As both the Catholic and the Westminster catechisms say man’s chief end is to glorify God. The difference being that in Catholicism God’s work in us justification / good works / us being virtuous increases the glory. I think the whole Reformed notion of every human action being a sin is where I depart from my separated brethren. In Aquinas’ fusion of Aristotle and Augustinianism I find an interesting mix. It is man’s end to glorify God, but that is done through the virtuous life which leads to Eudaimonea – Fullfillment/Happiness. It isn’t PLEASURE – it’s not Utilitarianism or Hedonism, it’s true happiness. So I’m finding that the religious life is much more holistic than I previously thought. It should include every aspect of my life, and as I become more virtuous through the grace of God I will experience more Eudaimonia and from a human sense and a divine sense be more fulfilled.
Aristotle and Aquinas part 1 of many
So I’ve tried praying for help etc, I’ve had other people try to give advice and prayer, but in the end God doesn’t say anything to me. That’s cool, I’m lucky to have revelation at all, but right now it appears my approach to God will always be through the sacraments, reason, and revelation rather than a personal interaction boasted about by most evangelicals I know.
But I’ve found a few helps along the way. The Nicomachean Ethics or Aristotle and the Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas, are helping me to learn alot about human life and what it’s all about.
So far – I’ve not delved super deep into this – it seems like a successful mix of Aristotelian Humanism and Augustinian doctrines of grace. This also ties into Aquinas theology of the whole human being and avoids the modern liberal protestant/Cartesian division of body and soul and allows for people to remain unified as persons, which psychology has also led us to see.
I liked the Catholic Encyclopedia’s definition of Eudaimonia ‘well being in well doing’ . calm down, i’m not talking about salvation, this isn’t pelagianism, it’s just the idea that when we are acting virtuously in accordance with Divine revelation we are most fulfilled in the truest sense.