Meditation: The image of God gives us a rational soul, which means that unlike plants and animals, we have an intellect and a will. Through our intellect, we can come to understand the creation and come to know God through creation. Through our will, we can choose to love God because of His creation and to care for the creation. After God created us in His own image, He gave us dominion over all of creation. This is the task to care for creation because God created a good world. Indeed, it is only once man is created that the entire creation can be blessed as “very good.”
Psalm verse: Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth! Young men and maidens together, old men and children! Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his glory is above earth and heaven. He has raised up a horn for his people, praise for all his saints, for the people of Israel who are near to him. Praise the Lord! (Ps 148:11-14)
Prayer: Thank you, O Lord, for the gift of our own life.
Scripture: Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day. (Gen 1:26-31)
