Opening Prayer:
If you like to use music in prayer, I might suggest this song as a beautiful meditation on inviting God to work through our efforts:
He Is Among Us, by the Porter’s Gate. *Based on Matthew 25: 31-46
For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous* will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you? And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’
Questions for reflection-
-How does this song/this verse challenge or inspire you to see daily encounters as opportunities for deep reverence?
-How have I come to understand human dignity?
-How do I embrace my own dignity? The dignity of others?
-Who have you seen do this particularly well?
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Word made flesh; You dignify our being to the core of who we are. Not only did you take on flesh, but in-spired, breathed into our very souls that we could love like you. Continue to breathe Your Spirit into us that our words and actions would serve as a reminder of your presence on Earth.
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Life & Dignity of the Human Person:
Like so many words whose definitions can take on a meaning of their own over time, dignity is among them. It’s important to note that dignity means a number of things to a vast number of people, but for our purposes, the working definition as prescribed by the Church (and most Abrahamic traditions) is that the human person is made in the image and likeness of God. This belief reinforces that each individual person is a deliberate act of God’s creative love.
“The Catholic Church proclaims that human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society. This belief is the foundation of all the principles of our social teaching.” –United States Council of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
Whatever insults human dignity, such as subhuman living conditions, arbitrary imprisonment, deportation, slavery, prostitution, the selling of women and children; as well as disgraceful working conditions, where men are treated as mere tools for profit, rather than as free and responsible persons; all these things and others of their like are infamies indeed. They poison human society, but they do more harm to those who practice them than those who suffer from the injury. (Second Vatican Council, The Church in the Modern World [Gaudium et Spes], no. 27)
In the beginning
Very much as it sounds, this facet of Catholic Social Teaching (CST) holds firmly to the belief in the tremendous worth and dignity of every single person from conception to natural death. It is impossible to overstate the enormity of this principal. The foundation of this tenant can be found scripturally in the book of Genesis in both of the creation narratives:
Let us make human beings in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the tame animals, all the wild animals, and all the creatures that crawl on the earth. God created mankind in his image; in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Genesis (1: 26-27)
In the second creation narrative, God breaths the breath of life into Adam’s nostrils, thus filling the human species in a way that no other part of creation is formed: With the breath, the Spirit of God. In-spired, we believe that we are literally animated by the breath of God.
Then the LORD God formed the man out of the dust of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)
Therefore, to honor our God-given dignity we must live in such a way that allows the individual to thrive within their circumstances, and to advocate for the flourishing of others.
Image-bearers
From its very inception, and in a particular way, humanity is identified as being made in God’s image and likeness, the imago Dei. This is why we can say with confidence that as soon as a soul is created, God has already breathed life into that individual and given autonomy to them. One of my favorite descriptions for humanity in light of this reality is as ‘image bearers.’ I find this such a helpful reminder each time I hear it.
Exercise:
The next time someone cuts you off in traffic or makes you angry at work, rather than using any number of words to describe them, insert the words: Image bearer. See if it isn’t infinitely more difficult to hold onto a grudge or an accusation when we remind ourselves that “that image bearer just cut me off!”
You might try the same exercise while reading the news: “4 Image Bearers died in drive-by shooting earlier today.” “One image bearer executed in a Texas prison late last night after serving 27 years”. “Colorado unanimously passes law that image bearers can abort image bearers up to 32 weeks gestation.” “Image bearer killed by image bearer at routine traffic stop.”
How very important it is then, to live up to our God-given dignity and appropriately address our fellow image bearers. This language commands a different respect than words that obscure our dignity (‘the homeless,’ ‘the criminal,’ the medically fragile,’ ‘product of conception,’ ‘vegetable,’ ‘the right,’ ‘the left’….and any number of other slurs not fit for print). Perhaps this is the root of the cultural communication impasse we find ourselves in at this time in history; A refusal to acknowledge the dignity of every human life, without exception.
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“When we fail to acknowledge as part of reality the worth of a poor person, a human embryo, a person with disabilities-to offer just a few examples-it becomes difficult to hear the cry of nature itself; everything is connected.” -Pope Francis, On Care for Our Common Home (Laudato Si), 117.
All human beings, therefore, are ends to be served by the institutions that make up the economy, not means to be exploited for more narrowly defined goals. Human personhood must be respected with a reverence that is religious. When we deal with each other, we should do so with the sense of awe that arises in the presence of something holy and sacred. For that is what human beings are: we are created in the image of God (Gn 1:27). (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Economic Justice for All, no. 28)
Any human society, if it is to be well-ordered and productive, must lay down as a foundation this principle, namely, that every human being is a person, that is, his nature is endowed with intelligence and free will. Indeed, precisely because he is a person he has rights and obligations flowing directly and simultaneously from his very nature.
Pacem in Terris (“Peace on Earth”), Pope John XXIII, 1963, #9.
We do not work toward these goals to ‘follow the rules,’ to be ‘good people,’ or to be ‘politically correct,’ we do it as a reflection and reverence for all of whom God put here on this planet at the same time in history. We are inseparable from our identity as children of God. It all stems from the same foundational and Scriptural concept. We will find this theme again and again:
Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous* will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’ –Matthew 25:34-40
That in our service toward others, our concern for those with less (money, shelter, physical ability, intellectual capacity, etc), we simultaneously take part in ministering to Christ is a distinctly Christian inclination—no other religion dares to presume God’s embodiedness in quite the same way. And the imago Dei is the reason we can confidently proclaim this reality.
Questions for Reflection:
- What about these themes around human dignity sounded familiar? Were any unfamiliar?
- If CST can still be called the ‘best kept secret in the Catholic Church,’ what do you imagine would surprise anyone hearing it for the first time today? Were you surprised by anything?
- Does this understanding of dignity change the way you expect to be treated by others, or the way you treat others?
- What resonated with you most deeply?
Closing prayer
Word Made Flesh, we give thanks for having been fashioned with such great love, that to be known in the world is to be associated with you, Creator of heaven and earth. Continue to guide us to be men and women who see the world as gift poured out and filled with your Spirit. Give us courage to acknowledge the dignity of every human person, even when that means beginning with ourselves.
We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.