XIII — OMNIPOTENCE

Presence of God. — O omnipotent God, put into act your infinite omnipotence to convert me totally to your love.

Meditation

1 — “I am God omnipotent” (Gen. 17:1). God Himself presented Himself to Abraham as the omnipotent God, who can do all that He wills, all that his infinite wisdom sees possible, and can do it as He wills, when He wills, without any limitation: “Whatever the Lord wills He does, in heaven, on earth, in the seas and in all the abysses” (Ps. 134:6). Nothing can hinder his action, nothing can oppose his will, nothing is difficult for Him. Our works, even the simplest, require time, effort, suitable material, collaboration; God’s works, even the greatest, are accomplished in a single instant by one most simple act of his will. God is so omnipotent that by one word He drew all things out of nothing: “fiat,” and light and heavens, earth and seas, and the whole universe were made. Our words are empty sound that dissipates in the air without producing anything; God’s word, instead, is omnipotent, creative, operative, so as infallibly to produce all that it expresses. God is so omnipotent that, having created man free, He governs and directs him according to his good pleasure without injuring his freedom in the least. God is so omnipotent as to transform men, children of sin, into his adopted children, sharers in his divine life. God is so omnipotent as to draw good even from evil. God’s omnipotence is always in act, always active, always at work, never tiring; and this grand, infinite, eternal omnipotence is totally at the service of his infinite goodness, or better, is infinite goodness itself that can do all the good it wills. How much we need the help of this omnipotence, we who are so weak that, though seeing and willing good, we are so often incapable of doing it!

2 — God is the only omnipotent One, the only one who possesses power by nature; we, instead - like all other creatures - are impotent, incapable of anything. The sun cannot shine, fire cannot burn, flower cannot bloom, and we cannot even take one step without the concurrence of divine omnipotence. This is the great truth that Jesus taught us with the words: “Without me you can do nothing” (Jn. 15:5).

Our power, our capacity has not in us its root, but only in God: “our sufficiency is from God” (2 Cor. 3:5), says St. Paul. This thought must keep us very humble: if we can and know how to do anything, it is not by our own virtue, but solely because God has made us share in his divine power. Left to ourselves, we would not be capable even of formulating a thought or articulating a word. On the other hand, this our radical impotence must not cast us down, because God, infinite goodness, just as He communicated being to us, just as He communicated his goodness to us, so He communicates his power to us and, indeed, is disposed to communicate it to us more as He sees us humble and convinced of our impotence. Thus God delights in choosing the humble, “the lowly and despised things of the world, things that are nothing” (1 Cor. 1:27), to accomplish the most grand works. Thus St. Teresa of Avila could say: “Teresa by herself can do nothing, but with Jesus can do all,” and St. Paul: “I can do all things in Him who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13). The reason for so many of our failures in good, in apostolic works, and in progress of virtue lies precisely in not leaning enough on divine omnipotence. We rely too much on human means and too little on the help of almighty God. True, we must not remain inert waiting for divine help; true, we must do all that is in our power; nevertheless we must never expect success from our own devices and labors, but solely from the help of divine omnipotence.

Colloquy

“Your almighty hand, O Lord, created in heaven the angels and on earth little worms, and it was not superior in creating those, nor inferior in creating these. As no other hand could create the angel, so none can create the little worm. As none could create heaven, so none can create the smallest leaf of a tree, nor any body, but only your hand can these things, your hand to which all is equally possible. Nor is it easier for You to create the worm than the angel, but all that You willed was made in heaven and on earth, in the sea and in all the abysses.

“You created all things from nothing, which You made with your will alone. You possess every creature of yours without any need, govern it without toil, direct it without weariness, and there is nothing that disturbs the order of your empire, neither above nor below. You are not author of evil, which You cannot do, though there is nothing You cannot do. Nor have You ever repented of what You had done, nor are You troubled by any tempest or commotion of soul, nor can the dangers of the whole earth cause You harm” (St. Augustine).

“I rejoice, O Lord, that your omnipotence is placed in the hands of your just and loving will, because all that proceeds from such willing and power will be good and useful for me and will return to the glory of your name. O one and triune God, as wise as powerful and as powerful as good, and in all infinite, enlighten my intellect with your wisdom, make my will good with your sovereign goodness, strengthen my powers with your marvelous power, so that I may know You, love You, and serve You with fortitude” (Venerable L. Da Ponte).