God’s providence

God’s paternal providence frees us from destiny’s dark forces. God created the world. The Catechism adds, “And it preserves and governs the world.” Theologians claim that the preservation of the world is a continuation of creation. It is unthinkable that God would create the world and then leave it to destiny. He still works in it through his providence. Prudence means caring for the world and taking responsibility for it, especially for people. This should free us from worry, especially harmful worry. Primitive man fears gods and evil spirits. He tries to reconcile them through gifts and to avoid them. Science and culture set us free from the superstitious fear of mysterious evil beings. But science raises new fears. It shows us the helplessness of man against the relentless and unchanging laws of nature. In the vast mechanism of the universe, one feels like a little chick anyone can step on, a momentary step of evil. Towards the end of the Greco-Roman era, when the Olympics and the gods became only symbols of the forces of nature, the relentlessness of the laws of nature was given a special name—destiny, fatum (from which “fatalism” is derived). A popular saying goes that even the gods fight fate in vain. Destiny cannot be avoided. Fate is the law of the world; it is unchanging like the orbits of stars in the sky.

We have nothing left but to come to terms with destiny, or, as astrologers have said, to submit to the movements of celestial bodies. Astrology was very widespread in the ancient world. The argument put forward in its favor was as follows: ‘What is perfect is the cause of what is less perfect; the regular orbiting of stars in the sky is much more perfect than human life, which is full of disturbing elements. Therefore, human life must subordinate itself to the position of the stars.” Astrologers considered themselves experts in the art of guessing which position of the stars is favorable to human action. Thus, the Church Fathers wrote controversies against Fate (one titled “On the Treatise of St. Gregory of Nazianzus”) or about God’s providence (for example, Theodore of Cyrus). Nature has inevitable laws; it is useless to deny them. But behind them, in the depths of divine life, there is one who has everything in his hands and who gives us orders; we are to address him as “our Father in heaven,” who feeds birds and dresses flowers (cf. Mt 6:30). and who assured us, “Ask, and you shall receive” (Mt 7: 7). Saint Ignatius of Antioch, a disciple of Saint John the Evangelist, emphasizes in one of his letters that sages from the East sought Jesus born “under one star “, but eventually discovered that star, and he had to come to where he was born, that is, to listen to the one who is the lord of the stars. This abolished astrology. St. Gregory of Nazianzus discussed this with a philosopher who was a fatalist. He liked to admit that what is less perfect is more perfect. But it would be. It is a big mistake to believe that a planet without intelligence is more perfect than a free man created in the image of God, the king of the universe. to the image of God, the king of the universe. One of the oldest images of Christ, the Greek Pantokrator (the almighty, who has everything in his hands), depicts Christ on the imperial throne; sometimes a rainbow is painted beneath his feet. Spiritual
The meaning is a rebuke: Do not fear people or the mighty, for I rule over human society; don’t worry, even the forces of nature are under my feet. Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, once visited a village school. A geography class was underway. The teacher wanted to show the king what his boys knew, so he asked them, “Where are our villages?” “In Prussia.” “And where is Prussia?” “In Germany.” “And where is Germany?” “In Europe.” “And where is Europe?” One student replied with a little hesitation, “On the globe.” The king noticed his hesitation and asked, “And where is the globe?” This time the boy replied firmly, “In his hands, God.” After such an answer, the king had nothing left to ask.