Catholic Social Teaching
Last week we explored the principles of Catholic Social Teaching and learnt that the principle of human dignity is the parent principle
| The phrase ‘Image of God’ comes from Genesis (1:26 and 1:27) which says that God made humans in God’s own image. “God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.’ So, God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created image.” Gen 1:26, 27 |
Activities
When the Church writes its official teaching, it writes in Latin.
In Latin the phrase ‘Image of God’ is ‘Imago Dei’. We know that God has no physical body. God is pure spirit, so we can’t actually look like God. But we can be like God in our nature – in the way we act and speak and behave. We can be like God, being creative, not destructive.
The Principles of Catholic Social Teaching remind us how to be like God: how to act and be the image of God. Make some decorative signs that say ‘Imago Dei’ and put them on the mirrors in your house, so that when you look in the mirror and see yourself you are reminded that you are made in God’s image. You will find others if you google images, Imago Dei!
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