https://www.rwpsych.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Untitled-2000-x-800-px.jpg8002000Dr. Andrew Sodergrenhttps://www.rwpsych.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/RuahWoods_WebBanner-1.pngDr. Andrew Sodergren2023-06-20 01:17:412024-09-16 12:51:16Dr. Sodergren’s Introduction to Theology of the Body: A Collection of Articles
[Note: This article is the start of an extended series in which I will reflect on, explain, and apply Pope St. John Paul II’s “Theology of the Body” to contemporary issues.]
Have you heard of “Theology of the Body?” This term has gotten quite a bit of attention in Catholic circles in recent years, but many people do not understand what it is or why it is relevant for them. While this is completely understandable, my hope is that by the time you finish this article, you will have a clear picture of what we conveniently refer to as “TOB” and even a desire to learn more of it.
It is impossible to understand TOB without first reflecting on its originator, Pope St. John Paul II. Born in Poland in 1920 as Karol Wojtyła, he lived through the horrors of Nazi oppression, World War II, and the communist takeover of his beloved nation. He bore witness to the violence and atrocities carried about by man against man in the 20th century. He himself was no stranger to tragedy as he lost his mother and older brother in childhood and his father at age 20. Wojtyła increasingly turned to God, the Blessed Mother, and his Catholic faith. As a priest and later bishop, he spent years ministering to the needs of the Polish people, listening to their fears and struggles, striving to understand their experiences as deeply as possible and stir up the hope that comes from faith in Christ.
In addition to being a pastor, Wojtyła was also a renowned scholar. He was a poet, playwright, philosopher, and theologian. Of particular interest in his scholarship was pondering the nature of the human person, Carmelite spirituality, the nature of love, marriage, and morality. The historical context of his pursuits was the immense violence and social upheavals of the 20th century as well as the shifting of moral attitudes in light of the so-called sexual revolution.
As a newly ordained auxiliary bishop and later Archbishop of Kraków, Karol Wojtyła participated in all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). His stature and reputation as an outspoken, courageous young bishop of immense intellect grew to the point where he was appointed to the committee that drafted perhaps the Council’s defining document, the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et spes). Inspired by this experience, Archbishop Wojtyła later became the only participating bishop to write an entire book summarizing the teaching of the Council and giving guidelines for its implementation (Sources of Renewal). Not long after, Pope Paul VI named him a Cardinal, perhaps as a way of thanking him for his contributions at the Council and for serving him as a key theological advisor during his papacy.
In the 1970s, Cardinal Wojtyła began writing his magnum opus before the Blessed Sacrament in his private chapel in Kraków. Reflecting on all he had learned and experienced in his own life, his studies, his prayer, pastoral ministry, and his participation at Vatican II, Wojtyła penned a manuscript for a book on the nature of the human person, love, marriage, and sexuality. Before he could get the book published, something happened that changed the course of history; he was elected as the 264th successor to St. Peter and the first non-Italian pope in 455 years, taking the name John Paul II. As pope, he understood his mission to be the faithful implementation of Vatican II and the shepherding of the Church into the Third Millennium.
John Paul II also saw his election to the papacy as a sign that the Holy Spirit was calling him to present his teaching not only to the Polish people but to the entire Universal Church. He decided not to publish the manuscript he had just completed but brought it with him to Rome and used it as the basis for a long series of speeches delivered to the Church and the world at his weekly general audiences between 1979 and 1984. Throughout, John Paul II used the phrase “Theology of the Body” as a working title for his reflections. Few appreciated the profound gift and legacy he was entrusting us at that time. Today, those separate speeches have been re-assembled, re-translated, and presented anew under the title Man and Woman He Created Them: A Theology of the Body(trans. M. Waldstein, Pauline Books & Media).
At first glance, the term “Theology of the Body” seems strange. Theology is about divinity and spirituality. What does the “body” have to do with this? Essentially, John Paul sets out to reflect on our common humanity, which is inherently bodily, and understand it in light of Divine Revelation (i.e., Scripture and theology), philosophy, and ordinary human experience. He is especially interested in how our body reveals our identity, our vocation, and how it participates in Divine Love. In reflecting on the human body, one cannot help but encounter the reality of sex (i.e., that we are created male and female). John Paul does not shy away from this topic but plunges headlong into it to illuminate our understanding of sexual identity, sexual difference, marriage, and family.
