Theology of the Body

TOB Summer Camp for Teens!

2012-01-27T10:41:00.000-08:00

An immersion experience for high school juniors-seniors and new grads: TOB teaching integrated with teen spirituality (and loads of fun):

For more info: facebook.com/dumboxproductions

SSA-From the Inside

2012-01-20T09:11:00.000-08:00

The Aggie Catholics blog offers a link to a moving testimony from a homeschooling wife and mom (of five) who faces a daily struggle with same-sex attraction while fully and happily embracing Catholic Church teaching.
Worth your time.

A few extra resources

2011-10-11T18:28:00.000-07:00

The Patheos Catholic Portal has been featuring a series by Tim Muldoon on issues related to the Theology of the Body from a cultural standpoint. He may continue to add parts; these are all I could find so far.
Introduction
Part 2: Sex and Christianity
Part 3: Two Sexual Myths
Part 4: My Kind of Feminism
Part 5: Why Are Catholics Obsessed with Sex?
Part 6: Sex and Consumption, Sex and Christianity

Related post by the same author:
What IVF Does Not Heal

Couples discover TOB

2011-09-24T14:52:00.000-07:00

The St. Louis Review is running a series of articles on Theology of the Body!
Married couples open eyes to blessings...
Embodiment of the Gift of Love features a priest and a sister (our own Sr Donna!): proof that TOB is not limited to teens or couples. If you are in the body, TOB is for you.

I hope these articles don't go behind a firewall too soon...

TOB Witness Story

2011-09-23T11:41:00.000-07:00

Here's a marvelous picture of a Catholic marriage from blogger/podcaster Pat Gohn. Such are the fruits of a sacramental worldview and the sincere gift of self that holds nothing back.
Thanks, Pat, for sharing this intimate and profound vision.

2011-08-26T16:48:00.000-07:00

An interview with Bishop Lafitte (Jean Lafitte: how's that for a name?) from the Pontifical Council for the Family. He specifies that Pope John Paul's work clearly "belongs to the Magisterium" since it is apparent that the Pope intended to present his series of talks as teachings. This is significant, because there are some voices in the world of theology that seem to write off the Theology of the Body as not being "Church teaching" because it was "only" delivered in the form of Wednesday audience talks. (Not to mention that the content of his talks has also been incorporated into the Catechism.)

International Symposium

2011-06-21T08:53:00.000-07:00

Clayton Emmer posted the recorded talks from this month's International Theology of the Body Symposium. I'm finding the lectures immensely enriching; I think I may even use them for my annual retreat!

Tree of Life: a TOB film?

2011-05-27T06:53:00.000-07:00

Sr Helena can't stop talking about Malick's "Tree of Life" (awarded the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival). She kept saying "It's a God movie; it's a Theology of the Body movie..." (Here's her review, and all the tweets she sent while the review was embargoed!) Fr. Robert Barron agrees that it's a God movie, big time.

Tree of Life opens in limited release today.

TOB: in Benedict's words

2011-05-13T11:06:00.000-07:00

Today is the 30th anniversary of the assassination attempt on Bl. John Paul II. As he met with a group from the Blessed's own "Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family," Pope Benedict commented on the anniversary and on his predecessor's Theology of the Body:

At noon today the Pope received participants in a meeting sponsored by the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family.

At the beginning of the address the Holy Father recalled that 30 years ago the newly Blessed John Paul II founded that Institute and the Pontifical Council for the Family and that it was precisely on 13 May thirty years ago that he "suffered the terrible assassination attempt in St. Peter's Square".

Benedict XVI noted a few points of reflection to the members of the institute for "uniting the theology of the body with the theology of love in order to find the unity of the path of humankind".

While emphasizing that "the body is the place where the spirit can dwell", the pontiff noted that "in light of this we can understand that our bodies are not inert, heavy material but, if we know how to listen, they speak the language of true love".

"The body", he explained, "speaks to us of an origin that we haven't granted ourselves. ... It is only when recognizing the original love that has given them life that human beings can accept themselves, only then can they be reconciled with nature and with the world".

Referring to the creation of our first forebears, the Pope asserted that " before the Fall, Adam and Eve's bodies appear in perfect harmony. They have a language that they didn't create, an eros rooted in nature that invites them to receive one another mutually from the Creator so that they might thus be able to give themselves. ... The union in one flesh thus becomes a union of all of life, so that man and woman might become one spirit. ... In this sense", he continued, "the virtue of chastity takes on a new meaning. It is not a "no" to life's pleasures and joys but a great "yes" to love as the profound communication between persons, which requires time and respect, as a path together toward fullness and as love that becomes capable of generating life and generously welcoming the new life that is born".

The Holy Father said that "the body also contains a negative language. It speaks to us of the oppression of the other, of the desire to possess and exploit. Nevertheless, we know that this language does not pertain to God's original plan, but is the fruit of sin. When separated from its filial meaning, from its connection with the Creator, the body rebels against humans, and loses its capacity to show communion, becoming a place where the other is appropriated. Isn't this", he asked, " the drama of sexuality that today remains locked in the vicious circle of one's own body and emotion, but which in reality can only be fulfilled in the call to something greater?".

"God offers humans a path of redemption to the body, whose language is preserved in the family ... where the theology of the body and the theology of love are intertwined. Here the gift of self in one single flesh is lived in the conjugal love that unites spouses. Here the fruitfulness of love is experienced and life is joined with that of other generations. In the family, humans discover their relationality, not as autonomous individuals who are self-made but as child, spouse, and parent whose identity is based on being called to love, to receiving another's self and to giving oneself to others".

Benedict XVI concluded, recalling that "God takes on the body and revealed himself in it. ... As the Son, he received the filial body in gratitude, listening to the Father, and he offered his body for us, so that the new body of the Church might be generated".

AC/ VIS 20110513 (620)

Source:

V.I.S. -Vatican Information Service. www.visnews.org
Copyright © Vatican Information Service 00120 Vatican City

Testimonial

2011-05-05T10:00:00.000-07:00

How Theology of the Body brought blogger Jennifer Fulwiler and her husband into the Catholic Church (she from atheism, he a fallen-away Baptist):

Despite the fact that I found this religion to be imminently [sic] reasonable, I still couldn’t convert until I saw some kind of evidence that its doctrines were divinely-guided, as it claimed they were. After months of reading, I discovered the writings of John Paul II, specifically his Theology of the Body. What I found was a counter-cultural, brilliant yet counter-intuitive wisdom like I’d never encountered before. Reading his words made me feel like he had access to some secret owner’s manual to the human soul. It was the pebble that tipped the scales. Taken in total, I didn’t believe that humans could come up with this unfathomable body of wisdom on their own; I saw divine intervention. My husband and I both became Catholic at Easter Vigil in 2007.

From the Washington Post; read the rest here.

2011-05-02T19:22:00.000-07:00

To celebrate the beatification of Pope John Paul II, here are a few new-to-me online resources to help you learn and share his insights on the Theology of the Body:

8-part video series by Fr. Roger Landry: an overview of the whole arc of the Theology of the Body
Fr Landry's "Cliff Notes" version of TOB
Introductory overview of TOB by Fr. Jose Granados

William E. May on Fatherhood in Pope John Paul's document on the Christian Family; on male/female complementarity; on the biblical teachings on sexual morality in the light of TOB

And here's a pre-pontificate writing by the new Blessed, prepared for the 10th anniversary of Pope Paul's encyclical "Of Human Life"

TOB radio

2011-04-10T12:15:00.000-07:00

Father Loya gave us the great news that he will be hosting a weekly broadcast of Theology of the Body (eventually with live call-in possibilities) here in Chicago on Radio Maria (1450 AM). Tune in on the drive home every Tuesday from 4-6 p.m.

More about "Women, Sex and the Church"

2011-02-24T09:05:00.000-08:00

Go to CatholicTV for an interview with the editor (6 minutes into the program).
Get the free study guide here.

Good News about Fertility Care

2011-01-21T13:37:00.000-08:00

Another couple discovers that IVF isn't the only hope for infertile couples--and that infertility can often be cured: http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/hope-for-infertile-couples

TOB on Saturday

2011-01-04T18:09:00.000-08:00

Our online class meets again this Saturday (come in person if you're in Chicago!). Class starts at 10:30 here at 172 N Michigan Avenue downtown, or join us online at http://bit.ly/TOB-TV at 10:30 CST. We're continuing the book "Love and Responsibility" by Karol Wojtyla (a.k.a. Pope John Paul II).

