Part Three: Life in Christ › Section One of Part Three: Man’s Vocation - Life in the Spirit ›› CHAPTER 1: The Dignity of the Human Person ››› Article 1: Man - the Image of God

› IN BRIEF

Questions and Answers

1721. Who is “the image of the invisible God” according to St Paul? (CCC 1701) According to St Paul, Christ is the “image of the invisible God” (Col 1).
1722. Where can the divine image be found among mankind? (CCC 1702) The divine image can be found among mankind:
1. in every man
2. in the communion of persons.
1723. How does man participate in the light and power of the divine Spirit? (CCC 1704) Man participates in the light and power of the divine Spirit by:
1. his reason: through which he can understand the order of created things
2. his free will: through which he can direct himself toward his true good.
Reason and will form the higher part of the human soul.
1724. What does GS 17 call an “outstanding manifestation of the divine image”? (CCC 1705) Gaudium et Spes 17 calls human freedom “an outstanding manifestation of the divine image”.
Gaudium et Spes is a Vatican II document, the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World.
1725. How does man recognize God’s voice which urges him to do good and avoid evil? (CCC 1706) By his reason, man recognizes God’s voice which urges him to do good and avoid evil.
1726. Why is man’s desire for the good impaired? (CCC 1707) Man’s desire for the good is impaired because his nature bears the wound of original sin and therefore is inclined to evil and subject to error.
1727. How can the damage caused in man by sin be repaired? (CCC 1708) The damage caused in man by sin can be repaired through Christ’s grace.