The Beautiful One

My God is the Beautiful One! The Unus Pulcher of St. Augustine. My God is the God of John and Paul and Peter. My God is the Ganz Andere of Karl Rahner; the Utterly Other of John Courtney Murray. My God is not able to be seen with human eyes; not able to be felt with human hands. He is a spiritual Being, beyond the perview of our most powerful scientific instruments.

My God is the God who decided to become man on earth in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. Then, Peter could see him. Peter would confess him at Caesarea Philippi:

"You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God."

(Mt 16: 17)

John then would be able to go deeper than the others in discerning the essence of Jesus Christ: he was the Logos, the Word, who existed before the beginning of the world.

"In the beginning was the Word:
The Word was with God
And the Word was God."

(Jn 1: 1)

John would write in Greek: he was the Pantokator:

"Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God, the Almighty (Pantokrator)
Who was, and is and is to come."

(Rv 4: 8)

And John would hear everything in creation, loudly chanting:

"To the One seated on the throne and to the Lamb,

Be all praise, honor, glory and power,

For ever and ever."

(Rv 5: 13)

Augustine would describe him as the "Unus Venustus", the Beautiful One.

"Question the beauty of the earth,

Question the beauty of the sea.

"Question the beauty of the air--

"Question the beauty of the sky--

"All respond: ‘see we are beautiful’.

"These beauties are subject to change.

"Who made them if not The Beautiful One (Pulcher)

Who is not subject to change?"

(Sermo 241,2)

John would realize that his essence was Love:

"My dear friends,
Let us love each other,
Since love is from God
And everyone who loves
Is a child of God and knows God,
Because God is Love."

(1 Jn 4: 7)

He is the God of Aquinas:

"The existence of God can be proved in five ways. The first and more manifest way is from motion. Now whatever is moved is moved by another--But this cannot go on to infinity, because there would be no first mover--Therefore it is necessary to arrive at a first mover, moved by no other; and this everyone understands to be God."

(S.T. 1.2.3)

Hopkins, the poet, would call him the great Dove who broods over the bent world with a warm breast:

"Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast
And with ah! Bright wings."

(God’s Grandeur)

Paul would say that He dwells in unapproachable light:

"God, the blessed and Ruler of all,
The King of kings and the Lord of lords,
Who alone is immortal,
Whose home is in inaccessible light,

"Whom no human being has seen
Or is able to see:
To him be honor and everlasting power."

(1 Tm 6: 15)

He is the God of Genesis:

"In the beginning God created heaven and earth--.

"God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.
God saw that light was good,
And God divided light from darkness."--

"God said, ‘Let the waters be alive
With a swarm of living creatures,
And let birds wing their way above the earth
Across he vault of heaven.’--

"God said, ‘Let us make man in our own image
In the likeness of ourselves.’

"Yahweh God said, ‘It is not right that man should be alone.
I shall make him a helper.’"

(Gn 1: 1-18)

He is the God of the Ecumenical Councils:

"I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, light of light, true God of true God; begotten, not made: who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from the heavens, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man: crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate, he suffered and was buried; and he rose again on the third day, according to the Scriptures; and he ascended into heaven, sitteth at the right hand of the Father; and again he will come with glory to judge the living and the dead; of whose kingdom there shall be no end--".

This is the Creed of the Council of Trent and it is a summary of the Church’s belief in this man, Jesus Christ. It was promulgated by Pope Pius IV in 1564 and is still in force.

However, in the year 381 A.D., there was an ancient Council which became known as the second Ecumenical Council and its Creed was called at first "The Faith of the 150 Fathers". Today we call it "The Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed". It says:

"We believe in one God the Father almighty, maker of
Heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible;

"And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of
God, begotten from the Father before all ages, light from
Light, true God from true God, begotten not made,
Of one substance with the Father, through whom all things
Came into existence, who because of us men and because
Of our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate
From the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary.

"And became man, and was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate,
And suffered and was buried, and rose again on the third
Day according to the Scriptures and ascended to heaven,
And sits at the right hand of the Father, and will come
Again with glory to judge the living and the dead, of
Whose kingdom there will be no end;

"And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Life-giver, who
Proceeds from the Father, who with the Father and the
Son is together worshipped and together glorified, who
Spoke through the prophets;

"In one holy, catholic and apostolic church.
We confess one baptism to the remission of sins;
We look forward to a resurrection of the dead
And life of the world to come. Amen."

My God is rich in heavenly things:

"Oh the depth of the riches
And the wisdom
And the knowledge of God.

"How unsearchable are his judgments,
How untraceable are his ways."

(Rm 11: 33)

My God, Jesus Christ, is the image of the unseen God:

"He is the image of the unseen God,
The first-born of all creation,
For in him were created all things
In heaven and on earth:

"Everything visible and everything invisible,
Thrones, ruling forces, sovereignties, powers–
All things were created through him and for him.