The Capacity for God
The Catholic Passion, 33–34

Each person has been made with the capacity for God—the natural desire to seek him and the natural ability to know him.  In history, God has revealed himself gradually, like a parent instructing his children.

• Acts 17:24–29
• Romans 1:19–20
• 2 Corinthians 4:6
• Catechism, nos. 27, 32, 35, 37–38, 44, 53, 684

Tradition
Hugh of Saint-Victor
Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite
Origen
St. Gregory of Nazianzus

Questions for Reflection

How have you experienced the desire for God?

In what ways do you find that the world encourages or discourages our natural desire and capacity for God?

How does God reveal himself to you? In creation? In other persons? Through literature and the arts?

One Love, Three Lovers
The Catholic Passion, 35–37

God is one.

• Deuteronomy 6:4–5
• Isaiah 45:22–24
• Mark 12:29–30
• 1 Corinthians 12:4–6
• 1 John 4:8, 16
• Catechism, nos. 201–202

The one God is three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

• Matthew 28:19
• John 10:30; 14:17
• 1 John 4:8
• Catechism, nos. 234, 257–260

Tradition
Synesius of Cyrene
St. Catherine of Siena

A Universe Seen and Unseen
The Catholic Passion, 37–40

God created the world out of nothing. 

God creates out of love and the world is a reflection of his glory.

Tradition
St. John of the Cross

Questions for Reflection

In your prayer and personal life are you aware of God as Trinity? Do you focus on one Person of the Trinity more than the others?

Which Person of the Blessed Trinity do you feel you know the least? What can you do to improve your understanding and relationship?

Where do you find signs of God’s handiwork? Do you feel that our society and culture helps or hinders our appreciation of the world as God’s handiwork?

Jesus revealed that God is our Father.

• 2 Corinthians 6:16–18
• Luke 2:49; 23:46; 24:49
• John 20:17
• Romans 8:15–16
• Galatians 4:4–6
• Catechism, nos. 240, 2780

God is neither male nor female. He is God.

• Genesis 1:27
• Psalm 131:2
• Isaiah 49:15; 66:13
• John 4:24; 5:18; 20:21
• Catechism, nos. 239, 370

Tradition
St. Cyprian of Carthage
St. Mechtild of Hackeborn
Charles Péguy

God the Father
by Francesco di Giorgio Martini, 1470

The Problem of Evil
The Catholic Passion, 43–46

God, in his loving providence, upholds and sustains creation.

• Wisdom 11:24–26
• Matthew 6:31–33; 10:29–31
• Hebrews 1:3
• Catechism, nos. 301–302

Nothing happens in the universe that is not permitted by the will of God. God permits evil. But in everything, God does not desire evil, only good. If evil is permitted, it is for the good of those who love him.

• Genesis 50:20
• Psalm 55:22
• Romans 5:20; 8:28
• 1 Peter 5:7
• Catechism, nos. 227, 309–314

Tradition
Blessed Angela of Foligno
Shusaku Endo
Blessed Teresa of Calcutta
Julian of Norwich

Fall of the Rebellious Angels
by Domenico Beccafumi, 1528

Victimae Paschali
laudes immolent Christiani.

Agnus redemit oves:
Christus innocens Patri
reconciliavit peccatores.

Mors et vita duello
conflixere mirando:
dux vitae mortuus,
regnat vivus.

Dic nobis Maria,
Quid vidisti in via?

Sepulcrum Christi viventis,
et gloriam vidi resurgentis:

Angelicos testes,
sudarium et vestes.

Surrexit Christus spes mea:
praecedet suos in Galilaeam.

Scimus Christum surrexisse
a mortuis vere:
Tu nobis, victor Rex miserere.
Amen. Alleluia.

Christians, to the
Paschal Victim offer sacrifice and praise.

The sheep are ransomed by the Lamb;
and Christ, the undefiled,
hath sinners to his Father reconciled.

Death with life contended:
combat strangely ended!
Life's own Champion, slain,
yet lives to reign.

Tell us, Mary:
say what thou didst see upon the way.

The tomb the Living did enclose;
I saw Christ's glory as He rose!

The angels there attesting;
shroud with grave-clothes resting.

Christ, my hope, has risen:
He goes before you into Galilee.

That Christ is truly risen
from the dead we know.
Victorious King, Thy mercy show!
Amen. Alleluia.

A Crucified God
The Catholic Passion, 46–48

The suffering of Christ on the cross and his resurrection are God’s answer to the problem of evil.  The witness of the martyrs testifies to the power of God’s truth in the face of sin and evil.

• John 15:20; 16:23
• Acts 7:54–60
• 2 Timothy 3:12
• Revelation 6:10; 18:24; 19:1–8
• Catechism, nos. 324, 2473–2474, 2852–2853

Tradition
Ignatius of Antioch
Carmelite Martyrs of Compiègne

Trinity Pietà
by Unknown Master, German, 1415–1430

Questions for Reflection

Have you or someone you know experienced evil and innocent suffering? How did you or that person respond?

How should believers answer when confronted with Eugene O’Neill’s anguished question about how we can believe in God when there is so much evil and suffering in the world?

In the divine plan, the mission of the Son of God is to reveal the merciful face of the Father.

• Luke 1:46–55; 6:36; 15:11–32
• John 10:30; 14:9
• 2 Corinthians 1:3
• Ephesians 2:4
• Catechism, no. 262

Tradition
Maximus the Confessor

Salve Regina, mater misericordiae,
vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve.
Ad te clamamus exsules filii Hevae.
Ad te suspiramus,
gementes et flentes in hac lacrimarum valle.

Eia, ergo, advocata nostra,
illos tuos misericordes oculos ad nos converte.
Et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui,
nobis post hoc exsilium ostende.

