Prospectus
Honorable publisher,
For several months I have been contemplating in prayer, thought, discussion, and writing the idea for a book to be entitled, “Signs of God,” or similar. I thought that the book may lead to a three part series, with the first, “Signs of God”, the second, “The Divine Pedagogy”, and the third, “Being,” or similar. If it were to be a three part series, “Signs of God” would focus on God’s use of visible/sensible signs to teach us about Himself. “The Divine Pedagogy” would pick up on this idea and expound on God’s method of teaching us about Himself (as well as ourselves, and our relationships) as a whole, spilling from the realm of the visible (and/or palpable) to the realm of the invisible/spiritual and prayer. Finally, the third part, “Being” (or similar) would pick up on the idea of God’s Pedagogy and relate it to the most broad and unfathomable and ever-transcendent topic of all, that of Being.
OVERVIEW OF "SIGNS OF GOD"
The opening and signature slogan of the book/part “Signs of God” would be Wisdom 13:5:
For from the greatness and the beauty/ of created things/ their original author, by analogy, is/ seen. (NAB)
Indeed, this verse outlines the theme that would pervade the entire book; starting from the simplest and most obvious signs God uses in nature to teach us about Himself, and expanding to the things we see around us in society and daily life (ex. Buildings, institutions, corporations, societies, communication technologies, transportation means, food, health care, government, the justice system, the Constitution and other documents, libraries, teamwork and athletics, Marriage, the family, parents, children, and family relationships, etc. – and don’t forget the education system/schools!), the book would reach its climax with a discussion of how Jesus is God’s greatest Sign, His Sign par excellence (as John Paul II might say).
It would be shown how Jesus is a sign of God in so many ways, from the Manger to the Cross and Resurrection, with all of His Life and Ministry in between. It would be shown how Jesus teaches us about the Father through His example, words, and miracles.
Jesus and the Word of God, Sacred Scripture, go hand in hand, because they are synonymous (at least in a sense; I’d need to research this point.) “Signs of God” would discuss/summarize the idea that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament and its prophecies. The book would discuss, for example, the Bread of Life discourse as a fulfillment of God’s giving his People manna in the wilderness.
From here naturally flows the idea of the Church –the Body of Christ- and Her Life-giving sacraments, especially the Eucharist. It would be explained that since the Church and the Eucharist are the Body of Christ, they are with Jesus God’s “Sign of Signs.”
A very important point of the book would be the sacraments as “visible signs instituted by Christ effecting invisible grace”, and therefore God’s greatest signs. I would speculate that it “is no accident” (I would try to be much more precise in explaining what I mean) that the sacraments seem to sum up the Divine Pedagogy, particularly/especially His use of visible signs to teach us about Himself by analogy.
I would take at least a page to explain how each of the sacraments is prefigured in the Old Testament, and how the Old Testament prophecies and the matter and form of the sacrament itself teach us about the spiritual effects of the sacrament by analogy. For example, Baptism was prefigured in the stories of Noah’s Ark, the crossing of the Red Sea, and the crossing of the Jordan River. Indeed, water is a constant theme drenching the entire Old and New Testaments, including the Gospels, especially that of St. John. Water is a powerful and mysterious presence in the world that brings both death and life. It is the primordial and essential ingredient of natural life, universally incorporated into the systems of all living things. Water is a catalyst for chemical interaction, and useful for the transportation of both microscopic and very large things, like ships. We humans use water for washing and cleaning; in Baptism our soul is cleansed of original sin (and any other sin we have committed, as well as the temporal punishment due to our sins) as the water is poured over us and the priest (or other) recites the Formula: “(Name), I baptize you in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Indeed, in Baptism we are not only cleansed of original sin, but we receive sanctifying grace –the Life of the Holy Trinity- in our souls. So, dying with Christ in Baptism we are also raised with Him and inherit the promise of eternal salvation (cf. Saint Paul).
A similar discussion could be made on the Eucharist, its prefigurements, and the idea of Christ’s Flesh being the new and fulfilling “bread,” the “universal food” for the souls of men to feed on, nourish themselves with, survive on, and be completely fulfilled with. Among other resources for these topics that have run as themes throughout Church Tradition, I would refer to Pope Benedict’s Jesus of Nazareth, which outlines in Chapter Eight the major images of Saint John’s Gospel, including water and bread.