Speaking of Pope John Paul, Vaticanista John Allen's sources say that a healing attributed to the Pope's intercession was recognized as an authentic miracle; if the Cardinals (and Pope Benedict) sign on, we may be saying "Blessed Pope John Paul" by the end of this new year!

In Memoriam, Fr. John Harvey

2010-12-29T16:29:00.000-08:00

A TOB hero died this week.

Fr. John Harvey, OSFS was the founder of Courage, a spiritual support group for people with same sex attraction (SSA). He was faithful to the Gospel command to "love one another" and to the teachings of the Church about human love in an age when many people firmly believe the two to be incompatible.

Among the comments added to his online obituary (I'm copying some here because usually online obits don't enjoy eternal life) are these, which really are a message in themselves:

"...He has embodied the ministry that he has founded, his person characterized by that same word - COURAGE.

"He is one of the few priests who dared to love the person struggling with same-sex attractions with the unconditional love of Father God. His ministry has raised hope for the homosexual person saying "nothing is impossible with God'. We shall forever remember him as the champion of love...."

"Rest in Christ's peace Father Harvey. Thank you for your inspiration and courage. You truly were a living example of Christ and His love. We shall miss you but celebrate your journey."

"Father Harvey was a holy man and a great priest. He truly made the love of Christ visible. I will be forever grateful for the kindness he showed me. May he rest in peace."

"Dear Fr. Harvey, thank you so much for showing me how to manage my SSA. Because of you and your apostalate I now have many, many dear friends who are like family to me. My life is so much happier! Pleace continue to pray for me with Holy Mary and Good St. Joseph!"

"Thank you Jesus for the gift that Father H was to me and to all of us. he was a loving Father figure for those who needed healing in that way and a Christ like priest to all he met. thanks also to the Oblates for loaning him to Courage for so long. we are grateful for your support also."

"Father Harvey, Thank you for your tireless service and for your willingness to serve Our Lord. I remember when I first met you and how gentle you were. You reflected Christ to me as I was trying to navigate my way through some very rough waters, You listened and told me the truth in love in accordance with Scripture. You were a light in my dark corner of the world and pointed me toward Christ. ..."

"I cannot remember ever seen Fr. Harvey NOT smile. He displayed Christian joy no matter how troublesome the matter he and I or those we were with might have been talking about. That was a sign, I think, of his deep communion with God--a communion which now, I suspect, has been perfected for him."

"It was my honor to be at the same table for lunch at the San Diego Courage Conference some years ago. I sensed I was in the presence of a saint. His cheerful example to me and others instilled hope in the hearts of us whose family members were either struggling with or had given into SSA. God bless his soul for answering the call to establish the Courage/Encourage apostolate, which helped me to get through many years of suffering that seemed impossible to me at the time.'

"Thank you Father for all your love, support and your truly christian teachings. I never met you in person but I knew your great labor, 'cause I have SSA and your love came to me through Courage Latino Mexico. I'm so sad and at same time so happy because you already are with God. No doubt about it."

More on Women, Sex and the Church

2010-12-18T09:11:00.000-08:00

From the pen of George Weigel:

I am a suspect witness in the case of Erika Bachiochi, who as Erika Schubert was my student in Cracow in the late 1990s. Armed with a law degree, a theology degree, a husband and five small children, Erika has become one of the intellectual leaders of the new Catholic feminism in the United States. Her edited volume, “Women, Sex, and the Church: A Case for Catholic Teaching” (Pauline Books and Media), includes 10 stimulating essays on just about every hot-button issue at the intersection of women’s lives and the Catholic moral imagination. But as Boston College’s Father Paul McNellis puts it, Erika’s book is not-for-women-only: “It should be required reading for every son, brother, fiancé, husband, father, seminarian and priest,” because the women who think out loud here “know something about life, and in listening to them you come away wanting to be a better man.”

New resource for couples

2010-12-14T11:47:00.000-08:00

Just learned about the work of Tim and Traci Boh, pioneering a fertility charting program with algorithms that modify according to the individual woman's cycle, from onset of menses through menopause. Their program also offers a way to create a pdf chart to give to your doctor. Find out more at http://www.FertileView.com You can also follow Traci on Twitter.

Notes from Saturday

2010-12-14T11:27:00.000-08:00

Sr Helena faced repeated technical problems in Saturday's web stream. (We really do need to get a new ethernet cable for the conference room!) But she managed to take notes when she wasn't re-establishing the lost connection. You can find the notes on her blog: http://hellburns.blogspot.com/2010/12/theology-of-body.html

December 11 TOB class

2010-12-10T06:44:00.000-08:00

It's already the 2nd week of Advent--and tomorrow is the 2nd Saturday of December: time for our ongoing study of Karol Wojtyla's "Love and Responsibility."
Join us and Fr. Thomas Loya at the Chicago bookstore or online at 10:30 a.m. CST (that's 4:30 p.m. GMT).

Continuing TOB

2010-11-11T17:50:00.001-08:00

Our TOB class meets online this Saturday (same time, same station). We'll pick up where we left off with Pope John Paul's "Love and Responsibility."
Join us!
11:30 a.m. EST
4:30 p.m. GMT

Next Class, Oct 9

2010-10-07T19:59:00.000-07:00

We're continuing the study of Pope John Paul's "Love and Responsibility" with Fr. Thomas Loya this Saturday at 10:30 Central Time. Join us here ("in the body"!) or online.

Continuing the conversation with Dawn Eden

2010-09-30T09:45:00.000-07:00

This time, it's Professor Janet Smith. The most serious "charge" Eden makes in her well-publicized thesis--it seems to be the one thing that unsettles the largest number of more conservative thinkers--is that, according to West, the Theology of the Body is so "revolutionary" that it marks a real break with the past, with tradition. In more formal terms, it violates the hermeneutic of continuity. (Them's fighting words if you're an orthodox theologian!)
In her very lengthy critique of the thesis (as a Professor, Dr. Smith has had to wade through many a Master's thesis, so she critiques this one as if it were another work coming across her desk), Smith zeroes in on this most weighty point. That passage (from the middle of Smith's response) will follow here; please go to Catholic Exchange for her Part 1 and for the rest of the critique.