It is important to point out that TOB is not a break from Catholic tradition. Rather, it is a creative re-presenting of perennial truths about the human person in a way that appeals to the experiences and issues we face at the start of the third millennium. It helps us understand who we are, what we are made for, and how we are to live. It gives us a framework for addressing some of the most difficult moral and pastoral issues facing us today and points out a path to find our deepest fulfillment. As we begin this series of articles on TOB, I pray you will walk with me with an open heart and mind, eager to receive anew the gift of our embodied humanity.
https://www.rwpsych.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/@UnSiCCjgYjUudxE.jpg19201280Dr. Andrew Sodergrenhttps://www.rwpsych.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/RuahWoods_WebBanner-1.pngDr. Andrew Sodergren2023-06-20 01:16:002023-06-20 17:38:09What is “Theology of the Body” [& Why Is It Important]?
Dr. Andrew Soderdgren’s Introduction to Theology of the Body, Article 01
In Theology of the Body, Pope St. John Paul II sought out to answer difficult, contemporary questions pertaining to marriage and sexual ethics. However, in order to do so, he believed that one has to first establish what he called an “adequate anthropology.” For him, this refers to an understanding of the human person that does justice to his mystery and dignity. In other words, before we can answer questions about what we ought to do (ethics), we first have to arrive at an adequate understanding of who we are (anthropology). For this reason, he followed the example of Jesus in Matthew 19:3-8 and went back to the “beginning,” i.e., to the story of Creation in the opening pages of Genesis.
When we read the first few chapters of the book of Genesis, we read about the creation of the world and of the human race and our first parents’ fall from grace, which we call original sin. As Catholics, we all have heard of original sin, but did you know that this is not the only “original” that we encounter in the opening pages of Genesis? Indeed, in his Theology of the Body (TOB), Pope St. John Paul II reflected on three “original experiences”: original solitude, original unity, and original nakedness. Before unpacking each of these, it is important to understand a few things about the saintly pope’s approach and to ponder what he meant by “original experiences” in the first place.
St. John Paul II brought a unique approach to his reflections on the creation stories in Genesis. Not only did he interpret these texts through the lens of Catholic tradition and theology, but he also sought to bring them into dialogue with our own human experiences. He believed that an adequate anthropology should not only be consistent with Catholic teaching, Sacred Scripture, and Sacred Tradition, but also resonate with human experience. He believed that if we ponder our experiences deeply enough, with an open mind guided by the Holy Spirit, it can in fact enrich our understanding of the profound truth contained in Scripture and the teaching of our faith.
While our first parents came into being in a state free from sin and corruption that is now inaccessible to us, Pope St. John Paul II believed that pondering our experiences on this side of the Fall can still give us glimpses into that “theological prehistory.” In particular, he believed that pondering our experiences of our bodies and of being in relationship with one another through our bodies can help us catch glimpses of God’s plan for man and woman and arrive — with the help of Scripture and our Catholic faith — at an adequate anthropology.
In a crucial passage in TOB, St. John Paul II wrote,
“When we speak of original human experiences, we have in mind not so much their distance in time, as rather their foundational significance. The important thing, therefore, is not that these experiences belong to man’s […] theological prehistory, but that they are at the root of every human experience. That is true even though, in the unfolding of ordinary human existence, we pay little attention to these essential experiences. Indeed, they are so interwoven with the ordinary things of life that we generally do not realize their extraordinary character” (TOB 11:1, emphasis added).
The original experiences are “original” not only because the first man and woman experienced them at the beginning of time but also because they are foundational for all of us and for our understanding of what it means to be human. They are interwoven in our experiences of being embodied and being in relationship with one another, with the rest of Creation, and with God. With this understanding in mind and with Pope St. John Paul II as our guide, we will reflect in future installments on the meaning of original solitude, original unity, and original nakedness. As we do so, I invite you to listen for echoes in your own heart and lived experience as we ponder the truth of what it means to be human.