Next would be a necessary and fruitful (hopefully) discussion of the sacrament of Marriage. With references to (possibly) the Theology of the Body, Love and Responsibility, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and other insightful resources, the book, “Signs of God”, would discuss Marriage as a sign and symbol of Christ’s Love for the Church, prefigured in God the Father’s Love for Israel and expounded upon by Saint Paul and the book of Revelation, among others. From Marriage would naturally stem a discussion of the family as “the domestic church” and a sign of the Communion of Persons that is the Holy Trinity. For we know that in Marriage, “the two become one flesh” (in fact, a flesh that waddles and cries). Similarly, but on an infinitely higher level, the Holy Spirit is the unifying Love between the Father and His only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ. It is also notable that Saint Augustine concludes in his Confessions that a man's sexual relationship with a woman is like the relationship God desires to have with every soul.
From here would naturally stem a discussion of children as "signs of God." Many places in the Gospel Jesus shows his love and tender affection for children, and how we must "become like children" if we are to be suitable for eternal life with God in Heaven. Here I would refer to many of the Saints, including Saint Therese of Lisioux and Saint Josemaria Escriva, both of whom tirelessly stress this point in slightly different ways. (Namely, I would say that "spiritual childhood" and "littleness" were the very essence of Therese's spirituality, while Saint Josemaria's hallmark was divine filiation -our being sons and daughters of God-, which he often connected with "spiritual childhood" as such.) Every other Saint could be referenced, at least by their lives and example. Consider, for instance, how many of the Saints have passionately fought and died for Christ in their youths (ex. Joan of Arc, martyred at age 19). More importantly, every single Saint has practiced spiritual childhood in their docility to the Holy Spirit's inspirations in their soul.
Here -in the discussion of children and spiritual childhood- the dynamic and fascinating tension/relationship between the reality we see (ex. a child and his/her way of being and behaving) and the reality we don't see (the human soul, whether ours or theirs) -but which is symbolized and pointed to by the reality we see- would be highlighted.
From here, the book would reach its final climax. Namely, each of us is called to be a Saint, in the words of Saint Josemaria Escriva, "...a saint worthy of canonization!" Is this possible? Can God love us this much and respectfully expect this much from each of us? How might it be possible? What are the means?
The means are these: first, the sacraments and, together with the sacraments, prayer. In the words of The Faith Explained by Leo Trese, "if anybody should come up to a Catholic and ask him, 'what is absolutely the most important thing to happen in a person's life?', he should be able to immediately respond, 'Baptism!'" A brief acknowledgment of the Catechism's explanation of Baptism of Desire would be appropriate here for the sake of striving towards universal understanding of Church doctrine. Of the sacraments, the Eucharist is God's "Sacrament of Sacraments." It deserves special attention, and, according to Pope Benedict, "always goes hand in hand with Baptism." (Jesus of Nazareth)
The concept of sanctifying grace can never be stressed enough (a definition of it can be found in the Compendium of the Catechism, #423). It is the Life of God in our souls, like three men dwelling in a tent! It is planted in our souls at Baptism, renewed (if lost through mortal sin) and strengthened in Confession (and I believe it is strengthened in all of the sacraments), and reaches its fulfillment when we literally consume the Body of Christ in Holy Communion. By sanctifying grace, God lives in us and acts through us. By/with sanctifying grace, our actions are God's actions, and take on supernatural value. It is sanctifying grace that makes us children of God.
On this matter, Scripture (ex. Gospels and Saint Paul), Tradition (John Paul II, Thomas Aquinas, John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, etc.), and the Magisterium (whose teachings are now summarized in systematic fashion in the Catechism of the Catholic Church) -the three Pillars of the Church- have much to say.
In order to be holy, we need the grace and the truth supplied and taught by Jesus through His Bride, the Catholic Church. The Church alone has the infallible Authority to interpret Scripture and all matters of faith and morals. This is an essential point pertaining to "Signs of God" and the means of obtaining holiness. For in order to be holy we must first know what holiness is. The Church -and no other authority- is God's Sign to the world pointing the way to holiness.
