Ordinary Time
with Pat Gohn
Additional
Catholic Mom Columns
|
Pat Gohn
|
Coming
Attraction: Theology of the Body
By Pat Gohn
This article is first in a series
Ultimate love, sex, communion, faith, hope, and healing are part of
my everyday life as a Catholic wife and mother. Sound good to you?
Let me whet your appetite for more.
My continuing graduate studies in theology led me to attend a weeklong
course offered by the Theology of the Body Institute, where the subject
matter was “theology of the body.” Most people ask, “What’s that?”
Just having the word “body” in its theological title makes it sound
almost sacrilegious in our modern body-obsessed society. Guesses vary:
is it some “new age” practice involving yoga? Or is it health-related?
Does it involve the Body of Christ? Is it new lingo for sex education?
While the phrase “theology of the body” is not yet in many Catholics’
vocabulary, it will be as more and more learn about it.
Catholics who know their vocabulary tend to think of theology simply
as “the study of God.” Their idea of theology is usually close to
the American Dictionary definition: “the study of the nature
of God and religious truth; rational inquiry into religious questions.”
That would be correct as applied to “theology of the body.”
Our body has something to teach us. It’s designed by God to be a “theology”…
to uncover (or discover) God and to study and come to know his truth
and love, as well as ourselves and the people we love. What we see
in the mirror, the visible body in its objective reality, in some
way, points to what we don’t see, the invisible… the intangible-but-just-as-real
body-soul integration of who we truly are. Deep down we may see glimmers
of this, but we often get so caught up in our visible world that we
don’t encounter the invisible—the deeper truths and deeper beauty—of
our lives.
“Theology of the body” is about encountering those deeper truths…
the ones that lead us to intimate communion with members of the opposite
sex, and how those desires, properly channeled, lead us to experiencing
God’s most intense love in marriage.
This theology was presented as a series of 129 talks delivered by
Pope John Paul II, given at his weekly general audiences in Rome between
1979 and 1984. “General audiences” mean that this teaching is
for all of us, the general public, if you will. While it is theological,
biblical, and philosophical, it’s not only for theologians, bible
scholars, or philosophers. (Indeed, they will be studying these teachings
for years to come!) Nor is it a separate branch of theology such as
Christology (study of Jesus Christ’s words and actions), biblical
exegesis (study of sacred scripture), ecclesiology (study of the Church),
Mariology (study of the Blessed Virgin Mary), eschatology (study of
the last things such as death, resurrection, heaven and hell.) It’s
a vibrant thread that runs through all of these. But don’t
get lost in terminology. “Theology of the body” is for everyone.
If you have a body, you qualify to know these truths. You don’t need
a college degree to unlock them.
“Theology of the body” is a profoundly coherent and rich teaching
on “what it means” to be a person with a body—literally, a man or
a woman—and how are we to live and love as men and women in relationship
with God and one another. It’s truly the basics of human life… the
kind of stuff that gives the fullest meaning to our lives: finding
love, giving love, receiving love, knowing love, making love, being
loved, and being healed by love. Um, pardon me, did you say ‘making
love?’ Yes I did, it’s ALL in there. The stuff of life that meets
you right where you live is part of the “theology of the body.”
If you’ve ever gone looking for a divine plan for your life, but stumbled
along in the search, have courage! “Theology of the body” proves that
there is a divine plan for our lives and that this plan is no secret.
We can KNOW this plan and live it out. In fact, it is so obvious that
it’s right under our noses, so to speak, in our bodies.
Our bodies reveal God’s not-so-secret plan for our ultimate fulfillment:
our bodies are designed for making love and giving love in such a
radical lay-your-life-down-for-your-lover way that it sweeps us off
our feet—right into the arms of the Trinity. (That is not a misprint.)
John Paul II actually preached extensively and wrote a book about
the gift of giving yourself so totally away to your spouse in sexual
union—that it is a sign of the eternal exchange of love between the
persons of the Trinity. Not only is it a sign, it’s a call to the
highest love life we’ll ever know.
“Theology of the body” is an interpretative key—a guide—to finding
meaning in life and in love. It explores our human past, which, in
turn, helps us understand our present situation, so we can have a
hope and vision for our future. It’s not only a new love language
to communicate with, but it shows us the path of grace to finding
true love and then releases the power to live it. It’s a total transformation
package. Transformation of our minds and hearts will transform the
way we experience life and love in our bodies.
This theology is “hot.” It burns with holy desire from the Holy Fire
that comes from God alone. As we encounter its flame, we will be purified
so that we may experience a deeper life and more love than we’ve ever
known.
If you want to know more, stay tuned. I plan to write a short series
of articles to introduce this subject. This first article is just
the coming attractions.
Of course,
if you wish to “read ahead,” books, DVDs, or audios CDs from leading
experts on “theology of the body” are available at Ascension
Press. If you are a reader, I recommend Theology
Of The Body For Beginners
by Christopher West as a good place to start. If you want a more academic
read, try Christopher West’s Theology
of the Body Explained: A Commentary on John Paul II's "Gospel of the
Body"
|
 Pat Gohn is married to
Bob for 23 years, with three children, ages 12 thru 18. She is currently
pursuing a Masters in Theology, while being at home with her family in
Massachusetts. Visit Pat’s blog “Write in Between” at
http://writenbtween.blogspot.com/. Contact her at
pat.gohn@comcast.net
|
1/29/07
Additional
Catholic Mom Columns
|
|
