47. The splendor of the new creation in Christ surpasses that of the first creation.

The splendor of the new creation in Christ surpasses that of the first creation.

 YOUCAT Catechism + Catechism of the Catholic Church Lesson 47

 Ave Maria series

47.  Why did God rest on the seventh day?

God’s rest from his work points toward the completion of creation, which is beyond all human efforts. [349]

The Resurrection of Christ by Carl Heinrich Bloch. .....47

Although man in his work is the junior partner of his Creator (Genesis 2:15), he can by no means redeem the world by his toil.  The goal of creation is “new heavens and a new earth” (Isaiah 65:17) through a redemption that is given to us as a gift.  Thus the Sunday rest, which is a foretaste of heavenly rest, is superior to the work that prepares us for it.

[349]

THE VISIBLE WORLD

349 The eighth day. But for us a new day has dawned: the day of Christ's Resurrection. The seventh day completes the first creation. The eighth day begins the new creation. Thus, the work of creation culminates in the greater work of redemption. The first creation finds its meaning and its summit in the new creation in Christ, the splendor of which surpasses that of the first creation.( Compare Roman Missal, Easter Vigil 24, prayer after the first reading.)²¹⁷ –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition