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    O'Neil and Black - Created by Love For Love

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    of 13
    The Essential | Moral Handbook A GUIDE TO CATHOLIC LIVING KEVIN O'NEIL, C.SsR,, AND PETER BLACK, C$5.R. cll ASIAN TRADING CORPORATION Bangalore, INDIA Prin, Deer Povie Te Reneiss Nis Obst: Re tore Don ‘Cemor Deptaen pina Ros ioe Dio Vie Genera fr Ache of Waco ane 23, 20 A gh rere. No par of hs puboton may be kyo, ove et ‘yor asm in ay Fr ry ty mn lcone,mshan pny. ‘ecoig of any thee i usin in ginal ews, so the pe ermine publ "his ion fas encaine ighs fr Ii Simgapor and Mya sn xno enaine ‘he for Piliiner and Ths ‘This2010tion's pubs by Aan Tdi Crpcion and arangement wth ig PlbicinLiguc, Minos USA. welt ong Scripta ont tke rm the New ered Sade Von of he Bible eopyihe 1589 bythe Dion of Cian Edson the Nes Con of the Chuo (Coin in he USA Al gh rve Uad with perc, Excel th Fgh aman af he Catch of the Cable Chucho dhe Unie Stes of Aeneas copyiie © 199%, United Stes Cathal Confers Ine ‘vei ace Veins: Engh talon o he Cacho the Cte Cha “Molo fom the Bs Tips copyright © 197 Ue Ses Cae Cane, Ine-Liberts Ee Vt Use ith pri, cep lm Vi I: The Cnc ad Pot Car Dement, New Revs tio eel by Ain Binney. OP 6 1996 Candle Png Company I Nort, Nae wed by emia i pair al sighs ere No ur om or by any mesdetnie manic tony mig ray ere, Witt ‘Spr prin f Cle Pash Company Capt 200, 2004 by Kein ON nd Por Back ISBN —1-7086-5689 ble by Brn ends ang Caprio, 2 Cos DaCosta aoa. Bx 448, 8. Ny, angle” 08 Ii Tas 9180 2548 744412549 DF (M0) 2547 9444 Email: scbaksegmcom Wee: moat ries a Bgl 560094 Contents Introduction xiii Section One: Foundations of a Moral Life 1 Chapter One: Created by Love for Love 2 1. Trinity: A Communion of Love 3 2. Implications ofa Tune God for Humanity $ 43. The Human Face of God 7 The God ofthe Parable of the Prodigal Son. God's Love Never Fils 11 Implications for the Moral Lite 12 4. False and Incomplete Images of God 13, God As Distant From the Concems ofthe World: Separating Spirituality and Morality 14 Goa As Lawgiver 16 Goa As Judge 19 5. Conetuston 21 Chapter Two: Responding to Love in Love 23, 1. The Human Act 24 Human Knowledge 25 Human Freedom 27 2. The Virtuous Life: Gift rom God and the Fruit of Freedom for Excellence 32 ‘Context fo the Exercise of Freedom: Rightly Ordered Feeling, Thinking, and Willing/Choosing, 3 CHAPTER ONE Created by Love for Love TW iitesinaoiton neem of oman cathe mon ty with a chapter on Gos? Some might think i more appro: Date to start with humanity and human freedom since morality ‘concerns our cholees for moral character an good and evil ations, Yet, Pope John Paul If desenibes the moval Ife as a response “due 10 ‘the many gratuitous initiatives taken by God out of love” for us The Splendor of Fruth, §10). This description ofthe moral le sems more accurate for two reasons, Firs, God always acts fist and thus the ‘moral fe begins with God!’ grace, Second, we respond! in freedom Jn the moral life to something that happens. It may be an unkind word, a violent act, a smile, a compliment. All these occur, and we respond in some way. As we will discuss ater, the way we interpret ‘hat happens in our lives, the way we judge good an evil, precedes ‘our action in freedom. This dynamic marks th From our faith perspective, the moral le does not begin with us, bout eather with God. Pasal once wrote that “we would not seek you, ral Lord, if you had not first found ws.” God acts first i our lives. Con ‘sequently, an authentic image of God is crucial for moral theology for two principal reasons. Fst, we must know to whom we are re sponding and what the nature of the esponse shovld be. Second, Focusing on truthful images of God moves us to a cleater under i of ourselves and our purpose in ie. Our Creation story and theology tell us that we have beer! made in the image ad Uke ness of God (Gen 1:26), No other creature can make this claim. So 2 Created by Love for Love ‘uutul images of God will yeld a more authentic response in the ‘mal fe that wil, in turn, shape us trutfully in the image and kere of Go We re immediately confronted witha dfficlty when speaking possible to fly comprehend God (COC §§59-43), Our only way to attempt tou ‘Ga, however. Because God i mystery, is slerstanl God i by anao ‘perience. That is what theologians have done for centuries, Out ‘a will be no ferent. ith confesses a God who is Tinity and who has been re through reflection on our own fanan lay isthe most fundamental and deepest mystery of our Christian faith (CCC $234). We will elect biely on God as Trinity and on nn particular image of God presented by Jesus in the Gospel accor dng to Saint Luke, We aso draw out the implications ofthe image of ra ile 1. Trinity: A Communion of Love ‘Oneof the mst beloved ions in both the eastern and western world Is the renowned The Old Testament Tanity or imply Tiny by the Russian painter Andret Rublev (1360-1430). reproduction of this inting serves