Lesson 9: The Human Person and the Natural Law, the Heart of Stewardship

Learning Targets: At the end of the lesson, I can:

Doctrine: Explain the inner nature of human person and the natural law according to the
Church’s Teaching.
Morals: Analyze the different moral issues affecting our roles as Christian stewards.
Worship: Offer a prayer for all humanity to become true to their inner nature as Christian
stewards.

The Bishop and the Three Fishermen in an Island

When the bishop’s boat stopped

at a remote island for a day, he promised
to himself that he will use his time as
profitably and profoundly as possible.
He strolled along the seashore to see the
natural wonders of the place and to
meditate on the goodness of God. As he
was strolling along the seashore, he
encountered three fishermen mending
their nets. In their native tongue, they
explained to him that centuries before
they been Christianized by missionaries.
“We are Christians!” They said, proudly
pointing to one another. The bishop was
impressed and asked them if they know
the Lord’s Prayer. They answered that
they never heard of it.
The bishop was shocked. “What do you say, then, when you pray?” asked the bishop. They
said, “we just lift our eyes to heaven and say, we are three, you are three, have mercy on us.” The
bishop was appalled at the primitive, the downright heretical nature of their prayer. So, he spent
the whole day teaching them the Lord’s Prayer. The fishermen were poor learners, but they gave
it all they had and before the bishop sailed away the following day, he had the satisfaction of
heari9ng them go through the whole formula prayer without a fault.
 After two years, the bishop’s ship happened to pass by that same island again, and the
bishop, as he paced the deck saying his evening prayers, recalled with pleasure the three men on
that distant island who were not able to pray the Lord’s Prayer, thanks to his patient efforts, they
were able to recite it. While he was lost in that thought, he happened to look up and noticed a spot
of light in the east. The light kept approaching the ship, and as the bishop gazed in wonder, he saw
three figures walking on the water.
The captain stopped the ship, and
everyone leaned over the rails to see
this sight. When they were within
speaking distance, the bishop
recognized his three fishermen
friends. “Bishop!” they exclaimed.
“We see your boat go past the island
that is why we come hurry to meet
you.” “What is it that you want?”
asked the awe-stricken bishop.
“Bishop,” they said, “We are so
sorry, we forget your lovely prayer.
We only say ‘Our Father in heaven,
holy be your name, your kingdom
come… and then we forget.’ Please teach us that prayer again.” The bishop felt humbled at the
natural sincerity of their request. He then said to them, “Go back to your homes, my friends, and
each time you pray, just say, ‘We are three, you are three, have mercy on us’!”
Of course, the bishop could have spent the next day or days to really see to it that the
fishermen will really memorize the formula prayer but seeing their deepest desire to really pray
and connect to God in their most natural way of doing it, the bishop was not only satisfied but even
inspired by their natural sincerity. Some values and capacities are inherent to man by virtue of his
nature. The source of these values and capacities is God. Since man is created is crated in the image
and likeness of God (Gen. 1: 27), man has the inherent desire and inclination to be with God and
to follow God.
Through reason man also understands his inner nature. Sometimes, rules of conduct
imposed from outside are considered a constraint to the inner nature of man to flourish. Any law,
being a restriction, is seen as an obstacle to self-realization (Maboloc, 2020). In contrast, the
natural law is an intrinsic demand. It should be understood as a moral prescription from within. It
manifests the reality of God as the supreme lawgiver who created man in his image and likeness.
 Church’s Teaching About Natural Law

The natural law mandates humans to do the good and forbids them to do evil. St. Thomas
writes that the law is something that pertains to reason (ST: 26). Man by nature is a man of reason.
What is the meaning of this? For St. Thomas, the nature of the person as a creature implies a
subjection to an inner principle. This inner moral principle exists independently. It is uninfluenced
by the political order of the day or any of the social scheme of things but are nonetheless binding
norms of moral behavior. St. Thomas says:

Since all things subject to divine providence are measured and ruled by the eternal
law, all things partake to some extent of the eternal law – to the extent, namely, that
it is imprinted on them, they derive their inclinations to proper acts and ends. (ST:
26)

The harmony of human nature is the order that unites freedom and the moral law. The
natural law reconciles with the freedom of the human being because it empowers man toward self-
realization or self-perfection (Maboloc, 2020). It makes the human being fully the person that he
is. St. Thomas adds that “the proper effect of law is to lead its subjects to the proper virtue. Since
virtue is what makes its subjects good, it follows that the proper effect of law is to make its subjects
good” (ST: 26).
Furthermore, St. Thomas says that the “good is what all things seek. It is the first precept
of law: good is to be done and pursued, and evil is to be avoided” (ST: 26). The natural law in this
respect is teleological in character. It expressly is meant to bring man closer to God in whom all
good things can be found. While duty commands persons to do things, the natural law combines
doing what is good with the idea of God’s grace as a guiding light in the performance of the moral
act (Maboloc, 2020).
The natural law states that the good is the proper end of each person. It is evil that
diminishes this possibility. Thus, “good has the nature of an end and evil the nature of its
contrary” (ST: 26). Since the natural law comes from God, humans have a natural inclination
toward God. God is good. God is perfection. In relation to such, the natural law tells us that the
Church should bring people to their true happiness, which is to be in harmony with God and not
imposed a lot of laws and regulations which may push them to stay farther from God. God in this
sense is alone the source of the law. To live in accordance to one’s nature therefore means to live
in accordance with God’s divine plan. Since God is in nature, God puts order into nature. This
order is the order of reason.

