The meaning of life has been a question that every person in history has asked. Our hearts have always longed to know, “Who am I?” and “Why am I here?” Pope St. John Paul II (hereafter JPII) asked the very same questions and devoted his life to prayerfully seeking the answers. The fruit of his prayer is the Theology of the Body(hereafter TOB).
The theology of the body is not merely a reflection on marriage. Rather, through bringing us back to the beginning of our creation in the image of God as male and female, JPII seeks to provide a “lens” through which to view the whole mystery of human life. If we want to understand who we are and whose we are, why we are here and how to live as a man, we need to understand the purpose with which we were created. Understanding that sexuality is a vital part of who we are as male and female, it follows then that to grasp the meaning of our masculinity we NEED to grasp what authentic masculinity is. That’s why the TOB is not merely a reflection on marriage. It’s an education in what it means to be human. If you have a body, this theology is for you.
Each human person comes from a family. A family is born from the one flesh union of man and woman (husband and wife). JPII once remarked, so goes the family, so goes the world. We see this and can affirm it’s legitimacy simply by looking at the structure of the world. Marriages form families, families form neighborhoods, neighborhoods form communities, communities form cities, cities form states, states for nations. If marriages are corrupted then all else will follow suit. Since the union of man and woman is the deepest foundation of ethics and culture, it’s impossible to build a “culture of life” if we do not reclaim the true meaning of human sexuality. This TOB will give you the tools to do just that.
The church has long suffered from erroneous views on sexuality, the sexual union and the human person. Heresies have sprung up century after century bringing us further and further from the truth of our humanity created in God’s image. Some have taught the spirit is the only redeemable part of our nature condemning our bodies as wholly corrupted and irredeemable. We have all heard the lie, “spirit good, body bad”, even that we become angels in Heaven when our souls “escape the fleshly prisons of our bodies.” The truth is, the human person is NOT a “spirit” trapped in a body, but rather a profound unity of body and soul. Our bodies, created in God’s image express the mystery of the human person.
If it seems strange for us to talk about the body being “theological” then we must ask ourselves if we are having a difficult time believing in the reality of Christ’s Incarnation. Christ took on human flesh and through the mystery of His Incarnation, the body entered Theology through the main door. God chose to reveal the mystery of His inner life and love in and through human flesh—the Theology of the Body. This phrase truly represents the very logic of Christianity.
How can we break down into one paragraph the very core of the TOB? JPII’s “thesis statement” when forming the TOB was this, “The body, in fact, and only the body is capable of making visible what is invisible: the spiritual and the divine. It has been created to transfer into the visible reality of the world the mystery hidden from eternity in God, and thus to be a sign of it.” (TOB 19:4) As we continue on this 8 month journey, we will unpack this statement revealing the truth of the great mystery hidden in the creation of our bodies as male and female. What is the invisible reality that our bodies make visible? What is the mystery hidden in God from all eternity? How can our bodies—dirty and corrupted as they are—truly be a sign of that mystery?
These questions—and many more—will be answered as we dive deeper into the Theology of the Body.
Don’t miss next month! Save the date, Monday August 17th!
(all quotations are from "Man and Woman He Created Them: A Theology of the Body", Translated by Michael Waldstien)
The theology of the body is not merely a reflection on marriage. Rather, through bringing us back to the beginning of our creation in the image of God as male and female, JPII seeks to provide a “lens” through which to view the whole mystery of human life. If we want to understand who we are and whose we are, why we are here and how to live as a man, we need to understand the purpose with which we were created. Understanding that sexuality is a vital part of who we are as male and female, it follows then that to grasp the meaning of our masculinity we NEED to grasp what authentic masculinity is. That’s why the TOB is not merely a reflection on marriage. It’s an education in what it means to be human. If you have a body, this theology is for you.
Each human person comes from a family. A family is born from the one flesh union of man and woman (husband and wife). JPII once remarked, so goes the family, so goes the world. We see this and can affirm it’s legitimacy simply by looking at the structure of the world. Marriages form families, families form neighborhoods, neighborhoods form communities, communities form cities, cities form states, states for nations. If marriages are corrupted then all else will follow suit. Since the union of man and woman is the deepest foundation of ethics and culture, it’s impossible to build a “culture of life” if we do not reclaim the true meaning of human sexuality. This TOB will give you the tools to do just that.
The church has long suffered from erroneous views on sexuality, the sexual union and the human person. Heresies have sprung up century after century bringing us further and further from the truth of our humanity created in God’s image. Some have taught the spirit is the only redeemable part of our nature condemning our bodies as wholly corrupted and irredeemable. We have all heard the lie, “spirit good, body bad”, even that we become angels in Heaven when our souls “escape the fleshly prisons of our bodies.” The truth is, the human person is NOT a “spirit” trapped in a body, but rather a profound unity of body and soul. Our bodies, created in God’s image express the mystery of the human person.
If it seems strange for us to talk about the body being “theological” then we must ask ourselves if we are having a difficult time believing in the reality of Christ’s Incarnation. Christ took on human flesh and through the mystery of His Incarnation, the body entered Theology through the main door. God chose to reveal the mystery of His inner life and love in and through human flesh—the Theology of the Body. This phrase truly represents the very logic of Christianity.
How can we break down into one paragraph the very core of the TOB? JPII’s “thesis statement” when forming the TOB was this, “The body, in fact, and only the body is capable of making visible what is invisible: the spiritual and the divine. It has been created to transfer into the visible reality of the world the mystery hidden from eternity in God, and thus to be a sign of it.” (TOB 19:4) As we continue on this 8 month journey, we will unpack this statement revealing the truth of the great mystery hidden in the creation of our bodies as male and female. What is the invisible reality that our bodies make visible? What is the mystery hidden in God from all eternity? How can our bodies—dirty and corrupted as they are—truly be a sign of that mystery?
These questions—and many more—will be answered as we dive deeper into the Theology of the Body.
Don’t miss next month! Save the date, Monday August 17th!
(all quotations are from "Man and Woman He Created Them: A Theology of the Body", Translated by Michael Waldstien)