as the frontispiece ofthis book (p). This image is Ise on the Genesis story of three vistors at Mane, three angels wo surprised Abraham andl Sarah with a visit (Gen 18:1-8) This scene from Scripture hasbeen the occasion for artistic election on the Trinity for centuries. Ruble’ Trinity presents three haloel angels seated around a smal lable with a chalice in the center True to the purpose of an icon, nity draws the viewer into sll a east wo way, Fist, we ate ‘aught up in a subtle circular movement within the con. The pos: ture of each angel draws our attention from one tothe other. The angel om the right apicars to be leaning toward the angel in the a Foundations ofa Moral Lie "mide, who, in tur, looks toward the angel on the let. The angel ‘6m the left inclines its head toward the ane on the right, thus bring Ing us back to the beginning. So, viewers would fi ‘aught up in the movement ofthe glance of the angels rom one to the other. We are also drawn into the painting by an open space at its base, where viewers would be standing, Its f we are invited to 4 place atthe table with the three anges Ruble’ image provides a wonderful entry point into the mystery ‘ofthe Trinity, tothe God who created us, redeemts us, and sanctfes us, while, atthe same ime, it invites reflective response fom each x! themscives Fest, the icon suggests our understanding of the relationship among the persons of the Trinity. They are coequal persons. In Rubles image, its unclear which angel represents which person of ‘the Trinity. Ths observation is made more to indicate the equality of the persons in the Tinity than to suggest thatthe persons are one and the same, Each angel, n fact, s distinct; Father (Creaton, Som (eveaterand Redeemer, and Spit (Sanctfe). The life of the Tin ty, conveyed in the image, is union of love: the Father loving the Son, receiving the love of the Son, the Sprit as that love personified. The fis thing to say about the Trinity th ‘union of love, an eternal giving receiving and exchanging of love among the inseparable persons ofthe Trnity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (CCC-$221). This isthe inner life of our Trine God, the way that the persons relate to one another. Some suggest thatthe posi tion ofthe lateral angels in Rublew’s ion forms something of achale ce, symbolic ofthe intemal life of the Trinity as a chalice of love, ‘We believe, however, that Gd doesnot contain his lve within the confines ofthe Tinity: It is God's deste to share love not only among the persons of the Tity but to go out fom their comn ton. This quality s caught in the Icom at the point where the chalice Cf love, representing the inner fe of the Trinity, s offered through is that it isa com- 4 ‘Created by Lave for Lowe Ihe open space a the base ofthe fen; real chalice sored to th iower who has taken the observer's “place” atthe able. Another significance ofthe open space is that Its the place where Tintaran life lows over into a creative love Hive Creation of the world and humanity in particu sion, a manifestation, of God's lve and reaching out to human ly. Its the original and universal testament to Gods allencompass Ing love (COC $288), Thomas Aquinas says beautifully, “Creatures ‘cme into existence when the key of love opened his hand” (see (CCC 8298), Throughout salvation history, God continually reached particularly through the prophets (CCC §§54-68) The fullness of the revelation of God, however, comes through the human face of Jesus of Nazareth, "Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many und various ways by the prophets, but in these lst days he has sp ken to us by a Son’ (Heb 11-2). Jesus is the concrete expression of x's love for us John 3:16 says that “God so love the world that Inveapretation of th hie gave his only Son.” The Spi, aso gift to us, maves us to know her through him, sd to fove Jesus and to seek union with the 2, Implications of a Trlune God for Humanity \Whatate the implications ofthis Trinitarian God for humanity made lw his image and likeness? Created in God's image, humanity i des- tuned toa feof love withthe Tnit. Just asthe Thnk is character we by giving and receiving love, so too are we to be people of love, offering and receiving love In our own lives. This understanding of ‘ourselves is fundamental andl what we are about as Gos!’ xeatures In his encyclical, The Gospel of Life, Pope John Paul It writes: “The (The Gospel of {je 881, Origins, 24/42 [Apel 6, 1995). This clam is rooted in our ‘understanding of the Tnity as a communion of love. Created by Juve, wate destined to live in community, n relationships of love, scan of life found in giving and receiving lov s Fowuations of Moral Life ‘Our becoming the Image and likeness of God entails likening ‘ourselves tothe persons ofthe Tnity in thie distinctiveness well The Fathers the source and fllnes of love and truth; we have been created in his image, made witha desire fr God, a longing for love for truth, for goodness, and for beauty. So, Gd the