See Youself as God Does

For those who have forgotten how God sees them - as His perfect masterpiece – hopefully, you can reclaim the knowledge that God loves you because He made you, and He loves you enough to become Incarnate and die for you. That’s a whole lot of love. Let the Lord speak through me as I say to you: “You are beautiful. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. You are God’s beloved.” We are bigger than our bodies, and beauty is only skin deep. What lies beneath? From where do we get our dignity?

Pope St. John Paul II says in Mulieris Dignitatem that “women (are) imbued with a spirit of the Gospel (and) can do so much to aid humanity in not falling.” He also says in the same document: “Within Christianity…woman have had a special dignity…women are meant to form part of the living and working structure of Christianity.” He points out that “Mary…intimately belongs to the salvific mystery of Christ…Through her response of faith, Mary exercises her free will and thus fully shares with her personal and feminine ‘I” in the event of the Incarnation.” Mary is “the archetype of the personal dignity of women.” She is the “most complete expression of this dignity and vocation.” “The dignity of every human being and the vocation corresponding to that dignity find their definitive measure in union with God.”

Men and women are both made in the Divine Image, so we have equal dignity in the eyes of God. We are both “rational and free creatures capable of knowing God and loving Him.” We ought to image the Trinity, “a living unity in the communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” – “we are called to live in a communion of love…only in this way can we understand the truth that God in Himself is love.” Quoting Gaudium et Spes, Pope St. John Paul II continues: “man…cannot fully find himself except through a sincere gift of self.” In his own words, the Pope states that “man is called to exist for others, to become a gift.” How often have you poured yourself out for others, whether they be your spouse, your children, your family members, or your church? When you truly give of yourself for the benefit of others, you are a gift. Have you thought of yourself as a gift?

Women have two possible vocations in the light of Divine Revelation: motherhood or virginity. “These two dimensions will find their loftiest expression at the fullness of time in the “woman” of Nazareth: the Virgin-Mother,” Mary. In Pope St. John Paul II’s Letter to Women, he lists four qualities which make women unique: receptivity, reciprocity, sensitivity, and maternity. How have you lived out these qualities? Do you recognize these qualities in yourself?

God has shown Himself to be a “mother” as well as a “father.” From the prophet Isaiah, we hear that “like a mother, God has carried humanity, and in particular, His Chosen People, within His own womb; He has given birth to it in travail, has nourished and comforted it.” (Isaiah 42:14; 46:3-4) God was spoken of as Father in both the Old and New Testaments, yet His fatherhood is in an “ultra-corporeal, superhuman, and completely Divine sense.”

God’s inner life is one of eternal generation – generating the love between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and eternally generating humanity. Fatherhood and motherhood point to this Divine Truth, as parenthood “bears within itself a likeness to, or analogy with, the Divine generating.”

Sin obscures the Divine Image within us, but it does not eradicate it. “Sin, in fact, diminishes man.” Our “greatness and dignity are achieved in the covenant with God, in union with Him, in striving towards that fundamental unity.” We struggle with concupiscence, the inclination to sin. In the First Letter of St. John, 2:16, we read that this concupiscence is threefold: “lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life.” St. Augustine explicates that “lust of the eyes” is avarice or greed; “lust of the flesh” is self-explanatory; and “pride of life” is vanity and ambition. How have you seen this tendency to sin in yourself? Which one tempts you the most? (For private reflection, not discussion)

We must turn for a moment to the madness of transgenderism, written about even in 1988, when Pope St. John Paul II wrote Mulieris Dignitatem. He wrote: “In the name of liberation from male domination, women must not appropriate to themselves male characteristics contrary to their own feminine originality..(they) will deform and lose what constitutes their essential richness. It is, indeed, an enormous richness.” The words of the Proto-Evangelium from Genesis 3:15 indicate that God will “put enmity you (the Evil One) and the woman, and between her seed and your seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”  In other words, woman have a mission “in the Redeemer’s salvific struggle against the author of evil in human history.” In “woman,” we have the “mother of the living;” so, too, do we have “the new and definitive  Covenant of God with humanity has its beginning, that Covenant in the redeeming Blood of Christ.” We see that from the beginning, women were granted a special dignity, that of participation in the redemption of the world, as we see our mother Mary at her Son’s side defeating evil. We also see Mary crushing the head of the serpent in the end of the Bible, in the Book of Revelation (Chapter 12). Her beauty and dignity shine for all to see.

