Divine Omnipotence

Presence of God – O God, use Your almighty power to convert me entirely to Your love.

MEDITATION

“I am the Almighty God” (Genesis 17:1). With these words God revealed Himself to Abraham. God is all-powerful because He can do all that He wills; and this He can do as He wills, when He wills, without any limitations. “Whatsoever the Lord pleased, He hath done, in heaven, in earth, in the sea, and in all the deeps” (Psalm 135:6). Nothing can impede His action, nor oppose His will; nothing is difficult to Him. Our works, even the simplest, require time, fatigue, material adaptation, and collaboration; God’s works, even the greatest, are performed in one instant by a simple act of His will. God is so omnipotent that with a single word He has brought all things out of nothing: “fiat” and light, the heavens, the earth, the seas, and the whole universe were made. Our words are often empty sounds; they are dispersed in the air, producing no effect. God’s word, on the contrary, is omnipotent, creative, operative, and effective, so that it infallibly produces whatever it expresses. God is so mighty that, after creating man free, He rules and directs him according to His good pleasure, without prejudicing man’s liberty in any way. God is so omnipotent that He can change men, the children of sin, into His adopted sons, called to share His divine life. He is so omnipotent that He can draw good even from evil. The omnipotence of God is always active and working, without ever stopping; and this magnificent, infinite, eternal omnipotence is completely at the service of His infinite goodness, or better, is infinite goodness itself, which can do all the good it wishes. How much we need the help of this omnipotence, we who are so weak that, even seeing and willing the good, we are very often incapable of doing it!

COLLOQUY

“Your omnipotent hand, O God, created the angels in heaven, and on the earth the worms, and it was not superior in creating the former, nor inferior in creating the latter for no other hand but Yours could create an angel, and no other could create a worm either; as no other could create heaven, so no other could create the tiniest leaf of a tree, nor any substance. Only Your hand could do these things, Your hand, to which everything is possible. It is no easier for You to create a worm than an angel, but You have done all that You wished in heaven and on earth, in the seas and in all the abysses.

“You created all things from nothing; this You did by Your will alone. You possess each one of Your creatures without difficulty; You govern them without labor; You rule them without tedium, and nothing either above or below can disturb the order of Your kingdom. You are not the author of evil; of this You are incapable, although there is nothing which You cannot do. You have never regretted what You have done; no storm or disturbance of soul can trouble You, nor the perils of the whole earth endanger You” (St. Augustine).

“I rejoice, O God, because Your omnipotence is in the hands of Your just and loving will; and everything that comes from that will and power, will be good and useful for me and will redound to the glory of Your Name. O God, One and Triune, who are as wise as You are powerful and as powerful as You are good, and in all things infinite, illumine my intellect by Your wisdom, make my will good by Your sovereign goodness, strengthen my faculties by Your wonderful power, so that I may know You, love You, and serve You with fortitude” (Venerable Louis Du Pont).

+

Note from Dan: This post on Divine Omnipotence is provided courtesy of Baronius Press and contains one of two meditations for the day. If you would like to get the full meditation from one of the best daily meditation works ever compiled, you can learn more here: Divine Intimacy. Please honor those who support us by purchasing and promoting their products.

Art for this post on Divine Omnipotence: The Helix Nebula from Blanco and Hubble, 2014 October 12, NASA, Public Domain. Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, mirror from open source material.