Anecdotes and Examples Illustrating The Catholic Catechism/lesson2
LESSON SECOND
ON GOD AND HIS PERFECTIONS
Q. What is God?
A. God is a spirit infinitely perfect.
The King and the Philosopher
It is impossible for man exactly to define the nature of God. Nero, the tyrant of Syracuse, one day summoned the philosopher Simonides to his presence and asked him what God actually was. The philosopher said he must have a day for reflection before answering the question. At the end of the day he asked for two days more, and when that time had expired he asked for four days’ respite. Thus he continued to postpone giving an answer for a longer and longer period, until the king inquired the reason why he did so. Then the sage replied: “ The longer I meditate upon this mysterious subject, the more I find it involved in obscurity.” Our finite understanding cannot comprehend the infinite. It was truly said: “No man can comprehend what God is unless he himself is a partaker of His nature.”
Q. Had God a beginning?
A. God had no beginning; He always was and He always will be.
The Negro Catechumen
A simple, unlettered colored man was under instruction for Baptism. After a long course of training, the priest ventured a few questions as a test of progress. “ Now, my friend,” said he, “ who made you? ” “ God made me,” was the prompt answer.
“And,” continued the priest, “who made God?” A look of doubt and dismay passed over the man’s countenance, but with native readiness he presently leaned forward and whispered confidentially, “Father, that question has puzzled me all my life.” With a laugh at his naive simplicity, the priest proceeded to enlighten him thus: “ God is eternal. Two men died. Dives and Lazarus, and Lazarus was taken up to Abraham’s bosom, and Dives was buried in hell. And Dives begged God to allow Lazarus to give him one drop of water. Now, suppose God had done so, and Lazarus were permitted to place one drop on Dives’ tongue every million years, until all the water on the earth had been used up, would that time equal eternity? No, eternity would have scarcely begun. And suppose Dives were then every million years to shed one tear over his sad fate until all the lakes, seas, and oceans of the earth were restored, would that time joined to the former equal eternity? No. If Lazarus’ mercy and Dives’ grief were repeated over a million times, eternity would still be in its infancy. Now, my friend, what is the measure of God’s existence? ” The man answered:
“ Father, I reckon God is eternal; that He always was and always will be; that He never had a beginning and never will have an end.”
Q. Where is God?
A. God is everywhere.
The Marvels of Astronomy
The ubiquity and omnipotence of God are displayed in the wonders of creation. Consider, first of all, the immense size of the heavenly bodies. Our earth is certainly a huge globe; it is more than 10,000 miles in circumference. An express train, running at the rate of 20 miles an hour, would take three weeks to form the circuit of the earth. The sun is a far larger sphere; its diameter is more than a hundred times greater than the diameter of the earth. The sun would make a million and a half of such globes as our earth. And yet there are other orbs in comparison with which our sun is a mere grain of sand.
Furthermore, let us consider the enormous distance of the heavenly bodies. It is computed that our earth is 92,000,000 miles distant from the sun. A cannonball, fired from the earth, would, provided it traveled all the way at the same rate of speed, take 25 years to reach the sun. Light, which travels 186,000 miles in a second, takes eight minutes to traverse the distance that separates our earth from the sun. There are some stars, the light of which does not reach us for years, or even centuries. The light of the polar star takes 60 years on its way to our earth.
The space of the universe is inconceivably vast. Our solar system, to which eight greater and about 280 lesser planets belong, is but an isolated group in immeasurable space. The planet Neptune, the farthest from the sun, is more than 1,200,000,000 miles distant from it. Thus the group of orbs appertaining to our solar system is fairly extensive. Yet there are millions of other similar systems of far greater magnitude than ours, for the sixty million fixed stars which are visible in the heavens are all of them suns, round which other orbs revolve. And how many more millions of suns may there not be, which are invisible to our eye I The interval is so enormous from our solar system to the nearest star that there is room for thousands of similar systems in the intervening space. Imagine yourself standing at the north pole, and the sun as a pea held in your hand, and the distance between you and the south pole would be much the same as that which separates our solar system from the star nearest to it.
