God is the Supreme Being, infinitely perfect, who keeps all creation in existence. Reason alone can prove that God exists. It knows that this vast universe could not have come into being by its own powers. The movement of creatures and their dependence upon one another, the various degrees of perfection found in them, the fact that they come into being and cease to be, and finally, the marvelous order of the universe, demand the existence of an almighty power and the wisdom of an eternal intelligent cause that we call God. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth….And God created man in his own image. (Gen. 1:1, 27). God made the world and all that is in it….From one man he created the whole human race (Acts 17:24-26).
Why did God make us?
God made us to show forth his goodness and to share with us everlasting happiness in heaven. By creating the world God did not increase his own happiness, since he was infinitely happy from all eternity. All creatures by their very existence show forth the glory of God, for all depend on God for their existence.
God gave man an intellect and a will that he might know, love, and praise his creator. In the service of God, man finds his true, though imperfect happiness, in this life. Perfect happiness has been promised in the next life as a reward for the merits we acquire here on earth. So the happiness of man is also a purpose for creation.
In heaven God gives us the light of glory, which enables us to see him face to face. The happiness of the blessed in heaven varies according to the merits of their lives on earth. All in heaven are perfectly happy, but one person may have a greater degree of happiness than another because he has more capacity for happiness, because he led a more virtuous life on earth and loved God more.
How can we gain the happiness of Heaven?
During our life on earth God gives us his grace, which enables us to live a supernatural life and to perform actions that can earn us a reward. We must come to know, love, and serve God. That is the purpose of our life in this world. We cannot be perfectly happy during our life on earth, for nothing created can satisfy our desire for complete happiness. The more closely we approach God by the practice of virtue, under the influence of God’s grace, the greater will be our happiness. Worldly goods and pleasures may satisfy man for a time, but of themselves they cannot make us fully happy. We may enjoy the reasonable comforts of life as long as they do not lead us away from God.
God and his perfections
God is a Supreme Being, he is above all creatures. He is self-existing, that is he does not owe his existence to any other being. God is the first and the completely independent source of all being. Every other being is given existence, God is his own existence. God is his own life.
God is infinitely-perfect, he has all perfections without limit. He has the perfection of all things that ever existed or will exist. He is the cause of all perfection in creatures, and the perfection of created things are in God in an infinitely superior manner. Every creature, even the highest angel, is finite
God is eternal
God is eternal, that is, he always was and always will be, and he always remains the same. If God had a beginning or if he could cease to be, he would be limited and would not be infinitely perfect or self-existing. If God changed, the change would be either for the better or for the worse. In either case God would not be infinitely perfect. Spirits such as angels and the souls of men are eternal, in the sense that they live forever, but both angels and the souls of men, unlike God, had a beginning and are subject to change.
