Paragraph 6. MAN

Paragraphus 6 HOMO 

 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.

Homo in creatione locum habet unicum: 

est « ad imaginem Dei » (I);

in sua propria natura mundum spiritualem et mundum coniungit materialem (II);

« masculus et femina » est creatus (III);

Deus illum in Sua constituit amicitia (IV).

Friendship is central to salvation, i.e. relationship with God: [374, 384 1023];

also basis of virtue of chastity, of which it is chief expression [2346-2349]  

God's friendship [ i.e. love] as model entails His: “inexhaustible outpouring” [1045] 

 374 friendship with God; harmony with self

 384 from friendship with God flows happiness of paradise

1023 friendship as precondition of beatific vision

2347 friendship as reflection of divine friendship and model of virtues

1045 God's Outpouring

356_Made_in_the_image_of_God

I. “IN THE IMAGE of GOD”

I. « Ad imaginem Dei » 

356 Of all visible creatures only man is “able to know and love his creator”. (GS 12 # 3) He is “the only creature on earth that God has willed for its own sake”, (GS 24 # 3) 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:

356 Inter omnes creaturas visibiles solus homo capax est « suum Creatorem cognoscendi et amandi »; ²³² « in terris sola creatura est quam Deus propter seipsam voluerit »; ²³³ solus ille est vocatus ad vitam Dei, cognitione et amore, participandam. Ad hunc finem creatus est et in hoc fundamentalis habetur ratio eius dignitatis:

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 (St. Catherine of Siena, Dialogue IV, 13 “On Divine Providence”: LH, Sunday, week 19, OR) .

« Quis fuit in causa, ut hominem in tanta dignitate locares? Amor inaestimabilis quo creaturam Tuam in Temetipso respexisti, de qua fuisti “philocaptus”; nam propter amorem eam creasti, propter amorem esse ei dedisti, ut summum Tuum aeternum gustaret Bonum ». ²³⁴

of self-knowledge,

of self-possession

and of freely giving himself

and entering into communion with other persons.

se possidendi

et se libere donandi

atque in communionem ingrediendi cum aliis personis,

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.

 est per gratiam ad Foedus cum suo Creatore vocatus, ad Illi fidei et amoris offerendum responsum quod nullus alius suo loco praebere potest.

358 Offer Creation back to God

358 God created everything for man, (Cf. GS 12 # 1; 24 # 3; 39 # 1) but man in turn was created to serve and love God and to offer all creation back to him:

358 Deus omnia creavit pro homine; ²³⁵ homo est creatus ut Deo serviat Eumque amet et Ei totam offerat creationem:

What is it that is about to be created, that enjoys such honor? It is man that great and wonderful living creature, more precious in the eyes of God than all other creatures! For him the heavens and the earth, the sea and all the rest of creation exist. God attached so much importance to his salvation that he did not spare his own Son for the sake of man. Nor does he ever cease to work, trying every possible means, until he has raised man up to himself and made him sit at his right hand (St. John Chrysostom, In Gen. sermo 2, 1: PG 54, 587D-588A).

« Quisnam igitur tandem est ille creandus, cui tantum honoris deferatur? Homo est, magnum illud animal et admirabile quodque omni creatura praestantius est apud Deum, propter quem caelum et terra et mare ac reliquum omne creaturae corpus est conditum: homo, cuius ita Deus salutem adamavit, ut ne Unigenito quidem Suo propter eum parceret: neque enim omnia praestare molirique destitit, donec in altum evectum in Sua dextera collocavit ». ²³⁶

359 “In reality it is only in the mystery of the Word made flesh that the mystery of man truly becomes clear.” (GS 22 # 1)

359 « Reapse nonnisi in mysterio Verbi incarnati mysterium hominis vere clarescit »: ²³⁷

      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” (St. Peter Chrysologus, Sermo 117: PL 52, 520-521).