So, to be saints we need grace, truth, the sacraments, prayer... We also need work and sacrifice. The work and sacrifice of a soul in a state of grace brings great glory to God. This is ultimately our purpose, together with God's intention that we be happy with Him forever in Heaven.
Who can we look to as examples of holiness? We listen to the words of the Holy Father, we read the Catechism and Church documents, we read the Word of God and the Church Fathers. But who can we look to, so that we have a better idea of what all of these words mean? We look to the Saints and their lives well lived in God's grace. The Saints are God's Signs as well.
The greatest of the Saints is Our Lady, Mary, the Mother of God. She is referred to and prefigured many times in Sacred Scripture and the Gospels. She is always with Jesus and goes together with Him. By her "fiat" the Holy Spirit conceived Jesus in her womb, and so we were able to be reconciled with God. The Incarnation is essential to our salvation, since mankind owed a debt it could not pay to God our Father. Mary's "yes" to be the Mother of God is in turn essential to the Incarnation (at least in the way things turned out. On this point I would need to research the Catechism and other documents, such as the writings of John Paul II. However, "the way things turned out" was clearly willed by God from all eternity.)
So, each of the Saints is a Sign of God, and each of us is called to be a Saint, a Sign of God easily noticed, recognizable, and able to be understood by our family members, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and society at large.
POSSIBLE EXPANSIONS
Having outlined God's "signs" and "symbols" of Himself, by which He teaches us, His creatures, of Himself, by analogy, it is clear that there is a merge between God's methods of teaching through what can be seen and His teaching through what can't be seen. For instance, just mentioned was the intimate relationship between the sacraments (which can be seen) and prayer (which can't be seen, at least not in its essence). The relationship between the visible and invisible is as deep as the Mystery of the Incarnation, and could be discoursed on endlessly.
One key speculation I would like to stress is that in the sacraments God calls us to a special recognition of our ability to recognize signs and symbols and to recognize visible analogies for spiritual concepts and to learn about God through what we see with our eyes. To the extent that we have faith, we recognize God's analogies for Himself in the things we see in the world and, ultimately, in the sacraments. Part of what makes the sacraments so special is that in them we have an opportunity to almost formally recognize, before God, God's use of analogies and our ability to recognize them. I speculate that in addition to having faith in the sacraments in general, we will benefit even more from the sacraments to the degree that we consciously recognize that in the sacraments our ability to think abstractly and therefore to recognize God's signs and self-revealing analogies is particularly made apparent, stressed, and celebrated. Moreover, in the sacraments the celebration is mutual between both God and man: not only are we united to God in Love and grace in the sacraments, but we are united to God in Truth. Therefore, not only are our souls united to God in the sacraments, but our minds are as well.
In the sacraments, we become one Mind with God. God is, for one, recognizing and pointing out to us our intelligence and ability to think abstractly and to possess concepts and ideas with our intellects. Our ability to recognize ideas and universals is a staple -the staple?- of human intelligence. A monkey and a human see a chair, but only the human being knows that what he is seeing is a chair. The human being alone reflects on this fact, and reflects on his ability to think. Only the human being is given by God the privilege of assigning names to things (Genesis), and only the human being has the abstract idea-recognizing capability necessary to do this. This is because for a thing or an idea to be given a name, it must first be recognized for its universal characteristics; it must first be recognized for the things or idea that it is. These universal characteristics that make a thing what it is are said by Plato to summarize, to make up, to capture the essence, and to be the "form" of that thing.
The form is the perfection of a given thing; it is the qualities that make a thing what it is; it is the essential qualities a particular thing must have in order to be considered that thing. For example, among the qualities of a chair are that it has three or four legs, a seat, a back, and enables a person to sit (this is not a perfect explanation of what a chair is, but it gives a fairly accurate portrayal). However, in the world we do not see the form of a chair. Rather, we see a particular manifestation of that form. A chair is perfect, a chair is a perfect chair, a chair is a chair, to the degree that its characteristics match the characteristics of a perfect chair. These characteristics are summed up by and synonymous with the form of the chair.
