Point 2. Our Most Cherished Heavenly Father
Point 2. Our Most Cherished Heavenly Father
1. The Phalangist knows with a natural and absolute certitude that God, infinitely perfect, infinitely good, infinitely lovable, exists, since this is luminously proven by the existence, order, beauty and goodness of the universe.
The principle and foundation, the beginning and end of all wisdom, this certitude is initially given to us in a rich and confused manner through the intuition of being: the immediate apprehension of the being of beings, through the fact of the existence of all contingent beings, infallibly leads the mind to the one, simple, infinite, free, perfect and necessary Being, the source of universal existence, Who in the Bible named Himself: “I am” (Ex 3:14.)
This knowledge of God is not an a priori idea, a vague or inexpressible sentiment, a so-called moral certitude, a traditional belief or a human faith. It is the first and purest fruit of metaphysical wisdom that is accessible to any honest and open intelligence.
2. The aesthetic intuition, the perception of that infinite beauty which shows through the sensible and spiritual world, reinforces this certitude, enriches this wisdom and leads to that rational knowledge of God which – from the knowledge of the essences of things, of their diversity, of their order and harmony, and through the spontaneous exercise of the first principles of identity, causality and finality – concludes in the existence of a God Who is Creator and universal providence, and in His infinite perfections, analogous to those of beings and of their destiny.
3. Thus the thought of God’s sovereignty over the whole of creation is at the beginning of all wisdom and of all human morality, and already it allows the end to be glimpsed: “You have made us for Yourself, Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You!” (Saint Augustine)
As if by the same movement the Phalangist believes in God, because the knowledge of His existence and of His infinite perfections provokes in him a supernatural act of full adherence and ardent love for this Lord in all that He is, that He says and that He wills, because of His manifest holiness, wisdom, truth, beauty and goodness.
This mysticism is the Phalangist’s first sentiment and engenders within him adoration of his God, admiration for His visible and invisible works, the obscure contemplation of His impenetrable mystery, humility before His grandeur, compunction in the presence of His holiness, a filial love for this most good Father and the desire to proclaim the praise of His glory eternally.
It is in this faith in God, our Most Cherished Heavenly Father, that he finds the deepest motivation for his daily courage and perseverance.