« Duos homines beatus Apostolus hodie retulit humano generi dedisse principium, Adam videlicet et Christum. [...] Factus, inquit, primus homo Adam in animam viventem, novissimus Adam in spiritum vivificantem. Ille primus ab Isto novissimo factus est, a quo est et animam consecutus ut viveret. [...] Hic est Adam, qui Suam tunc in illo, cum fingeret, imaginem collocavit. Hinc est quod eius personam suscipit, nomen recipit, ne Sibi quod ad Suam imaginem fecerat deperiret. Primus Adam, novissimus Adam: ille primus habet initium, Hic novissimus non habet finem, quia Hic novissimus vere Ipse est primus, Ipso dicente: “Ego primus et ego novissimus” ». ²³⁸

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; cf. Tob 8:6):

360 Propter originis communitatem genus humanum constituit unitatem. Deus enim « fecit [...] ex uno omne genus hominum inhabitare super universam faciem terrae » (Act 17,26): ²³⁹

O wondrous vision, which makes us contemplate the human race in the unity of its origin in God. . . in the unity of its nature, composed equally in all men of a material body and a spiritual soul; in the unity of its immediate end and its mission in the world;

in the unity of its dwelling, the earth, whose benefits all men, by right of nature, may use to sustain and develop life; in the unity of its supernatural end: God himself, to whom all ought to tend; in the unity of the means for attaining this end;. . . in the unity of the redemption wrought by Christ for all

(Pius XII. Enc. Summi pontificatus 3; cf. NA 1).

« Miro quodam mentis obtutu humanum genus, ob communem a Creatore originem unum intueri ac contemplari possumus [...]; itemque natura unum, quae ex corporis concretione et ex immortali spiritualique animo constat; unum ob proxime omnibus assequendum finem, obque commune per praesentis huius vitae decursum fungendum munus; unum ob eamdem habitationem, terrarum nempe orbem, cuius opibus naturali iure omnes frui possunt, ut sese alere queant seseque ad auctiora incrementa provehere; unum denique ob supernum finem, Deum Ipsum, quo contendant omnes oportet, et ob res atque adiumenta, quibus eundem finem tandem aliquando contingere valeant [...] itemque ex una eademque Redemptione, quam Christus [...] omnibus dilargitus est ». ²⁴⁰

361 “This law of human solidarity and charity” (Pius XII Summi pontificatus 3), without excluding the rich variety of persons, cultures and peoples, assures us that all men are truly brethren.

361 Haec lex « mutuae [...] hominum necessitudinis caritatisque », ²⁴¹ quin divitem varietatem personarum, culturarum et populorum excludat, nobis tutatur omnes homines vere esse fratres.

II. “BODY AND SOUL
BUT TRULY ONE” 

II. « Corpore
et anima unus »

362 The human person, created in the image of God, is a being at once corporeal and spiritual. The biblical account expresses this reality in symbolic language when it affirms that “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” (Gen 2:7). Man, whole and entire, is therefore willed by God.

362 Persona humana, ad imaginem Dei creata, simul est ens corporale et spirituale. Narratio biblica hanc realitatem sermone exprimit symbolico, cum asserit: « Formavit Dominus Deus hominem pulverem de humo et inspiravit in nares eius spiraculum vitae, et factus est homo in animam viventem » (Gn 2,7). Totus ergo homo est a Deo volitus.

363 In Sacred Scripture the term “soul” often refers to human life or the entire human person (Cf. Mt 16:25-26; Jn 15:13; Acts 2:41). But “soul” also refers to the innermost aspect of man, that which is of greatest value in him, (Cf. Mt 10:28; 26:38; Jn 12:27; 2 Macc 6 30) that by which he is most especially in God’s image: “soul” signifies the spiritual principle in man. 

363 In sacra Scriptura verbum anima saepe vitam denotat humanam ²⁴² vel totam humanam personam. ²⁴³ Sed denotat etiam id quod in homine est summe intimum ²⁴⁴ et maximi valoris in illo, ²⁴⁵ per quod ille magis peculiariter est imago Dei: « anima » significat principium spirituale in homine.

364 The human body shares in the dignity of “the image of God”: it is a human body precisely because it is animated by a spiritual soul, and it is the whole human person that is intended to become, in the body of Christ, a temple of the Spirit: (Cf. I Cor 6:19-20; 15:44-45)

364 Corpus hominis dignitatem « imaginis Dei » participat; illud est corpus humanum praecise quia anima spirituali animatur, atque tota persona humana destinatur completa ut in corpore Christi templum Spiritus fiat. ²⁴⁶

      Man, though made of body and soul, is a unity. Through his very bodily condition he sums up in himself the elements of the material world. Through him they are thus brought to their highest perfection and can raise their voice in praise freely given to the Creator. For this reason man may not despise his bodily life. Rather he is obliged to regard his body as good and to hold it in honor since God has created it and will raise it up on the last day. (GS 14 # 1; cf. Dan 3:57-80)

« Corpore et anima unus, homo per ipsam suam corporalem condicionem elementa mundi materialis in se colligit, ita ut, per ipsum, fastigium suum attingant et ad liberam Creatoris laudem vocem attollant. Vitam ergo corporalem homini despicere non licet, e contra ipse corpus suum, utpote a Deo creatum et ultima die resuscitandum, bonum et honore dignum habere tenetur ». ²⁴⁷

365 The unity of soul and body is so profound that one has to consider the soul to be the “form” of the body: (Cf. Council of Vienne 1312,: DS 902) i.e., it is because of its spiritual soul that the body made of matter becomes a living, human body; spirit and matter, in man, are not two natures united, but rather their union forms a single nature.

