Commentary on Catechism of the Catholic Church The Desire for God

In the language of the Church, there are words which are not used in the same way as secular philosophy uses them. For example, the word "belief" is equivalent to faith in the Church, instead of the judgement of truth, which is mere intellectual assent. As described, faith is the response of man to God who reveals Himself to man. As described in Philosophy 1 (link), all things are a revelation to man, and man must respond to God. Even the lack of a response is a response in of itself. Communication between man and God is inevitable. How man will respond to God depends on the particular nature of man, as such each person will respond differently to God's revelation.

As described in Philosophy 1, man is created by God for the sake of union with God. Yet not only that, every intellect with a will is by nature desirous of goodness, and since only God is goodness, then every intellect which wills is moved to desire God. The right of man to be honored, that is his dignity, is that he is created for the sake of God. For God creates everything and sustains everything by His love, that is His Will for the goodness of all things. Man cannot fully live according to the truth if he does not acknowledge the love of God and entrusts himself to God. Article of the faith: All man desire God. The dignity of man rests upon that purpose of man.

It is a historical observation that man has been desiring God or some sort of transcendence universally, so much so that man can be called a religious being. This is supported by Scripture which teaches that God designed man so man would grope for Him and find Him, though indeed He is very close, as He is our very existence. This fact of religiousity may be ascribed as a certain point of the faith.

However, this relationship between man and God can be forgotten, overlooked, or rejected by various reasons. These reasons are: revolt against evil, religious ignorance or indifference, the cares and riches of the world, scandal on the part of the believers, ideologies hostile to religion, and the attitude of the sinner which makes him flee from God out of fear. This is a revealed fact from the catechism, but it may very well be the result of an empirical observation which is written down in the catechism, along with the historical observation of man's religiousity.

Even if man rejects God, God continues to call man to Himself for God loves all man. God continues to send graces to man even when God knows that the man shall eventually be damned. Yet it is God's love for all man to at least allow them to receive that divine calling. However, seeking God requires the fullness of one's own existence, that is as written, every effort of the intellect, a sound will, an upright heart, and the witness of teachers. In other words, one must be righteous by their nature to be able to seek God. Those God did not chose to be righteous, will never find God and instead walk over to damnation.

Second Commentary

"We begin our profession of faith by saying: I believe or We believe."

This is a statement declaring that we, Christians, begin our profession of faith with the words "I believe or We believe."

"Before expounding the Church's faith, as confessed in the Creed, celebrated in the liturgy, and lived in observance of God's commandments and in prayer, we must first ask what 'to believe means.'"

This statement declares that before we expound the faith of the Church, precisely the Catholic Church, that is confessed in the Nicene Creed or Apostle's Creed, that is celebrated in the official public prayers of the Church, that is the liturgy, and lived in observance of God's commandments and in prayer, we ought to first ask what to believe means. To this statement I respond, belief can be defined in 2 ways, as the intellectual evaluation of propositions, or as trust. In this case, it is actually both, we evaluate the propositions of God as truths and we trust in those truths. It is to be noted that this statement is a follow-up to the previous statement, which declares the beginning of the profession of faith.

"Faith is man's response to God, who reveals Himself and gives Himself to man, at the same time bringing man a superabundant light as he searches for the ultimate meaning of his life."

This statement can be said to be an answer to the previous statement. As it seems, to believe is to have faith. As such, faith is man's response to God. Why is it a response? Because God precedes man in both existence and in communication, therefore, faith is a response. God reveals Himself and by doing so gives Himself to man. At the same time, God gives man a superabundant light, which is really Himself but also all other riches that is brought by God's revelation. This happens as man searches for the ultimate meaning, that is essence and value of his life.

"Thus we shall consider first that search (Chapter One), then the divine Revelation by which God comes to meet man (Chapter Two), and finally the response of faith (Chapter Three)."

This declares the intentions of the catechism in guiding the readers to the outline of the chapters of the catechism, particularly of the first part. 

"The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to himself."

This is both a revealed fact and in a sense a reasonable fact. The active intellect will act in 2 possibilities, it will act according to its nature or according to God's nature. In the end all intellects act according to God's nature, but it can be directly or by the mediation of the intellect's own nature. If it acts according to God's nature then it will naturally be toward God and in desire of God. Yet if it acts according to its own nature, then there is a possibility that God writes down a different desire in the intellect. For example the intellect might have no desire at all or desire something else entirely.

Yet, because God creates solely for the goodness of the created intellect, and then the created intellect has its goodness only in God, then the created intellect must possess the inclination towards God which all created intellects have regardless of original sin. That is, the desire of God cannot be blotted away completely. This is elaborated in the second part of the sentence, that it is because man is created by God and for God, that is to say the union with God. The third part of the sentence declares that God never ceases to draw man to Himself. In God's perspective this is true, that His act of calling man is eternal. Yet while He calls all man, He does not decree all man to respond. Some men shall naturally respond and other men shall naturally reject that call, even though they are still invited forever.

"The dignity of man rests above all on the fact that he is called to communion with God."

What is dignity? Dignity is the right to be honored, which all man has. This dignity is because he is created for God, and it simply means that he has the right to union with God. All man has the right to be united with God, yet their nature may lead to their rejection of God in an eternal way. However, this does not lead to them have less dignity. Remember, God still loves those He reprobates, simply that the nature of the person reprobated rejects that love of God. As such, it is simply by his very existence that man has dignity.

"This invitation to converse with God is addressed to man as soon as he comes into being."

