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LIFE MATTERS: Theology of the Body – A Reflection

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By Dencio S. Acop

Theology of the body is a spiritual body of knowledge advocated by Saint Pope John Paul II. It is just one of his many advocacies advancing the faith. St. JPII had several avenues of approach toward getting people from all walks of life to get to know God and grow in the faith. But his theology of the body is prominent in his teachings because a large focus of his pontificate was on winning the youth for Christ. Thus, Pope JPII greatly encouraged the celebrations of World Youth Day hosted by different countries through his reign as Pope. In fact, I was a personal witness to this phenomenon as I once served with the Presidential Security Group which protected him when he came to the Philippines for World Youth Day in January 1995. The gathering of people at the Luneta Park in Manila at the time is still the largest crowd that came together for a WYD event. I will always value kissing the Pope’s hand at the archbishop’s residence along Taft Avenue when it was time for him to say goodbye at the end of his visit. My kids today kid me about it since I am now a living relic for having touched a saint. Which brings me to my earlier point – As pointed out by JPII, our bodies are part and parcel of our salvation story: essential to realizing the supremacy of the intangible, indispensable to the carrying of our cross that brings us to holiness, and understanding the true meaning of treating our bodies created in the image and likeness of God. 

The first point in my reflection is the essentiality of the body towards realizing the supremacy of the intangible. It was my daughter and her now husband who first introduced us to John Paul II’s theology of the body when they were still both in college. I can still recall that it was at the San Carlos Seminary in Mandaluyong, Philippines where we first encountered the theology explained by a priest. I no longer remember the exact details but I have since begun to understand the role our earthly bodies play through our salvific journey. Let me put it this way. Indeed, God has gifted us with earthly life and wants us to live this life fully. It was Saint John “Don” Bosco who famously said: “Run, jump, shout, but do not sin”. (By the way, “Don” is an Italian title of respect for a priest. My two sons attended Don Bosco School and I’d often see that quote back when they were still young.). I think the popular line underscores the important message that there is a certain integrity to Christ-inspired values that the body must adhere to lest it loses all vitality. So long as the tangible body keeps aligned with moral values, it is able to fully enjoy life not just at the cellular level but within the intangible human soul.   

The second point of my reflection is focused on the indispensability of the body towards making possible the carrying of our cross that brings us to holiness and salvation. While Jesus Christ came among us, lived, suffered, and died, it is often amazing how we still question the meaning of suffering in life. I think it is the secular disposition that tends to focus us on just the here and now of earthly life. But human life has decisively ceased to be purely secular since the coming of the Messiah. For all intents and purposes, we now live in a non-secular world and reality. Whether we believe it or not, the life and world we live in is a Theology. We are essentially in a relationship with God. Whether we know it or not, our life is already pre-ordained in the sense that He alone knows the exact lengths of our earthly lives and how we all end. It is a given that while we experience the joys of this life, we shall one day leave it all behind. A substantive part of the journey is the pain and suffering that our earthly bodies will have to endure. Christ carried his cross. We too shall carry ours. His body endured the passion. We will too in our time. That is why it is heartbreaking to hear about assisted suicide these days as if such will truly end our suffering. Going against the theology of the body might save us from the temporal inconveniences of lashes to the flesh but it certainly won’t save any of us from eternal damnation of the soul. 

My third and final reflection is towards understanding the true meaning of treating our bodies which are created in the image and likeness of God. Our bodies therefore have inherent dignity deserving of respect. To use stronger language, our bodies are sacred. We may not realize it now, but I think our earthly bodies already mimic our heavenly bodies. Sacred scripture, the ten commandments, and even near-death experiences provide us hints of how souls are reunited with the Father “All in All” and how heaven looks like a renewed earth where faces of departed loved ones look familiar except that they are “much younger in the prime of their youth”. Why did Jesus leave us by citing the two greatest commandments: Love God with all your heart and soul and with all your strength; and love your neighbor as you love yourself”. Aren’t all these teachings reflective of the moral order, human rights, and utilitarian ethics? There are many things that go on in the world today that are blatantly dismissive of these divine teachings. Despite his knowledge and wisdom, man even today must be careful that he does not abolish himself by abolishing God — who created him with the greatest love possible – in His own image and likeness.     

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