Render Unto God

Render unto God what belongs to God.

And just what belongs to God? The human person belongs to God. Indeed, man is precious in the eyes of God. How precious? So precious that God’s only-begotten Son, in eternal glory and bliss reigning over all—perfectly happy—deigned to take our flesh—our human nature—and become man, while still remaining God.

This passage means that we must respect the dignity and the natural rights of each and every human being because each was created—given existence—by God. Furthermore, human dignity and human rights come from God—not from the State. The State did not create each and every human person—God did. We must be careful. If the State gives us our rights, then the State can take them away. However, the right to life and freedom of religion [and of worship] are God-given rights. Every human person has these rights because he is given existence by God. The State has no right to take these God-given rights away from any human being.

Furthermore, when a person lives according to God’s law and practices virtue, then that person is truly free. Only when we deliberately decide to offend God by sin do we lose our freedom. Let no one deprive you of your freedom as a child of God.

Blessed John Paul II was the great defender of the dignity of the human person. I think that if he were here today, he would tell us about the personalistic norm of the Second Vatican Council, which is found in the document Lumen Gentium:

1. No human person is to be an object of use, but only a subject of love.
2. The human person realizes himself only in the sincere gift of self.

When Adam first saw Eve, he gave a great cry of joy, because finally he had found someone to whom he could give himself in love, that is, someone for whom he could sacrifice himself—to the death if need be. Adam was created to love Eve, not to dominate her. Husband and wife are to love each other, to give generously to one another, never seeking any kind of domination of either one over the other. By the sincere gift of self, each is to find fulfillment.