Obviously the best place to go for an explanation is Plato himself. However, the precise reason I'd like to write on these topics is to reach out to people who would not otherwise read Plato and relate his ideas to the ideas of the Church and the ideas of God and to the ideas of sacraments. Here the transcendent (and self-transcendent?) nature of the topics I'd like to write on in "Signs of God" and its possible expansions becomes clear: here the author is explaining Plato's ideas and his own speculations about the concept of an idea, and relating them to God's ideas about the sacraments. It all fits together so seamlessly that it's almost impossible to differentiate one concept from another.
This last paragraph is extremely vague. To summarize what I am trying to say: I'd like to explain Plato's concept of "form" to the reader and relate it the Divine Pedagogy. Namely, to go back to the slogan of the book "Signs of God", God teaches us about Himself -God teaches us spiritual realities- through the things we see, by analogy. However, in order for us to recognize these analogies, we must first be able to grasp ideas with our intellects. For example, the sun's light and warmth teach us (by analogy) about the Light God sheds on the world in His Truth and in His Word, and about the Warmth God gives us in His Love and in His personal friendship and affection for us. But in order to learn about God through what we see, we must be able to in the first place recognize what we see.
In order to "see" (with our intellects) what we see with our eyes, we must have the miraculous, God-given, spiritual/immaterial, and transcendent ability to think abstractly, to recognize ideas, to recognize the essence of what a thing is, to form various forms in our minds from the things we see (and we usually see particular things repeatedly and in many different manifestations) in the world. Indeed, though the matter we see is visible, the idea we "see" with our intellects -the form of the thing we are looking at- is not visible. In other words, we see a cat that is peach-colored and weighs 20 pounds and has fuzzy hair. But we do not see "cat-ness" but with our intellects. For when we see the cat, our intellects somehow (by a power given by God that, while it is certainly study-able by scientists, and while we can certainly increase our knowledge of the process involved -and would be right in doing so- will nevertheless ultimately remain a mystery, for what we are studying here is a spiritual/immaterial/transcendent/miraculous/God-given phenomenon) compare the thing we see to the ideas stored in our brains, and match the thing we see to the idea we possess in our intellects, and we say, "I see a cat."
So, I propose a book discussing the metaphysical concepts behind the book "Signs of God." Namely, I propose a book discussing the natures and relationships between the ideas of matter, form, idea, manifestation (ex. How is time involved in what qualifies as a particular manifestation? Would seeing the same cat on two different nights (or, in two different lights) qualify as two different manifestations?), sign, symbol, names, words, meaning, definition.
From here naturally flows a thorough discussion of LANGUAGE as a human activity. Clearly, language is intimately connected with intelligence and, in turn, with communication. Is language an activity peculiar to human beings? (Yes, in the deep sense of actually communicating a meaning mutually understood by both the "speaking"/giving and "listening"/receiving parties.) Is the use of language absolutely essential to being a human being/human-ness? Here I would argue "yes", in the sense of language and communication being ultimately synonymous, and with communication being essential to unity and to charity. So, it may not be absolutely essential that humans write, read, speak, and listen as such. But communication in one form or another is absolutely essential to what it is to be human.
Digressing for a moment: How are writing, reading, speaking, and listening related to communication as a whole? Are they essential as such? Consider that the Word of God is written. Consider that verbal speech (and also sign language and perhaps other forms of communication) and written language are absolutely hallmarks of civilization, since the Sumerians. Nevertheless, not all people can read and write and speak and hear, nor have all peoples. A description of the tensions here seems called for.
Here I have already speculated as to the conclusion that would be reached from a thorough analysis of such topics related to language and communication: namely, that while the mode of communication is not essential, communication in itself is essential to being human. Moreover, again, communication and charity/the gift of self are ultimately the same thing. For in Christ's Life, Death, and Resurrection, Christ at once completely communicates Himself to us and completely gives Himself to us. The giving and the communication of Christ -the relationship between God's Self-Expression and Gift of Self- this is an essential topic I propose to write about.
Thank you for reading, and for your input!
Sincerely, Will Wisdom
