What is providence?

What Does providence Mean

The Latin word providentia came to our language as providence . The term mentions that which is arranged in advance or that allows to achieve a certain goal. In general, the concept refers to what a divinity grants (in this case, it is capitalized: Providence ).

La Divina Providencia , in this sense, is the action of God and the resources it provides to humans so that they can survive and develop. For example: "We had many problems, but we managed to get ahead thanks to Providence" , "After the drought, we can only appeal to Divine Providence to feed our children . "

In other words, Divine Providence speaks of the superiority of God and the need that human beings have for his existence so that He provides them with the necessary tools to lead a full life. Although Catholicism does not contemplate direct intervention in people's lives, it does not deny their influence, inspiration, and messages. To be a recipient of Divine Providence, a religious inclination is not necessary, but sufficient openness to perceive and take advantage of it.
Plato, one of the most renowned Greek philosophers, who had Socrates as a teacher and Aristotle as a student, spoke of divine providence in his work entitled " The Laws ", which consists of an " Argument " and twelve books. For his part, Saint Augustine (one of the main thinkers of Christianity, also known as Augustine of Hippo), picked up this idea from Plato to mention the existence of this link between God and his people, in the eighth book of his work entitled « The city of God ", divided into 22 books.
Continuing with the concept within the limits of Christianity, the Syrian writer and theologian Juan Damasceno defined Divine Providence as the care that God provides for his creations , and also the series of rules and norms that he bequeathed to them to lead an upright life and fair . All this is found in his famous book entitled " Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith ."
Regarding the iconography of Divine Providence, one of the ancient representations showed an elderly man holding a horn in one hand ( the horn of plenty ) and a rod in the other, with which he pointed to our planet at the same time as I was staring at him.
In the field of literature, outside the context of religion, Divine providence can be a real character that influences the different events of history. While it can be compared to the Deus ex machina of the Greek theater (an external element that appears to solve a problem ignoring the internal logic of the story), it usually impacts development to a lesser extent, or in a lesser way. immediate and specific.

In the field of law , the order is a judicial decision that allows establishing the material order of a dispute. This act carried out by a court enables the resolution of a request by a party or fixes compliance with a certain measure.
Providencia is also the name of numerous administrative entities in different countries . A commune of Santiago , in Chile , bears the name of Providencia : little more than 130,000 people live there and there are attractions such as the Falabella Palace , the La Chascona house (where the poet Pablo Neruda lived ) and the Church of Nuestra Señora de Divine Providence .
In Colombia , Providencia is a municipality in the department of Nariño and a district of the municipality of San Roque . Providencia is also a district of the province of Luya , in the territory of Peru.
Argentina , Bahamas , Spain and Venezuela are other countries that have certain places named as Providencia .