Note: This article is part of a series of reflections on Pope St. John Paul II’s “Theology of the Body”.
https://www.rwpsych.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/001_9-scaled-e1686586210355.jpg9282560Dr. Andrew Sodergrenhttps://www.rwpsych.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/RuahWoods_WebBanner-1.pngDr. Andrew Sodergren2023-06-20 01:15:162023-06-20 17:37:29Original What??? John Paul II on “Original Experiences”
In my last article, I introduced Pope St. John Paul II’s concept of “original experiences.” He coined this term while pondering the opening pages of the book of Genesis in light of human experience. The first of the original experiences he probed is original solitude.
Recall how in the second creation story found in Genesis 2, God first created the man and later the woman, remarking “it is not good that the man should be alone” (Gen 2:18). Most people take this to mean that it is not good for the male to be without a female counterpart, but, as Pope St. John Paul II pointed out, the sacred author is using an inclusive Hebrew term here that applies to “humanity” not just “male.” Original solitude, then, does not refer so much to male and female as it does to humanity as such. As the pope reflected, “When God speaks the words about solitude, he refers with them to the solitude of ‘man’ as such and not only to that of the male” (TOB 5:2).
For Pope St. John Paul II, original solitude flows from our human experience of being alone in the physical world, but in what sense are we alone? He is speaking of our search for identity. We all desire to know who and what we are. As we pursue this search, we encounter in the physical world many different types of living beings, i.e., many different “bodies.” While we find some similarities — and certainly every creature reflects the glory of God in some way — none of these bodies is fully like us. Our bodies bear an essential difference from the rest of creation. We are alone in the sense that of all the physical world, the human body is the only one that reveals a person.
Original solitude is the experience of discovering that we alone in all of the physical world are embodied persons. The human body reveals a person. As such, the human person is not only an object but also a subject. He has a self-knowledge and self-awareness far surpassing the animals. The subjectivity of man allows him to reflect on his own nature and existence. He can ponder his origin and his end. He can reflect with awe and wonder at the beauty of creation and be moved in the depths of his spirit to worship his Creator. Man alone can do this in and through his body.
Through our bodies we also discover that we alone are capable of what Pope St. John Paul II called “genuinely human activity” (TOB 7:2). As persons, God has given us the gift of freedom and intelligence. We express these spiritual gifts through free bodily acts in a way that no other creature can: through human movement, speech, and innumerable forms of creative activity. Thus, we are able to become as Pope St. John Paul II said, “partners with the Absolute” in caring for and developing the rest of creation, which the Creator has given to man as a gift and a task.
Lastly, through original solitude, we discover that as personal subjects, we are “set into a unique, exclusive, and unrepeatable relationship with God himself” (TOB 6:2). This relationship defines us at the core of our being and identity. Before all else, we are sons and daughters of God, who called us into existence out of nothing and holds us in being through the constant, attentive gift of His love. By giving us bodies, He has shown us that above the rest of visible creation, we are uniquely called to make His love and His wisdom incarnate on earth. We are able to discover this through the prayerful contemplation that is the fruit of solitude.
Note: This article is part of a series of reflections on Pope St. John Paul II’s “Theology of the Body”.
https://www.rwpsych.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/000-36-2-scaled.jpg17072560Dr. Andrew Sodergrenhttps://www.rwpsych.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/RuahWoods_WebBanner-1.pngDr. Andrew Sodergren2023-06-20 01:14:002023-06-20 17:37:16On Original Solitude
Last month, I wrote about how the concept of original solitude in Pope St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body applies to both the man and the woman in Genesis 2. Indeed, original solitude — like each of the “original experiences” — applies to us all as it reflects fundamental aspects of what it means to be human. Let’s dive deeper into this aspect of our humanity.