365 Unitas animae et corporis ita est profunda ut anima « forma » corporis considerari debeat; ²⁴⁸ id est propter animam spiritualem corpus, materia constitutum, est corpus humanum et vivens; spiritus et materia in homine non sunt duae naturae unitae, sed eorum unio unam solam efficit naturam.

366 The Church teaches that every spiritual soul is created immediately by God - it is not “produced” by the parents - and also that it is immortal: it does not perish when it separates from the body at death, and it will be reunited with the body at the final Resurrection (Cf. Pius XII, Humani generis: DS 3896; Paul VI, CPC # 8; Lateran Council V (1513): DS 1440).

366 Ecclesia docet unamquamque animam spiritualem a Deo esse immediate creatam ²⁴⁹ — illa non est a parentibus « producta » —; ea nos etiam docet illam esse immortalem; ²⁵⁰ illa non perit cum a corpore separatur in morte, et iterum corpori unietur in resurrectione finali.

367 Sometimes the soul is distinguished from the spirit: St. Paul for instance prays that God may sanctify his people “wholly”, with “spirit and soul and body” kept sound and blameless at the Lord’s coming (1 Th 5:23).  The Church teaches that this distinction does not introduce a duality into the soul (Cf. Council of Constantinople IV (870): DS 657). “Spirit” signifies that from creation man is ordered to a supernatural end and that his soul can gratuitously be raised beyond all it deserves to communion with God (Cf. Vatican Council I, Dei Filius: DS 3005; GS 22 # 5; Humani generis: DS 3891).

367 Quandoque invenitur animam a spiritu distingui. Sic sanctus Paulus orat ut nostra « omnia, et integer spiritus [...] et anima et corpus » serventur « sine querela in Adventu Domini » (1 Thess 5,23). Ecclesia docet hanc distinctionem dualitatem non introducere in animam. ²⁵¹ « Spiritus » significat hominem inde a creatione sua ad suum finem supernaturalem ordinari, ²⁵² animamque eius capacem esse quae gratuito ad communionem superelevetur cum Deo. ²⁵³

368 The spiritual tradition of the Church also emphasizes the heart, in the biblical sense of the “depths of one’s being” (Jer 31:33), where the person decides for or against God (Cf. Jer 31:33; Dt 6:5; 29:3; Is 29:13; Ezek 36:26; Mt 6:21; Lk 8:15; Rom 5:5).

368 Ecclesiae traditio spiritualis etiam in corde insistit, sensu biblico « intimae profunditatis » (« in visceribus »: Ier 31,33), ubi persona se decidit aut non decidit pro Deo. ²⁵⁴

III. “MALE AND FEMALE
HE CREATED THEM”

III. « Masculum et feminam creavit eos »

Equality and difference willed by God  

Aequalitas et diversitas a Deo volitae

Bible Moralisee 13th Cent. Illum. MS

Tres Riches Heures

369 Man and woman have been created, which is to say, willed by God: on the one hand, in perfect equality as human persons; on the other, in their respective beings as man and woman. “Being man” or “being woman” is a reality which is good and willed by God: man and woman possess an inalienable dignity which comes to them immediately from God their Creator. (Cf. Gen 2:7, 22) [2333 on sexual identity]

369 Vir et mulier creati sunt, id est sunt a Deo voliti: ex alia parte, in aequalitate perfecta quatenus personae humanae, ex alia vero in eorum esse specificum viri et mulieris. « Virum esse », « mulierem esse » realitas est bona et a Deo volita: vir et mulier dignitatem habent inamissibilem quae illis immediate a Deo eorum Creatore advenit. ²⁵⁵

370 In no way is God in man’s image. He is neither man nor woman. God is pure spirit in which there is no place for the difference between the sexes. But the respective “perfections” of man and woman reflect something of the infinite perfection of God: those of a mother and those of a father and husband (Cf. Is 49:14-15; 66: 13; Ps 131:2-3; Hos 11:1-4; Jer 3:4- 19).

