12 November 2021
Memorial of Saint Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr
Creatures are good, and their goodness points us toward the goodness of the creator. “From the greatness and the beauty of created things their original author, by analogy, is seen” (Wisdom 13:5). “God looked at everything he had made, and found it very good” (Genesis 1:13). We, too, should look at the things that God has made and learn how to find them good. Take a tree, for example. Look at its branches and leaves. Watch how it moves in the wind. God found the tree good, so don’t you find it evil. It’s not trash, so don’t undervalue it, but don’t overvalue it, either. Don’t make it into some kind of an idol (Cf. Wisdom 13:2).
This applies not only to trees but to every creature, including yourself! You’re not trash, so don’t undervalue yourself, and you are not a god, so don’t overvalue yourself either. Rather, reflect upon your own goodness, real but limited, especially insofar as it points to the limitless goodness of the God who created you. Your sinfulness, too: don’t skip that. Reflect on your sins so as to know yourself and to know what you should do better next time. Furthermore, reflect on your sins to understand God better. God made room for you in his universe, no matter how annoying you may be. Your sins can’t stop Him. Rather, God can draw even greater goodness out of your own evil. “Where sin abounded, grace overflowed” (Rom 5:20). As a creature, both your perfections and your imperfections point to the limitless goodness of God.