[Eden] states the theme in this way: “The Theology of the Body is an all-encompassing theology that requires theologians and religious educators to recontextualize ‘everything’ about Christian faith and life” (ET, 11). She explains further by stating, “It isn’t just about sex and marriage;” it is a “revolution” that “will lead to a dramatic development of thinking about the Creed.” (Eden notes that this quotation came from George Weigel’s Witness to Hope, 343). There is a striking set of words linked here: “all-encompassing,” “recontextualize,” “everything,” “revolution,” and “dramatic development.” Eden bombards her readers with words that she seems to believe will shock them. Surely, there can be no hermeneutic of continuity if such radical claims are being made.
But does West say such things and, if so, where, and what does he mean? The merit of Eden’s thesis over against some of the other pieces against him is that it provides readers with sources where they can go to verify her charges. Unfortunately, as I have stated, when one goes to the sources or even reads carefully what Eden has stated, one rarely draws the same conclusions that she does. I was hoping to find where West says what she states the first theme to be. Eden doesn’t lead us to any passages that state that the Theology of the Body is an “all-encompassing” theology; she only notes that West said it “isn’t just about sex and marriage.” (ET, 11) I would have thought Eden would be pleased that West says the Theology of the Body “isn’t just about sex and marriage,” because elsewhere she accuses him of presenting the Theology of the Body as though it were only about sex and marriage. He can’t win!
Recontextualizing Everything
Eden does acknowledge that the word “recontextualize” is hers, but she does not acknowledge that none of the words in her first theme belong to West. (ET, 11, footnote, 25) That is, he does not say that “theologians and religious educators” must do anything in respect to “everything about Christian faith and life.” In reference to the word “everything,” she refers us to an essay by West, entitled “What is the Theology of the Body and Why is it Changing So Many Lives?” The word “everything” does not appear in that essay. I did find some interesting material there, however. West quotes John Paul II as saying that “Since our creation as male and female is the ‘fundamental fact of human existence’ (Feb. 13, 1980), the theology of the body affords ‘the rediscovery of the meaning of the whole of existence, the meaning of life’ (Oct. 29, 1980).” This certainly is a sweeping claim, but it is John Paul II’s claim, not West’s. West follows John Paul II in understanding that the Theology of the Body will allow us to “rediscover” the meaning of existence and life. This rediscovery is a kind of revolution but it is in no way a revolution that involves any change in doctrine. It is a reappropriation of the deepest roots of the faith. There is no discontinuity here.
When Sister Marianne Lorraine Trouvé (who is providing an excellent critical commentary of Eden’s thesis on her blog) also pointed out Eden’s error regarding the “everything to change” assertion, Eden thanks her for pointing out the error and notes: “The source should have been listed as West’s article ‘The Pope’s Theology of the Body.’ (Catholic Education Resource Center; www.catholiceducation.org/articles/sexuality/se0058.html [accessed February 5, 2010]).” I invite others to read that piece and see if West is claiming that “everything about Christian faith and life” must be “recontextualized.” Again, I think those who go to the source will find a wonderful article disclosing the treasures of the Theology of the Body.
A search for “everything” in the source that Eden provides, leads us to these paragraphs:
According to John Paul, by reflecting on these three levels [Original Man, Historical Man, Eschatological Man] of “experiencing” the body, sexuality, and marriage, we discover the very structure and deepest reality of human identity – we find our place in the cosmos and even penetrate the mystery of the Trinitarian God. How is this so through contemplating the body, sex, and marriage? As John Paul shows us, the question of sexuality and marriage is not a peripheral issue. In fact, he says the call to “nuptial love” inscribed in our bodies is “the fundamental element of human existence in the world” (General Audience 1/16/80). In light of Ephesians 5, he even says that the ultimate truth about the “great mystery” of marriage “is in a certain sense the central theme of the whole of revelation, its central reality” (General Audience 9/8/82).
This is to say that everything God wants to tell us on earth about who he is, the meaning of life, the reason he created us, how we are to live, as well as our ultimate destiny, is contained somehow in the meaning of the human body and the call of male and female to become “one body” in marriage. How? Pointing always to the Scriptures, the Holy Father reminds us that the Christian mystery itself is a mystery about marriage – the marriage between Christ and the Church. Yes, God’s plan from all eternity is to draw us into the closest communion with himself – to “marry” us! Jesus took on a body so we could become “one body” with him (which we do in the Eucharist) (my emphasis). [i]
West is hardly giving instructions to theologians and educators to “recontextualize everything.” Rather, he is simply pointing out that the Holy Father is directing us to contemplate the mystery of the body, of marriage, and the relationship of Christ and his Church. We see no “revolution” here, no calls for “doctrinal development.”

Reporting from the Book Launch

2010-09-29T09:04:00.000-07:00

Sr Lorraine writes about the Book Launch:

Last evening we had a book launch at Boston College for Women, Sex, and the Church: A Case for Catholic Teaching.

This project brought together a group of talented women who are experts in their field. Most of them have written books on the subject matter of their respective chapters. They know what they’re talking about.

They cover the material in a unique way, from a pro-woman perspective rooted in Catholic teaching. They show that these teachings of the Church, which are so controversial today, are in fact pro-woman. To this end they not only discuss doctrine and moral teachings, but do so in a way that takes into account solid data from sociology and other fields. The book, then, is not just theoretical, but it shows what happens in a society when sexual morality breaks down on a massive scale. The end result hurts people.

This book complements other titles that Pauline Books & Media has published in this area, especially those concerning the theology of the body. Pope John Paul often spoke of the spousal meaning of the body, a meaning which he defined as “the power to express love: precisely that love in which the human person becomes a gift and—through this gift—fulfills the very meaning of his or her being and existence.” And quoting the text from Gaudium et Spes that he used so often, human persons cannot fully find themselves except through a sincere gift of self.” (TOB 15:1; p. 185).

The book also includes a chapter explaining Catholic doctrine concerning the ordination of only men to the priesthood. That chapter is written by Sr Sara Butler, one of the foremost experts in the field who explains this teaching lucidly and succinctly.

Snoring Scholar reviews "The Human Person"

2010-09-29T08:52:00.000-07:00

Thanks, Sarah!

Recently, I dubbed The Human Person According to John Paul II, by J. Brian Bransfield, “one of the best books I’ve read in a lonnnng time (maybe ever).” It’s time to support that statement with a few reasons why you should not only pick it up and read it, but also buy it for your parish library and your best friend.
This book is approachable. The most compelling reason I have for wanting to stand from my rooftop and trumpet to everyone I know that they should read this book is that it’s approachable AND that it makes the whole idea behind Theology of the Body (republished in an expanded form recently as Man and Woman He Created Them), John Paul II’s great masterpiece (which is also online), approachable.
TOB is a HUGE undertaking to read and an even bigger undertaking to understand and unpack. I’ve read a host of other authors who have tried it, and who have done well. But this is the first book that I felt like I could hand to my friends, my husband, and my pastor with absolutely no compunction. It’s one of the only books I have purchased after receiving a review copy, and one of an even smaller number that I know I’ll be buying again.
There’s heavy, deep stuff in this book, because that’s the topic, but it’s written in a way that makes you comfortable. My husband thought, for the first two-thirds of the book, that I was reading a novel, and his eyebrows were lost in his hairline for a day or two when he found out it was nonfiction.

Read the rest here.

Weigel Interview: TOB?

2010-09-17T16:21:00.000-07:00

George Weigel just released a new book that is a sequel to Witness to Hope, his biography of John Paul. There’s an interview here: http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/246867/pope-s-legacy-fire-interview

From the interview:

"[John Paul's TOB writings] have changed the discussion of sexual morality in the Catholic Church, and they’re beginning to do so in the world. Believe it or not, a group of Columbia students self-organized an outdoor discussion of John Paul’s books on sexual ethics at Rockefeller Center recently. No one could have imagined any such thing happening in, say, 1978, when he was elected."

Where does TOB belong?

2010-09-16T18:46:00.000-07:00

Applying theology of the body to societal problems

A deeper understanding of our bodies' physical and spiritual dimensions can shed light on the harmful, distorted views of society

By Emily Stimpson - Our Sunday Visitor, 9/26/2010

The theology of the body is not just a theology for Marriage Encounter weekends, Pre-Cana classes or high school classrooms. It’s also a theology for the public square.
Seriously.
Of course, Pope John Paul II’s collection of teachings has a lot to say about sex and sexuality. When it comes to communicating the Church’s understanding of marital love and intimacy to contemporary culture, the theology of the body has been a game-changer, helping countless people grasp for the first time the sacredness and power of giving one’s body to another.
But it’s not called the theology of the body (as opposed to the “theology of sex”) for nothing. Pope John Paul II’s teachings are, at their heart, not a sex-ed curriculum, but rather an anthropology of what it means to be a human person. They are a prism through which Catholics can view themselves and the world rightly.
That’s why the theology of the body has something to say about what happens outside, as well as inside, couples’ bedrooms. It is, at its most basic, not just a guide for how we are to love, but also for how we are to live.
And, when properly understood, it sheds light on the root causes of some of our culture’s most pressing social concerns: the spread of pornography, the rise in out-of-wedlock births, the culture of divorce, support for abortion and embryo-destructive procedures, and the push for same-sex marriage.

Read the rest: http://www.osv.com/tabid/7622/itemid/6917/In-Focus-Applying-theology-of-the-body-to-societa.aspx

TOB critique

2010-09-15T20:28:00.000-07:00

Sr. Lorraine is one of the Theology of the Body specialists in the Pauline editorial department, so she was quite interested when author and convert-blogger Dawn Eden made her Master's Thesis on Christopher West's ten key themes available. That thesis has gotten a lot of publicity, and has also contributed to some less-than-charitable characterizations of West and his work.
Is Eden on the right track? Is Christopher West promoting his own (off-base) understanding of the Theology of the Body more than offering a reasonably popularized version of Pope John Paul's teaching?
Sister Lorraine offers a point by point critique. Given her vast experience working with West (especially on his revised "Theology of the Body Explained") and Dr. Waldstein (in the critical translation of the Pope's texts), Sister Lorraine should be given a hearing.