What is beauty?

God doesn’t make mistakes. He works miracles. He created us good and beautiful, but then we messed it up. God loves us too much to leave us broken. Where are you along your faith journey? Are you broken but experiencing the Divine Healer? Have you been healed by the Divine Healer? Or are you still seeking the Divine Healer? Have you come to God in your weakness to allow His strength to heal you? Or are you still trying to save yourself?

Do you struggle to see yourself as beautiful? Is it easy to see the beauty of others, especially our children? Each of us is a marvelous work of the Lord. God created everything out of nothing, and everything that He made is good. He gives us so many gifts, but leaves it up to our free will whether to accept His gifts and praise Him for them or to reject His gifts as enemies to be conquered. Can you use your free will to accept the body He gave you?

God created the body to be a “sacrament” of the soul. A sacrament is a visible sign, instituted by Christ, to give grace. Does your invisible soul shine through in your words and actions? Our bodies are “lovingly crafted to be the revelation of our interior souls;” therefore, we ought to treat our bodies well. When we mistreat our bodies, we are mistreating something beautiful made by God. When we appreciate our bodies, we are giving thanks to God. When we experience the world through our physical senses, we can give glory and praise to God.

Are you driven to be perfect? We are called to be saints, which is perfection of the soul. Is this the type of perfection you seek? “The road to perfection will not be easy. We will walk the way of the Cross.” Bodily perfection, or what people typically think of as beauty, is a passing thing, subject to many changes brought about by accidents, age, or diseases. Let’s focus on the beauty of our soul, which is as beautiful as a castle made of diamonds, according to St. Teresa of Avila. With God, He asks that we give our all and do our best to do His Will. He will bless our efforts. Our definition of perfect differs from God’s definition of perfect. Let us seek spiritual perfection and take good care of the bodies God has given us. We only get one!

While Adam and Eve did not have mirrors, they beheld themselves in the eyes of the other. They were naked and unashamed. In their “original innocence,” they were aware of the gift of one to the other, the gift of their bodies and souls. Do you see the gifts God has given you? Can you enumerate them? Do you thank Him for them?

Many of us have felt betrayed by our changing bodies at some point. Motherhood can change our perception of the body. Did you have a similar experience? Did motherhood give you a glimpse into the Divine beauty with which God created you? What are some of the beautiful qualities that make us unique as women? Did motherhood change you, physically, emotionally, and/or spiritually? Consider the changes pregnancy and childbearing bring. Do you marvel at the power and the beauty of the experience? God makes us strong enough to bear the pain and to welcome it again and again with each child. Is that not wonderful? Let us praise God for the beauty of the power of motherhood.

Did you feel inadequate as a new mother? Did you experience body issues as a result of the changes brought about by pregnancy? Our vision is clouded by sin and we lose sight of how incredible our bodies truly are. Do you appreciate the power of your body, as your body sustained the life of your child? “We were one but also two. We were united but also distinct.” This power was a gift from God and we can best bear the aches and pains of pregnancy when our will is submitted to God’s Will. Mary, the Mother of God, experienced pregnancy and childbirth as God originally intended, with all of the beauty and none of the pain. Mary, our spiritual mother, comforts us, guides us, and intercedes for us. What is your relationship with Mary? Mary is contrasted with Eve. What are some of the differences?

We were made for communion, yet in our marriages and other relationships, sometimes we strive to out-do the other, to dominate. In a sacramental marriage, and in motherhood, we live out our lives as a reflection of Divine Love: total, free, faithful, and fruitful. We give ourselves totally to our spouse and children; we give ourselves freely; we are faithful to our vocation as wives and mothers; and our love is fruitful not only when we bear children, but as we share in the joys and triumphs, the challenges and setbacks of our loved ones. Do you live out your vocation as wife, mother, aunt, or spiritual mentor as an image of God?

