Knowledge of God:

 How can human beings come to know the invisible God? A Korean diocesan priest gives an answer in the Catholic Times Weekly. This is a fundamental question. In other words, it asks: "How can humans attain a knowledge of God?" Regarding this fundamental inquiry, Catholic theology offers the following insights:

First, it posits that humans can attain a knowledge of God through nature—God's creation—by means of the natural light of reason. This is known as "natural theology".

Second, it states that humans can attain a knowledge of God through His Word and His testimonies (miracles and deeds), guided by the light of reason illuminated by faith. This is known as "supernatural theology".

Third, it asserts that humans can attain a direct intuition of God's very essence—through the "light of glory" (a divine light transcending human nature, emanating from God's essence itself)—thereby experiencing the mystery of God Himself. This is known as "mystical theology". 

What is theology? It is the academic systematization of the knowledge of God. What is the purpose of theology? It is to assist us in attaining a proper knowledge of God. Theology helps us to truly know God so that we may truly believe in Him. Through the beauty of nature—God’s creation—

What must we do to truly believe in God? The answer is simple: we must engage in theology. But how, then, does one practice theology? First and foremost, one must master natural theology. Natural theology is nothing other than "gazing upon nature—God’s own book. "It is "entering into nature, the Garden of Eden created by God." The very moment we step into nature, the accumulated impurities of our bodies and minds are washed away.

The Book of Wisdom states, "From the grandeur and beauty of the created world, one can come to know its Creator" (Wisdom 13:5).

Encountering and deeply contemplating the beauty of nature—unfolding across this living star we call Earth—is an act of encountering God. Remembering the beauty of a sunset glow glimpsed by chance one day, and immersing oneself in that beauty, is an act of encountering God. Recalling the vitality and grandeur bestowed by the sea and the verdant forest, and truly feeling that life force, is an act of encountering God.

Observing the trees and flowers in our own backyards with close attention—perceiving their beauty and wonder—is a profoundly sacred act; it is, indeed, an act of encountering God. Through the beauty of nature, human beings experience a single ray of light from God Himself—the very embodiment of Beauty.

In the sound of the wind murmuring low across the earth, Native Americans sensed the very breath of God dwelling within all things; and Henri Bergson, immersed in the beauty of a sunset glow, intuited within that ecstatic moment an undivided, eternal present. Saint Francis of Assisi, who discovered God’s presence in all creation, likewise called the sun and moon his "brothers" and sang of the Creator’s breath dwelling within the perfect order inherent in all things. Furthermore, the Desert Fathers, amidst the boundless, tranquil horizons of the desert, shed all superfluous sensory distractions to experience a spiritual elevation—a direct encounter with the sole reality: God.

These wondrous experiences serve as the very threshold leading into the mystery of faith: the act of beholding the invisible face of God reflected in the mirror of nature.