Sunday, January 27, 2013

Hierarchy in Creation

In one of today's readings it reminded me of the repeated pattern of God in all his works.  There is a Hierarchy, a pattern, which can be found in all things physical and spiritual and even repeated down on smaller and smaller levels or larger as well.  As I understand it, like a fractal, or maybe that's just another example as well.
 
 
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
14 Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot would say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear would say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many members, yet one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; 24 whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, 25 that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.
27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.
 1 Corinthians 12:4-31
 
 
There's an interconnectedness between everything and everyone that makes us one through the differences even as the body is one.  The offices are different but as long as all is done in virtue of the Divine Will all share in the common reward.
 
 

     “My blessed daughter, every created thing has a distinct office that it occupies, and although the will of all is one, not all however do the same thing, it would not be order, nor virtue of Divine Wisdom, that one created thing might repeat that which the other does, but since one is the Will that dominates them, the glory that one receives, I give the other, because all the substance that they possess and the good and the value with which they are invested, is that they can say:  I am one continuous act of Will of my Creator, glory, honor, virtue more great he could not give me, than to be one single act of Divine Will, so much so that the little blade of grass, with its littleness, the little space that it occupies of the earth, it seems that it does nothing, no one looks at it, and yet, because thus my Will wanted it, nor does it seek to do more than that which a blade of grass can do, in order to do my Will equals the glory that the sun gives Me, that rules with so much majesty over the earth, that one can call it continuous miracle of all the Creation.  And since all created things are united between themselves, the sun with all its majesty, with its light kisses and warms, the little blade of grass, the wind caress it, the water waters it, the earth gives the little spot where to form its little life, and yet what thing does a blade of grass do?  One can say nothing, but since it possess my Will, it will hold its virtue of doing good to the human generations, because having created everything for love, and in order to do good to creatures, all hold a secret virtue to give the good that they possess.
     “You see therefore that everything is in doing my Will, to never go out from his Divine and interminable enclosures; already with doing my Will, although it seems that one does nothing, it is not true, already one finds oneself together with the Divine work and one can say:  that which God does, I do.  And to you it seems little?  God does everything and the soul takes part in everything.  So that it is not the diversity of the actions or of the offices that the creature can say that she does great things, but my Will that confirms, annuls them, puts them in the Divine order and puts there his image, as seal of his works.
     “In regards to the diversity of offices and of action instead it is order, harmony of my infinite Wisdom, also in Heaven there is diversity of choirs of Angels, diversity of Saints, one is martyr, one is virgin, one is confessor.  Upon the earth my providence maintains so many diverse offices, one is king, one is judge, one priest, one is people, one commands, one is under, if everyone might do one single office, what would be of the earth?  A complete disorder.  Oh!  If everyone might understand that only my Divine Will knows how to do great things, and although they might be little and insignificant, oh, how content everyone would be, and each one would love the little spot, the office in which God has put her, but since they let themselves be controlled by the human volition, they would like to give of themselves, to make great actions, that they can not do, therefore they are always discontent with the conditions or posts in which the Divine Providence has put them for their good.  Therefore content yourself to do the little united with my Will, and not the great without Him, more so than being immense you will find yourself in all his acts, and you will find yourself in his love, in his power, in his works, in a way that you can not do anything without Him, and He can not do anything without you.  Behold therefore that with living in my Volition such prodigies race together that it gives of the incredible, the nothing of the creature in the power of the all, the nothing in prey of a Will that can do everything.  What thing wouldn’t this nothing do?  She will do works worthy of a Supreme Fiat.  Hence the most beautiful act, most solemn, most pleasant for Us is the nothing of the creature, giving us freely in order to let us do that which we want.”
Vol. 33, Oct. 4, 1935


His lessons are all right before us, broadly displayed in the universe.  The harmony of the spheres that composers glimpsed, the uniqueness or certain souls, the difference between the creature acting in the Divine Will verses the creature acting under grace are all visible in his Creation.

 
“My daughter, all the Creation symbolizes God, the order of the diversity of the Saints and of souls.  His harmony, the union that all the Creation possesses, the order, the inseparability, it symbolizes the Celestial Hierarchy with its Creator at (the) Head.  Look (at) the Sky that extends itself everywhere and holds under its azure vault all created things, reigning over everyone, in a way that no one can escape from its sight and from its empire; oh, how it symbolizes God, who extends his dominion everywhere and no one can escape from his sight!  This Sky while it contains all, one sees however a great diversity in created things, some are as immediate to the Sky, and they are the stars, that although from the base they appear little, beyond they are so very great and with such variety of colors and beauty, and they have a symphony in their dizzying course with all the Creation, as to form one of the most beautiful musics, their motion sounds so sweet and vibrating as to not be able to compare to any of the most beautiful musics of down here.  These Stars it seems that they live of the Sky, they are so identified with It, symbol of the souls that will live of the Divine Will:  they will be so very immediate and identified with God, as to receive all the varieties of the Divine qualities and to live of them in a way as to form the most beautiful ornament to Heaven of their Creator.  My daughter look still:  under this Sky, but as detached from it, between the Sky and the earth one sees the Sun, star put forth to the benefit of the earth; its light descends into the base and elevates itself on high as if it might want to embrace Heaven and earth, hence one can say that its light touching the Sky it lives of Sky, symbol of those souls chosen by God in order to make graces descend from Heaven, and to make them descend upon the earth in order to recall them to live in the Divine Will, and the first one is my Celestial Mama, unique as the Sun, who stretches forth her wings of light, and this light raises itself on high, descends into the baseness, in order to reunite God and man, in order to reconcile him and to conduct him through means of her light to her Creator:  the stars it seems that they live by themselves, united with the Divine Sky, instead the Sun lives of God but gives itself to everyone, and its mission is to do good to everyone; such is the Sovereign Queen, but this Sun won’t be alone, so many other little suns will arise that will draw light from this great Sun, and they will be those few ones that will have for mission to make my Divine Will known.  Whence the baseness of the earth, the sea, the plants, the flowers, the trees, the mountains, the forests in bloom, they symbolize the Saints, the good souls and all those that enter in the door of salvation.  But see the great difference:  the Sky, the stars, the Sun don’t have need of the earth, rather they give much to the earth, they give life to it, they sustain it; not only, but all things created by us that are in the heights are always at their post, they never change, nor do they increase nor do they decrease, because they have such fullness that they don’t need anything.  Instead the earth, the plants, the sea and so on, they change, now they take on a beautiful appearance and now they arrive to disappear entirely; they have need of everything, of water, of light, of heat, of seed in order to reproduce.  What difference, created things that are in the heights can give and they need God alone in order to be conserved; instead the earth not only has need of God but of everything, and if the human hand might not work it, it would remain sterile, without making any great good.  Such is the difference; one who lives in my Will feels only the need of God in order to live her life, instead one who doesn’t have His life for beginning goes begging support and help from everyone, and when she doesn’t find them she remains as earth, that doesn’t know how to produce anything great of good.  Therefore let your life and the beginning of all your acts be my Divine Will alone, if you want to feel only the need of your Jesus, you will always find me ready, I more desirous to give you him than you to receive him; instead the helps of creatures become given hardly and unwillingly, so much so that one who receives them feels the bitterness of the help that becomes given by the creature.  Instead my helps bring joy and happiness.”
Vol. 29, March 16, 1931

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