By Jim J. McCrea
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It is believed by many that humanity constantly evolves to higher and higher levels.
There is, however, one type of progress that humanity makes: its progress in understanding the accidents and relations of physical reality. That makes continuous progress in the physical sciences and technology possible.
But, as opposed to the thinking of Teilhard de Chardin and his followers, there is no law causing mankind to steadily progress in wisdom and in the spiritual or moral order. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church says: " The kingdom will be fulfilled, then, not by a historic triumph of the Church through a progressive ascendancy, but only by God's victory over the final unleashing of evil, which will cause his Bride to come down from heaven." (par. 677)
Each individual and each society in every age must choose anew whether to follow the law of Jesus Christ or the law of sin.
Human history does not exist for the purpose of progress.
There is one purpose and one purpose only for human history - that is to make saints.
In a sense, the only work of Jesus Christ in the universe is that of making saints. The beauty of nature and of art, the goodness of culture, philosophy and science, all exist for the sole purpose of making people, who inhabit this world, perfect in grace and perfectly happy with God in the next life.
As the Catholic writer Leon Bloy said: "there is one tragedy in life: not to be a saint."