Book Review: The Human Person in the Thought of John Paul II

2010-09-08T09:36:00.000-07:00

Book Explores What It Means to be Human in Light of
Theology of the Body

WASHINGTON—“What does it mean to be human?” A new book by the priest who spearheads the evangelization and catechetical efforts of the U.S. bishops explores this question by drawing on the teachings of Pope John Paul II in his theology of the body. In The Human Person: According to John Paul II, published by Pauline Books and Media, Father J. Brian Bransfield examines the vision of humanity expressed by Pope John Paul II and uses it as the basis for a moral theology that offers practical guidance and support in living the Christian life.

Father Bransfield writes about the challenges raised by three social revolutions of the 20th Century – the industrial, sexual and technological revolutions – and how Pope John Paul’s theology of the body responded to the resulting societal shifts. These shifts, Father Bransfield observes, have led to a disregard for women, the spread of cohabitation, the rise in divorce and the growing trend of fatherlessness. John Paul II challenged all of these trends. Father Bransfield shows how Christians today can overcome the negative consequences of these shifts through living the teaching of the theology of the body as an essential element of the new evangelization proclaimed by Pope John Paul II.

Father J. Brian Bransfield is a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. He currently serves as the Assistant General Secretary and Executive Director of the Secretariat of Evangelization and Catechesis at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Father Bransfield holds a doctorate in moral theology from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Washington.
---
This review dated June 10, 2010; http://www.usccb.org/comm/archives/2010/10-114.shtml

Answering the tough TOB questions

2010-09-02T10:00:00.000-07:00

What does the Church have against women? That's what many in our culture seem to wonder, deep down. And the new "Women, Sex and the Church" can help. Editor Erica Bachiochi "argues that her previous status as a feminist who viewed the Church as almost evil should lend even more credibility to the work. After all, it is far more convincing for some to hear from someone who ‘saw the light’ than it is coming from someone who never thought otherwise."

Read the rest of the review here.

New online study starting soon!

2010-09-01T10:28:00.000-07:00

Our Theology of the Body class will resume on the 2nd Saturday of the month, beginning in just 10 days. Instead of going through the tome of John Paul's Wednesday talks ("the" source of the Theology of the Body), we will be studying Karol Wojtyla's earlier work, "Love and Responsibility." People who think that the Theology of the Body was just the Pope's after-the-fact attempt to justify the Church's teachings in the widely-scorned encyclical "Humanae Vitae" will be surprised to see that "Love and Responsiblity," first published in Polish in 1960, is the real precursor to the Theology of the Body. Wojtyla had a new book ready for the publisher when he was elected Pope; circumstances being what they were, he had to adapt his manuscript to a new format of Wednesday talks.
The new year-long study can offer you a better sense of where the Pope is coming from in the Theology of the Body, which may be his most enduring charismatic gift to the Church.

Basic class info:
Meet here* at the bookstore or online every 2nd Saturday of the month, 10:30 US Central Time (GMT-6).
Text: Love and Responsibility
URL: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/theology-of-the-body

Spread the Word!

*172 N Michigan Avenue, Chicago (one block north of Millennium Park--make it a downtown day!).

Sr Lorraine on Dawn Eden, Part 2

2010-08-04T13:49:00.000-07:00

Guest post #2 as promised, from Sr Lorraine of "Open wide the doors to Christ." Be sure to visit her site to join in the comments.

In her thesis, Dawn lists ten themes that she says are the major themes in Christopher West's work. She also listed them in the talk she gave at her defense (near the bottom of that page).

Her listing of these themes raises the question: how did she determine that these themes are in fact the major ones of West's work? She doesn't explain her criteria for selecting them.
This leads to the further question: do these ten themes in fact represent the distillation of West's work? If West himself were to summarize his work in ten themes, would he choose these or something else? Do these themes really capture the essence of his work? Are there others that could have been included? West is basing his themes on John Paul, and several other important themes could be noted, such as the communion of persons, spousal meaning of the body, shame, receptivity, celibacy for the sake of the kingdom, the new evangelization and the culture of death, and most importantly, the theme of self-gift.

If Dawn wants to critique all of West's work, she needs to be absolutely sure that she is presenting his work accurately. Her synthesis is certainly open to debate. My personal opinion is that she's selecting themes that better suit her criticisms of West, and omitting others that are more fundamental but not so open to criticism. This leaves Dawn's thesis vulnerable, since her critique assumes her reading of West corresponds to what he is actually saying, but it may not. Again, this relates to the difficulty I mentioned in my first post, that Dawn has taken on a project that's so broad she can't do it justice.

Guest Post: Sr Lorraine on Dawn Eden

2010-08-04T07:30:00.000-07:00

Bi-locating from Sr Lorraine's own blog, Open Wide the Doors to Christ (where you can follow the conversation that has already begun). Be back here (or there) for more, which Sr Lorraine promises; it should be very stimulating.

Dawn Eden has written her master's thesis critiquing the work of Christopher West. She was kind enough to send me a free copy and I read through it carefully. I admire Dawn and thank God for the grace of her conversion to the Catholic faith and the wonderful work she has been doing to promote chastity.

I sent her some lengthy feedback that was more critical than favorable. Since discussion of this is going on in the Catholic blogosphere, I'd like to say something about it without revealing details of her thesis, which she is selling to get some funds for her further studies. So I'll probably do this in a few posts. Here's some intro:

My background in this area is as follows: For the past 16 years, I've been working in our apostolate as a developmental editor. I edited Christopher West's book Theology of the Body Explained (Pauline Books & Media). I also collaborated with Dr Michael Waldstein when we published his translation of the Pope's TOB talks. It was a privilege for me to have carried out this work. Both West and Waldstein are outstanding, dedicated Catholics who are working tirelessly to promote Catholic teaching.

My general impression of Dawn's thesis is that she took on a large project in giving “a comprehensive overview of West’s presentation of TOB.” Since much of West’s work has been in his speaking presentations, to fairly evaluate it would require her to follow the development of his teaching as it has unfolded over the past decade. That’s quite a project. It's so broad that I don't think it's even possible to do it in a master's thesis. To be fair to West, she would need to also contextualize his teachings so as to present them objectively without any distortion. In my opinion, the thesis does not accomplish this objective.

Since West is actively engaged in developing his work continually, her thesis may become dated quite quickly. This point also touches on the question of how West has responded to criticisms. I believe that he has made changes to his presentations in response to various types of feedback. In my personal work with him on his book, he was very open to constructive suggestions and willing to make edits when needed. I mention this because Dawn does not document how West has in fact made changes to his presentations after getting constructive criticism. If her goal is to give a comprehensive overview of West's presentations of TOB, that's a necessary part of the picture.

More to follow...

Women, Sex and the Church

2010-08-03T06:16:00.000-07:00

It's the title of an upcoming release from Pauline, and got the attention of Publisher's Weekly. I saw an advance copy of it yesterday and it is fantastic. I think it will especially be helpful to people who struggle with Church teaching. Anyway, here's what Publisher's Weekly had to say in their religion book feature:

Women, Sex, and the Church: A Case for Catholic Teaching

Edited by Erika Bachiochi. Pauline Books and Media, $19.95 paper (272p) ISBN 978-0-8198-8320-9

In this thoughtful and wide-ranging collection of essays, eight women and one man set out to explain and defend the Catholic Church’s teaching on sex, reproduction, priestly ordination, and family. Bachiochi, a lawyer and theologian who edited and contributed to the compilation, opens by calling herself an unlikely candidate for the project because she once “identified with a radical feminist contingent and was adamantly anti-Catholic.” As she learned more about Catholicism’s teachings, she writes, she decided that the church needed a way to explain them as “pro-woman.” The essays she assembled seek to show that the church’s teachings free rather than oppress women. Other contributors to the volume include Sister Sara Butler, a theologian and former proponent of women’s ordination, who wrote the essay on the priesthood, and economist Jennifer Roback Morse, whose essay looks at marriage. Given that this book challenges a popular view of Catholicism as antiwoman, it will be welcomed by those who support the church’s teaching; readers who disagree might still find its perspective provocative.(Aug.)

