Tuesday, 19 March 2013
Part 93: DoC and Perfection: Athanasius "The Apostle"
I hate to leave the great Athanasius, but I must move on to the last two groups of the Doctors.
We owe Athanasius honor above many saints, as he upheld and explained the Truth in an age of confusion.
He understood the need for catechesis, which is so lacking in our parishes, (to the point where most Catholics no longer know the Faith). There is no excuse for this problem.
If one does not know the Faith, one cannot begin to know Christ. Here is Athanasius again, in Chapter Three.
(16) When, then, the minds of men had fallen finally to the level of sensible things, the Word submitted to appear in a body, in order that He, as Man, might center their senses on Himself, and convince them through His human acts that He Himself is not man only but also God, the Word and Wisdom of the true God. This is what Paul wants to tell us when he says: "That ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be strong to apprehend with all the saints what is the length and breadth and height and depth, and to know the love of God that surpasses knowledge, so that ye may be filled unto all the fullness of God."[6] The Self- revealing of the Word is in every dimension—above, in creation; below, in the Incarnation; in the depth, in Hades; in the breadth, throughout the world. All things have been filled with the knowledge of God.
We are surrounded by atheists and skeptics, cynics, and those fallen into grave depravity.
We are also surrounded by the knowledge of God, as the entire world has been redeemed by Christ.
God is, as Athanasius notes here, "Self-revealing". He wants us to know Him. He is not a hidden God, or a God who has not clarified the type of relationship He desires for us.
He wants to be known and He woes us, like a lover, who want to be known and understood by his beloved.
Do not turn away from the love.
On to another Doctor tomorrow...I hope you are as excited as I am about these writings.
We owe Athanasius honor above many saints, as he upheld and explained the Truth in an age of confusion.
If one does not know the Faith, one cannot begin to know Christ. Here is Athanasius again, in Chapter Three.
(16) When, then, the minds of men had fallen finally to the level of sensible things, the Word submitted to appear in a body, in order that He, as Man, might center their senses on Himself, and convince them through His human acts that He Himself is not man only but also God, the Word and Wisdom of the true God. This is what Paul wants to tell us when he says: "That ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be strong to apprehend with all the saints what is the length and breadth and height and depth, and to know the love of God that surpasses knowledge, so that ye may be filled unto all the fullness of God."[6] The Self- revealing of the Word is in every dimension—above, in creation; below, in the Incarnation; in the depth, in Hades; in the breadth, throughout the world. All things have been filled with the knowledge of God.We are surrounded by atheists and skeptics, cynics, and those fallen into grave depravity.
We are also surrounded by the knowledge of God, as the entire world has been redeemed by Christ.
God is, as Athanasius notes here, "Self-revealing". He wants us to know Him. He is not a hidden God, or a God who has not clarified the type of relationship He desires for us.
He wants to be known and He woes us, like a lover, who want to be known and understood by his beloved.
Do not turn away from the love.
On to another Doctor tomorrow...I hope you are as excited as I am about these writings.