Choose a topic from Part 1:
1. God is the cause of all creatural being, and therefore he is the cause of all goodness in creatures. Finite things, each in its way and measure, manifest the goodness of God. God is absolute goodness. As such, he is the first producing (or effecting) cause, and the ultimate final cause (or goal) of all created goodness, that is, of all creatures.
2. God is the supreme good. Creatural goodness is always imparted, and by that fact is limited goodness. Creatural goodness cannot approach to the unlimited goodness of God.
3. Only God is essentially good, for God alone is necessary being and necessary goodness. Creatures have goodness. God is goodness.
4. Since God's goodness is the cause of goodness in things, creatures are properly called good by reason of the divine goodness.
"The essence of perfection is to embrace the will of God in all things, prosperous or adverse. In prosperity, even sinners find it easy to unite themselves to the divine will; but it takes saints to unite themselves to God's will when things go wrong and are painful to self-love. Our conduct in such instances is the measure of our love of God."
St Alphonsus de Liguori
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"God gives us some things, as the beginning of faith, even when we do not pray. Other things, such as perseverance, he has only provided for those who pray."
St Augustine
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"There is nothing which gives greater security to our actions, or more effectually cuts the snares the devil lays for us, than to follow another person’s will, rather than our own, in doing good."
St Philip Neri
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