TOB Congress

2010-07-31T15:41:00.000-07:00

This week's Theology of the Body Congress, the first ever, brought in a capacity crowd; once the registration was maxed out, the Theology of the Body Institute offered participation by web streaming, and several dioceses set up satellite congresses so more people could join in. Our own Sr. Helena was a panelist, along with our usual TOB presenter, Fr. Loya, and numerous Pauline authors were speakers or participants.
The Institute also gave special recognition to TOB "pioneers." Among them, Anastasia Northrup and...the Daughters of St. Paul!
Father Brian Bransfield's opening talk was a big hit; he was the first of the Pauline authors for the Congress!

Catch up with these articles:
http://www.zenit.org/article-30044?l=english
http://www.zenit.org/article-30039?l=english
http://www.zenit.org/article-30054?l=english

And with the live tweets from the Congress itself:
http://twitter.com/tobcongress

Women priests?

2010-07-14T10:19:00.000-07:00

The great 20th century theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar wrote an essay about the place an all-male priesthood has in this post-patriarchal world. (Much of von Balthasar's thought can be read in a Theology of the Body key.) Not easy reading, but important!
Women priests? A Marian Church in a fatherless and motherless culture

2010-07-06T18:11:00.000-07:00

Some provocative articles and posts on the 50th anniversary of "the Pill":
by Dr. Janet Smith ("For my part, I believe all those who use natural family planning should get a tax credit for environmentally responsible behavior.")
by Leslie Eastman (with commentary by Elizabeth Scalia) ("Fifty years of birth control cannot get around three-million-years of biochemistry.")

TOB and artists

2010-06-19T19:54:00.001-07:00

A tip of the hat (veil?) to Shana for this interesting article.

TOB Magnets

2010-05-21T08:58:00.000-07:00

Sr Helena designed some Theology of the Body magnets with wry slogans on them to provoke questions (ordering info at the bottom of the post).
The magnets have also begun to provoke some controversy.
Are they too flippant? Do the slogans about pornography make light of a painful addiction, or could they be just the approach that someone needs to recognize how pitiful their situation has become?
Could these little magnets provide an opening for someone to investigate the Theology of the Body?

TO ORDER:
(magnets are 3.43" x 1.93"--flat vinyl)

--Indicate which magnet(s) you are ordering by the # and how many of each.
--$1.00 per magnet. 1-9 magnets: $1.00 postage. 10+ magnets: $3.00 postage.
--Cash, check ("Daughters of St. Paul"), VISA/MC (with exp. date).
--Your full name, address, phone # and email.
Sr. Helena Burns, fsp
Pauline Books & Media
172 N. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60601
cell: 617.850.5584
email: hburns@paulinemedia.com

THANK YOU FOR SPREADING THE GOOD NEWS OF TOB!

TOB as the new Good News

2010-05-13T13:16:00.000-07:00

This is a reflection prepared by our community in answer to a congregational question; does it match your understanding of the Theology of the Body?

What is the Gospel? It is the unexpected, unanticipated, unimagined revelation of God's saving nearness, surpassing all we could have dreamed of (our minds and expectations having been trained and fixed firmly within the limits of the surrounding culture). This new and surprising revelation convinces by its beauty and raises up new and enthusiastic witnesses who are amazed that they could find such real fulfillment in what, all their life, they had looked on as a stumbling block or absurdity.

What message do we have in our hands that distills the Gospel in a way that has this impact for people today? The Theology of the Body! It is a new reading of the whole Bible, addressed to people's experience of life and their hopes for love and meaning. It is the Good News of the depth of divine revelation and holiness present to us; it hints at what Christian life and family life itself can be: the “sincere gift of self.” It is a profoundly theological and Christian vision of the human person (intelligence, will, heart, relationships...) that simultaneously and paradoxically demonstrates the centrality of the doctrine of the Trinity. Like the Gospel itself, the Theology of the Body can be presented even to children, but is deep enough never to be exhausted. It is accessible to everyone because it does not rely on philosophical or theological background: it starts from common human experience, lived in the body. People who discover it are blown away by its breadth and meaning, and become convincing apostles of its message. Their lives are transformed.

Because it is so counter-cultural and available from no other voice than the Catholic Church's, the Theology of the Body is a message that really needs to be shouted from the rooftops. It is a universal message with a universal audience, a condensed presentation of the Gospel that corresponds to the signs of the times and the needs of society.

2010-05-11T13:51:00.000-07:00

A fitting reminder from the Archbishop of Dublin:

Within the Church and outside of it discussion focuses around challenges in the area of sexual morality where the Church’s teaching is either not understood or is simply rejected as out of tune with contemporary culture. There is on the other hand very little critical examination of some of the roots of that contemporary culture and its compatibility with the teaching of Jesus. The moral teaching of the Church cannot simply be a blessing for, a toleration of, or an adaptation to the cultural climate of the day. The manner in which the moral teaching of the Church is presented to believers is far too often not adequately situated within the overall context of the teaching of Jesus, which is both compassionate and demanding. Christian moral rules and norms belong within a broader vision of the teaching of Jesus Christ.

2010-05-11T10:02:00.000-07:00

In our May session, Father Loya spoke of the priesthood in the light of the Theology of the Body. He brought out the little-known connection between priestly celibacy and the Mass, and how this is observed in Eastern churches with married priests.

New Books!

2010-05-11T09:57:00.000-07:00

Just this morning I was reading a magazine put out by an association of the universities run by a certain very distinguished Catholic Order. The issue dealt with young adults and their experiences and convictions in the realm of sexuality, and even included an article on how to engage young adult Catholics in a Catholic university setting in a conversation about contraception. Sadly, the presentation of the Church's teaching was limited to the 1968 document Humanae Vitae and, after a nod to its relevance, developing a conversation about how it needs to be updated. In another article, an interview with an author who did an extensive study of the "hook-up" culture in the university today, quoted that expert as dismissing "the usual suspects (Humane Vitae, Theology of the Body) of moral theology." Never mind that Theology of the Body is only now beginning to enter into the Church's consciousness, or that it, like the Christian ideal generally, according to Chesterton, "has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried."
Neither the university professor nor the author seems to have any real sense of what Theology of the Body is. The professor didn't even acknowledge it, while the author pegged it as "moral theology." I wonder if either of those two eminences has ever honestly taken the text in hand and allowed the Theology of the Body to speak to them directly. They would find out that it is not a rule book (consisting of one word: "Don't!"), or a text of moral theology, but a vision of the human person, male and female, and what it means to be the image of God.
Two new books may be just the thing--if not for the above-mentioned persons, for people who honestly want a fuller understanding of what the Church teaches about the human person. Both are addressed to the serious reader, not the casual inquirer.
Theology of the Body in Context: Genesis and Growth, by William May, is a summary presentation, ideal for getting a sense of the whole before you actually plunge into John Paul II's tome. The website allows you to read a few sample pages.

And yesterday we got our sneak peak copy of a book so new it's not even on the website yet. So you can't order it. Yet.
In "The Human Person According to John Paul II," Father J. Brian Bransfield starts with culture and the three revolutions at the center of the "Perfect Storm" of the 20th Century: The Industrial Revolution, the Sexual Revolution (with its effects on women, living together, divorce and the phenomenon of fatherlessness), and the Technological Revolution. These revolutions have all had a profound effect on how we understand what it means to be human, and on the key relationships in human life. From this cultural background, Bransfield brings in John Paul's teachings on the person and the Theology of the Body as "life according to the Spirit." How's that for a different take on what some academics blithely dismiss as torpid moral theology?

Author Fr. J. Brian Bransfield will be one of the speakers at this summer's Theology of the Body Conference, along with this TOB group's very own Sister Helena Burns and Father Thomas Loya.

Artists respond to the Theology of the Body

2010-02-25T12:19:00.000-08:00

TOB and Art conference by sculptor Dony MacManus.
Thank you to art student and TOB blogger Shana for embedding the full set of these videos on her blog.
Here's part 1 of 5:

Full-body scanning and the Theology Thereof

2010-02-24T15:57:00.001-08:00

The Chicago Tribune posted my reflection on airport security scanners. Please visit the site and add your comments!

TOB: Yiddish Style

2010-02-20T09:33:00.000-08:00

An interesting article in the "Houses of Worship" column of the Wall Street Journal presents Orthodox Jewish perspectives on marriage. Not surprisingly, it sounds very much like the Theology of the Body (though without the Trinitarian dimension).

