…
God the Father, hear us
God our father, hear us