When is a man created? At conception. Yet man does not develop the full faculty of reason at the immediate point of creation. This only means God's call is unperceivable at the beginning, and for some people never perceived at all. However, there is one way God invites people to converse with Him, that is by way of their very existence. For if God created anyone, it is out of love towards that person. Simply by creating something, God is declaring to them that He wants them to be good. That is precisely the purpose of creation, for the goodness of the creation.

"For if man exists, it is because God has created him through love, and through love continues to hold him in existence."

This is an elaboration which I have commented myself on the previous sentence.

"He cannot live fully according to the truth unless he freely acknowledges that love and entrusts himself to his creator."

The truth is that God exists, God is goodness, and God is love. To live without acknowledging those truths is to not live according to the truth at all. It is to live according to something else which is not the truth. One must acknowledge that love freely, that is according to one's own nature, and entrust oneself to God's love that He shall be loving and merciful to us. As to live according to the truth is to live trusting that truth and living out that truth, practicing it by various acts and being in conformity to God's own nature.

"In many ways, throughout history down to the present day, men have given expression to their quest for God in their religious beliefs and behavior: in their prayers, sacrifices, rituals, meditations, and so forth."

All men desire some sort of transcendence, of God, the desire of goodness, and particularly that of Existence itself is written in the hearts of man. Therefore, it is not only historical, but reasonable to declare that they will express it in their actions which are left in the historical cultures of the world. Kept firmly in their traditions, that is inherited culture, we know of various prayers, sacrifices, rituals, meditations, and so on to express the desire for God.

"These forms of religious expression, despite the ambiguities they often bring with them, are so universal that one may well call man a religious being"

There is a certain empirical, reasonable, and revealed fact to this statement. Yet it is true that these religious expressions are often ambiguous, in the sense that they do not possess any clarity on the truth of God and the nature of God. However, they are so universal that we may call man a religious being.

"From one ancestor made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and He allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for Him and find Him-though indeed He is not far from each one of us. For in Him we live and move and have our being."

God created humanity to inhabit the whole earth, and He defined the limits of humanity so that by those limits in space and time they would be motivated to actually search for God. For that is how God designed this world and its laws and the natures of man. Indeed He is not far from each one of us, we do truly possess Him as our very existence. We are the result of Him meeting non-existence and thus that encounter leads to our existence.

"But this intimate and vital bond of man to God can be forgotten, overlooked, or even explicitly rejected by man."

Due to original sin, man has majorly forgotten God and due to his sins, overlooked God, and some are without hope that they reject God even after knowing Him. In the beginning, man does not even come loaded with a knowledge of God. He must be taught that knowledge and even then he may forget God in the end. Another case is man may simply be apathetical about God due to his sins which leads to a certain kind of depravity. Finally, those who are so deeply entrenched in sin will reject God outright.

"Such attitudes can have different causes: revolt against evil in the world; religious ignorance or indifference; the cares and riches of this world; the scandal of bad example on the part of the believers; currents of thought hostile to religion; finally, that attitude of sinful man which makes him hide from God out of fear and flee his call."

When one revolts against the evil of this world, they may falsely misattribute evil to God and for that reason they reject God. They can simply be ignorant or perhaps not even care about God as such to forget and overlook Him. When believers do sins, major sins which are scandalous even to the world, then people can think that God is not really there. These can lead man to develop ideologies against God and the spread of those ideologies spread the inspiration for those ideologies, sin. Finally, the delusions of man leads them to think that God is a most horrifying being that will punish unconditionally, as such they will flee God out of fear.

"Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice."

For those who seek the Lord shall find the Lord.

"Although man can forget God or reject Him, He never ceases to call every man to seek Him, so as to find life and happiness."

Even if God knows that man shall reject Him, He still gives that invitation to man because God is infinitely loving to all creatures, even those who reject Him. Yet by God's decree, certain people will not elect Him because God has not elected them. Evenso, God still provides the graces to all people that if God decrees, can be fully actualized and lead man into that life and happiness.

"But this search for God demands of man every effort of intellect, a sound will, an upright heart, as well as the witness of others who teach him to seek God."

For God is existence Himself, then it demands of man every part of his existence as well then to discover the Existence. Man must expend all of his intellect, and have a will directed to God already, a heart which is righteous, and the aid of other people to be able to seek God and reach Him fully. Because man cannot obtain his knowledge by himself, rather it has to be by the guidance of others, and then inside of man himself there has to be a perfect orientation of his existence to God, which is caused by God's election of his righteous nature.

"You are great, O Lord, and greatly to be praised: great is your power and your wisdom is without measure."

We praise God because He rightfully is to be praised, not because it adds to God, but because it adds to us. His Power is infinite and His Wisdom is immeasurable, for He is Power and Wisdom Himself.

"And man, so small a part of your creation, wants to praise you: this man, though clothed with mortality and bearing the evidence of sin and the proof that you withstand the proud."

This describes that we humans are actually not even worthy of rendering praise to God, because we are fallen and our sins makes us unworthy. Yet God accepts our praise not by our merits, but by His mercy and grace.

"Despite everything, man, though but a small part of your creation, wants to praise you."

Because we are the elect and He has elected us to praise Him. That our praises shall be accepted by God is not our worthiness but God's mercy.

"You yourself encourage him to delight in your praise, for you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you."

For our hearts have a God shaped hole which only God can fill, for nothing is like Him, and as such in the end, without God we suffer and are restless. Only in God do we find fulfillment and finally eternal rest.