In the Intercessions at Morning Prayer today, we read:
Show us your goodness, present in every creature,
— that we may contemplate your glory everywhere.
As I read these words, my thoughts were drawn to the Act of Contrition:
…because Thou are all good and worthy of all my love.
and the Act of Love:
O my God, I love you above all things, with my whole heart and soul, because You are all-good and worthy of all my love. I love my neighbor as myself for love of You.
We love God for one very simple reason: He is all good and, consequently, worthy of all love. He deserves to be loved and when we come to know Him, it is necessary to love Him.
What’s important to note is that His goodness makes him lovable.
We read in the Act of Love (above) that we are to love our neighbor also, not for his own sake, as if he is good, but for God’s sake, because God is good.
Today’s intercession shows us why we are to love our neighbor.
Show us your goodness, present in every creature,
— that we may contemplate your glory everywhere.
In our neighbors, we see much evil (as in ourselves), but we can also see much good. That goodness which is visible in our neighbors is the goodness of God. Consequently, since we love God for His goodness, we can love our neighbor for the goodness of God that is present in them. In this way, we love our neighbor “for God’s sake”.
It is important to note that this goodness is seen not in man along but “in every creature”–plants, animals, mountains, rivers, the heavens–“in every creature”.
We also see the means by which we become aware of this goodness in all creatures: contemplation.
This knowledge of the goodness of God is not the possession of ignorant, careless men. The common people will not think this way. If our minds are turned to the media or politics, we will be immersed in darkness and confusion; we will be provoked to anger and despair. The mob is concerned with appearances and sensual pleasure, not truth. Truth is complex and difficult to find, especially in a world scarred by thousands of years of sin and falsehood. The truth lies buried beneath a web of false appearances. For this reason we pray that God will show us His goodness.
Contemplation is the means by which we separate the truth from all of these appearances and learn to think rightly.
We must contemplate to know the truth, and we must know the truth to see the goodness of God. When we see the goodness of God, we will love God. When we see the goodness of God in our neighbor, we will be able to love our neighbor, for God’s sake.
Show us your goodness, present in every creature,
— that we may contemplate your glory everywhere.
WCM
