Human Person: The Revelation of God’s Essence
[The human person] is the likeness and image of God … [This image] was not painted on canvas, it was not made of wood, stone or metal but of a living, rational and spiritual substance which has its own characteristic and substantial make-up … representing … all of you in your essence. (OOCC, XIII, P. 60; GIL, VIII, p. 27)
Creation is the revelation of God’s infinite love towards humankind, as it is the love of God that moved him to create every creature in the world. At the same time, creation is also the revelation of God’s infinite goodness because creation is due to the diffusion of the infinite goodness of God, and every created being has participated in the goodness of God. Hence, every creature in the world demonstrates that they are the infinite love, goodness and mercy of God. But the human person is unique among the created beings, for he is created in the image and likeness of God. According to St. Vincent Pallotti, this image is not a mere painting on canvas, wood, stone or metal. But, being the image of God means for a human person that he is a living, rational and spiritual being, which has the very characteristics and substantial make-up that represents in a real way the essence of God. Thus, the human person is similar to God more than any other creature. He can have a degree of relationship with God which no other creature can have. He has God-given powers over creation which no other created beings have. In short, a human person is the only co-creator among the creatures God created who has dominion over the creation, and who makes the creation of God develop and grow, thereby manifesting the glory and honor of God, the creator.
Do I acknowledge my significant place in God’s creation? Am I constantly aware of my dignity as the image of God? By my life, do I reveal the nature and essence of God? Do I make the world a better place by using my God- given powers and abilities?
God blessed them [man and woman], saying: “Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the flesh of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that move on the earth.” (Gen. 1: 28)