E
Eucharisted
Guest
What you have stumbled upon, StrawberryJam, is a little mystery. You see goodness in a lot of people, and this goodness is like a mirror of God. You see, each person is created in the Image of God, that is, each person has a soul. The soul is a spirit and a spirit is will, intellect, and imagination. God breathes the spirit into the body, so to speak; He unites the spirit to the body, thus created a human person, at the moment of conception. The human person is an animal-spirit creature, a material-immaterial being. Now, because the human person is created in God’s Image, he reflects the goodness of God: first, by his nature and existence, for nature is good and existence is good, both are good things; and second, by his condition and behavior, which are either good or evil, depending on how he chooses to live and act. It is said that a good man can see God by looking at his soul, that is, by examining his conscience. The goodness he sees in himself is a mirror of God, a reflection of the Lord, and it is a mirror or reflection of Him because He is Goodness Itself.
God is Goodness because He is the Source and the Summit of all things. He is the Source or Beginning or Alpha because He created all things, He causes all good to be, He directs time and all things, He orders and provides everything, He draws out of evil a greater good, and He leads all things from one beginning to the next. For example, He created the Universe, He causes beauty and joy, He directs events to the greater good, He arranges things for man’s good and provides for his well-being, He permits evil to happen to draw out of it a greater good like peace out of war or a new watch out of a broken watch, and He leads man from one day to the next. He is the Summit or End or Omega because He created all things for Himself, He causes all good to be to reflect His glory, He directs all things to culmination, He orders and provides everything for man to give Him glory, He permits evil for man’s sake and His glory, He leads all things to Himself, and He is perfect in every way. For example, He created man for Himsel, He created stars to relect His glory, He directs the world to its perfection like on a journey, He orders and provides for man so man can give Him glory, He permits evil because man can choose evil and - knowing he chooses evil - uses it to glory Himself, He leads man to Himself (though not everyone chooses Goodness, some choose evil and so damn themselves), and He is infinitely good, infinitely powerful, infinitely wise, infinitely being, etc. I’m sure you’ll have some questions and objections, and that’s okay StrawberryJam.
Now no one sees a reflection in a mirror other than his own, so the reflection of God is the soul means the goodness of the person is not to be credited to the man but to God, who is the Source of all goodness as Goodness Itself. Man only cooperates with God, by accepting His graces, whereby he is able to do good. Man can choose to not cooperate with God, though, by not accepting His graces, whereby he chooses to do evil. I’m not sure how grace works, exactly, but I’m sure some Apologetists could help clear that up.
I call goodness a mystery because no one really knows what it is. You can define it and its attributes and qualities, but you can never truly know what its essence is.
you, especially you! So, please, feel free to stay as long as you would like!! 