GOD MADE
MAN THE STEWARD OF CREATION
Pope John Paul II Source
Today there is an urgent need for ‘ecological
conversion’ to
protect not only the natural environment by also the human quality
of life
The effort to prevent ecological catastrophe
was the subject of the Holy Father's catechesis at the General Audience
of Wednesday,
17
January.
The Pope reminded his listeners that man's lordship over creation
is not "absolute, but ministerial: it is a real reflection
of the unique and infinite lordship of God. Hence man must exercise
it with wisdom
and love, sharing in the boundless wisdom and love of God." Here is a translation of the Holy Father's catechesis, which was
given in
Italian.
1. In the hymn of praise proclaimed a few moments
ago (Psalm 148:1-5), the Psalmist summons all creatures, calling
them by name. Angels, sun,
moon, stars and heavens appear on high; 22 things move upon the earth,
as many as the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, in order to give an
impression of fullness and totality. The believer, in a sense, is "the
shepherd of being", that is, the one who leads all beings to
God, inviting them to sing an "alleluia" of praise. The
Psalm brings us into a sort of cosmic church, whose apse is the heavens
and whose
aisles are
the regions of the world, in which the choir of God's creatures sings
his praise.
On the one hand, this vision might represent a lost
paradise and, on the other the promised paradise. Not without reason,
the horizon of a
paradisiacal universe, which Genesis (chap. 2) put at the very origins
of the world, is placed by Isaiah (chap, 11) and the Book of Revelation
(chap. 21-22) at the end of history. Thus we see that man's harmony
with
his fellow beings, with creation and with God is the plan followed
by the Creator. This plan was and is continually upset by human sin,
which
is inspired by an alternative plan depicted in the same Book of Genesis
(chap. 3-11), which describes man's progressive conflictual tension
with God, with his fellow human beings and even with nature.
Man is called to continue the Creator's work of life
2. The contrast between the two plans emerges clearly
in the vocation to which humanity is called, according to the Bible,
and in the consequences
resulting from its infidelity to this call. The human creature receives
a mission to govern creation in order to make all its potential shine.
It is a delegation granted at the very origins of creation, when
man and woman, who are the "image of God" (Genesis 1:27),
receive the order to be fruitful and multiply, to fill the earth
and subdue
it, and
to have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air and
every living thing that moves upon the earth (cf. Genesis 1:28).
St Gregory of Nyssa,
one of the three great Cappadocian Fathers, commented: "God
made man capable of carrying out his role as king of the earth....
Man was
created in the image of the One who governs the universe. Everything
demonstrates that from the beginning his nature was marked by royalty....
He is the living image who participates by his dignity in the perfection
of the divine archetype" (De Hominis Opificio, 4: PG 44, 136).
3. Man's lordship, however, is not "absolute,
but ministerial: it is a real reflection of the unique and infinite
lordship of God. Hence
man must exercise it with wisdom and love, sharing in the boundless
wisdom and love of God" (Evangelium vitae, n. 52).
In biblical language "naming" the
creatures (cf. Genesis 2:19-20) is the sign of this mission of knowing
and transforming created reality. It is not the mission of an absolute
and
unquestionable master, but of a steward of God's kingdom who is called
to continue the Creator's work, a work of life and peace. His task,
described the Book of Wisdom, is to rule "the world in holiness
and righteousness" (Wisdom
9:3).
Unfortunately, if we scan the regions of our planet,
we immediately see that humanity has disappointed God's expectations.
Man, especially
in our time, has without hesitation devastated wooded plains and
valleys, polluted waters, disfigured the earth's habitat, made the
air unbreathable,
disturbed the hydrogeological and atmospheric systems, turned luxuriant
areas into deserts and undertaken forms of unrestrained industrialization,
degrading that "flowerbed"—use an image from Dante Alighieri
(Paradiso, XXII, 151)— which is the earth, our dwelling-place.
4. We must therefore encourage and support the "ecological conversion" which
in recent decades has made humanity more sensitive to the catastrophe
to which it has been heading. Man is no longer the Creator's "steward",
but an autonomous despot, who is finally beginning to understand that
he must stop at the edge of the abyss. "Another welcome sign is
the growing attention being paid to the quality of life and to ecology,
especially in more developed societies, where people's expectations are
no longer concentrated so much on problems of survival as on the search
for an overall improvement of living conditions" (Evangelium
vitae,
n. 27). At stake, then, is not only a "physical" ecology that
is concerned to safeguard the habitat of the various living beings, but
also a "human" ecology which makes the existence of creatures
more dignified, by protecting the fundamental good of life in all
its manifestations and by preparing for future generations an environment
more in conformity with the Creator's plan.
The Creator is perceived in the beauty of created things
5. In this rediscovered harmony with nature and with
one another, men and women are once again walking in the garden of
creation, seeking to
make the goods of the earth available to all and not just to a privileged
few, as the biblical jubilee suggests (cf. Leviticus 25:8-13, 23).
Among those marvels we find the Creator's voice, transmitted by heaven
and earth,
by night and day: a language "with no speech nor words; whose
voice is not heard" and which can cross all boundaries (cf.
Psalm 19 [18]:2-5).
The Book of Wisdom, echoed by Paul, celebrates God's
presence in the world, recalling that "from the greatness and
beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their
Creator" (Wisdom 13:5;
cf. Romans 1:20). This is also praised in the Jewish tradition of
the Hasidim: "Where
I wander—You! Where I ponder—You! ... In every trend,
at every end, only You, You again, always You!" (M. Buber, Tales
of the Hasidim [Italian ed., Milan 1979, p. 256]).
To the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors the Holy Father said:
I extend a special welcome to the Lutheran ecumenical delegation and
the Schola Cantorum from Helsinki. I warmly greet the various parish,
college and school groups from Denmark, Australia and the United States
of America. Upon you and your families I invoke the joy and peace of
our Lord Jesus Christ.
Taken from:
L'Osservatore Romano
Weekly Edition in English
24 January 2001, page 11
L'Osservatore Romano is the newspaper of the Holy See.
