Intepreting CCC 2129

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“He is the all,” but at the same time “he is greater than all his works.”
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Can somebody give me context to “He is the all,” what is meant by “the all”? (Pantheism?)
 
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It helps to have even a tiny bit of context.
[*](javascript:openWindow(‘cr/2129a.htm’)😉 IV. “YOU SHALL NOT MAKE FOR YOURSELF A GRAVEN IMAGE . . .”>

[2129](javascript:openWindow(‘cr/2129.htm’)😉 The divine injunction included the prohibition of every representation of God by the hand of man. Deuteronomy explains: "Since you saw no form on the day that the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, beware lest you act corruptly by making a graven image for yourselves, in the form of any figure. . . . "66 It is the absolutely transcendent God who revealed himself to Israel. “He is the all,” but at the same time "he is greater than all his works."67 He is "the author of beauty."68

2130 Nevertheless, already in the Old Testament, God ordained or permitted the making of images that pointed symbolically toward salvation by the incarnate Word: so it was with the bronze serpent, the ark of the covenant, and the cherubim.69
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It also would help to state your purpose and your belief system. Some of us get suspicious.
 
Well my purpose is I want to interpret it properly or how the Catholic church would want me to interpret it.
Right now i interpret this as being an affirmation of Panentheism (God is everywhere in the universe but also “he is greater than all his works”). I know else where in the Catechism it says Pantheism is an error but doesn’t mention Panentheism.

The catechism says the passage is from Sirach 43:27-28 and it quotes ‘He is the all’ as being from somewhere else in scripture but i don’t know where.

What is meant by “greater”? greater in size. Greater in power. Something else?
 
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Pantheism is rejected by the Church. Best to check with the resident CAF theologians, scripture scholars or even call Dr. David Anders on his daily EWTN radio show Called to Communion.

It “All” hinges on the meaning and usage of the word “all” - and remember that Hebrew, Greek and Latin translations have been used. “All” may be the best or only English word, but not an precise cognate of the original.
 
Well I definately don’t believe in Pantheism. I didn’t fall into that trap. The idea of God being a vast Spirit that goes to infinity in all directions seems to resonate with me. (Pan-en-theism = all-in-god). I have heard of untranslatable words maybe that’s at the bottom of this. I can’t be the only one who’s read this and been confused.
 
The catechism quotes scripture. So, even a re-reading of the original chapter of scripture from which that quote was taken, and consulting some commentaries on that scripture might help clear things up. And, a talk with Father will certainly help.
 
It doesn’t seem to be a reference to the hermetic concept of the All because Sirach was written several century’s before hermeticism.
 
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