Original solitude refers to the experience of discovering that we are different from the rest of creation, and therefore alone in this world. Unlike all the other bodies we encounter, the human body and only the human body reveals a person — a free, rational subject endowed with self-awareness and self-determination. Nonetheless, our bodies connect us with the earth and all the rest of physical creation. Yet, as persons we are also connected to the spiritual realm (i.e., angels and God). Man is thus a paradox in whom heaven and earth are wedded together.
Indeed, this uniting of the physical, spiritual, and even the divine defines our unique place and purpose in the cosmos. It also makes plain the dignity of the human body. As a person, man bears an immeasurable dignity, and since he is an embodied being, the human body shares in this dignity. Pope St. John Paul II often affirmed this. For example, in his 1993 encyclical Veritatis splendor he wrote, “Only in reference to the human person in his ‘unified totality,’ that is, as ‘a soul which expresses itself in a body and a body informed by an immortal spirit,’ can the specifically human meaning of the body be grasped” (no. 50). The human body is not a mere object, tool, or prison. It is not separate from or beneath the human person but is integral to who we are. In short, my body is me.
In Theology of the Body, Pope St. John Paul II went even farther by speaking of the sacramentality of the human body. He did not mean that the human body is some kind of eighth sacrament alongside the traditional seven. Rather, he taught that because of man’s unique place in the cosmos, the human body bears some of the qualities of a sacrament. All sacraments use material things (e.g., water, oil, bread, wine) to convey spiritual realities. While composed of matter drawn from the earth, the human body at the same time effectively makes present the mysterious, spiritual reality we call “person.” In this way, the body reveals the person and can be said to be the “sacrament of the person.” Even more, because the human person is made in God’s image and is called to communion with Him, the human body also bears the capacity to make God present in a visible way:
“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 19:5).
We will delve deeper into this sacramental vision of the human body in future reflections on original unity and original nakedness. For now, it is enough to reflect on what this sacramental vision means for how we regard our bodies and how we treat one another. It follows from its sacramental character that the proper attitude toward the human body is one of reverence. Indeed, the reverence due the human body is similar to what we owe toward the sacred vessels such as the chalice and other holy objects used at Mass. This does not mean that we worship the body, but we treat our bodies and especially those of others with holy respect and honor. What we do to the body, we do to the person.
This sacramental understanding of the human body also provides a foundation for a more general sacramental worldview in which we see all of creation as revealing the glory and mystery of God. Indeed, the human body and all of visible creation are gifts given to us by God as signs of His infinite Wisdom and Love. Let us receive these great gifts with gratitude, caring for and cultivating them according to God’s designs so that they may radiate His beauty ever more brightly.
Note: This article is part of a series of reflections on Pope St. John Paul II’s “Theology of the Body”.
https://www.rwpsych.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/@UnSi0wMmxNB6Xzc-e1686589842499.jpg9551766Dr. Andrew Sodergrenhttps://www.rwpsych.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/RuahWoods_WebBanner-1.pngDr. Andrew Sodergren2023-06-20 01:13:002023-06-20 17:37:06Original Solitude Part 2: The Sacrament of the Body
In previous articles, we saw how Pope St. John Paul II used the term “original solitude” to refer to the human search for identity. As we interact with the world around us seeking answers to fundamental questions about who we are and why we are here, we discover that we are alone among bodily creatures. This is so because only the human body reveals a person — a free, rational subject capable of self-awareness and self-determination. As a person, man is unique in the physical world, and the human body, therefore, takes on a special, sacramental character. The human body reveals and makes present the spiritual reality we call “person” and points in a veiled way to his transcendent Creator in whose image man is made.
Having explored these fundamental truths of our identity, let us turn to the second of the original experiences: original unity. The pope guides us to reflect on Genesis 2 where we read about the creation of the woman from the rib of man. Man’s search for his identity left him longing for a “helper fit for him” (Gen 2:20b), but what sort of “help” is this that he is lacking? He needs someone like himself to help him discover his identity and vocation. He needs another embodied person.