Creator has im Printed himself om us inthis way, Our lifelong goal is to become ‘who we in fact are, this image and likeness of God, Our insight into ‘who the Father s has come 19 us chilly through his Son, Jesus. The ove an truth of the Fathers manifest in Jesus and inspired bythe Holy Spirit. Jesus reveal to humanity most clearly who weare called tore since he isthe alles revelation of God. “In reality itis only the mystery ofthe Word made fei that the mystery of humanity truly becomes clear" (Pastoral Constitution othe Church ithe Mod: er World, §22; CCC $459, “Through reflection on, and conformity to, the person of Jesus, we approach our tue selves, We come to perfection and true stature in ‘Chit. At the same time ike Jesus, we become the human face of God in the world, expressions of God's love inthe work The love between Father and Son is personified inthe Sprit the {hid Person ofthe Trinity. The Spit given tows at baptism, sat ‘work first in ou ives, prompting our deste fr God and moving us to believe in and accept Jesus (CCC §§683-684), We are conformed tothe Spint through lives of love that bear witness to Jesus and move ‘others to belief in him and to union with God the Father, We also Image the Spirit who is the personified love of the Tnity in the relationships in which we participate. Ultimately, Trnitarlan ie marks our moral tives by the commun ton of love in all our relationships, that i, our eelationship with God, with ourselves, with others, and with all of Creation, The mean- {ng of lifes found in giving and eeceiving ove. Tntatian ites the ‘model for this exchange of love, and it i the same Tnity which races us to ive it heated by Love fr Lave 3. The Human Face of God. We have said that Jesus is the fullness ofthe revelation of God, Jesus? ny ex: plained! who his Father was: rather, he used images and stories 10 ‘cnage the imagination of his Ustenes "mughout his public ministry consistently called people to think Inger than they had before. The parable ofthe Good Samaritan, for ‘ample, encouraged listeners to broaden the cate for their neigh. ‘bu, even to the enemy. When an adulterous woman was brought ‘whole life and ministry show ws the Father. Jesus arly si is parables and actions He statement after ‘ome moments of reflection: “Let him who is without sin cast the Fist stone." All the men walked away; he had invited them to move yond se rightcousness to se-examination about th We stl Find these stories and ations of Jesus stimulating tay be- ‘cne despite the witness of centuries of stints, we continue to ive he stoned to death for her sin, Jesus made a sim ln sana often seltabsorbed world; and these stories draw us into a sng to understand Jesus and ourselves more fly and to follow Integrity His words and actions challenge ws to be more, to be, actualy, our Jesu parables moved people bath in his own day and move people smselvesdliferently and more truthfully, Jesus? words and parables that reveal God also challenge us to see him more faithfully and to abandon images of God which re small and unteue, ‘lance through the gospels offers images of God asa shepherd a Fisherman hauling in his net, a lawgiver, a mother hen protecting Hr chicks, a just judge, a woman delighted upon finding a coin, and ‘many, many more, leven n0¥ 10 see Foundations of a Moral Life ‘THE GOD OF THE PARABLE OF THE PRODIGAL SON One of the most captivating images of God presented 10 usin the Bible is the father in the very familiar story commonly called the Prodigal Son (Lk 15:11-82). Lake isthe only evangelist to tel the Story that has become the subject of works of painting, sculpture, ‘music, ballet, and countless sermons and homilies ove the cent risianity tsappeals drawn primarily from our identifica. ton withthe sons in the story but we arealso attracted toa father as ‘good and as foxgiving as thisone, We focus on this image because we ries of Then Jesus sid, “There was a man sho had two sons. The Younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share fof the property that will belong to me, So he divided his prop ety between them. A few day later the younger son gathered all hehadand traveled toa distant county, and there he quan dered his property in dissolute living, When he had spent every {thing a severe famine took place throughout tha country, and hae began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to fone ofthe citizens ofthat countey, who sent him to his Hels to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filed himself with the ods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything But when hecame tohimselt, he si, How many of my fathers hhred hands have bread enough andl to spare, but here fam ‘dying of hunger! will get up and go to my father, and | will say to him, “Father, Ihave sinned against heaven and before you: Lam longer worthy toe called you som reat me like ‘one of your hired hands.” So he set off and went to his father, But while he was stil far of, his father sae hi ad wa filled ‘with compassion; he ran and put his arms atournd him and kissed him. Then the son sald to him, ‘athet, Ihave sinned Created by Love for Love against heaven and before you Iam no longer worthy to be called yourson. But the father sad to is slaves, ‘Quickly, bring ‘ou a robe—the best one—and put it on him; puting om bi "Finger and sandals om his fet. And get the fated calf and kill and let us eat and celebrate; fo this son of mine was dead und isallve again; he was lost and is found And they began to cleat “Now his elder son was in the fled; and when he camesand approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called fone of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, call, because he has got him back safe and sour.’ Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him, Hut he answered is father, “Listen! Forall these years Ihave been working ike a lave for you, and | have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never xivers me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my Iolends. But when this son of yours came back, who has de ‘outed your property with prostitutes, you killed the fated calf for him” Then the father sai to him, ‘Son you ae always vith me, and all that is min is yous. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lst and has ben four.” What does this story tellus of God, understanding that God Is says mote mysterious than comprehensible? Perhaps i is impor tant to know that this story follows two other short parables of a “lost and found” nature. In the fis, a shepherd loses a sheep, leav- ety-nine on thele own to find the lost one, We ate told that ‘willbe more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than ‘over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance” (Lk 15:7) Inthe second parable (Lk 15:8-10), a woman loses a coin and ng ° Fowations of a Moral Lif scours her house in search of it. Finding a coin which even to Lukes listeners would be insignificant, equivalent to one cent ora pence, the woman throws. party for her frends o celebrate her find. Both stories end with the characters rejoicing over what was lost and now found. Both stories offer images of Go The Prodigal Son isa lostand-found tale as wel, to some extent ‘but its more explicitly a story of love. Out attention might goin mediately to the sons, but, as in the previous parables, the focus is ‘cally on the one who has lost something, the father, What can we say of the father? He loves his two sons, His love i unconditional about what is sons do, but his love for them does not depend on thele actions Its notin response to their good behavior. Its the father’ fee git ta his sons, Neither son seems to understand his father’s love. The younger believes that he is unworthy to receive a welcome tn his father’s homie because fe has abuse his father's generosity. “1am no longer ‘worthy to be called your son.” We could spend more time on the ‘Younger son to understand the significance of his action in the el ture of his day. As in our own day, an inheritance is usualy received "upon the death of the benefactor. Suffice tt say, the son's request for his inheritance before his father’ death was the equivalent of Wishing his father dead. Surprise after sugprise would overtake the listeners ofthis parable a they ear fist that the father grants the Inheritance toason and, second, that he receives this same son back vith open heart and arms, lavishing gifts upon him after the son “squandered hisinheritance.” The younger son was mistaken t think that he had lost home because of his behavior. However, the elder son also falls to understand his father. He ap ‘pears to think tha his fathers love isin response tos faithful work, hisconstancy in his labors at home. The elder sm has a quid pro gu approach to life, it seems. “Fora these yeas | have been working, 10 Created by Love for Love Ike slave for you, and Ihave never disobeyed your commands yet vn have never given me even a young goat 30 that I might celebrate wlth my friends.” Since he has worked so hard for his father, the later should have given im atleast a gost to eat with his friends lave is more ke a contract inthe elder son's mind t appears, Love sumed. So, falling to under apparently cannot love his brother in a similar way, nor Ise ca ble of calling him brother. In the text of the arable, the elder son says "your son” to is father, not “my brother.” This son, unfort nately, remains lest a the end ofthe parable and hi father’ love, the eer son GOD'S LOVE NEVER FalLs As av all parables, this one Is ich in symbolism and cout be the subject ofa book isl. Our purposes simply to ask how thisimage of el impacts our understanding ofthe moral lifes response to God, "ist, the Prodigal Son reminds us that, contrary to What we may Dnieveand even consider just, Gods love for us doesnot depend on ‘our behavior. Weare welcome in the house of God despite our be- haviog the image of God portrayed by the prophet Hose illustrates this fact. Hosea's wife, Gomer, was