Page 171 - Built For God Handbook (Annotated and Explained Edition) - The Christian Edition of the Tao Te Ching - The New Evangelization - Pope John Paul II

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There is a saying, “For those with faith, no explanation is necessary; for
those without faith, no explanation is sufficient.” This succinct summation of
faith explains why some of the mystics have likened faith in God to a cloud
of unknowing. Strangely enough, this unknowing is a new kind of
understanding. It is a kind of knowing that doesn't need to know and yet
doesn't dismiss knowledge either; a kind of knowing that doesn't need to
hold everything itself because, at a deeper level, it knows it is being held.

In fact, this thunderous silence is actually the most intense, concentrated
experience of divine presence we can bear face-to-face. In a paradoxical
way, the dance of creation, though beautiful and enchanting, is like a veil
over the face of the naked presence of God - like the heavy curtain that hid
the Holy of Holies in the temple in Jerusalem. These two faces of God -
veiled and unveiled - live in symbiotic unity, and out of that unity, everything
pours into existence in a cascade of sheer delight.

This chapter boldly proclaims the truth that all of creation has its beginnings
in God, who created all things ex nihilo or out of nothing. It then also boldly
proclaims that the fullest revelation of this invisible God is the Son, Jesus of
Nazareth, who by his life, passion, death, and resurrection revealed a God
who is love and only love. It is that experience of being fully and totally loved
that is capable of finally freeing us from any angst or existential fear.

By definition, faith implies a paradoxical darkness: the closer we get to God
in this life, the more God seems to disappear because overpowering light
can seem like darkness. Within that paradox, we are invited to balance
action with contemplation and stillness with proclaiming the truth. We are to
find strength in weakness, as the powerlessness of love is the greatest
power of all. In the end, we are invited to place our faith in the Son who, as
the light of the world, provides the clarity and solid grounding of truth that is
needed more than ever in our present day.

b
c
d
a Genesis 1:1-2; Colossians 1:15-16; John 14:5-17; 2 Timothy 4:6-8;
f
John 14:27; Proverbs 21:23; Luke 6:45; John 7:18; John 3:16-21;
e
g 2 Corinthians 12:9-10; 1 Corinthians 1:27-31; John 1:7-14; John 4:24;
h
i 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10; John 3:36, Romans 2:8.