g but a term? Many of those who attribute everything produced to
nature and everything accomplished to human prudence and yet profess
orally that God created nature, regard divine providence as an empty
expression. But the reality is that divine providence is in the least
things of nature and of human prudence also and is thereby universal.

202. The Lord's divine providence is universal by being in the least
things in that He created the universe in order that an infinite and
eternal creation might come about from Him, and it does as He forms a
heaven from mankind which in His sight is like one humanity, His image
and likeness. We showed above (nn. 27-45) that heaven formed of human
beings is such in His sight; that this was the purpose of creation; and
that the divine regards what is infinite and eternal in all that it
does (nn. 46-69). The infinite and eternal to which the Lord looks in
forming His heaven from mankind is the growth of it to infinity and
eternity and thus His dwelling constantly in the purpose of His creation.
This infinite and eternal creation the Lord provided for in creating the
universe and He pursues it steadily in His divine providence.

[2] Can anyone who knows and believes from the church's doctrine * that
God is infinite and eternal be so lacking in reason that he does not
agree on hearing it that God can then regard only what is infinite and
eternal in the great work of His creation? To what else can He look from
His infinite being? To what else in mankind of which He forms His heaven?
What else can divine providence then have for its end than the
reformation and salvation of mankind? No one can be reformed by himself
through his prudence; he is reformed by the Lord through His divine
providence. Consequently, unless the Lord leads man every least moment
the man lapses from the way of reformation and perishes.

* It is the doctrine of all churches in Christendom that God the Father,
God the Son and God the Holy Spirit is infinite, eternal, uncreated and
omnipotent, as may be seen in the Athanasian Creed.

[3] Every change or variation in the state of the human mind means a
change or variation in a series of things present and to come; what then
of progress to eternity? The situation is like that of an arrow shot from
a bow, which if it deviated from the target in the least on being aimed
would deviate widely at a thousand feet or more. The like would happen if
the Lord did not lead the sta