unfaithfl. Yt, as many times as she eturned, Hosea took her back. The prophet tells the tory of his fe to speak tothe Israelites of Gods relationship to them, ‘When they come back aware of thelr sin, God receives them; just as "ve father received his “prodigal son” in Lake's parable ‘One could argue that both the prophet Hosea and the father of ‘he prodigal son demanded sepen Ht this isnot true. Rather, Gomer and the younger son repented personal ce before welcome was offered before “going home; it was not a condition placed upon thems by Hosea or the father i Luke's story. While it may be necessary, and ‘we elleve iti, for Gomer and the younger son to reach this aare- hess and acknowledgment oftheir wrongdoing, tis critical to note ‘hat this acknowledgment of wrongdoing is ot a condition for ac u Foundations ofa Mona Life eplance, The father of the younger son does not wait for his son's “confession” to finish The son's words of sorrow ate los in the hugs and blessings ofthe father. ‘Wemight wonder then, whether welose God’ love for us through ‘ur sins? Does God cease to love us if we sin mortally and conse ‘quently withhold eternal life fom us? Gods love falnclsive. As Matthew 18:14 says: “Its not the will of your Father in heaven that ‘one of these little ones should be lst.” In these instances, God, our loving Father, who says “no” tous. the, we say “n0" God, Does God cease to love us and withhold etenal happiness rom 45? No, merefise to accept the invitation, much as did the elder son 14 ae parabie ote Modal Sor. He refused to enter the banguct and to celebrate his brother’ return, He refuse to love in that way, As unreasonable as it sounds, we might well choose o say out of the banguet of heaven, choosing sin instead of God life. God so Fespeets our freedom that he does not force even eternal life on us ‘We accept or reject it bythe way we live the moral life. Subsequent chapters will explain these thought further, IMPLICATIONS FOR THE MORAL UFE ‘What are the consequences of these reflections for our understand jing ofthe moral ie? First, it puts the responsibilty for our abiding With God squarely on our shoulders while always graced by God. Second as we shal se shortly, the ideas about the moval ite consi ‘ered previously caution us against painting a false or incomplete {mage of God which one might belive effective in bringing about oper moral behavior but which would ultimately be unfaithful to God. *God's going to get you" might provoke fear in a child and ‘ven keep the child from doing something wrong, However, itcomes atthe expense of an authentic image of the God revealed by Jesus Accepting the father of the prodigal son a8 a manifestation of God challenges images which are incomplete or oly partially tue 12 Created by Lave fr Love that mits on es might argue that this image of God is t00 skes God too good. As human beings, we frequently p ‘our lve forone another, Children are given ultimatum, s re par ‘snot our incredulity at such a good God rather an indica- m truthful descriptions of love? Consequently isit not posible that Goa’ love continues where {lon of our human limits on love rather th sy “reasonable” human love would cease? Saint Alphonsus Liguori rele to God!’ “craziness” precisely on this point; that God’ lave el eutside the bounds of what most human beings would consider reasonable, God loves when we might think the Himit is reached; Goa welcomes when we might close doors: Gis farives when we ‘night think we have been merciful enough. Summarizing this we focused on the cental belief of ‘our faith, God as Tenity. God is known to us asa communion of love which enjoys communion among the three Persons whose lave ‘overtones in creative love. Made in God's image we ae invited ino a ‘communion of love with God and with one another, The eet way ‘we understand God and move toward the fullness of lifes through the person of Jesus who reveals the Father to us and the Spirit who ‘nves us to know al accept Jesus. Confident in the teuthfulness of Jesus’ revelation of the Father, we looked atthe Prodigal Son pa ale as @ particularly significant revelation of who God i for us in ‘our moral ives. st section 4. False and Incomplete Images of God. "fore moving tothe human sponse to the God who created us ot ‘ove forlove, we examine false and incomplete images of God which have, at onetime or another, figured too prominently in the moral eo believers. We do sto call attention to the inadequacy of such Images in the interest of shaping a more authentic relationship with God. Many images could be addressed here, but we focus on three which particlaly distor who God isand what the mora life ental 3 Poundations of a Moral Life (GOD AS DISTANT FROM THE CONCERNS OF THE WORLD: SEPARATING SPIRITUALITY AND MORALITY Few people would suggest outright that God isnot concerned about Creation, about what goes in the word, Yet, we may subily express {isa when we fll tink our spetul and moral lives. The author ofthe Fist Letter of John