Human Beings as

Stewards of
God’s Creation
 from God’s crowning glory
to the mandate of:
Dominion and Stewardship
Chalk board activity:
• Revisiting the creation story in the book of Genesis, that is your understanding of
Gn 1:28, “ God blessed them and God said to them: Be fertile and multiply; fill the
earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air,
and all the living things that crawl on the earth.” What do we mean by dominion
on this?

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 Are we really responsible for Creation?
In what sense?

Is it because we are hurt by our Or, is it because we care enough

own consequences? and we grieve for what was lost?

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 What are your thoughts on Mining?

Dominion? Or Stewardship?

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On Stewardship
God has the ‘absolute dominion’ over all
creatures, as Creator. Since everything is
created for Man in the story of creation,
this manifests the ‘dominion’ of Man
towards all the creatures. Yet not in an
absolute manner as seen before the fall in
Gn 2:17.
 According to the Catechism:
• 373. “In God’s plan [humanity has] the vocation of “subduing” the earth as stewards of
God. This sovereignty is not to be an arbitrary and destructive domination.
• Freedom is the power, rooted in reason and will, to act or not to act, to do this or that,
and so to perform deliberate actions on one's own responsibility. By free will one shapes
one's own life. Human freedom is a force for growth and maturity in truth and goodness; it
attains its perfection when directed toward God, our beatitude. As long as freedom has
not bound itself definitively to its ultimate good which is God, there is the possibility of
choosing between good and evil, and thus of growing in perfection or of failing and
sinning. This freedom characterizes properly human acts. It is the basis of praise or blame,
merit or reproach. The more one does what is good, the freer one becomes. There is no
true freedom except in the service of what is good and just. The choice to disobey and do
evil is an abuse of freedom and leads to "the slavery of sin." Freedom makes man
responsible for his acts to the extent that they are voluntary. Progress in virtue,
knowledge of the good, and ascesis enhance the mastery of the will over its acts.

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 Stewardship as Service
“subduing the earth”
as Stewards of God.
Freedom is doing what is good.

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 According to the Social Doctrine of the Church:
• 457. The results of science and technology are, in themselves, positive.

• 452. The relationship of man with the world is a constitutive part of his human
identity. This relationship is in turn the result of another still deeper relationship
between man and God. The Lord has made the human person to be a partner with
him in dialogue. Only in dialogue with God does the human being find his truth,
from which he draws inspiration and norms to make plans for the future of the
world, which is the garden that God has given him to keep and till (cf. Gen 2: 15).
Not even sin could remove this duty, although it weighed down this exalted work
with pain and suffering (cf. Gen 3:17-19).

• 463. A correct understanding of the environment prevents the utilitarian

reduction of nature to a mere object to be manipulated and exploited.

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 According to the Social Doctrine of the Church:
• 471. The relationship of indigenous peoples to their lands and resources
deserves particular attention, since it is a fundamental expression of their
identity…….lands tied to the very meaning of their existence.[998] The rights of
indigenous peoples must be appropriately protected.[999] These peoples offer an
example of a life lived in harmony with the environment that they have come to
know well and to preserve.[1000] Their extraordinary experience, which is an
irreplaceable resource for all humanity, runs the risk of being lost together with the
environment from which they originate.

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 According to Laudato Si:
• Laudato Si. We have forgotten that “man is not only a freedom which he creates
for himself. Man does not create himself. He is spirit and will, but also nature”.[12]
With paternal concern, Benedict urged us to realize that creation is harmed “where
we ourselves have the final word, where everything is simply our property and we
use it for ourselves alone. The misuse of creation begins when we no longer
recognize any higher instance than ourselves, when we see nothing else but
ourselves”.[13]

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 According to Laudato Si:
• This sister now cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our
irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her. We
have come to see ourselves as her lords and masters, entitled to plunder her at
will. The violence present in our hearts, wounded by sin, is also reflected in the
symptoms of sickness evident in the soil, in the water, in the air and in all forms of
life. This is why the earth herself, burdened and laid waste, is among the most
abandoned and maltreated of our poor; she “groans in travail” (Rom 8:22). We
have forgotten that we ourselves are dust of the earth (cf. Gen 2:7); our very bodies
are made up of her elements, we breathe her air and we receive life and
refreshment from her waters.

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 According to Laudato Si:
• Rapidification: when human activity outpaces biological sustainability; 18. The
continued acceleration of changes affecting humanity and the planet is coupled
today with a more intensified pace of life and work
• 27. …The exploitation of the planet has already exceeded acceptable limits and
we still have not solved the problem of poverty.

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 According to Laudato Si:
• 86. The universe as a whole, in all its manifold relationships, shows forth the
inexhaustible riches of God. Saint Thomas Aquinas wisely noted that multiplicity
and variety “come from the intention of the first agent” who willed that “what
was wanting to one in the representation of the divine goodness might be
supplied by another”,[60] inasmuch as God’s goodness “could not be
represented fittingly by any one creature”.[61] Hence we need to grasp the
variety of things in their multiple relationships.[62] We understand better the
importance and meaning of each creature if we contemplate it within the
entirety of God’s plan. As the Catechism teaches: “God wills the interdependence
of creatures. The sun and the moon, the cedar and the little flower, the eagle and
the sparrow: the spectacle of their countless diversities and inequalities tells us
that no creature is self-sufficient. Creatures exist only in dependence on each
other, to complete each other, in the service of each other”.[63]

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 ACTIO:
1. Become more aware of our connectedness. Care for one another and creation includes
understanding that “everything is connected” (no. 91) and that the economy, politics,
community involvement, and technology all affect the future of the planet and humankind.
How can we become more aware of our connectedness?

2. Changes to lifestyle and consumption habits can make a big difference. For example,
get a re-usable water bottle, take shorter showers, walk, bike or take public transportation
instead of driving, recycle, compost food waste, and buy energy efficient appliances.

3. Make changes institutionally at your parish, school, or workplace. For example, start
recycling and composting, use washable dinnerware in cafeterias, share electronically
instead of printing, do an energy audit, and install solar panels.

4. Support local efforts to solve environmental problems. Community groups around the
country are working to make city, county, and state-wide changes that can make a big
difference. Find out what is going on locally and get involved.

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