In the account of the Original Sin, God condemns the serpent that “dust shall you eat all the days of your life.”

Ø Consider how Adam was made: from the dust of the Earth.

Ø We hear on Ash Wednesday: “Remember, man, that thou art dust, and to dust thou shalt return.”

Ø Do you see the connection between Adam’s being fashioned from “dust” and the “dust” that Satan shall have to eat for eternity?

Ø Consider also that rainbows require dust for the sunlight to reflect upon and against. No dust, no rainbow visible to us.

Ø Consider further that the stars are formed from dust. Who knew that such a lowly item as dust could be part of such wondrous creations as Man, rainbows, and stars.

In the fallout from Original Sin, mankind lost

Ø Original integrity of his body, mind, and soul – enter confusion and interior struggle

Ø Original communion with God – Baptism restores our relationship, but we have to do our part in this relationship. We must cooperate with the graces God showers upon us.

Ø Original communion with other people – lies, fear, and distrust sow discord between us

Ø Original dominion over God’s creatures and the Earth. Now we bring forth produce from the land with sweat and thistles. Now we fear wild animals. Now we bring forth our children in pain. Eve’s punishment strikes at the heart of femininity: pain in childbearing and desire for her husband.

Some virtues:

Ø The virtue of temperance: the proper use of created goods, the healthy discretion in the use of created goods.

Ø Do not take the virtue of self-control too far in diets and exercise.

Ø Exercise the virtue of prudence, the ability to see the good to be done and how to achieve it, and to see the evil to be avoided and how to avoid it.

Ø Practice the virtue of justice, the giving of each one according to their due.

Some scars are an embarrassing reminder of clumsiness; some scars are glorious marks of motherhood. Do you have exterior scars of which you are ashamed? (Rhetorical, for personal reflection, not discussion)

Do you bear interior scars? (For personal reflection, not discussion) These can only be healed by the Divine Healer. Come to Him and lay those burdens down at His Feet; He will transform them into channels of grace for ourselves and for others. Does it help you to know that your suffering can be salvific? Since Jesus redeemed all of Creation, how ought we to experience the world? God’s grace is always sufficient, but it doesn’t always take the form we expect. Have you struggled to see God’s grace in your life?

Which crosses that you’ve carried have you created yourself? These are the crosses we are called to surrender at the Feet of Jesus. Which crosses have been given to (or thrust upon) you? These are the crosses we unite with the Cross of Christ. These are the salvific crosses. Jesus labors under our crosses with us and for us. Isn’t it wonderful to look over as we are bent beneath a cross and see the familiar and loving face of Jesus, there to help us? (Tell the story of the thief “given” to the seminarian)

At our particular judgment (upon our death), we will be judged on how we lived, on how we used the gifts God had given us, and on how well we loved. Does this view help you to prepare for your particular judgment?

Are you saved? How would you answer that question? The Catholic Church answers it thusly:

Ø We were saved by Jesus’ salvific sacrifice on the Cross, with His Passion, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension into Heaven.

Ø We are being saved by our lives of faith, our reception of the sacraments, and our corporal and spiritual works of mercy.

Ø We will be saved at our particular judgment if we love and accept Jesus when He comes for us.

In conclusion, let us strive to see ourselves as made in the Image and Likeness of God, imbued with that dignity. God has a plan for each one of us; He fashioned us with love and lovingly walks with us every step of the way. Remember that we are Temples of the Holy Spirit by reason of our baptism, and we are endowed with the triple mission of Priest, Prophet, and King. As priests, we offer sacrifice and praise to God. As prophets, we share God’s word with others. As kings, we tend to the people and things given to us by God – we fulfill God’s mission for us. Let us live up to God’s idea of who we are and not live down to our pitiable expectations shaped by the neglect or malice of others. We are His beloved children; He is our Father. Love yourself in gratitude and love for Him!