About the name of this blog

The translation for the name of this blog from Latin to English is, "Oh God, you have made us for yourself." This phrase has become important to me as I've been studying Roman Catholic theology in earnest over the last few years. I first discovered it in the writings of Henri de Lubac, particularly in his book from 1946 entitled Surnaturel (that's French for Supernatural :).

In de Lubac's book, he uses this idea of being created by God for God as the liturgical prism through which he examines the ontological (ie: the studying of 'being') understanding that developed in the late 15th century with Thomas Cajetan.

Cajetan argued, based on his faulty analysis of the Angelic Doctor, Thomas Aquinas, that the natural order and the supernatural order were two completely separate orders. Nature is completely distinct from the supernatural-- it has its own means, its own end, its own natural beatitude. The supernatural then becomes something superadded on to the natural. Cajetan arguably read Aquinas in this way in order to safeguard the sheer gratuity of supernatural grace. This, of course, is an important and a noble task. However, de Lubac's point (besides the fact that Aquinas does not fit Cajetan's assessment) is that to think of the supernatural as something "added on" to the natural is to create a dualism between the orders. This dualism, de Lubac rightly warns, may lead to the downfall of Christian engagement in the world (ie: Christianity being relegated to the privatized, supernatural sphere).

What de Lubac counters Cajetan with is this: he argues that there is no such thing as an "ungraced nature". The supernatural is not laid on top of the natural like a layer cake but both infuses and transcends the natural. God created the natural for Himself. That is, God created the natural world so that it contains within itself the desire for God. Nature was created in order to have a supernatural end-- divine beatitude-- rather than a natural one (ie: political, social, economic beatitude).

But what does all of this mean for me and for this blog? As far as I can see it, what de Lubac is arguing for opens up the door for a larger expression of worship. Worship becomes more than just an additional activity that is added into our lives. Rather, supernatural worship fills and floods every natural (read: ordinary) moment. This means that every ordinary event, whether it be plunging the line of a clogged toilet, reading a book, mowing the lawn, talking to the wife, going to work-- all of these things are oriented towards the supernatural. All of the ordinary things are avenues to and are themselves drawn towards fulfillment in supernatural beatitude.

This blog then will dabble in both the sacred and the seemingly profane because, since God has made all things for Himself, even the most worldly and normal things are filled with the scent of the Sacred.