370 Deus nequaquam est ad imaginem hominis. Neque vir est neque mulier. Deus est spiritus purus in quo pro sexuum differentia locus non est. Sed viri et mulieris « perfectiones » aliquid infinitae perfectionis reverberant Dei: tales sunt perfectiones matris ²⁵⁶ et illae patris et sponsi. ²⁵⁷

“Each for the other” - “A unity in two”  

« Alius pro alio » – « unitas duorum »

371 God created man and woman together and willed each for the other. The Word of God gives us to understand this through various features of the sacred text. “It is not good that the man should be alone. I will make him a helper fit for him.” (Gen 2:18) None of the animals can be man’s partner. (Gen 2:19-20) The woman God “fashions” from the man’s rib and brings to him elicits on the man’s part a cry of wonder, an exclamation of love and communion: “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.” (Gen 2:23) Man discovers woman as another “I”, sharing the same humanity. 

371 Vir et mulier, simul creati, voliti sunt a Deo ut alius sit pro alio. Verbum Dei id suggerit intelligendum diversis textus sacri lineamentis. « Non est bonum esse hominem solum; faciam ei adiutorium simile sui » (Gn 2,18). Nullum animalium tale « par » hominis esse potest. ²⁵⁸ Mulier quam Deus ex costa « efformat » de viro sublata quamque Ipse ad virum adduxit, admirationis ex parte viri provocat clamorem, amoris et communionis exclamationem: « Haec nunc os ex ossibus meis et caro de carne mea! » (Gn 2,23). Vir mulierem detegit tamquam aliud « ego » eiusdem humanitatis.

Fouquet, Paradise

Tres Riches Heures

In marriage God unites them in such a way that, by forming “one flesh”, (Gen 2:24) they can transmit human life: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.” (Gen 1:28) By transmitting human life to their descendants, man and woman as spouses and parents cooperate in a unique way in the Creator’s work (Cf. GS 50 # 1).

 In matrimonio, Deus eos ita coniungit ut « unam carnem » efformantes (Gn 2,24) vitam humanam transmittere valeant: « Crescite et multiplicamini et replete terram » (Gn 1,28). Vir et mulier, tamquam sponsi et parentes, suis descendentibus vitam transmittentes humanam, singulari modo, operi cooperantur Creatoris.

373 In God’s plan man and woman have the vocation of “subduing” the earth (Gen 1:28) as stewards of God. This sovereignty is not to be an arbitrary and destructive domination. God calls man and woman, made in the image of the Creator “who loves everything that exists”,(Wis 11,24), to share in his providence toward other creatures; hence their responsibility for the world God has entrusted to them.

373 In Dei consilio, vir et mulier vocationem habent subiiciendi terram ²⁶¹ tamquam « administratores » Dei. Haec dominatus elatio arbitraria et destructiva esse non debet. Ad imaginem Creatoris qui diligit « omnia, quae sunt » (Sap 11,24), vir et mulier vocantur ad divinam participandam providentiam erga alias creaturas. Exinde eorum responsabilitas pro mundo quem Deus illis concredidit.

IV. MAN IN PARADISE

V. Homo in paradiso

374 The first man was not only created good, but was also

374 Primus homo non solum est creatus bonus,

_[1] established in friendship with his Creator

_[2] and in harmony with himself

_[3] and with the creation around him,

sed in amicitia cum Creatore suo

et in harmonia cum semetipso

et cum creatione illum

375 The Church, interpreting the symbolism of biblical language in an authentic way, in the light of the New Testament and Tradition, teaches that our first parents, Adam and Eve, were constituted in an original “state of holiness and justice”. (Cf. Trent (1546): DS 1511) This grace of original holiness was “to share in. . .divine life”. (Cf. LG 2)

375 Ecclesia symbolismum sermonis biblici authentice sub Novi Testamenti et Traditionis luce interpretans, docet primos nostros parentes, Adamum et Evam, in statu sanctitatis et iustitiae originalis constitutos esse. ²⁶² Haec sanctitatis originalis gratia erat participatio vitae divinae. ²⁶³

276_Primordial_Original Justice

Primordial “divine intimacy” establishes threefold harmony called ORIGINAL JUSTICE: thus marriage as communion particularly reflects our origins and potential; 

MARRIAGE
AS
 ESCHATOLOGICAL
 ICON

376 By the radiance of this grace all dimensions of man’s life were confirmed. As long as he remained in the divine intimacy, man would not have to suffer or die. (Cf. Gen 2:17; 3:16, 19)[:]

[1] The inner harmony of the human person,

[2] the harmony between man and woman, (Cf. Gen 2:25)

[3] and finally the harmony between the first couple and all creation,

comprised the state called “original justice”. 