Guiding man along the path of self-discovery, the Lord forms the woman out of man’s rib and presents her to him. In response, he exclaims, “This at last is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh” (Gen 2:23a). The phrase “at last” signifies that the search is over; his helper has been found. The rest of the sentence speaks to the kind of help that the woman provides. Her embodied presence shows the man who he is and what he is made for. Her body is like the man’s in that her body too reveals a person. Her body too “is capable of making visible what is invisible: the spiritual and the divine” (TOB 19:5). Her body reveals another “partner with the Absolute” who is capable of “genuinely human activity” (TOB 7:2). Like me, she too is “set into a unique, exclusive, and unrepeatable relationship with God himself” (TOB 6:2).
With the creation of the woman, the biblical language used in Genesis shifts from speaking about man in an inclusive sense (i.e., humanity) to using the gendered language of man/male and woman/female. This is not to say that human nature is now divided or that man and woman are separate kinds of creatures. Rather, male and female now constitute “two different ‘incarnations,’ that is, two ways in which the same human being, created in the image of God, ‘is a body’” (TOB 8.4). Human nature is indeed one, yet there are now two ways of being human: male and female. Though fundamentally distinct, man and woman are utterly equal in dignity, united in the same human nature. As Pope St. John Paul II remarked in his apostolic letter on the dignity of women (Mulieris dignitatem), “Man is a person, man and woman equally so, since both were created in the image and likeness of the personal God” (no. 6). Continuing to reflect on the unity of man and woman in their common humanity, the pope went on to observe,
“The woman is created by God ‘from the rib’ of the man and is placed at his side as another ‘I’, as the companion of the man, who is alone in the surrounding world of living creatures and who finds in none of them a ‘helper’ suitable for himself. Called into existence in this way, the woman is immediately recognized by the man as ‘flesh of his flesh and bone of his bones’ and for this very reason she is called ‘woman’” (no. 6).
The equal dignity of man and woman is unmistakable and founded on our creation as embodied persons sharing the same human nature. Equally unmistakable is the fact that our bodies differ precisely in our maleness or femaleness. This distinction of sex is a decisive aspect of our human identity and vocation and will therefore be the focus of further reflections.
Note: This article is part of a series of reflections on Pope St. John Paul II’s “Theology of the Body”.
https://www.rwpsych.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/blue-jeans-blur-clothes-349494.jpg34455167Dr. Andrew Sodergrenhttps://www.rwpsych.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/RuahWoods_WebBanner-1.pngDr. Andrew Sodergren2023-06-20 01:12:002023-06-20 17:36:54Original Unity Part 1: Flesh of my Flesh
Last month, we began to explore the second of the “original experiences” described by Pope St. John Paul II: original unity. We saw how God created woman to be a “help” to man. In their first encounter, the man rejoiced, “This at last is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh” (Gen 2:23a). Seeing that she is another embodied person like him, the creation of woman helps man complete the search for identity begun in original solitude. Indeed, Pope St. John Paul II taught that man and woman mutually provide this “help” to each other. Through their encounter, man and woman discover their equal dignity as human persons as well as the mysterious difference brought to light by their maleness and femaleness. They help each other discover their identity and vocation.
Original unity describes this encounter between man and woman and the discovery of how we are united at the level of human nature. Each of our bodies reveals a person, and we are, therefore, equal in our human dignity. At the same time, our male and female bodies show that we are distinct. It is important to clarify that male and female are not two halves of human nature. Rather, there is one human nature and both man and woman fully participate in it. Essentially, through our bodies, we discover that within this one human nature, there are two ways of being human: male and female. These two — male and female — constitute two ways of having or expressing human nature. Thus, through our male and female bodies, we discover the principle of unity-in-distinction: the one human nature is embodied through the duality of male and female.
In the face of much confusion today, Pope St. John Paul II’s teachings on our maleness and femaleness are more important than ever. He showed in his Theology of the Body how deeply our being male or female affects the person. For instance, he wrote that our maleness or femaleness is “constitutive for the person” and not merely “an attribute of the person” (TOB 10.1). While we discover our maleness or femaleness in the body, the sexual difference affects the entire person, all the way to the core of our inmost being. The body reveals the person, and so the sexuality revealed by the body (i.e., male or female) reveals something fundamental about who we are. It is the human person as such that is male or female, and this difference of sexuality affects the person on every level.