TOB and Lenten Discipline

2010-02-13T13:58:00.000-08:00

It has been in the news lately that Pope John Paul II practiced personal austerities that were once very common among the devout, but now pretty much unheard of. Father Loya took this news as an occasion to look at how the practice of asceticism, typical of Lent, is a Theology of the Body message about the goodness of the body.

We meet again mid-Lent, March 13.

Love and Responsibility

2010-02-13T13:42:00.000-08:00

Pope John Paul's early book is the subject of an entire series of Friday night meetings in Corpus Christi, organized by Fr. Samuel Medley, S.O.L.T. Last night's presentation was broadcast from here in Chicago (Fr. Loya was the speaker), and the folks in Texas watched it on a big screen.

You can access the earlier talks, and those to come, on the program's blog: http://loveandresponsibilitylectureseries.blogspot.com/
A question also came up about same-sex attraction, something Father could not address in an adequately nuanced way in a few seconds. He recommended as a first step in a conversation on that very delicate issue: this article by Dr. Jeffrey Satinover.

Thinking about Freedom (of Choice or of Conscience?)

2010-01-27T16:05:00.000-08:00

"It is ironic that those who today assert a right to kill the unborn, aged and disabled and also a right to engage in immoral sexual practices, and even a right to have relationships integrated around these practices be recognized and blessed by law—such persons claiming these “rights” are very often in the vanguard of those who would trample upon the freedom of others to express their religious and moral commitments to the sanctity of life and to the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife."
From the Manhattan Declaration.

Food for Thought

2010-01-25T16:04:00.000-08:00

"The last thing we can afford to do is to re-define marriage in such a way as to embody in our laws a false proclamation about what marriage is."
From the Manhattan Declaration.

2010-01-24T19:59:00.000-08:00

Found a link on Facebook to this wonderful video for Catholic men; it seems a perfect match for what we're doing here.
Guys, are you familiar with "Catholic Mountain"? Described as "A ministry to help Catholic men grow in Christ, but a resource for all who want to learn about and grow in their faith." It looks like Facebook for Catholic men.

More Food for Thought!

2010-01-24T16:03:00.000-08:00

"The truth is that marriage is not something abstract or neutral that the law may legitimately define and re-define to please those who are powerful and influential."
From the Manhattan Declaration.

Food for Thought

2010-01-23T16:03:00.000-08:00

"The body is no mere extrinsic instrument of the human person, but truly part of the personal reality of the human being. Human beings are not merely centers of consciousness or emotion, or minds, or spirits, inhabiting non-personal bodies. The human person is a dynamic unity of body, mind, and spirit."
From the Manhattan Declaration.

Food for Thought

2010-01-21T16:00:00.000-08:00

"Marriage is made possible by the sexual complementarity of man and woman."
From the Manhattan Declaration.

Food for Thought

2010-01-20T15:58:00.000-08:00

Redefining marriage "would lock into place the false and destructive belief that marriage is all about romance and other adult satisfactions, and not, in any intrinsic way, about procreation and the unique character and value of acts and relationships whose meaning is shaped by their aptness for the generation, promotion and protection of life. In spousal communion and the rearing of children (who, as gifts of God, are the fruit of their parents’ marital love), we discover the profound reasons for and benefits of the marriage covenant."
From the Manhattan Declaration.

Food for Thought

2010-01-19T15:57:00.000-08:00

"The impulse to redefine marriage in order to recognize same-sex and multiple partner relationships is a symptom, rather than the cause, of the erosion of the marriage culture. It reflects a loss of understanding of the meaning of marriage as embodied in our civil and religious law and in the philosophical tradition that contributed to shaping the law."
From the Manhattan Declaration.

Food for Thought

2010-01-18T15:56:00.000-08:00

"...marriage is the original and most important institution for sustaining the health, education, and welfare of all persons in a society. Where marriage is honored, and where there is a flourishing marriage culture, everyone benefits—the spouses themselves, their children, the communities and societies in which they live. Where the marriage culture begins to erode, social pathologies of every sort quickly manifest themselves."
From the Manhattan Declaration.

Food for Thought

2010-01-17T15:55:00.000-08:00

"Marriage then, is the first institution of human society—indeed it is the institution on which all other human institutions have their foundation."
From the Manhattan Declaration.

Food for Thought

2010-01-15T15:54:00.000-08:00

"We must be willing to defend, even at risk and cost to ourselves and our institutions, the lives of our brothers and sisters at every stage of development and in every condition."
From the Manhattan Declaration.

Food for Thought (and action)

2010-01-13T15:52:00.000-08:00

"We will work, as we have always worked, to bring assistance, comfort, and care to pregnant women in need and to those who have been victimized by abortion, even as we stand resolutely against the corrupt and degrading notion that it can somehow be in the best interests of women to submit to the deliberate killing of their unborn children. Our message is, and ever shall be, that the just, humane, and truly Christian answer to problem pregnancies is for all of us to love and care for mother and child alike."
From the Manhattan Declaration.

Keep thinking!

2010-01-12T15:51:00.000-08:00

"Eugenic notions .... buried in ignominy after the horrors of the mid-20th century, ... have returned from the grave. The only difference is that now the doctrines of the eugenicists are dressed up in the language of “liberty,” “autonomy,” and “choice.”
From the Manhattan Declaration.

Food for Thought (and action)

2010-01-11T15:50:00.000-08:00

"A culture of death inevitably cheapens life in all its stages and conditions by promoting the belief that lives that are imperfect, immature or inconvenient are discardable."
From the Manhattan Declaration.

TOB and teens

2010-01-09T15:52:00.000-08:00

Today we had our usual session, but only two Chicagoans came (besides the presenter), and half as many online participants as usual (representing three or four countries!). Too bad, because the class was terrific. If you missed it (which is more than likely!), you really missed out. How to present Theology of the Body to young people. By a high school teacher who is a real TOB man (and an excellent teacher, besides!). He covered things like the foundations kids need so they can grasp what the Church teaches; how this message needs to be taught not only by parents, but by at least two other "reinforcing" sources, like the pastor and school; how to talk about virginity in a culture where kids are ashamed of theirs.
Pat Reidy has done some recording with Tabor Life Institute, and (best of all!) he speaks fluent Spanish, so he can also share TOB with the Hispanic community (the future of the American Church).
Here is today's presentation. Maybe you can join us in real time for February (2nd Saturday), when we'll have Fr. Loya back.

Food for Thought

2010-01-09T15:48:00.000-08:00

"We pledge to each other, and to our fellow believers, that no power on earth, be it cultural or political, will intimidate us into silence or acquiescence. It is our duty to proclaim the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in its fullness, both in season and out of season. May God help us not to fail in that duty."
From the Manhattan Declaration.

Just a thought

2010-01-08T15:46:00.000-08:00

"Because the sanctity of human life, the dignity of marriage as a union of husband and wife, and the freedom of conscience and religion are foundational principles of justice and the common good, we are compelled by our Christian faith to speak and act in their defense."
From the Manhattan Declaration

Love and Responsibility study group

2010-01-08T09:42:00.001-08:00

A priest in Corpus Christi is starting a study of "Love and Responsibility" on ustream.tv: what a great foundation for a deeper grasp of the Theology of the Body! First session, Jan. 22; continues for 10 weeks.

Here's the link; meet the group on Fridays (each and every Friday for 10 weeks!) 7-8 pm.

