Lesson 2 Problems and Exercises

a

100

1. What should we be inspired to do when we consider the goodness of God?

1. We should be inspired to love God, not only because He is good to us but also because He is all-good in Himself. Thus, we make an act of divine charity, the most excellent of virtues.

200

Remembering that God’s eye ever rests upon us, should we be frightened or encouraged? Tell us the reason for your answer.

1. The realization that God is all-knowing should remind us that He is aware of even our most secret thoughts and desires.

300

Brigid is fond of spiritual books, especially the life of her patroness, recounting the wonderful revelations made to her. Other saintly men and women of God also have been favored with such revelations. How are these revelations classified? Are they the same as the supernatural revelations spoken of in this lesson?

1. These are classified as private revelations. These are types of supernatural revelations, because God has revealed things in them through means that are beyond the ordinary course of nature. Those to whom private revelations are given are obliged to believe them when they are certain that the revelations are from God (e.g., Fatima, La Salette).

b

100

1. Stefano, an irreligious High School boy, claims we are forced to do all the things we do; he says that we are not free.

Is this true? What is the reason for your answer?

1. This claim is false. 

Although God, the First Cause of all things, actually does all things, He does not thereby deprive the creature of its power of causality or of its freedom of action.

200

Occasionally atheists and scoffers at religion put such silly questions as these: “Can God make a square circle?—or a stick with only one end?” How do you answer such nonsense?

1. A square circle and a stick with only one end are contradictions. God can do anything that is not opposed to His perfection or that is not self-contradictory. The impossibility of God’s doing anything wrong or acting falsely does not limit His Divine Power. Since wrongdoing and falsity in themselves are evil and are manifest defects, they cannot be associated with an infinitely perfect Being.

300

Explain in what sense there has been, for many centuries, (a) no growth of public revelation, and (b) such a growth.

1. a) There has been no actual growth of public revelation, because all public revelation is contained in Holy Scripture and Sacred Tradition, handed down to us from the Apostles. Public revelation ended with the death of the last Apostle, St. John. (b) There has been a “growth” of public revelation only in the sense that the Church has gradually come to a deeper and clearer understanding of the truths and mysteries that are contained in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. There has been no new public revelation since the death of the Apostle St. John.

c

100

At this very moment, God knows what we shall do tomorrow. Does this mean we shall be forced to do those things tomorrow? Explain.

1. God’s knowledge of the future does not take away our freedom, but leaves our wills free to act or not to act.

200

 Passing the announcement board of a Catholic church, Chester, a Protestant lad, notices the advertisement of a sermon: “The Mercy of God.” He asks his Catholic friend, Alfred, what it means. Help Alfred to give the right answer.

1. He gives to each creature even more than is its due. He rewards the good more fully and punishes the wicked less severely than they deserve. He is always ready to help His creatures and to forgive repentant sinners.

300

 Leander wonders how it was possible for the prophets to describe the details of Our Lord’s passion and death many centuries before they took place. Can you explain this to Leander?

1. God sees all things and knows all things—past, present, and future. In the Divine Plan, God revealed to the prophets of the Old Testament many things about Christ, the Messiah, in order to prepare the world for His coming. To Adam and Eve, God first promised a Savior, and the further revelations to the prophets reminded His Chosen People of His promise. These revelations to the prophets also served as a way for His people to recognize Christ when He came.

d

100

Sometimes in religious art, the eye of God is represented within an equilateral triangle. What perfection of God is thus illustrated?

• God is all-knowing. The sides of the triangle represent the past, present, and future.

200

The timepieces of earth are regulated from the movements of the heavenly bodies. These timepieces—our watches and clocks—are made by intelligent beings outside of the timepieces themselves. Who then, made the Master Timepiece,— the heavenly bodies?

1. God, the Supreme Being, created all things everywhere, including the heavenly bodies. “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth….”

e

100

 In three or four sentences tell why the remembrance of the Presence of God is a great aid in practising virtue and in avoiding sin.

1. The truth that God is all-present and hence always near us should help us to avoid sin. In trials and temptations, we should remember that we are not alone; our loving Father is always near us. Although we cannot see God, the splendid order and beauty of creation should constantly remind us of His wisdom, His power, His goodness, and His nearness to us.

200

Define: Supernatural Revelation; Divine Providence.

1. Supernatural Revelation: the communication of some truth by God to a creature through means that are beyond the ordinary course of nature. Divine Providence: God’s plan for guiding every creature to its proper end.