t
him forth from nothing."

We mortals as yet can not behold God as the blessed do in heaven; but
we do behold Him in His works, and know Him from His revelation given
us through the prophets, and through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

The works through which God has revealed Himself to us are creation,
redemption and sanctification. Creation is a vast book which speaks to
us unceasingly of God, and it is intelligible to all. If we contemplate
the magnificence of the starlit sky we must exclaim with David: "The
heavens show forth the glory of God, and the firmament declareth the
work of his hands" (Ps. xvlii). Yet not only the heavens, but also the
earth shows us, at every step, the omnipotence of God, His wisdom and
love. Mountain and valley, forest and field, river and ocean, they all
remind us of God, their creator. Every flower of field and meadow is a
great masterpiece, which no mortal man could create.

The animal world presents still greater marvels for our consideration.
The waters teeming with millions of animals of all kinds, from the
smallest jellyfish to the ship-destroying monsters, the beasts of the
forest, the birds of the air, they all are called into existence by
God, and God has not merely called all these creatures into existence,
but His providence preserves them, and not even a sparrow falls from
the roof without His knowledge.

But we have not yet considered the masterpiece of creation: man, the
creature with an immortal soul, created according to God's own image
and likeness. In man body and soul are joined together in a wonderful
unity, so that man presents in himself a combination of the spiritual
and material.

Man is the masterpiece of creation, and all creation is for his
service. "Thou hast made him a little less than the angels, thou hast
crowned him with glory and honor; thou hast set him over the work of
thy hands" (Ps. viii, 6).

In very truth we may say, therefore, the universe speaks to our mind
and heart in powerful and impressive language. This language is its
beauty, its appropriateness, its greatness.

But yet more plainly than creation does the redemption proclaim the
glory of God. It is "not the immensity of the heavenly bodies," says
St. Gregory, "not the brilliancy of the stars, not the adornment of the
universe, not the preservation of the world, that point so much to the
glory of the divine power and omnipotence, as does that divine
condescension to the feebleness of natur