The First Word, Part 1

Learning the language of the theology of the body

12/23/2023

As we come to the end of Advent and start the Christmas season, I want to share a series of homilies on Pope St. John Paul II's theology of the body. When God became man at Christmas the human body became indispensable for theology, and knowing God. It is no exaggeration to say that the pope’s synthesis of Scripture and sexuality has revolutionized Catholic theology. George Weigel stated in his biography on John Paul: “In [the theology of the body], John Paul II, so often dismissed as ‘rigidly conservative,’ proposed one of the boldest reconfigurations of Catholic theology in centuries” (Witness to Hope, 336). In my opinion John Paul II appropriated the insights of the modern philosophies of phenomenology and personalism to explain the whole Catholic faith, similar to how Thomas Aquinas harnessed Aristotle’s philosophy in the thirteenth century, and before him Augustine employed the philosophy of Plato in the fifth century. That is, John Paul II has rewritten the ancient Christian faith using a new language more compelling and convincing to modern believers. In the following homilies I want to help you become fluent in that language.

I first learned about the theology of the body when my friend, Fr. Erik Pohlmeier (now bishop) handed me a set of cassette tapes by Christopher West on the theology of the body and said, “You should listen to this.” You youngsters will have to google what “cassette tapes” are. I had to listen to those tapes several times before I finally saw the brilliance of the pope’s ground-breaking theology. Later in 2006, Michael Waldstein published the book John Paul himself had written on the theology of the body called Man and Woman He Created Them. I have read that 532-page book several times, and I feel I have still only skimmed the surface of all the Holy Father has to say. Nonetheless, I believe I have reached a certain level of fluency with the pope’s theology, and I feel confident I can share with you the rudiments of this new language. The best way to learn any new language, of course, is in an immersion program, where you live in the land where the language is spoken. I hope you will immerse yourself in this theology by reading the pope’s book yourself, and live in his 532-page land. Sorry, you cannot borrow my cassette tapes!

Even though the theology of the body is a book, that is not how it originally saw the light of day. John Paul had written it during the 1970’s while still archbishop of Krakow. When Cardinal Karol Wojtyla – John Paul’s baptismal name – was elected as the successor of Peter in 1978, the book was still a manuscript and unpublished. Instead of publishing it, the new pope decided to spoon-feed the theology of the body to the Church over the course of five years, like a loving mother spoon-feeds soft baby food to her child. As the Letter to the Hebrews noted: “You need milk, not solid food” (Hb 5:12). Therefore, from September 5, 1979 until November 28, 1984, the pope introduced the theology of the body to the Church and to the world in roughly fifteen minute bite-sized addresses on Wednesdays during his General Audience. Incidentally, the pope had to excise some of his rich reflections on the Old Testament books of Song of Songs and Tobit in the interest of time. That is, they are in the book but not in the addresses. You always get more out of reading the book than watching the movie.

Let’s crack open the pope’s book and look at the landscape. The text itself is divided into two major halves, rather like the Bible. The first half is called “The Words of Christ,” and the second half is titled, “The Sacrament.” But it is in the first part where the pope teaches us the new language of the theology of the body, which, after all, are rooted in Christ’s words. Once we become fluent in theology of the body in the first half, the pope uses it to talk about the great sacrament of marriage in the second part. By the way, do you know what the pope’s stated purpose was for this book? This may come as a surprise to contemporary Catholics, but John Paul’s aim is to present a thoroughly Scriptural and philosophically formidable rationale for why the Catholic Church teaches that contraception is immoral. The pope explained his strategy: "If I draw particular attention precisely to these final catecheses [devoted to Humanae Vitae, Pope Paul VI’s encyclical prohibiting contraception], I do so not only because the topic discussed by them is more closely connected with our present age, but first of all because it is from this topic that the questions spring that run in some way through the whole of our reflections” (Man and Woman He Created Them, 662, pope’s emphasis). That is, even if the vast majority of Western Catholics feel the Church has missed the boat by prohibiting contraception, the pope-saint vigorously disagrees.

Incidentally, this is not the first time the majority of Jesus’ disciples got it wrong. After our Lord’s most explicit teaching on the Eucharist in John 6, we hear: “Many of his disciples, when they heard it, said, ‘This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” (Jn 6:60). This doubt then leads to large-scale defections from the ranks: “After this many of his disciples drew back and no longer walked with him” (Jn 6:66). I am convinced that if we become fluent in the language of the theology of the body we will see why the Church is right on contraception and the majority report is dead wrong. But defending the Church’s teaching about contraception is not all the theology of the body is for. That is one small victory. But the larger war the theology of the body is waging is to present the strongest case for Catholic Christianity available today. George Weigel quotes a Roman theologian, by adding: "Angelo Scola, rector of the Pontifical Lateran University of Rome, goes so far as to suggest that virtually every thesis in theology – God, Christ, the Trinity, grace, the Church, the sacraments – could be seen in a new light if theologians explored in depth the rich personalism implied in John Paul II’s theology of the body” (Witness to Hope, 343). In sum, John Paul II has given the Church an entirely new language to articulate the Christian faith that will ring true in modern ears.

Let me quickly summarize the first half of the theology of the body, “The Words of Christ,” where we learn the basic vocabulary of this new language. You will be happy to know there are only three words of Christ that we have to master speaking, so that should be easy! Incidentally, by “word” I don’t mean a single word like “cat” or “dog” but a sentence or a thought by Jesus. His first word is found in Mt 19:8, where Jesus speaks about the indissolubility of marriage by going back to the beginning in the Garden of Eden. His second word is spoken in Mt 5:28 and touches on concupiscence in the heart and redefines morality from the heart. And Jesus’ third word is uttered in Mt 22:30, where Jesus appeals to the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the blessed in heaven. In other words, Pope John Paul insists that when we learn to speak these three words of Christ, we will master a new language to express our faith and evangelize the world. Changing metaphors, each “word” forms one panel in a tryptic – a three-panel altar piece – that paints a picture of “the integral vision of man” – what a human being is. Vatican II said that “Christ…fully reveals man to man himself and makes his supreme calling clear” (Gaudium et Spes, 22). That is, Christ reveals who we are in three simple words: our origins, our pilgrimage, and our destiny. The theology of the body is the most important language you can learn – more urgent than Spanish or Mandarin, or Arabic – because it will tell you who you truly are. And it is the easiest language you can learn because it only has three words.

Praised be Jesus Christ!