Q. If God is everywhere, why do we not see Him?
A. We do not see God, because He is a pure spirit and cannot be seen with bodily eyes.
The Two Servants who were Left without Supervision
Religious beliefs make people conscientious. Two servants, one a Christian, the other a total unbeliever, were in the employ of one and the selfsame master. On one occasion their master left home; thereupon the unbelieving servant said: “ Master is gone away now, so we need not go on working.” His Christian fellow-servant answered: “ My Master is not gone away; He looks down on me from heaven." While the unbeliever idled away his time, the Christian went on with his work industriously. Hence we see that religion makes a man conscientious. The following remark of a modern author is very true: ‘‘The most elaborate system of police is no substitute for the simple catechism taught in our schools.”
Q. Does God see us?
A. God sees us and watches over us.
The Rescue of Two Fugitives
Many singular occurrences in the life of devout persons afford indisputable proof of the operation of Divine Providence. St. Jerome relates the following remarkable incident in the life of a hermit, which he heard from the lips of the hermit in question, whose name was Malchus. This man asked and obtained permission from his superior to visit his aged mother, who lay at the point of death. On the way to the place where she lived, he was attacked by robbers (Saracens), taken prisoner, and sold to an Arab as a slave. Luckily for him he had a fellow-slave who was also a Christian and a good, pious man. The two slaves were cruelly treated and had hard, toilsome work laid upon them. They therefore were desirous of regaining their liberty by flight. One day, a favorable opportunity having presented itself, they took advantage of it to make their escape, and actually succeeded in reaching the desert without their absence being perceived. They had already gone a considerable distance, when, looking back, they noticed a cloud of dust a long way off, which rapidly drew nearer; presently they were able to descry two armed men on dromedaries, who were gaining on them fast. It was evident that their master was coming in pursuit of them with his servant; in terror they looked around, to see if there was no place at hand where they could conceal themselves. Somewhat farther they caught sight of a cleft in a rock, which appeared to be the entrance to a cavern. Thither they fled with the utmost speed. As the passage beneath the rock seemed very long, they were afraid to venture far, and therefore crouched in a corner near the entrance. A few minutes later their pursuers reached the cavern, and, halting before it, with loud shouts and terrible threats called on the fugitives to come out. As no answer came, the master sent his servant into the cavern, to drive out the two men at the sword’s point. The servant penetrated a long way into the cavern, making a great noise as he went. Suddenly a lioness sprang upon him out of the background, killed him, and dragged him away to her den. The Arab waiting outside grew impatient at the non-appearance of his servant, and, dismounting from his dromedary, entered the cavern himself, uttering oaths and curses. The lioness sprang upon him also, killing him with a single blow of her paw. The two fugitives hidden in the cleft trembled with fear, thinking they would be the next victims. But matters took an unexpected turn. The lioness apparently thought her den was not a sufficiently safe spot for her young, for she carried one cub after another out of the cavern in her mouth, and then disappeared altogether. When evening came the monk and his companion ventured out of their hiding-place, and to their great delight found the two dromedaries lying close by, patiently waiting for their master’s return. With them was also an ample supply of very acceptable viands. With tears of gratitude to almighty God for their wonderful deliverance, the fugitives mounted the dromedaries and in a day or two reached a Roman camp, where they were kindly received and entertained. There they took leave of each other, and departed to their respective homes. In cases such as this we may quote the words of David; “ This is the Lord’s doing, and it is wonderful in our eyes.”
The Pearl Necklace
God often brings good out of evil. A certain princess, accompanied by her two daughters, was once driving to a wedding, which was to be celebrated in a neighboring castle. The three ladies were very elegantly attired and wore a great many jewels and gold ornaments. The road they had to take lay through a forest; just as they entered this forest the coachman, who was driving very fast, went rather too near a tree, the drooping branches of which brushed the occupants of the carriage. One of the branches caught a string of pearls which one of the young ladies wore round her neck, and broke the cord so that the pearls were all scattered. The girl cried out in dismay, and the carriage was stopped while the servants went back to search for the pearls. They were scattered along the road, so that it took nearly an hour to find them. The ladies were terribly vexed at this accident, for it would make them too late for the wedding. Just as they were starting afresh, a woodcutter came running out of the forest. “ Thank God,” he said, “ that you have got no farther. A gang of robbers is lying in wait for you. I overheard them arranging their plans and came as fast as I could by a roundabout way in the hope of wanting you of the danger.” The princess rewarded the woodcutter liberally, and ordered the coachman to drive back home. Thus we see that what we reckon as a misfortune often proves in God’s wise councils to be the very reverse.
