The Natural Order

“As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”

Colossians 3:12-14

There have been so many times in my life when I have been in the middle of complete chaos and have said to myself “how did I get here?” In those moments, life always seems to swirl around me like a hurricane. I often feel like I am sitting in the eye of the storm watching everything happen all at once around me. When I find myself in this place, I know it is time to retreat. To search my soul and seek God’s divine order in my life. 

All of creation has an order. Nothing was created by God by happenstance or in chaos. Everything that God created was created with complete clarity. Each thing has its own unique purpose and destiny. God did not create anything without a reason for its existence. Our very existence matters to God and matters to all of creation. No plant, animal or person was created outside of this perfect ordering of all things. So we must respect and honor the natural order of God because He is all knowing and all powerful, and He created all things in perfect harmony.

“The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; 
The decrees of the Lord are sure, making wise the simple; 
The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; 
The commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes; 
the fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever; 
The ordinances of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. 
More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; 
Sweeter also than honey, and drippings of the honeycomb.”

Psalm 19:7-10

All of creation began as a perfect thought of God. It came to fruition in His one divine natural order, which connects all things together. In the beginning, there was perfect harmony in the garden before the fall. When Adam and Eve sinned, it altered this natural order and today we continue to participate in the disordering of the natural law of God through sin. When this natural order is denied, when we choose to operate outside of it, it brings about chaos as a consequence. Wherever we see disunity, it is because there has been an offense against God’s natural order. Although we may not see the immediate effects of our sin when we choose it, much like a pebble thrown into the water, there is always going to be a ripple effect. How far and wide the effects of our sin travel really depends on the sin and whether or not we are willing to turn back to God for reconciliation.

If we know that sin is what separates us from this natural order, and outside of this order is chaos and uncertainty, then we must be continually working to purify ourselves, to reconcile with God, so that we may take refuge in God’s Will. Created in the image and likeness of God, we have this natural order written on our hearts. It is the deepest and most real part of ourselves that we so often cover up. We really should be living from this place of truth, love and light because it is here that we find the divine image of God. 

The mission of the Catholic Church is to provide us with a means of restoring us to this natural order, specifically through divine grace that is offered to us through the Sacraments. 

During his ministry on earth, Jesus called the 12 apostles, through whom he instituted the church and the ministerial priesthood. This was not done to make certain people more important or dignified than others, but to create an order in the wider community of people and to provide a fundamental source of divine grace for the faithful. Through the ministerial priesthood, this order of grace is readily accessible to us by way of the Church. It has not been established this way for God’s sake, but for our sake. The Church is the pathway to our salvation from which we are able to know, love, and serve Christ in this world so that we may be with him for all of eternity.

God’s natural order is immutable. It is woven into the soul of every human being. This is not something that humanity can change based upon how we feel or think, or even based upon social norms, because it is God’s law, which was, is, and always will be.

On a much larger scale, human or civil law, which always derives from natural law, can surely veer away from natural law depending on the norms of society. The moral ordering of human law is important because these are what protect and provide for the physical and mental wellbeing of humanity. When human law runs parallel to the natural order of God’s law, when they crossover and compliment one another, there is peace and unity.

Unfortunately, human law has a long history of veering away from natural order. Where society has gone away from God’s natural law, there have been consequences. Each time God’s law is denied, chaos and confusion ensue. When it happens on this much larger scale of the community or national level, the effects of this disorder can be much greater and more severe. 

“Consequently every human law has just so much of the nature of law, as it is derived from the law of nature. But if at any point it deflects from the law of nature, it is no longer a law but a perversion of law.”

St Thomas Aquinas

If we are looking out at the world today and seeing all of the disunity and thinking who is going to fix all of this, our only answer should be the only one who is powerful and good enough to do it, and that is God alone. While our hope is in the Lord, we must also remember that we are the ones who have been invited to participate in the ministry of Jesus Christ here on earth. We don’t simply sit back and do nothing while we wait for God, but we also don’t run out in the streets and start yelling at everyone who we think is wrong. What we can do is start with ourselves.

Let us begin today to restore order in our own lives through personal reconciliation with God. We can receive divine grace through the Sacrament of Confession to help us along the way – God knows we need it! We can begin to daily examine our conscience and commit to daily prayer. As we learn how to align our will with the Will of God, we will see that the natural order of God is true and pure and good. Then we will be able to make a more well formed choice as to whether or not we will continue to choose to deny natural law. This process will no doubt be a lifelong journey of purification and self-denial, but through the love and mercy of God, we are never alone in our journey to the Father, for the Holy Spirit dwells within us.

“Lord, grant that I might not so much seek to be loved as to love.”

St Francis of Assisi

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