So God created man in his own image; in the image of God he created him. Gen 1:27

In what ways are we made in the image of God?

Made in the Image of God Not Physically We are co-creators We have the divine spirit (but so does all of life) – dignity of the human persondignity of the human person We have freedom of choice – capable of great love but also great evil We have a greater sense of consciousness and intelligence

How do we distort our image?

As co- creators? In Human dignity In Freedom?

Genesis 3 – The Fall of Man 4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

Genesis 3 – The Fall of Man The tree of good and evil symbolically represents the limits that we have as creatures. Limits we should respect with trust. We are dependant upon our creator. In their sin, Adam and Eve stopped trusting God, and disobeyed His command. They preferred themselves to God and in that act, scorned Him. like God is not the same as with God.

Genesis 3 – The Fall of Man Satan is a liar and deceiver. The CCC calls the devils seduction mendacious aka: lying - false - untrue - untruthful - double- tongued Satan cannot create. He can only twist and pervert what God has created. like God is not the same as with God.

You cannot serve two masters – imagine if we put this much energy into cultivating our spirituality… Instead of serving God, we serve our image… The Modern Human Image: A Distortion of Reality

Unrealistic Expectations Ah yes! The sexy, exotic, curvy female with her deep blue eyes, luscious lips, full cleavage, perfect skin and of course angel wings. Merry Christmas indeed!!! But what is not made evident is that this image is digitally enhanced. No one looks like this in real life… yet the damage is done. The male sees this and is almost immediately seduced. The female sees the reaction and thinks that she then must look the same. Thus the war on the self begins…

Its Just as Difficult for Guys… How many hours would a guy have to spend working out just to come close to this image? The result is countless hours spent sculpting bodies, which often then translates into a over-developed ego combined with possible steroid usage leading to various health issues.

Beauty Ensnares We become enraptured by beauty – physical beauty is particularly seductive & companies know this Why are we so absorbed by beauty? Why is it never permanent? Why can it never satisfy?

Beauty has its source in God Though we try, we can never possess beauty Beauty possess us; it grasps us Our desire for beauty is our desire for God and so we should approach it with respect, humility, appreciation In fact, God is beauty. God is the source and cause of all beauty, and all beautiful things share in the beauty of God

Our Desire for Beauty Beauty is the only quality of God that can be sensed by the physical body. It shines before the eyes naked and undisguised. Therefore, it pleases the senses, which are always ready to be pleased again. Beauty has varying degrees and multiple expressions – e.g. models vs the person you love and want to spend the rest of your life with We need to use our intellect to examine our desire for beauty. We need to think about when it is good and when it is disordered.

It is completely ludicrous to think that anyone should fit one body image. The fact is that there are thousands of different shapes and sizes and guess what… each is beautiful when the individual realizes that beauty radiates from within. Think back to how you are made in the image of God… a physical body will decay over time, but the beauty of the spirit can last a life time.

The most important question is, what do you see when you look into the mirror? ANGER RESENTMENT ANXIETY DESPAIR DENIAL WORTHLESS PITY SHAME CONFIDENCE CURIOUSITY CALM HAPPY ACCEPTANCE VALUED APPRECIATED RESPECTED

See beauty for what it really is… a reflection of the infinite, creative power of God Exercise and be healthy because your body is a gift! Not because you want to try and imitate some unrealistic image that the media and corporations have thrown at you!

The Dignity of the Human Person Every person, from the first moment of their life in the womb, has an inviolable dignity, because from all eternity God willed, loved, created, and redeemed that person and destined them for eternal happiness.