Full-body scanning and the Theology Thereof

2010-01-07T15:45:00.001-08:00

Sr Anne posted this yesterday on "Nunblog"; since it is a Theology of the Body perspective, it is bi-locating here as well.
More talk about activating full body security scanning at O'Hare. Despite all the assurances that the persons monitoring the scans will not be in proximity to the victims, I mean, passengers; that data will not be kept; that it's all really important for public safety, I am not okay with this.
Am I being overly prudish? Hung up? Neurotic?
Isn't thwarting a potentially catastrophic act of terror worth a virtual strip search every time I travel?
What is it that really bothers me, deep down, about this "public safety measure"?
Is it that it is disproportionate, sifting through millions of travelers each week (or day, if you combine US airports that plan to install the equipment) to find one possible evil-doer (who would, of course, have chosen an alternate form of terror by that time)?
No, it's not that.
I'm beginning to realize that it's a theology of the body thing.
I object to full body scanning because I believe that, with the level of detail it offers (even if in silhouette), it violates what Pope John Paul called the spousal meaning of the body. The body's design itself makes it clear that we are meant for an "other", and we generally choose that "other" with care. We are vulnerable in revealing ourselves. Even at the doctor's office, we don't go full frontal unless that is precisely where our health is threatened. (That's why they give you that crazy paper outfit.) Self-revelation in the body is a lovely (in the full sense of the word), intimate gift. Because the body is meant for communion. Always.
It is not true that our body is just a sort of envelope for a sexlessly generic soul, or that it is a strange animal-like appendage to the "important," spiritual part, but that really doesn't matter in itself (although plenty of people in our culture seem to think this). Especially in this Christmas season, on this 12th day of Christmas, we ought to be alert to the tremendous significance of being "bodied persons": God became incarnate so he could relate to us in this very human way! (And, of course, Jesus is the true Spouse who seeks communion with us.)
So there's something really not right, in my book, with a "revelation" that takes place anonymously, apart from personal communion, in which I am being revealed to someone I cannot see or know; whose reaction I cannot guage; whose trustworthiness with the sacredness of my body's image I am asked to take on the good faith of the United States' Transportation Security Administration.
What is your take on this issue? Would full-body scanning make you think twice about buying a plane ticket through O'Hare?

The Manhattan Declaration

2010-01-07T15:30:00.000-08:00

While the whole scope of Christian moral concern, including a special concern for the poor and vulnerable, claims our attention, we are especially troubled that in our nation today the lives of the unborn, the disabled, and the elderly are severely threatened; that the institution of marriage, already buffeted by promiscuity, infidelity and divorce, is in jeopardy of being redefined to accommodate fashionable ideologies; that freedom of religion and the rights of conscience are gravely jeopardized by those who would use the instruments of coercion to compel persons of faith to compromise their deepest convictions.

That's an excerpt from the "Manhattan Declaration," a statement crafted in September by an ecumenical group, trying to help Christians speak in one voice about these pivotal social issues. Chicago's Cardinal Francis George said that he intends to sign the Declaration (in effect, a "Declaration of Independence" in which signers place their "lives, fortunes and sacred honor" on the line for the values that are at stake). The Washington Times calls it "A Christian Call to Arms," and last month the New York Times Magazine did a story on its principal author, Princeton Prof Robert George.

It's well worth taking time to read through the Declaration, as well as the FAQs and testimonials. You might also consider staking your life, fortune and sacred honor on the principals it upholds.

TOB Intro

2009-12-30T12:38:00.000-08:00

Here's Theology of the Body in a nutshell, from Katrina Zeno, courtesy of the Catholic New World (Chicago Archdiocesan newspaper).
Zeno's newest book will be here soon, too!
And don't forget to join us the 2nd Saturday of every month for our ongoing TOB video stream!

2009-11-14T08:53:00.000-08:00

Video streaming by Ustream

2009-11-11T14:08:00.000-08:00

From Sr Anne:
I have just had my first appearance as a member of the "guest blogging team" for the Chicago Tribune's religion blog. My post is a response to a Tribune cover story on the predicament of couples who resort to IVF to resolve their infertility problems, and then face questions about the embryos that may never be born.
If y'all could visit the site, comment on it and let others know about it, that could confirm the Tribune in its willingness to support religious dialogue like this. It would also ramp up my credibility(!), and--most importantly--allow the conversation to go deeper. I am especially concerned that comments from Catholics show pastoral concern for couples who are in this predicament, since all I did, really, was look at the predicament from an objective sort of stance. That's never enough when you're talking about people's actual lives.

Here's the link:http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/religion_theseeker/2009/11/sister-anne-flanagan-desperation-and-the-indefensible.html

Worth reading

2009-11-10T12:35:00.000-08:00

Found this terrific conversation with Jennifer of Conversion Diary by following a chain of links... (Be sure to read the whole page!) But it would be a disservice not to cite at least this much:

I come from a background of lifelong secular atheism, so I know how crazy the Church’s stance on contraception sounds. Up until a few years ago, I didn’t know that anyone was even opposed to contraception anymore; I’d heard something about the Catholic Church being against it, but I thought it was an urban legend.

When I began to look into Christianity and was researching the Catholic Church, however, what I found when I read up on its views of human life and sexuality was nothing short of breathtaking. The wisdom I found in reading things like the Theology of the Body or Humanae Vitae was so counter-cultural, so unexpected, and yet resonated so deeply as being true, that for the first time I started to think that this Church might be telling the truth when it says it’s guided by Something more than just the opinions of men. John Paul II once said, "the difference, both anthropological and moral, between contraception and recourse to the rhythm of the cycle...is much wider and deeper than is usually thought, one which involves in the final analysis two irreconcilable concepts of the human person and of human sexuality." I have found this to be true.
...

I don’t have a big interest in anyone telling me how I should run my family, especially if they can’t relate to my situation. However, if the teachings of the Catholic Church are founded on the opinions of celibate dudes in Rome who have a bad habit of not listening to the opinions of the faithful, then we as Catholics have a lot more to worry about than just the issue of contraception. If, however, this is the Church that Christ founded, and if the Holy Spirit works through the fallible humans in this Church to reveal God’s will for humanity, then even the most difficult -- sometimes agonizingly difficult -- teachings are sure to lead us through the narrow gate that we seek to enter.

2009-10-10T07:09:00.000-07:00

Join the conversation at www.Ustream.tv/channel/theology-of-the-body

October assignment

2009-09-25T10:23:00.000-07:00

Get ready now for October's TOB class by continuing to read "Love & Responsibility" and sections 114-117 in "Man and Woman He Created Them" (pages 592-615).
See you!

Sept. 12 session

2009-09-12T18:03:00.000-07:00

We are still working on the tape of the August session--audio problems need to be addressed. For some reason, we always have audio problems...as you will also notice on this recording. Sorry!

Chat transcript will be linked some time next week.

New Books!

2009-09-07T14:01:00.001-07:00

Pauline Books & Media just released two new Theology of the Body books, both by Karen Doyle.
Karen holds an Bachelor's Degree in Nursing and is also completing post-graduate, Masters level study in Marriage and Family Studies. She's not speaking from an ivory tower, having run a large student health clinic catering to the needs of male, female and indigenous students in Australia. Doyle recently served on the Executive Council for Natural Family Planning and is a fully accredited Family Life Educator.

TOB this week!

2009-09-07T13:59:00.001-07:00

Saturday we'll be streaming live Theology of the Body study group, starting at 10:30 Chicago time, 11:30 for those of you on the East Coast (Chicago is GMT-5:00 for the rest of you). Please get the word out!

TOB intensive series in Chicago!

2009-08-17T07:56:00.000-07:00

"Theology Uncorked" is a great series of dinner lectures in the heart of Chicago sponsored by the Holy Name Cathedral Young Adult Board and IHS312.org. Free parking at Holy Name Cathedral. Pittance of a fee for the talk ($7?!); separate tabs for dinner.

SEPTEMBER 1--Love, Peace and the Scars of the 60's Hidden Wounds Vicky Thorn
SEPTEMBER 8--Closer to Nature, Closer to God--Common NFP Myths Debunked Kelly Florek, RN
SEPTEMBER 14--Catholic Sexuality: You've Never Had it so Good! Fr. Thomas Loya

5:15--5:45 Mass at Holy Name Cathedral
6:00-7:00 LaSalle Power Co. Restaurant (500 N. LaSalle) fellowship, free appetizers, cash bar, additional food by separate checks
7:00-8:00 Speaker ($7 suggested donation)
8:00 Social time

Spread the word!
We can't ustream this because we aren't putting it on. Hope you can make it!

TOB Aggies?

2009-06-13T09:37:00.000-07:00

It's true.

Christopher West follow-up

2009-05-29T14:32:00.001-07:00

The "Nightline" piece aired this month stirred up quite a controversy--among advocates of the Theology of the Body, of all people! Some very noteworthy persons spoke none to favorably of West's presentations, approach and style. Some of these persons even made those declarations simply on the basis of hearsay; others after having heard West's earliest efforts. More recently, two of the world's top TOB scholars defended West's work for its orthodoxy, addressing other criticisms as well.
If you have spent any time whatever worrying about the matter, please be sure to read Dr. Janet Smith and Dr. Michael Waldstein (translator of the Pope's work) as they weigh in on West.
This group is not advocating one approach or style over another: "Whoever is not against us is with us" was good enough for the Lord. We will applaud all efforts to bring the life-changing truth of the Theology of the Body to our culture.