writes: “Those who say, I love Gad and hate their brothers or sisters, are las for those who do no love a brother or sister whom they have een, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: those A sinth-century Christian writer, Dorotheos of Gava, offered an age that helpful in keeping the unity of love of Ga! and love of| or together, aswell a focusing on the things ofthe spiritual realm, He asks his readers and listeners to imagine a compass whose point is planted on a piece of paper and then visualize a cele being ‘drawn around it. The point in the middle, he says, is God the outer circle isthe world. He imagines lines, ike spokes on a wheel, run ning from the outer ctcle toward the center, He wits ‘The closer they are to God, the closer they become to one an ‘other; and the closer they are to one another, the closer they become to God. Now consider in the same context the ques- tion of separation; for when they stand away from God and tum to external things tis eear that the more they recede and become distant from God, the more they become distant from one another (Dorothos of Gaza, Discourse 6; in Derothens of Gaza. Discouses and Sayings. Catrcian Studies Series, num ‘ber 33 trans. by Esle Wheeler, 1977, 139). ‘alse image of God and the moral ite presumes that wecan love God and hate our neighbor; that we can be cayght up in the inner 4 Created by Love for Love Ie of God, as if seated atthe table with the thiee angels in Ruble’s ‘nity, ad not be part as well inthe averflowing love ofthe Tinity lio the world, through fesus and the Sprit In fat, a we hope ear llr sections in this chapter have shown, we cannot be inf ‘nwo ith Gos if we do not eeflet the Tri psticuay four tives are not conformed 10 Chast. ‘Several years ago, one of us met with a couple who was engaged lu mace, After some conversation about the wedding itself, he isk them about their membership and participation in a parish “community, The groom-to-be was quick to remark that he and hi Hance not go to church because “al those hypocrites and sit Inthe front benches but go out and do whatever they want to after: wars. Theye not good people” The young man avoided the ques: ‘ion, actualy, but there was sesdom in his response. He expected nse who believe in God tobe good moral people to treat others wll Seeing the apparent contradition between the ith feof some roople and thelr moral lve, this young couple mistakenly, we be- eve, opted out ofa common faith life. The young man also judged ‘others without knowing where they were on their path of conver- sion: he presumed that they were content with whete they were, ‘ven asrogant Sal his comments touched on a truth, Any notion of God being in relationship with someone yet nat ‘ring whether oF not that person was engaged in building up the ‘ingdom of God creates fase image of God, not just an incomplete ‘one Its inconsistent with oue understanding ofthe Tinity and of Jesus fe and ministry. Scripture tells the story of God who is caught up in the lives of his Creation, God tells the Israelites and us that we are his people. ‘ene an again inthe Seiptues, God alls people back to relationship With sel Gods concerned about the treatment ofthe wid, the ‘phan, and the stanger in Israel. In Jesus’ ministy, Goa’ concern Jor the inner, the sick, and the suffering is most evident. The Serip- 1s Foundations of a Moral Life tures do not reveal a God who fs disconnected from his Creation Rather, God created the world out of love and sustains it in love. Saint Thomas Aquinas says that to love God isto make Gots loves one’s own. Moral lives that donot contebute to the goodness ‘ofthe world do:not, then, eect an authentic relationship with God. In fact, spirituality, our life with God, and morality, our conformity 10 Goals image through the responsible exercise of freedom, go hand {in hand. No image of God which separates the toi faith to the God revealed in Scriptures and the Tadition, Nori the pursuit of the good separate from the pursuit of God, John Paul I writes that “to ask about the good, in fact, ultimately means to God, the fullness of goodness” (The Splendor of Truth, §9). An au ‘hentic image of our Trune God and the God revealed by Jesus in the parable ofthe Prodigal Son reflects a God passionately concerned about his Creation and about the building up of his Kingdon, GOD AS LAWaWER [No image of God seems: ‘logy than God as the Divine Lawgiver. We suggest, however, that God as lawgiver is an incomplete depiction of God and should not be the dominant image operative in the moral lie. References to law are abundant in Sacred Scripture. Apart from the texts of the Books of Deuteronomy and Leviticus about the Ten Commandments given to Moses, many other books speak of the law. In Matthew's Gospel, in particular, Jesus refers again and again to the law of Moses and the prophets, indicating that Jesus has come to fulfil the lave, not to abrogate i. Jesus gives “dommands” to his

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