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 TOPIC 8
CARE FOR CREATION

References: Catechism of the Catholic Church, nos. 279-314; 337-349; 2415-2418

Supplementary reading: https://opusdei.org/en/article/topic-8-care-for-creation/

 CARE FOR CREATION

Man’s responsibility
for creation:
an integral part
of his being made
an image of God

The purpose Three core principles

of all of creation:
the glory of God
 Man’s responsibility for creation:
an integral part of his being made unto God’s image

Man Man Man

the only creature in the visible universe a “body-person”
endowed with intelligence and free will
• called to embody in a bodily way
• therefore, called to personal communion with God through God’s spiritual perfections
knowledge and love
• Cf. Rom 12:1: turn all we do in and through the body into
spiritual worship
summit and recapitulation of material creation
• through his dominion, material creation
is called to share in the spiritual riches of God’s life
• Rom 8:19-21: all of creation is longing for the day
of the glorious resurrection of the body

• The mystery of the new heaven and the new earth

• anticipated in the mystery of the Holy Eucharist.

Scriptural reference: Gen 1: 26-30  contains 3 truths

 The purpose of the creation
of heaven & earth:
the glory and praise of God
Does God need the glory and praise man, and through man,
the whole of creation, is called to give Him?

◦ St. Irenaeus of Lyons: “The glory of God is man fully alive”

◦ and this includes the material world
◦ so that its beauty, its goodness, its being used for good and noble things makes man
a better person and leads him closer to God
◦ 1 Cor 15:28: On the last day of the Resurrection, when all things will be subjected to
Christ as King of the universe, all of creation will be subjected to God, who then
“will be all in all.”

◦ St. John Paul II encouraged contact with the beauty of nature

◦ God saw what He had made and He saw that it was good…
◦ care for the home, for the meals, for its cleanliness
◦ in so doing, man not only transforms the world, but transforms himself: justice,
charity, sense of responsibility, temperance, solidarity, prudence, fortitude
 Three core principles

universal destination of material goods social mortgage of private property

• .has precedence over the right to private property • the property we legitimately own is intended not only to meet our own personal needs, but to help
us help our neighbor
• reason for need to care for nature: because the resources of the world
have to benefit all men, of all generations • parable of rich man and Lazarus

• ecology only has meaning in the context of a healthy “human ecology” • those who have received more have responsibility for the less fortunate

• preferential option for the poor

• question of migration, care for immigrants, rights of the weakest, of the unborn

sanctifying value of ordinary work

• work as raw material for our identification with Christ

• “sanctify work” -well done and for a supernatural motive

• ”sanctify ourselves through work” – practice of Christian virtues through work: patience,
humility, generosity, understanding, fortitude, justice, charity: turn work into prayer

• ”sanctify others through work” –good example, occasion to build bonds of solidarity and
friendship with others, of human and spiritual accompaniment
 TOPIC 8
CARE FOR CREATION

References: Catechism of the Catholic Church, nos. 279-314; 337-349; 2415-2418

Supplementary reading: https://opusdei.org/en/article/topic-8-care-for-creation/