This teaching on the personal significance of our maleness and femaleness has been emphasized by the Church’s teaching authority on many occasions. For instance, in a letter to the bishops of the world in 2004, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith wrote,
“The importance and the meaning of the sexual difference, as a reality deeply inscribed in man and woman, needs to be noted. Sexuality characterizes man and woman not only on the physical level, but also on the psychological and spiritual, making its mark on each of their expressions. It cannot be reduced to a pure and insignificant biological fact, but rather is a fundamental component of personality, one of its modes of being, of manifestation, of communicating with others, of feeling, of expressing and of living human love” (no. 8).
Similarly, the Catechism of the Catholic Church affirms,
“Sexuality [i.e., being male or female] affects all aspects of the human person in the unity of his body and soul. It especially concerns affectivity, the capacity to love and to procreate, and in a more general way the aptitude for forming bonds of communion with others” (no. 2332).
We have seen that through the encounter between man and woman, we simultaneously discover our oneness in human nature and the deep, mysterious difference of our sexuality. Reflecting on this unity-in-distinction with the help of Pope St. John Paul II enables us to see how decisive our maleness and femaleness are for our identity and our vocation. We will continue to delve deeper into these realities in subsequent reflections, especially the implications of original unity for our vocation, namely the call to communion.
Note: This article is part of a series of reflections on Pope St. John Paul II’s “Theology of the Body”.
https://www.rwpsych.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/couple-date-lens-flare-40525.jpg36485472Dr. Andrew Sodergrenhttps://www.rwpsych.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/RuahWoods_WebBanner-1.pngDr. Andrew Sodergren2023-06-20 01:10:002023-06-20 17:36:45Original Unity Part 2: The Sexual Difference
In recent articles, I have reflected on Pope St. John Paul II’s concept of original unity. Reflecting on Genesis 2, the pope drew our attention to our own experience of being male or female. This sexual difference inserts a duality in our humanity. As I discussed in prior articles, man and woman both possess the fullness of human nature, but they have and express that nature differently by way of their maleness or femaleness. It is as if male and female are two modes of being human. Man and woman are thus equal in dignity and united in the one human nature but distinct from each other in a fundamental and profound way because of their sex. Pondering further this paradox of unity and duality with the help of Pope St. John Paul II will deepen our understanding of our human identity and vocation.
We discover our sexual identity as male or female in the body. The body reveals the person, and in doing so, reveals whether this person is male or female. As the Church has repeatedly affirmed, this maleness or femaleness is not a superficial feature or mere biological fact that can be overlooked or dismissed. The maleness or femaleness revealed by our bodies reflects a reality inscribed in the depth of the person. Being created male or female, affects the entire person all the way to the core of our being. The body bears witness to this and testifies that we — male and female — are both human persons, but we are distinct from each other in this mysterious and irreducible way.
The sexual difference of man and woman opens up a new possibility for unity that builds upon and completes our more basic unity in the one human nature. Our sexually differentiated bodies show us that we are made “for” each other. Male and female are fundamentally oriented toward each other. Pondering our sexual difference, man and woman discover in themselves a certain openness inscribed by God to receive the other as a gift and give ourselves totally in return. Thus, we discover through our male and female bodies the call and capacity for communion of persons. This communion refers to the intimate union that can be experienced by persons through a total gift of self. It is possible because of our unity and distinctness in our sexually differentiated humanity. The “place” God specifically designed for this intimate union to occur and come to fruition is what we call marriage, which the Church has always affirmed, is only possible between a man and a woman.
Because of our sexual difference, man and woman can come together and form a communion of persons through the intimate giving and receiving of their whole selves in marriage. Our bodies show us that we are made for this. The male human body makes no sense without reference to the female human body and vice versa. Both bodies reveal a unique, irreplaceable human person, while at the same time showing that our maleness and femaleness complement each other. Indeed, man and woman are apt to come together in a way that unites the two so intimately that Scripture refers to them as “one flesh” (Gen 2:24).