The Natural Law and the Dynamic of the Human Reason

The natural law also makes manifest the dynamism of human reality. First, it holds that
morality is part of the natural order of things (ST: 84). Since every human person is a dynamic
reality, the law reveals such dynamism. People have an inclination in accordance with the very
nature that all have in common with other substances (ST: 27). In determining what is just or good,
the natural law serves as the ground and norm of what is right.
Second, an eternal law governs all persons everywhere, always, and without exception.
Since each person is a concrete existing reality, the natural law must reflect his present situation
(Maboloc, 2020). Persons, having such an inclination towards God, seek the truth by living out the
moral good. Every law is directed to the common welfare of people (ST: 28).
For Maboloc, (2020), there is a need for the natural law to be distinguished from physical
laws. The natural law is not about the mechanical states of things. The laws of nature proceed from
the way physical things behave and this behavior manifests the empirical aspect of truth (Maboloc,
2020). The natural law, in contrast, is about the moral development of the human person on the
basis of his rational nature. The natural law in this regard is not static like the hegemonic laws of
physics and other natural sciences. Rather, it attests to the changing human reality which in the
end reflects man as a dynamic creature. St. Thomas explains:

The light of natural reason, by which we discern what is good and what is evil,
which pertains to the natural law, is nothing else than an imprint on us of the divine
light (ST: 27).

The natural law is proof of the participation of the person to the eternal law of the Creator.
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), man participates in the wisdom and
goodness of the Creator who gives him mastery over his acts and the ability to govern himself with
a view to the true and the good. The natural law expresses the original moral sense which enables
man to discern by reason the good and the evil, the truth and the lie (CCC # 954). This act of
participation in the eternal law of God makes man a true steward of God. Thus, the natural law
endows humans with their dignity and rights not only as persons but as God’s stewards and partners
in mission. The natural law refers to the eternal moral dimension of the human person. It tells us
who we are as persons. It is the understanding of the moral good that defines our essential
humanity. The humanity of man is absolute. As such, the natural law serves as the foundation of
our natural human rights which bespeaks of human life as inviolable.

St. Thomas believes that as beings, we share in the perfection of God. We participate in
God as His creation. God’s perfection is in us. There is a trace of the divine providence in each
person. The Divine Providence for St. Thomas is the ultimate good. Since God is the perfection of
the concept of the good, we all share in this goodness. For Maboloc, (2020), an unjust human law
is a perversion of this good and as such, it ought not to be followed. For Christians, the natural law
is the conscience of man. In its basic formulation, it tells man to do good and avoid evil in order
not to ruin his nature. Thus, the good which is the ultimate end of each individual, is shown through
his conscience. This conscience does not only tell people to follow what is right. It also directs
them to do what is right or otherwise one ought to be punished. What is moral for each person is
to follow the will]of God, which is supreme goodness. Since God is this supreme good, the natural
law is the absolute command that tells us to do what is good.

Love is the natural law of humanity. To be a human person, therefore, means to love. Love
is expressed in its communicability. In love the person expresses not only what he feels or shares
what he possesses. In love, the person shares his full self. Since it has been established that the
natural law tends towards that which results to the person’s self-realization, there is no other way
of making such a possibility except through love. Love is the diffusion of the person into the other,
making the other a part of one’s life. The human person completes such self-realization in the
other. Love, if expressed through commitment, means that as human beings, we value the lives of
others just as we also value our own. The others here are not only other human beings but the rest
of God’s creation. Thus, the natural law also extends to the environment in terms of stewardship
and how people care for the world as a divine creation. This means that people have to respect
other species and love every form of life around him. When people are unable to recognize the
value of human life, they also become disrespect of other creatures and their habitat. The natural
law, as the law of God, as the rule of reason and love, seeks the preservation of all.
It is then important to examine the meaning of this love beyond abstraction. We need to
find its significance in the world. When we deem that love needs to be expressed, we don’t only
mean that love is something that is spoken or written in flowery words just to impress other people.
Love, as the law of our humanity, should be found in what we do. But this is not to say too that
love need not be said or even expressed in words. Words must also be reflections of kindness and
care. Institutions, owing to their inherent limitations or their strict commitment to rules and laws
and the promulgation of these to establish order in society, may not be able to fully provide the
human person with his needs. There are moments when the rules of institutions do not see, for
instance, the value of the person when a person in authority denies any form of immediate
assistance needed by the sick or a hapless victim. It can be said that doing so is unjust because
ultimately, the law or any rule for that matter should serve persons and not the other way around.

Let us learn more:

1. What do you think is the relation between human nature and natural law?
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 2. What is good according to the natural law?
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3. If love is the natural law of humanity, how can you express this love to others and the rest
of God’s creation?
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4. As a person and a steward, make you own prayer to God for all human beings to become
true to their nature as loving and faithful child and steward of God’s creation:

My Prayer to God for all Human Beings as Stewards

References: Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas. Translated by Fathers of the

English Dominican Province
The New American Bible
Catechism of the Catholic Church
Maboloc, C.R. (2020): Ethics in Contemporary Philippines Society:
SMKC Printshoppe, Davao City