376 Huius gratiae splendore omnes dimensiones vitae hominis confortabantur. Dum homo in intimitate permaneret divina, nec mori ²⁶⁴ nec pati debebat. ²⁶⁵

Interior harmonia personae humanae,

harmonia inter virum et mulierem, ²⁶⁶

harmonia denique inter primum par humanum et totam creationem

 constituebat statum qui « iustitia originalis » appellatur.

377 The “mastery” over the world that God offered man from the beginning was realized above all within man himself: mastery of self. The first man was unimpaired and ordered in his whole being because he was free from the triple concupiscence (Cf. I Jn 2:16) that subjugates him to

_[1] the pleasures of the senses,
_[2] covetousness for earthly goods,
_[3] and self-assertion, contrary to the dictates of reason. 

377 Mundi « dominatus » quem Deus homini ab initio concesserat, imprimis apud ipsum hominem in rem ducebatur tamquam sui dominatus. Homo intactus erat et ordinatus in toto esse suo, quippe qui libera triplici concupiscentia ²⁶⁷ quae eum

voluptatibus sensuum,

bonorum terrenorum cupidini

et affirmationi sui contra iussa submittit rationis.

[Contrast before primordial "order" and "disordered" state after the fall.  "Disordered" understood as "misdirected"; not ordered to proper end: 1606 Disorder of strife in marriage;  

278 Tlling the Garden as collaborating in perfecting creation

378 The sign of man’s familiarity with God is that God places him in the garden. (Cf. Gen 2:8) There he lives “to till it and keep it” (Gen 2,15). Work is not yet a burden, (Gen 2:15; cf. 3:17-19) but rather the collaboration of man and woman with God in perfecting the visible creation.

378 Signum familiaritatis hominis cum Deo est Deum eum in viridarium collocasse. ²⁶⁸ Ibi vivit ut illud « operaretur et custodiret » (Gn 2,15): labor poena non est, ²⁶⁹ sed cooperatio viri et mulieris cum Deo in creatione visibili perficienda.

379 This entire harmony of original justice, foreseen for man in God’s plan, will be lost by the sin of our first parents.

379 Tota haec iustitiae originalis harmonia, pro homine a consilio Dei praevisa, per peccatum nostrorum amittetur protoparentum.

IN BRIEF

Compendium

380 “Father,. . . you formed man in your own likeness and set him over the whole world to serve you, his creator, and to rule over all creatures” (Roman Missal, EP IV, 118).

380 Deus, « hominem ad Tuam imaginem condidisti, eique commisisti mundi curam universi, ut, Tibi soli Creatori serviens, creaturis omnibus imperaret ». ²⁷⁰

381 Man is predestined to reproduce the image of God’s Son made man, the “image of the invisible God” (Col 1:15), so that Christ shall be the first-born of a multitude of brothers and sisters (cf. Eph 1:3-6; Rom 8:29).

381 Homo praedestinatus est ut imaginem reproducat Filii Dei, hominis facti — « qui est imago Dei invisibilis » (Col 1,15) — ut Christus primogenitus multitudinis fratrum sit et sororum. ²⁷¹

382 “Man, though made of body and soul, is a unity” (GS 14 # 1). The doctrine of the faith affirms that the spiritual and immortal soul is created immediately by God.

382 Homo est « corpore et anima unus ». ²⁷² Fidei doctrina affirmat animam spiritualem et immortalem immediate a Deo esse creatam.

383 “God did not create man a solitary being. From the beginning, “male and female he created them” (Gen 1:27). This partnership of man and woman constitutes the first form of communion between persons” (GS 12 # 4).

383 « Deus non creavit hominem solum: nam inde a primordiis “masculum et feminam creavit eos” (Gn 1,27), quorum consociatio primam formam efficit communionis personarum ». ²⁷³

384 Revelation makes known to us the state of original holiness and justice of man and woman before sin: from their friendship with God flowed the happiness of their existence in paradise.

384 Revelatio statum sanctitatis et iustitiae originalium viri et mulieris ante peccatum nobis cognoscendum praebet: ex eorum amicitia cum Deo exsistentiae eorum in paradiso promanabat felicitas.