God created each of us in His image. It seems such a simple phrase to say, doesn't it? But these eight words carry a truth so profound that it can easily be over-simplified.

When we came into being, through the intercession of the Holy Spirit at our conception, a body and soul was brought into existence that from the beginning of time and through eternity is and will remain utterly and totally unique. To state this in Sunday school terminology, there has never been and never will be another you.

In our many ministries to children, this truth can be used to mold their self-awareness and self-image, and therefore their self-confidence. Within the limits of their present level of maturity, they are aware that God loves them. But if a child can be guided to an understanding of how unique they really are, then they can begin to develop an understanding of how truly special they are to God. God, Himself, made them, and that alone is reason to love them. But it gets even better!

Most children, and many adults, have never considered humanity's place in the kingdom of heaven. Within the boundless scope of God's creation, there are untold numbers of beings, BUT only three types of persons! God, of course, is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who are the same divine entity. Angels are persons as well. And…so are humans. In fact, humans were the first persons with a physical body.

This is part of Christ's devotion to us. Our Lord is the person of the Holy Trinity that has both a fully divine and a fully human nature. He understands at an intimate level the many wonders, joys, frailties, and failings unique to a physical existence and loves us deeply for them.

Through time, most adults develop at least an instinctual grasp of these realities that mark each of us as unique and special. When it comes to ministry to our children, not to mention raising them, teaching these ideas helps lead them to develop self-awareness and esteem that can empower them and provide the confidence to persevere in what is right. As persons created in God's image, they and we come to recognize the inherent dignity of EVERY individual, including ourselves.

This realization has come to be known in many disciplines as the Principle of Human Dignity. It is the bedrock principle of Catholic social teaching and outreach and the first principle of many professional codes of conduct. Even a rudimentary understanding of this principle allows any person to set limits when interacting with others.

When we recognize and respect the dignity of others, we interact with them in a way that is not only appropriate, but, by default, follows the Golden Rule. We also recognize when our own dignity is being threatened or even violated. Hence, this principle becomes a powerful and specific guideline by which we can judge our own actions and by which we can measure the actions of others.

And once we become reasonably adept at living within this principle, we truly begin to develop an understanding of Christ's great commandment to "Love one another, as I have loved you."

Patrick McGuire serves as a consultant to the VIRTUS® Programs. This article is the copyrighted property of The National Catholic Risk Retention Group, Inc. (Copyright @ 1999-2007 by the National Catholic Risk Retention Group, Inc., all rights reserved), and is reprinted here with permission. For more information about VIRTUS@Online or other VIRTUS® services, visit www.virtus.org or call (888) 847-8870. This weekly series of feature stories, commentary and analysis is compiled and edited by an advisory group to the Media Relations Office of the Archdiocese, through which the articles are distributed. This is the sixty-third article in the series.