Christ, the Center of the Universe

I · Before man

The center of the universe is not man

In God’s plan, the center of the universe is not man, but Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word: the eternal Son of God made man. God created all things for Christ. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom the Father is well pleased, and through Mary, His Mother, full of grace, God wished to create man and the universe.

To this Son, beloved by the Father, God wished to give friends. That is why He created man. In the Gospel, Our Lord speaks of the friends of the Bridegroom. Christ is the Bridegroom, and humanity is called to be His friend.

To this most beloved Son, the Father gave a house and a garden. That is why the universe was created. Man, created for Christ, was loved by Christ. That is why we are like a gift of goodness from God the Father to Jesus Christ, the Bridegroom.

In Him, through Him, and for Him, we are pleasing to the heavenly Father. Without Him, we are nothing.

This is decisive for understanding the Mass. Our sacrifices have full value only if they are united to the sacrifice of Christ. Since we have come forth from the heart of God to please Jesus, we are all brothers. The whole of creation is like a delicate gesture of thoughtfulness from the Father toward His divine Son.

II · The architecture of the cosmos

Creation as an image of Trinitarian fruitfulness

Creation, called into existence by the loving power of God, will always retain something of Him, until the day it returns to the source of its perfection. There it will receive from that same source its final perfection and complete beauty.

Here the plan of creation appears as an image and a prolongation of the fruitfulness of the Most Holy Trinity. The order of this plan may be contemplated as follows:

Creation of heavenThe higher realm of created reality, open to the mystery of God and His angels.

Creation of earthThe material dwelling where the visible history of man would unfold.

Minerals, vegetation, and animalsThe patient preparation of the garden, with its foundations, its fruits, and its living creatures.

Creation of manThe visible king of that creation; but a subordinate king, not an absolute one.

Although man may be called king of that creation, because the other visible creatures preceded him and prepared his place, he is not the ultimate end of creation.

Man is only a link in a chain that ends in God. This chain passes through the Most Blessed Virgin Mary. She is the jewel most beloved by God, because in her was formed the One who was to contain and recapitulate all things: Jesus Christ.

III · The Word recapitulates everything

All things were created through Him and for Him

Christ is the center of the universe. He is before all creatures: “He is before all things.” He is “the firstborn of all creation.” “In the beginning was the Word.” All things were created through Him and for Him.

All things are through HimWithout Him nothing was made that exists. He sustains all things by the word of His power.

All things are in HimGod the Father blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing. Before creating the world, He chose us in Christ.

All things are HisGod appointed Him heir of all things.

He is the end“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

Man has come forth from God and must return to Him. That is his final destiny. Saint Augustine said it this way: “You made us for Yourself, my God, and our heart will not rest until it rests in You.”

IV · The world as gratitude

Creation returns to God as a hymn

Creation is a work of pure mercy. God inclined toward His creatures out of love. That is why creation returns to God as a hymn of prayer and gratitude.

the flight of a bird a ray of light a melodious voice a drop of water an ant hurrying along a seed sprouting the stars turning

The flight of a bird, a ray of light, a melodious voice, a drop of water falling upon the earth, an ant hurrying along, a seed sprouting, the stars turning without colliding with one another: all this is led by God toward its end.

God placed order in all things. That order does not exist only for man’s usefulness. God ordered it first for the good of man, also for the happiness of Christ and, finally, for the glory of the Most Holy Trinity.

V · The rupture of harmony

Sin fractured the universe

Man is free. That is why he can break God’s harmonious plan. Everything was in balance, because everything tended toward God. All things were united to Him, because all had come forth from Him, the source of life and being.

But that union with God also had to be a free act of love. The freedom God gave man is an incomparable greatness. God thus receives a free prayer, not a forced one. However, that same freedom places man before a great danger: he can refuse to unite himself to God.

Man could raise his hands in an attitude of offering. But one day he raised them in a gesture of pride and rebellion. He rejected his role as servant and mediator. He no longer wished to live as priest of creation. He wanted “to be like God”.

Satan was the one who shouted again, through man, his battle cry: “I will not serve”.

The body rebelsFirst man’s own body rebelled. The disorder of the passions appeared, and the seven capital sins began to drive his desires and his acts.

The family is torn apartThen discord appeared in family and social life. The inner imbalance was matched by outer disorder.

The earth hardensThe animal world and the earth itself also ceased to cooperate docilely. From then on, man wrests fruits from it with struggle and weariness.

VI · The cascading rebellion

The “I will not serve” turned against man

By rebelling, man fractured the universe. Creation rested upon him as upon a cornerstone. But man rose up against God, and creation, as if in chorus, hurled back against man the same phrase he had dared to direct at God: “I will not serve”.

Adam and Eve “realized that they were naked.” Man was wounded in the harmony of his own being.

Then discord appeared in family and social life. God said to the woman: “I will multiply your pains and your pregnancies; in pain you shall bring forth children. You shall feel drawn to your husband, and he shall rule over you.”

Looking at human history, we see the consequences: conflicts in families, wars between cities, wars between nations, world wars, and revolutions.

The animal world too, over which man had once reigned, rebelled. The earth itself ceased to cooperate docilely with man. From then on, man can only wrest some fruits from it with struggle and weariness: “Cursed shall be the ground because of you; in sorrow you shall draw your food from it all the days of your life.”

Man was left wounded and disoriented. From then on, suffering would be part of his daily life: “By the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread; in pain you shall bring forth your children.”

What will God do before the suffering of His creature?

Man had been created to be Christ’s friend, but he was lost through Adam’s disobedience. Humanity, separated from Christ, was left without form and without beauty.

Then the decisive question arises: Would God remain indifferent before the suffering of His creature? Would God punish man or forgive him?

Here begins the natural threshold toward the mystery of Redemption.