The capacity for communion that we discover through our bodies reveals a new and deeper layer of our identity and calling as human persons made in the image and likeness of God. Indeed, Pope St. John Paul II wrote,
“Man becomes an image of God not so much in the moment of solitude as in the moment of communion. He is, in fact, ‘from the beginning,’ not only an image in which the solitude of one Person, who rules the world, mirrors itself, but also and essentially the image of an inscrutable divine communion of Persons” (TOB 9:3).
Pope St. John Paul II is referring here to the Blessed Trinity, and he goes on to assert that this “trinitarian” understanding of the human person as image of God “constitutes perhaps the deepest theological aspect of everything one can say about man” (TOB 9:3). Therefore, it bears returning to this theme to unpack further how man as male and female images the eternal Triune God.
Note: This article is part of a series of reflections on Pope St. John Paul II’s “Theology of the Body”.
https://www.rwpsych.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/@UnSiL8-0SAy-aoQ.jpg12801920Dr. Andrew Sodergrenhttps://www.rwpsych.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/RuahWoods_WebBanner-1.pngDr. Andrew Sodergren2023-06-20 01:09:002023-06-20 17:36:17Original Unity Part 3: The Call to Communion
In last month’s article, I mentioned how Pope St. John Paul II saw in the unity and distinction of our humanity as male and female a profound truth about what it means to be made in the “image of God.” Indeed, Genesis 1:27 tells us, “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” John Paul II saw the second half of this verse (“male and female he created them”) as revealing something about the first half (i.e., what it means to be the image of God). Let’s unpack this connection.
What does it mean to be an image of something? If you were to take out a smartphone and snap a photo of me, you would see on your display an image that unmistakably resembles me. However, that picture is more unlike me than like me. The image on your screen is only a couple of inches tall, 2-dimensional, static, and ultimately made of 1s and 0s stored on a computer chip. I am a full-sized, 3-dimensional, living human being, composed of flesh and spirit. Clearly, there is a greater difference than similarity between my image on your phone and the real me. Nonetheless, there is a true resemblance such that when you see the image, it reminds you of the reality.
This example is helpful for us when we ponder what it means for man to be the image of God. There is always a greater difference between man and God than similarity. Indeed, we speak of God using human language and symbols that can never do justice to the glory of the Divinity. Nonetheless, by prayerfully and thoughtfully reflecting on our humanity and on divine revelation, we can gain insights into who God is and what His plan is for us.
Traditionally, man was understood to be the image of God through the gifts of rationality and free will. Pope St. John Paul II affirmed and elaborated this understanding through his reflections on original solitude. However, he also went beyond this by emphasizing a Trinitarian vision for man as the image of God through the unity and duality of the two sexes which gives rise to our capacity to form a communion of persons. God is love as St. John the Apostle tells us, and this signifies not only God’s attitude toward us but His inmost nature. Christ reveals to us that the one eternal God is Trinity, “an inscrutable divine communion of Persons” (TOB 9:3). For all eternity, the Father in love begets the Son who eternally receives Being from the Father and gives Himself to the Father in response. Their exchange of love is so perfect and real, that it is another Divine Person — the Holy Spirit. Each Person is truly distinct from the Others but utterly united in the one Divine Nature. For all time, they give and receive one another in an eternal exchange of love. In this way, “God is love and in Himself He lives a mystery of personal loving communion” (John Paul II, Familiaris consortio, 11).
Through our maleness and femaleness, man and woman discover in themselves the capacity to form a communion of persons. As we have seen, human nature is one, but there are two ways of being human: male and female. We can see in this unity-in-distinction a dim reflection of the unity-in-distinction in the Blessed Trinity. It also enables us to form a communion of persons. When a man and a woman make a total gift of self such that they become “one flesh” in marriage, they form such a communion. Their mutual self-giving love may in time become personified in the gift of a child born of their union. Thus, man and woman form an image or icon of the Blessed Trinity through the communion of the family.
