Day 50: The Dignity of Man (355-361)


Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven, we praise you and give you glory. We know that every good thing we have comes from you. We know that every good thing we are comes from you. We know that you have made us free and you have made us like you. And that is why we are good. We do know that our hearts are broken. We do know that our lives are broken. We do know that our relationships are broken. But, we ask that you please, in the midst of that brokenness, help us to see the truth. Help us to see you as you are. Help us to see others as you have made them. And help us to see ourselves, even, in the dignity that you have given us, in creating and redeeming us in your Son, Jesus Christ. We ask this in the name of the same Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen”


Scripture References & Reflections

- compiled by Andrew Adamany


Bible Translation - RSVCE


CCC 355 "God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them." Man occupies a unique place in creation: (I) he is "in the image of God"; (II) in his own nature he unites the spiritual and material worlds; (III) he is created "male and female"; (IV) God established him in his friendship."


Genesis 1:26–30 

"Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so."


CCC 356 "Of all visible creatures only man is "able to know and love his creator". He is "the only creature on earth that God has willed for its own sake", and he alone is called to share, by knowledge and love, in God's own life. It was for this end that he was created, and this is the fundamental reason for his dignity:"


Genesis 2:7 

"then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being."


Romans 5:1–2 

"Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God."


"What made you establish man in so great a dignity? Certainly the incalculable love by which you have looked on your creature in yourself! You are taken with love for her; for by love indeed you created her, by love you have given her a being capable of tasting your eternal Good."


John 3:16

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life"


CCC 357 "Being in the image of God the human individual possesses the dignity of a person, who is not just something, but someone. He is capable of self-knowledge, of self-possession and of freely giving himself and entering into communion with other persons. And he is called by grace to a covenant with his Creator, to offer him a response of faith and love that no other creature can give in his stead."


Wisdom of Solomon 2:23  

"for God created man for incorruption, 

and made him in the image of his own eternity"


Wisdom of Solomon 3:9 

"Those who trust in him will understand truth, 

and the faithful will abide with him in love, 

because grace and mercy are upon his elect, 

and he watches over his holy ones."


CCC 358 "God created everything for man, but man in turn was created to serve and love God and to offer all creation back to him:


Exodus 23:25 

"You shall serve the Lord your God, and I will bless your bread and your water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of you."


Deuteronomy 6:4–5 

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might."


CCC 359 "In reality it is only in the mystery of the Word made flesh that the mystery of man truly becomes clear."


"St. Paul tells us that the human race takes its origin from two men: Adam and Christ. . . The first man, Adam, he says, became a living soul, the last Adam a life-giving spirit. The first Adam was made by the last Adam, from whom he also received his soul, to give him life. . . The second Adam stamped his image on the first Adam when he created him. That is why he took on himself the role and the name of the first Adam, in order that he might not lose what he had made in his own image. The first Adam, the last Adam: the first had a beginning, the last knows no end. The last Adam is indeed the first; as he himself says: "I am the first and the last."


Revelation 22:13 

"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”


Romans 5:14–21 

"Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. 

But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the effect of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification. If, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

Then as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to acquittal and life for all men. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man’s obedience many will be made righteous. Law came in, to increase the trespass; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."


1 Corinthians 15:20–23 

"But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ."


CCC 360 "Because of its common origin the human race forms a unity, for "from one ancestor [God] made all nations to inhabit the whole earth"


Acts 17:26–28 

"And he made from one every nation of men to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their habitation, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel after him and find him. Yet he is not far from each one of us, for 

‘In him we live and move and have our being’; 

as even some of your poets have said, 

‘For we are indeed his offspring.’"


CCC 361 ""This law of human solidarity and charity", without excluding the rich variety of persons, cultures and peoples, assures us that all men are truly brethren."


Tobit 8:6 

"Thou madest Adam and gavest him Eve his wife 

as a helper and support. 

From them the race of mankind has sprung. 

Thou didst say, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; 

let us make a helper for him like himself.’"