Denver Catholic

Now is the time to remember your story ARCH B I S H O P ' S CO LU M N W hen one is close to the events of history, it can be hard to have an objective perspective on their signif- icance, but it does seem that recent events place us at an inflection point for our country and the Church in America, which makes it an import- ant moment to remember our story. For that reason, I am dedicating three issues of the Denver Catholic and two of El Pueblo Catol- ico to retelling the story of how we got here, the story of who we are and who we are called to be. This reminder of our story and our identity is crucial for us to navigate the challenges that will confront us. I begin this effort by looking at how God created us and why the world is so troubled and broken. We all know the Creation story of God calling forth the earth, the moon and sun, the plants, and animals, and finally, his creation of Adam and Eve as his greatest masterpiece. But do we remember that God created us out of love, not need, or that we are made to be in com- munion with each other and God himself ? Even more astonishing, do we remember that God made us with eternal souls and desires for us to become like him in glory in Heaven? These facts can seem distant and abstract from our daily lives that don't yet partake in that glory and experience of all-encompass- ing love. Thankfully, we only need to look at the many wonders that fill our planet to get a glimpse of God's power, creativity and good- ness. To look at the beauty of a sunset, the intricacy of the smallest microscopic creature, or to stand on top of a 14,000-foot mountain and gaze at all that surrounds leads us to appre- ciate God's beauty, the intricacy of his creation and fills us with wonder. And if you look up to the sky, you can see some of the 70 sextillion stars in the universe that he made. To grasp the magnitude of that number, you can think of the fact that it's 10 times more than the number of grains of sand on Earth's deserts and beaches. Think of it – that is only counting the stars, not any planets orbiting those stars. Indeed, our God is awesome and all-powerful, and just like he made the universe, he made YOU. This naturally begs the question, "If God is so powerful, then why is the world so messed up?" The short answer is that God gave us and the angels free will so that our love for him and the BY ARCHBISHOP SAMUEL J. AQUILA Follow Archbishop Aquila on Social media: | ... Jesus came in the unassuming form of a child to rescue us. He came, as the early Church Fathers said, to do battle against sin, death and Satan." 2 FEBRUARY 2021 | DENVER CATHOLIC

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