According to Pope St. John Paul II, this “trinitarian” understanding of the human person as image of God “constitutes perhaps the deepest theological aspect of everything one can say about man” (TOB 9:3). It shows us that among the rest of visible creation, man and woman have a special call and capacity to reveal through their total self-giving the eternal truth that God is love. In this way, we fulfill the meaning of our existence as men and women created in the image of God.
Note: This article is part of a series of reflections on Pope St. John Paul II’s “Theology of the Body”.
https://www.rwpsych.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/@UnSidZYI4ga2eUA.jpg12811920Dr. Andrew Sodergrenhttps://www.rwpsych.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/RuahWoods_WebBanner-1.pngDr. Andrew Sodergren2023-06-20 01:08:002023-06-20 17:35:45Original Unity Part 4: Imago Trinitatis
I began several months ago to explore the three “original experiences” Pope St. John Paul II pondered in his Theology of the Body. In these reflections, we have seen that the original experiences reveal fundamental truths about who we are as human persons (identity) and how we are called to live (vocation). Through original solitude, we discovered that we alone in the visible world are embodied persons, capable of self-awareness and self-determination, existing in a unique relationship with God as his sons and daughters, and are called to freely partner with Him in His divine plan. Through original unity, we reflected on how our bodies reveal that we are created male and female in the one human nature. This difference of sex affects the whole person and capacitates us to form a communion of persons through total, embodied self-giving. The “place” that God designed for this total self-giving is called marriage, which is a lifelong union of a man and a woman. Through their mutual self-gift, the love of the spouses can become personified through the child born of their union. Thus, the communion of the family forms an icon of the Divine Communion of Persons we call the Blessed Trinity.
There remains one final original experience to ponder: original nakedness. Pope St. John Paul II used this term in reference to Genesis 2:25: “The man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed.” This verse links together the absence of shame and the freedom the man and woman enjoyed in regard to one another and even to God. Shame is a powerful emotion that arises when we feel especially vulnerable and exposed in the presence of another. It is linked with a sense of fear of being used, abused, judged, or rejected by the other. It gives rise to an urge to hide or conceal ourselves physically or psychologically. In this way, shame cuts us off from others, but it also serves to preserve and protect our dignity in the face of real or perceived threats.
The Holy Father emphasized that the absence of shame experienced by our first parents does not so much indicate some lack but actually reflects a fullness. Due to the absence of original sin and the abundance of grace bestowed upon them, our first parents possessed a fuller capacity to see the world and one another as God intended. For them, the body perfectly revealed the person. Rather than merely seeing the exterior (e.g., the feminine or masculine features of the body), they beheld the spiritual reality and dignity of the person made in God’s image shining through the body. This inner vision of the person, which they possessed, naturally gives rise to a sense of awe, reverence, and non-possessive love. It also creates the conditions for man and woman to fully share themselves with each other without any threat of being reduced to a mere object to be used. Thus, the absence of shame and the corresponding fullness of vision leads to a greater capacity for true intimacy — to see the other and be seen as we truly are.
This way of seeing clearly involves more than just the eyes. It involves the heart and requires a purity of intention and openness to seeing transcendent value inscribed by God in created things, especially the human body. As Pope St. John Paul II wrote,
“Seeing each other reciprocally, through the very mystery of creation, as it were, the man and the woman see each other still more fully and clearly than through the sense of sight itself, that is, through the eyes of the body. They see and know each other, in fact, with all the peace of the interior gaze, which creates precisely the fullness of the intimacy of persons” (TOB 13.1).
Reflecting on original nakedness reinforces the dignity of the person and shines light on the depth of intimacy we are created to experience. This can help us gradually re-orient our vision so that we can see each other as the divine gifts that we are. To this end, we will ponder these themes further next time.
Note: This article is part of a series of reflections on Pope St. John Paul II’s “Theology of the Body”.
https://www.rwpsych.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/@UnSipGKyqck99cg.jpg19201280Dr. Andrew Sodergrenhttps://www.rwpsych.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/RuahWoods_WebBanner-1.pngDr. Andrew Sodergren2023-06-20 01:07:002023-06-20 17:35:42Original Nakedness: Seeing as God Sees
