Fr. Mike Schmitz

And that's why you cannot overemphasize the importance of Genesis 1 and Genesis chapter 2.

because it establishes where do human beings get their dignity?

They don't get it from their strength.

They don't get it from their own power or beauty or wisdom.

We don't get it from government.

We don't get it from any other source other than the fact that every human being is made in God's image and likeness, that both male and female are made in God's image and likeness.

It is remarkable and that we're created not to be his servants,

but to participate, as it says in the catechism, to share in his own blessed life.

In fact, as I mentioned, in the other creation stories, the other creation myths, the gods create human beings, again, for entertainment, for sport, or for work, to be their slaves.

And yet, what do we see in this first creation story?

We see God working.

God is a creator.

And so when he puts man and woman in the garden, what does he have them do?

He creates them for three purposes, at least three purposes.

one is labor actually work is he puts man before the fall he puts man in the garden says go to work till the soil like have dominion over the animals he says part of what makes you like me is the fact that you can labor like me now obviously we're going to hear this later on is that work gets distorted work gets fallen because of the the sin that's coming to the world but

But our original, God's original intention for us, he made us for labor.

He also made us for leisure.

On the seventh day, God rested and he commands us ultimately to rest like that for labor, for leisure and for love.

As God makes it very clear in Genesis chapter two, after creating Adam.

Again, one of the things we know is that Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 are two different accounts of the same event, right?