The Moral Universe

By Fulton J. Sheen If God is who he says he is, runs a popular objection against Christianity, then why does he permit evil? The answer to this objection, according to Fulton J. Sheen, is simple: “God intended to construct a moral universe.” In doing so, he had to grant freedom to mankind—to endow every man and woman in this universe with the power to do good and avoid evil, “to be captain and master of their own fate and destiny.” When freedom is abused, evil enters in; yet when it is wielded properly, by the grace of God, beatitude is found. With his typical acuity and eloquence, Sheen examines all the pillars of the Christian moral edifice: God himself as the ground of morality; the role of the conscience; the necessity of mortification; the beauty of a retired life; the sanctity of marriage; the fact of sin; the need of redemption; the reality of judgment and purgatory, heaven and hell; and the paradoxical joy of defeat.  Bold is Wisdom’s sweep from world’s end to world’s end, and everywhere her gracious ordering manifests itself. (Wisdom 8:1) The source of the moral order is God. (Fulton J. Sheen) As fresh and invigorating as when it first appeared in 1936, The Moral Universe: A Preface to Christian Living is a clear and concise exposition of those Catholic doctrines which show the way to holy living.    Fulton J. Sheen (1895–1979), one of the most renowned Catholic priests of the twentieth century, was an eminent scholar, prolific author, and natural entertainer. His cause for canonization was opened in 2002, and in 2012 Pope Benedict XVI declared him “Venerable.”  * * * Paperback: 154pp. ISBN:  978-1685952723