STEWARDSHIP, SERVICE & SPIRITUALITY formed from the earth (“adamah”) and God
blows into his nostrils the breath of life (cf. Gen
Every faculty you have, your power of thinking or 2:7).
of moving your limbs from moment to moment,
is given to you by God. If you devoted every * Among all the world's visible creatures, only
moment of your whole life exclusively to His man has a “capacity for God” (“homo est Dei
service, you could not give Him anything that capax”).
was not in a sense His own already.
Man and woman can and are obliged to put
– C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity them at their own service and to enjoy them,
but their dominion over the world requires the
STEWARDSHIP exercise of responsibility, it is not a freedom of
God owns everything, we are simply managers arbitrary and selfish exploitation.
or administrators acting on his behalf.
Man has two different characteristics:
SERVICE
• he is a material being, linked to this
So the kind of service that makes God look
world by his body, and;
valuable and thrilling is the kind that serves God
by constantly receiving from God. • he is a spiritual being, open to
transcendence and to the discovery of
SPIRITUALITY “more penetrating truths”
The brave search on knowing the truth of
OPENNESS TO TRANSCENDENCE AND
existence.
UNIQUENESS OF THE PERSON
a. Openness to Transcendence: Openness
THE HUMAN BODY to transcendence belongs to the human
A CATHOLIC VIEW person: man is open to the infinite and
SACRAMENTALITY OF THE HUMAN BODY to all created beings.
• Is there a real purpose to life and if so, b. Unique and unrepeatable: Man exists as
what is it? a unique and unrepeatable being, he
exists as an “I” capable of self-
• Why were we created male and understanding, self-possession and self-
female? determination
“The human body includes right from the c. Respect for human dignity: the human
beginning... the capacity of expressing love, that person to be manipulated for ends that
love in which the person becomes a gift – and by are foreign to his own development
means of this gift – fulfills the meaning of his
being and existence.” The Catholic Church proclaims that human life is
sacred and that the dignity of the human person
- St. John Paul II is the foundation of a moral vision for society.
“God created man in his own image, in the Genesis 1:26-31
image of God he created him; male and female Deuteronomy 10:17-19
he created them” (Gen 1:27). God places the Luke 10:25-37
human creature at the center and summit of the Romans 12:9-18
created order. Man (in Hebrew, “adam”) is
GENESIS 1:26-31 through our actions and spoken beliefs the
Then God said: Let us make human beings in our power of God and His role in our daily lives.
image, after our likeness. Let them have
dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of Our bodies are signs of God’s existence,
the air, the tame animals, all the wild animals, His love for us , and our call to love
and all the creatures that crawl on the earth. others.
God created mankind in his image in the image Our experiences of love here on earth
of God he created them; male and female he point to the even greater love that God
created them. has for us and that we will one day
experience in its fullness in heaven.
DEUTERONOMY 10:17-19
For the LORD, your God, is the God of gods, the
Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and
awesome, who has no favorites, accepts no
bribes, who executes justice for the orphan and
the widow, and loves the resident alien, giving
them food and clothing.
LUKE 10:25-37
“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your
heart, with all your being, with all your strength,
and with your entire mind, and your neighbor as
yourself.”
ROMANS 12:9-18
Let love be sincere; hate what is evil, hold on to
what is good; love one another with mutual
affection; anticipate one another in showing
honor. Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in
spirit, and serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope,
endure in affliction, persevere in prayer.
I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of
God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice,
holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship.
Do not conform yourself to this age but be
transformed by the renewal of your mind, that
you may discern what is the will of God, what is
good and pleasing and perfect (Rom 12:1-2).
The Sacramentality of the Body is the inherent
ability of the body to act as a visible sign of
God's invisible love. We are able to make visible
