CatholicTheology.info

Choose a topic from Part 2A:

• Man's Last End
• Human Acts
• The Passions
• Habits in General
• Virtues
• Vices and Sins
• Law
  • 90. The Essence of Law
  • 91. Kinds of Law
  • 92. The Effects of Law
  • 93. The Eternal Law
  • 94. The Natural Law
  • 95. Human Law
  • 96. The Power of Human Law
  • 97. Changes in Law
  • 98. The Old Law
  • 99. The Precepts of the Old Law
  • 100. The Moral Precepts of the Old Law
  • 101. Ceremonial Precepts of the Old Law
  • 102. Reasons for the Ceremonial Precepts of the Old Law
  • 103. Duration of the Ceremonial Precepts
  • 104. Judicial Directives of the Old Law
  • 105. Reasons for the Judicial Precepts
  • 106. The New Law
  • 107. The New Law and the Old Law Compared
  • 108. The Content of the New Law
• Grace

93. The Eternal Law

1. A governor has in mind the type of order he desiresamong his subjects. God is the infinite and all-perfect governor.God therefore has in himself the "type" of what creaturesare to do to attain their end and purpose. This "type" isdivine wisdom viewed as eternal law. Hence, we say, "Theeternal law is the type of divine wisdom directing all acts andmovements."

2. Normal human beings, as they emerge from infancy intoresponsible life (the use of reason), begin to have a grasp of therequirements of eternal law. They are increasingly aware of themeaning of duty and obligation; that is, theyrecognize the requirement of doing good and avoidingevil. Thus does human reason reflect the eternal law. As wehave seen, this human awareness of the eternal law is called thenatural law.

3. Since God is the first and perfect governor, the trueplans and laws of lesser governors must be in line with God'splan and law. Therefore, all right and true laws are, in lastanalysis, derived from the eternal law.

4. God is not subject to his own eternal law, for Godhimself is the eternal law.

5. All actions and movements in the universe are subjectto the eternal law working through divine providence and divinegovernment.

6. Therefore, all human affairs fall under the directionof eternal law. Good men are perfectly subject to the eternal law;bad men are imperfectly subject. Ultimately, order and triumphantjustice must prevail; good men and evil men will ultimately be inharmony with justice, whether in glory or in punishment.

"Though the path is plain and smooth for people of good will, those who walk it will not travel far, and will do so only with difficulty if they do not have good feet, courage, and tenacity of spirit. "
St John of the Cross, OCD - Doctor of the Church

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"Spiritual persons ought to be equally ready to experience sweetness and consolation in the things of God, or to suffer and keep their ground in drynesses of spirit and devotion, and for as long as God pleases, without their making any complaint about it."
St Philip Neri

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"God looks neither at long nor beautiful prayers, but at those that come from the heart."
The Cure D'Ars

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