The Siberian husky is an amazing species. Their icy blue eyes, double matted coat, and seemingly infinite energy make them the quintessential sled dog.
Their survival skills, however, are what make them truly a most remarkable breed. When temperatures dip as low as -75 degrees Fahrenheit, they use their claws to dig deep into the ice and bury themselves below the windy chill.
What’s more, their insides have confused scientists for ages as none can figure out how these mushing mongrels are able to change their metabolisms whenever they wish.
Finally, and perhaps the most interesting fact of these furballs, is that they are one of the most likely breeds to run away from their homes. Without exercise and mental stimulation, this breed will bolt.
Marvelous species– a remarkable display of cunning, strength, and wonder.
One could say the same about angels, of course. They are pure spirit, so the elements have no effect on them. This makes them capable of surviving outside of the ecumene, in the darkest depths of the sea, or even beyond earth’s atmosphere in galaxies unknown. They can survive on the surface of the sun, and I imagine many do to keep its radiation levels just perfect enough for us to wake up to its life-giving heat.
Also, since angels are pure spirits that are in constant communion with God, they have infused knowledge of everything that God knows. While none can say they are “smarter” than God, they share His intelligence on a scale much higher than we ever could prior to our moment of beatific vision. This makes them impervious to sin as they always choose the logical good of virtue.
Angles have no need for swift feet (or swift wings) because they exist outside of space– they merely have to think of where they’re going and they are there. And time means nothing to them because they are eternal.
Astonishing species– a miraculous showcase of intelligence, power, and holiness.
And then there’s humanity.
Somewhere between the angel and the husky exists the human species. We are spiritual like the angels, and natural like the husky. We have a rational soul that separates us from the K9, and a natural instinct that unites us in their same struggle for survival.
If one were to place a rope on the ground and place one end in the jaws of the husky while placing the other end to the hands of an angel, then they both pulled the rope taut, humanity would exist within the tension of that rope. We struggle with understanding our role in the universe, especially when we feel ourselves estranged from our God. We ask questions like:
How do I become holy when I cannot control my sinful nature?
How do I do the things of God while living in a world that constantly pressures me into doing otherwise?
Why do my emotions not correlate with my level of faith?
How can I remain hopeful in a world so deprived of peace?
When confronted with questions like these, the tension of humanity requires us to choose a side– we can either be pulled by the beast who helps us survive, or the angel who will not only help us live, but thrive in this land we know not.
According to Aquinas, we are constantly in movement, These movements have one of two endpoints: “to generation, which is a change ‘to being,’ and to corruption, which is a change ‘from being’” (ST. I-II Q. 23 A.2). Our passions then, be they worldly or heavenly, are the fires that burn within our souls. They can both enliven our lifeblood in God, or cut us off from His life-giving vine. The human will is fulcrum on which these two extremes balance– we can choose “to being” or to move away “from being.”
And so we make choices. Sometime we choose worldly pleasures over our Godly virtues and we become like animals needing bridle and bit (Ps. 32:8). Other times, we choose to overcome our vices and fill up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the Church (Col. 1:24). In both choices, we desire the fulfillment of our longings, both natural and spiritual, which we will never achieve until we have Christ.
Marvelous species. Intellectually gifted like the angels, physically calibrated for pleasure like the animals…
destined to die in order to live like God.
“I find then a law, that when I have a will to do good, evil is present with me. For I am delighted with the law of God, according to the inward man: but I see another law in my members, fighting against the law of my mind, and captivating me in the law of sin, that is in my members. Unhappy man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”
Romans 7:21-25
Photo by Calvin Craig on Unsplash