Q. Does God know all things?
A. God knows all things, even our most secret thoughts, words, and actions.
The Boy and the Apples
The remembrance of God’s omniscience acts as a deterrent from sin. A boy was sent by his father to a neighboring cottage to deliver a message. When he went into the room he found no one there, but on the table there stood a basket filled with most tempting apples. While the boy was waiting, something seemed to whisper to him, “Take one of those nice apples. No one sees you.” But the boy said aloud, “No, I will not take one, for God sees me.” At that moment a man of whose presence he was unaware came out from behind a screen, and said: “You are a good lad, for you have the fear of God before your eyes. Take as many apples as you like; you are welcome to them.” Had the boy not resisted the temptation to steal, he would probably have been punished. How useful the remembrance of God’s omniscience; it deters from sin and averts the consequences of sin.
The Bag of Pearls
A traveler having lost his way in the desert, wandered about for two days and nights without anything to eat or drink. At length he reached a tree, beside which a clear spring welled up. He quenched his thirst with a draught of water, but to his disappointment there was not a single fruit upon the tree. Close to the spring, however, lay a small bag; he took it up and gave thanks to God, for apparently it was full of pease which some former traveler had left there. But a fresh disappointment awaited him, for on opening the bag he found it contained a number of valuable pearls worth a large sum of money, yet useless to him, as they could not appease his hunger. Kneeling on the ground, he besought almighty God to come to his aid. Before long he descried a man mounted on a camel, coming towards him with all speed. This was the owner of the pearls, who had left them lying beside the spring. His joy at recovering his lost property was indescribable. He took compassion on the famished traveler, gave him bread and dates, and took him upon his camel. He too was a Christian, for he said: Here we see the good providence of God. He caused me to forget my bag of pearls that I might, by returning to the spot where I left them, be instrumental in saving your life.” God does truly dispose of events in a wonderful manner.
Q. Can God do all things?
A. God can do all things, and nothing is hard or impossible to Him.
A Spiper’s Web Saves a Man’s Life
It is a divine prerogative to render assistance when need is greatest, by employing the most insignificant means. The saintly priest Felix of Nola (+ 310), when flying from his enemies whose purpose was to put him to torture, sought shelter in a hollow place formed by a ruined wall. No sooner had he concealed himself there than a spider spun a web over the hole through which he had crept into his hiding-place. When his pursuers came up, they were going to search the cavity, but on perceiving the spider’s web they desisted, as they deemed it impossible that any one could have taken refuge there. Thus God knows how to make use of the humblest, simplest instruments to effect His purposes without working a miracle. This is beautifully expressed by St. Paulinus: ‘‘ When God helps us, a spider’s web becomes a protecting wall; without His help, a wall is no more protection than a spider’s web.”
Q. Is God just, holy, and merciful?
A. God is all just, all holy, all merciful, as He is infinitely perfect.
The Emperor Joseph II Incognito
The knowledge of God is essential to uprightness of life. The Emperor Joseph II (+ 1790) was in the habit of frequently moving among the people, in order to acquaint himself thoroughly with their circumstances and particularly with their needs. One year, when there was a famine in Bohemia, he sent a large quantity of corn, to be distributed to the poorer class of inhabitants. Almost immediately after this consignment had been sent off, he hastened to Bohemia himself, in order to convince himself that his instructions concerning the relief of the poor had been followed. Journeying incognito, he stopped at one of the small towns, where he found several wagons loaded with corn standing before the town hall. The emperor entered into conversation with some of the bystanders, and from them he learned that the wagons had been waiting there for hours because the official charged with the distribution of the grain had not put in an appearance. Thereupon the emperor in his civilian’s dress went to the residence of the official in question, and called him to account for keeping the people waiting so long. The man replied: “ You have no business to teach me my duty; I know very well what I have to do.” Then the emperor unbuttoned his coat, and, showing the decorations on his breast, said: “ I, who speak to you, am your emperor. By my imperial authority you are deposed from your post, and you have nothing more to do with the distribution of the corn.” Calling another official, the emperor appointed him to fill the place of the man who was deposed and who turned pale with terror and dismay. Would that man have been so insolent to the emperor if he had known who he was? Assuredly not. Nor would men offend God as they do by mortal sin, did they realize how great and how holy He is.