O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria. Amen.

V. Ora pro nobis, sancta Dei Genetrix.
R. Ut digni efficiamur promissionibus Christi.

Oremus
Omnipotens sempiterne Deus,
qui gloriosae Virginis Matris Mariae
corpus et animam, ut dignum Filii tui habitaculum
effici mereretur, Spiritu Sancto cooperante, praeparasti:
da, ut cuius commemoratione laetamur;
ius pia intercessione, ab instantibus malis,
et a morte perpetua liberemur.
Per eundem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

Hail holy Queen, Mother of mercy,
our life, our sweetness, and our hope.
To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve.
To thee do we send up our sighs,
mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.

Turn then, most gracious Advocate,
thine eyes of mercy toward us.
|And after this our exile show unto us
the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. Amen.

V. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray
Almighty, everlasting God,
who by the cooperation of the Holy Spirit,
didst prepare the body and soul
of the glorious Virgin-Mother Mary
to become a worthy dwelling for Thy Son;
grant that we who rejoice in her commemoration may,
by her loving intercession, be delivered from present evils
and from the everlasting death. Amen.

Living River of Divine Light
The Catholic Passion, 49–51

In the divine plan, the mission of the Holy Spirit is to reveal that we are children of God, to guide us in the knowledge and ways of the Father, and to make us holy.

• John 15:26
• Galatians 4:6; 5:16, 22–23, 25
• Catechism, nos. 263, 683, 736

Tradition
St. Paulinus of Nola

Veni, Creator Spiritus,
mentes tuorum visita,
imple superna gratia
quae tu creasti pectora.

Qui diceris Paraclitus,
altissimi donum Dei,
fons vivus, ignis, caritas,
et spiritalis unctio.

Tu, septiformis munere,
digitus paternae dexterae,
Tu rite promissum Patris,
sermone ditans guttura.

Accende lumen sensibus:
infunde amorem cordibus:
infirma nostri corporis
virtute firmans perpeti.

Hostem repellas longius,
pacemque dones protinus:
ductore sic te praevio
vitemus omne noxium.

Per te sciamus da Patrem,
noscamus atque Filium;
Teque utriusque Spiritum
credamus omni tempore.

Deo Patri sit gloria,
et Filio, qui a mortuis
surrexit, ac Paraclito,
in saeculorum saecula.
Amen.

Come, Holy Spirit, Creator blest,
and in our souls take up Thy rest;
come with Thy grace and heavenly aid
to fill the hearts which Thou hast made.

O comforter, to Thee we cry,
O heavenly gift of God Most High,
O fount of life and fire of love,
and sweet anointing from above.

Thou in Thy sevenfold gifts are known;
Thou, finger of God's hand we own;
Thou, promise of the Father, Thou
Who dost the tongue with power imbue.

Kindle our sense from above,
and make our hearts o'erflow with love;
with patience firm and virtue high
the weakness of our flesh supply.

Far from us drive the foe we dread,
and grant us Thy peace instead;
so shall we not, with Thee for guide,
turn from the path of life aside.

Oh, may Thy grace on us bestow
the Father and the Son to know;
and Thee, through endless times confessed,
of both the eternal Spirit blest.

Now to the Father and the Son,
Who rose from death, be glory given,
with Thou, O Holy Comforter,
henceforth by all in earth and heaven.
Amen.

God’s Love Dwelling in Our Hearts / His Unhurrying Chase
The Catholic Passion, 51–53

The gift of the Holy Spirit makes possible our communion with the Holy Trinity.

• Romans 5:5; 8:9, 11, 16
• 1 Corinthians 3:16
• 2 Corinthians 3:18
• Ephesians 4:24
• 1 John 3:24
• Catechism, nos. 737, 747,  782

Tradition
Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity

O my God, Trinity whom I adore;
help me to forget myself entirely that I may be established in You
as still and as peaceful as if my soul were already in eternity.
May nothing trouble my peace or make me leave You, O my Unchanging One,
but may each minute carry me further into the depths of Your mystery.
Give peace to my soul; make it Your heaven, Your beloved dwelling and Your resting place.
May I never leave You there alone but be wholly present,
my faith wholly vigilant, wholly adoring, and wholly surrendered to Your creative Action.

O my beloved Christ, crucified by love,
I wish to be a bride for Your Heart;
I wish to cover You with glory; I wish to love You . . . even unto death!
But I feel my weakness, and I ask You to “clothe me with Yourself,”
to identify my soul with all the movements of Your Soul, to overwhelm me, to possess me,
to substitute yourself for me that my life may be but a radiance of Your Life.
Come into me as Adorer, as Restorer, as Savior.

O Eternal Word, Word of my God,
I want to spend my life in listening to You,
to become wholly teachable that I may learn all from You.
Then, through all nights, all voids, all helplessness,
I want to gaze on You always and remain in Your great light.
O my beloved Star, so fascinate me that I may not withdraw from Your radiance.

O consuming Fire, Spirit of Love,
“come upon me,” and create in my soul a kind of incarnation of the Word:
that I may be another humanity for Him in which He can renew His whole Mystery.

And You, O Father,
bend lovingly over Your poor little creature; “cover her with Your shadow,”
seeing in her only the “Beloved in whom You are well pleased.”

O my Three, my All, my Beatitude, infinite Solitude, Immensity in which I lose myself,
I surrender myself to You as Your prey.
Bury Yourself in me that I may bury myself in You
until I depart to contemplate in Your light the abyss of Your greatness.

Questions for Reflection

Can you describe a particular experience of God’s mercy in your life? 

Do you understand yourself as Paul said you should—as a “temple of the Holy Spirit”? If so, how does that effect your approach to life? If not, what measures can you take to increase your awareness of the divine dwelling within you?