Needs a New Opener

Praise the Lord all the earth The work of Creation belongs to God alone, not to humanity. Creation is truly a reflection of the Creator. The human person is the crown of God’s creation. God created the world to show forth and communicate his glory. That his creatures should share in his truth, goodness and beauty―this is the glory for which God created them. (CCC, no. 319)

Our responsibility of stewardship God gave human beings the responsibility to be stewards of creation; in other words, to care for creation. We are to give glory and praise to God by the way we use creation. Care for the earth is a requirement of our faith. We are called to protect people and the planet, living our faith in relationship with all of God’s creation. How do you think you are living up to your responsibility to be a good and responsible steward of creation? How might you do better?

God the ‘Father’ God, gradually over time, revealed himself to be Father, and he most fully revealed this truth about himself in his Incarnate Son, Jesus Christ. The name ‘Father’ is not a metaphor or image for God. The name ‘Father’ expresses an essential dimension of who God revealed himself to be. God the Father is the Creator and giver of life. The Israelites had a deep faith in God as Father. They trusted in God to care for, provide for and sustain them.

God as ‘Mother’ Sacred Scripture also speaks of God using the metaphor ‘mother’. The Church helps us understand the use and power of the metaphor ‘mother’ for God when she teaches: God’s parental tenderness can also be expressed by the image of motherhood, which emphasizes God’s immanence, the intimacy between Creator and creature.... God transcends the human distinction between the sexes. He is neither man nor woman: he is God. (CCC, no. 239)

Other biblical metaphors for God Human language can never fully define God. Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition use other metaphors and other descriptive phrases to speak the truth about God and his Revelation. Scripture describes God as a king, judge, rock, gardener, lover, friend, bread-maker, washerwoman, lion, shepherd, fresh water, midwife and more. Which metaphor for God best helps you express your faith in God?

Jesus reveals the Father The more we come to know Jesus, the more we come to know the Father. The depth and intimacy of Jesus’ relationship with the Father was dramatically revealed in the events of his suffering and Death. Through his Death and Resurrection Jesus fulfilled the divine plan of Salvation. The Ascension of Jesus reveals that in and through Jesus and his Death and Resurrection the fulfillment of the Father’s will for humanity was accomplished and the reign of God in the world was revealed.

God’s love is prodigal In the parable of the Prodigal Son, Jesus revealed a God whose love and mercy are boundless. The word ‘prodigal’ means ‘excessive’ and has its roots in the word ‘profuse’, which means ‘exhibiting great abundance’. God’s love is abundant. God’s ways are not human ways. In this parable Jesus challenges us to look beyond ‘human love’, which is often ‘calculated’, to a deeper understanding of God’s compassionate and ‘prodigal love’. What have you learned from this parable about your relationship with God?

We are ‘adopted’ children of God In Baptism we are united to Jesus and we become ‘adopted’ sons and daughters of God the Father. Jesus revealed that God desires and wills that all people return ‘home’. Jesus has given us his Church as the sign and instrument of that ‘way home’. Baptism is the ordinary entrance way to the place of salvation.

Social Teaching of the Church Scripture reveals that God has a special love for the ‘poor’ and for all people who are neglected and treated unjustly by society. God calls us to treat all people with the dignity and respect that they deserve. The teaching of Jesus, which calls all Christians to respect their brothers and sisters who are poor and vulnerable with a ‘preferential love’, is one of the foundational principles of the Catholic Church’s Social Teaching, or Social Doctrine.

Catholic Social Teaching in action The bishops lead the Church in the United States to put the Church’s social teaching into action. The Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) is one example of how this is happening. CCHD works to transform lives by breaking the cycle of poverty in communities across the United States. How can you help to implement the Church’s social teaching?

Julian of Norwich (1342–c.1416) Julian lived most of her life as a hermit on the grounds of the Church of St. Julian in Norwich, England. When she was thirty, Julian experienced a vision of Jesus’ Passion and Death on the Cross. After praying and reflecting on this experience for many years, Julian wrote Showings of Divine Love, the first book in English written by a woman. Julian championed ‘God’s great love for us’. Her deep faith in and love for Christ and her assurance that Christ’s victory over death and sin was a victory once and for all, helped people to trust and hope that ‘in the end, all will be well’.