Samantha Hagar
Exploring Catholicism I
Professor Turnbloom
God’s Providence
How do you think God’s providence is present in your life? Is it possible to change? If so, how?
According to author and theologian, Alexander Carson, “The Providence of God in his
government of the world is a subject of the deepest interest to the Christian” (v). Have you ever
considered whether there is a divine guiding source helping you reach some end? Or thought
about why certain things happen to you? Personally, I find myself using the mantra “Everything
happens for a reason” where, ultimately, this reason is God. I am curious to understand how this
is evident in my life and whether God has some role in everything that happens in my life as
well. Is our plan or history set in stone or can we change it through actions or even by resisting
this plan? Does the omniscient God know we will act in this way and thus, changes his plan
accordingly? God’s divine providence, or plan for history, is a concept that all Christians can
agree exists as it is depicted in the Bible in a number of ways including God’s covenant with the
Israelites and His promise to always provide for his people. In this, questions regarding freedom
or evil and suffering come up as well. Despite the common Christian belief that it exists, it is
more difficult to agree on its specific details among different religions and people. Across the
many Christian religions such as Catholicism, Calvinism, and Molinism, there are critical details
that distinguish beliefs from one another. Not only do views on God’s providence vary across
different branches of Christianity, they tend to differ in the way we see God. According to
Gaillarditez, there are two “spiritual frameworks” which can be used to understand God: solitary
and relational. Similar to different branches of Christianity, each of these views influences
specifics about God, including his providence, differently. Solitary theism views God as another
being and creation in the past. Thus, God intervenes in history to enact his providence. On the
contrary, relational theism views God as dynamic love and creation as a perpetual relationship
meaning that God cooperates with history. It is important to recognize the ways in which these
understandings differ from one to the other in order to develop and strengthen our own views on
God’s providence. Every different understanding of God’s providence implies varied responses
to many other theological problems. Catholics, generally, believe that God’s providence
cooperates with mankind suggesting humans have free will and uniquely explaining the presence
of evil in His plan; meanwhile, Calvinism and Molinism, just two examples, find critical
problems in the Catholic view on human free will and evil because of how they see God’s
providence.
Catholicism, though it shares foundational Christian beliefs, tends to differ in further
detail from other denominations of Christian beliefs and even among other Catholics as well. In
order to accurately discuss significant aspects in the Catholic view of Divine Providence, it is
important to describe the meaning of providence and understand how Catholic’s prove it exists.
The word providence derives from the Latin term, providential, which translates to “foresight” or
“foreknowledge”. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “the universe was created
in a state of journeying toward an ultimate perfection yet to be attained” and divine providence
consists of “the dispositions by which God guides his creation towards this perfection”(Catholic
Church 302). Based on this and theologian Thomas Aquinas, through his divine providence God
“protects and governs” all things which he has made. Here, it is evident that Catholicism views
God’s providence as God’s guidance towards goodness and perfection. In the simplest terms,
providence is an “order” towards an end (Aquinas I,22,1). Ultimately, it is God’s direction in all
things to reach some last end. In his work, Summa Theologica, Thomas Aquinas uses the term
“government” to describe “the execution of order” or this divine providence as it takes place in
time (Aquinas I,22,3). Thus, God’s providence has two key parts, which are the His plan for
creation towards some end and the execution of this plan. Not only does His providence exist for
his creation as a whole, but it also exists for each individual thing in creation. In his writings,
Aquinas proves the existence of God’s Divine Providence a number of ways. Initially, Aquinas
emphasizes that providence can be attributed to God because “All the good that is created in
things has been created by God”(Aquinas I,22,1). He explains this further by saying that these
things have been created things good in their substance, but also in “their order towards an end,
especially their last end”. Thus, because God is responsible for all good in the universe, he must
be responsible for the good found in one’s journey towards perfection. Since God is the highest
form of perfection, this last end, that all of creation journeys towards, is Him. Aquinas describes
God as “the first and universal cause” and emphasizes that he knows and wills all things. Based
on these two beliefs, God must be the cause of all acts of man. Through these proofs, Aquinas
characterizes God as the first and universal cause, creator of good, and the ultimate last end.
Despite man’s plans and actions, Catholics believe that God cooperates in order to satisfy His
will. The Bible emphasizes this when it says, “There are many plans in a person’s mind but it is
the counsel of the Lord which will stand” (Proverbs 19:21). Generally, in Catholicism, it is
believed that God’s providence is present and plays a role in all things, rational or irrational,
good or evil. Thus, God’s providence can be portrayed as God’s care over the universe, His
foresight and plan for the future, more specifically, as all created things tend towards God. The
explanation that His providence is His divine plan for history in relation to His will tends to be
present in all of Christianity, the specific language and details in its description along with views
on governance, free will and evil are what makes the Catholic beliefs unique.
According to both Aquinas and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, one Catholic
distinction exists in the belief that God executes His providence by cooperating with human
action. This view recognizes that “God is the sovereign master of his plan”, but also
acknowledges that he uses “his creatures cooperation” to carry out his plan (Catholic 306). Thus,
God, as a first cause, and his creatures, as a second cause, work together to fulfill and execute
His providence. Catholics believe He acts both directly and indirectly in His creation. God’s
protection and care for the universe can be seen where the Bible says, “Trust in the Lord with all
your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him and he will
make your paths straight”(Proverbs 3:5-6). Here, the Scriptures clarify that God will direct the
paths of man, if he entirely gives himself to the Lord emphasizing that God directly works in
human lives to fulfill His providence. This is just one example where actions of man occur
simultaneously with those of God, but God still works directly with man. More often than not,
God’s creatures unconsciously collaborate with his will meaning that their individual actions
have an effect on each other, and thus, play a role in His plan. By man acting as secondary
causes, God works indirectly with His creation. For example, if someone trips and falls to the
ground, the act of tripping is the secondary cause while gravity is the primary cause. Since God
created gravity, a law of nature, He is this primary cause. Here, God indirectly governs His
creation through the natural order of things. Thus, it is possible and likely to unknowingly, act in
God’s providence, but on the other hand, it is also possible to do so through actions such as
prayers and praise. Based upon this ability to intentionally and unintentionally work with God’s
providence, it is evident that, in Catholicism, His divine plan for history is seen as a cooperating,
continuous relationship with Him. Through collaboration, human kind works with the all–
knowing, all-powerful supreme God to accomplish His plan ultimately showing that God does
not deny any being of its own free will. In His providence, God acts as primary cause, yet “gives
the power of freely sharing in his providence by entrusting them with the responsibility of
“subduing” the earth and having dominion over it”(Catholic 307). Here, the Catholic view that
