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An Education in Being Human |
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Page 1 of 9 Following the words of
Genesis that establish marriage as a union of the two "in one
flesh" (Gn 2:24), we read that the first man and woman were both
naked yet "felt no shame" (Gn 2:25).
Suppose I were to suggest that these evocative words hold the key
to understanding God's plan for human life. Furthermore, suppose I
were to suggest that the only way to "see" the invisible
mystery of God is through the vision of the human body in its masculinity
and femininity? Even more, suppose I were to suggest that the inner
"logic" of the Christian mystery itself is simply unintelligible
unless we understand the meaning of sexual difference and our call
to nuptial communion?
Following the words of
Genesis that establish marriage as a union of the two "in one
flesh" (Gn 2:24), we read that the first man and woman were both
naked yet "felt no shame" (Gn 2:25).
Suppose I were to suggest that these evocative words hold the key
to understanding God's plan for human life. Furthermore, suppose I
were to suggest that the only way to "see" the invisible
mystery of God is through the vision of the human body in its masculinity
and femininity? Even more, suppose I were to suggest that the inner
"logic" of the Christian mystery itself is simply unintelligible
unless we understand the meaning of sexual difference and our call
to nuptial communion?
At this point, you might think I am a bit preoccupied with the human
body. You might even think I've been overly influenced by our culture's
obsession with all things sexual. Understandable. But what if Pope
John Paul II were suggesting these things?
Indeed, these - among other things - are proposals John Paul makes
in the first major catechetical project of his pontificate known as
the "theology of the body." In this collection of 129 audience
addresses delivered between September 1979 and November 1984, John
Paul developed what promises to be one of his most enduring and important
contributions to the Church and the world.
The theology of the body is a scriptural reflection on the human experience
of embodiment connected as it is with erotic desire and our longing
for union. It's divided into two main parts. First, the Pope develops
an "adequate anthropology" based on the words of Christ.
In order to have a "total vision of man," we must look to
our experience of embodiment "in the beginning" (Mt 19:8),
in our history (Mt 5:27-28), and in our destiny (Mt 22:30). In the
second part of his catechesis, John Paul applies his distinctive Christian
humanism to the vocations of celibacy and marriage, and also to the
moral issue raised by Pope Paul VI's encyclical Humanae Vitae.
Of course, in a brief article such as this, we can only provide a
thumbnail sketch of the actual content of the Pope's revolutionary
catechesis. We'll begin with his main idea.
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