Christopher West on Nightline

2009-05-07T18:21:00.001-07:00

What started out as a call to Sr. Helena from an ABC writer who follows the "HellBurns" blog led to an eight hour interview with Christopher West and a spot on the May 7, 2009 edition of Nightline. Please add your comments about how Theology of the Body has changed your life!

Theology of the Body study group

2009-04-27T09:38:00.000-07:00

Our study group will go on hiatus for the summer--starting early because we've just finished the book. We'll restart the group (and the book) in August, but with a change of day/time: from August-June, the group will meet here and online on Saturdays at 10:30 a.m.

Join us!

2009-04-15T16:32:00.001-07:00

Video streaming by Ustream

International Symposium

2009-04-13T09:42:00.000-07:00

Do you need a vital, theologically enriching excuse for a trip to Ireland? It's the 2nd International TOB Symposium!

The 1st International Theology of the Body Symposium, held in Gaming, Austria, in 2007, brought together scholars and popular presenters and invited them to engage in a fruitful dialogue on the many approaches to this broad topic. This 2nd Symposium will present the Theology of the Body itself as a unified whole, approaching it from spiritual, theological, philosophical, anthropological, and ethical perspectives. The Speakers are invited to present individual sections of the work each according to their own expertise. These core talks are complemented by talks placing the Theology of the Body in its historical-cultural, political and medical context. Considering that the Theology of the Body is a pedagogy of the body, all the Speakers will seek to ground the more theological and philosophical reflections in experience, and will touch upon practical ways of teaching the Theology of the Body. The talks will be given in a language that is broadly accessible,that is, not accessible to scholars alone.

(Wish I could go! How about you?)

April 15: Humanae Vitae

2009-03-24T12:02:00.000-07:00

On April 15, the TOB online study will address the prophetic encyclical "Humanae Vitae" (Of Human Life) issued by Pope Paul VI. Alone in the world, the Pope insisted that the Church could not change its teaching on what was then quaintly called "the regulation of births."
Feel free to put your questions in the comment box for Father Loya to address during this important session!

TOB Scriptwriting Contest

2009-02-05T10:16:00.000-08:00

Family Theater Production announces:

************************************************

Theology of the Body Script Contest

Choose one or more of the following major lessons from Pope John Paul II’s “Theology of the Body”, write a short film script 5 to 10 pages long that helps illustrate that point (or points) and submit it to us at tobscripts@gmail.com by April 1st, 2009.

The winner will receive $100... and fantastic food*. Runner ups and other finalists will receive cool prizes as well. Here are the major points...

1. The family is the fundamental building block of society. Hence, the way we treat marriage and procreation has a direct effect upon society (positive and negative). See October 22, 1980 audience and January 16th 1980 audience (section 5).

2. Earthly marriage and the conjugal union between a husband and a wife is meant to mirror the relationship between Christ and the Church. Hence it is a sign pointing us to heaven (i.e. God). Husbands are called to love their wives as Christ loved the Church: selflessly. However, it is dangerous for us to get caught up in the sign (conjugal union in marriage) while not paying enough attention to where it is leading us (heaven). See August 11, 1982 audience

3. Christ not only calls us to avoid being lustful but to allow Him to change our ethos, or the inner desires of our heart in regards to lust. He wants us to follow his teachings out of love, not obligation or guilt. He wants us to find lustfulness unattractive. He wants us to attain the freedom that allows us to be in a relationship with God and away from the emptiness of sin. See September 10, 1980 audience.

4. Christ calls us to affirm the value of the person in "every" situation by never treating another human being as an object for our own selfish pleasure. We are called to always think of the dignity and welfare of others, before our own desires. See January 7, 1981 and January 14, 1981 audience.

5. The use of contraception is directly opposed to the free, total, faithful and fruitful love Christ calls us to in marriage. See August 22, 1984 audience.

6. The body has a "language" that is meant to proclaim the truth of God's love. However, if we are able to speak the truth with our bodies we are also capable of speaking lies. See August 22, 1984 audience (section 4 specifically).

Here are a couple good examples from movies...

Vanilla Sky: In the scene right before the car crash Cameron Diaz tells Tom Cruise "Your body makes a promise whether you say something or not!" The language of our bodies can speak the truth or it can speak lies.

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days: After using each other for selfish purposes Matt McConaughey and Kate Hudson's characters begin to openly insult each other during the diamond gala scene near the end of the film. The use of others (as opposed to selfless love) is empty and ultimately hurtful.

FINAL NOTE: Any genre is welcomed...Avoid being preachy, lean towards subtleness and most importantly be like Jesus...really, really cool.

Email your script to tobscripts@gmail.com by April 1st, 2009

Also check out and join our Facebook Group at this link... http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=97175405450

* presumably, you have to pay your own way to L.A. to take them up on the food part.

My discovery of TOB

2009-01-30T19:46:00.001-08:00

Here is a post that dates to 2005 and the days after Pope John Paul's death, when I was reflecting on the amazing contribution he made to the Church with the Theology of the Body:

I think that one of John Paul's greatest "legacies" will be his Theology of the Body. This was no ivory-tower theology worked out in the chaste mind of a celibate loner. Karol Wojtyla had a wide network of friends and students. Most of these were married (Wojtyla had celebrated the Wedding Masses for them!), and their priest-friend became their confidant. The Pope's Theology of the Body came from those conversations and from Wojtyla's pastoral assistance to these very real, normal, 20th century families.

I first encountered Pope John Paul's Theology of the Body when it was presented to the world in his general audience talks, beginning in 1979. I was a brand-new sister, just one year in vows, when these talks began. At the time, we had a few minutes of Church news (with reading of Church documents) every day after breakfast, and the Pope's talks pretty much filled the slot for years. I was struck from the outset, somewhat as the people in Jesus' day were: "Here is a completely new teaching, in a spirit of authority!" It was new, even though rooted strongly in the tradition of the Church. No one before John Paul had ever made the connections he made between the Creation accounts in Genesis, Trinitarian theology, and the "nuptial meaning of the body," made to be gift. That to be a person is not simply being self-aware (a dangerously limiting definition that many take for granted), or capable of relating to others: to be a person means to be a GIFT; to be in mutual gift is to love. Talk about the meaning of life! And since the Pope identifies the Holy Spirit as the "Person-Gift" in the Trinity, then you have the highest affirmation of our human bodied condition.

As a woman, I found it extremely affirming. Remember, this was still a time when women's liberation seemed to assume that women had to "match" men in every possible way. But now there was a strong, affirming, positive and utterly beautiful teaching that put the discussion into entirely different terms. The Church's "instinctive" rejection of artificial contraception made perfect sense in this context (not that the wisdom of Church teaching in this area hasn't been proven again and again even by the direction society has taken in the last almost 40 years since Humanae Vitae, the document which awkwardly, but rightly, affirmed the Church's stance).

So the Theology of the Body has pretty formed my interpretive key for things related to women's issues, marriage and celibacy. And I am always mystified by Catholics (and here I mean the well-informed ones) who do not even bother to take the Pope's message seriously. What's with them? Do they not want to believe that the wider culture needs to be evangelized? Do they not want to hear an alternative voice in these areas so linked to our human experience of happiness and fulfillment? Once I went to a catechetical conference at which one of the workshops was devoted to moral issues. The speaker, a priest, could have been on Planned Parenthood's payroll. Isn't it enough for Planned Parenthood to be using its multi-million dollar (if not billion dollar) budget to spread that message? Doesn't the world--heck, don't our catechists--deserve to hear something else, something that just may be inspired by the Gospel?

Theology of the Body is perhaps the first theological approach to making the Trinity more than an abstract, if holy, doctrine. In the Theology of the Body, the Trinity becomes the full vision of our vocation as persons. We are called to live Trinitarian life in a human key. And for the first time in theology, our bodies have something very essential to do with our human imaging of the Trinity.

Somebody tell the world: this is remarkable!

Notes from May 2006

2009-01-30T10:33:00.000-08:00

I was really disappointed with the article in America about the "V-monologues" (you know what I mean, but this is a generally family-friendly blog). The author, professor of law and of theology at Notre Dame, wanted to make a case for accepting the play as an opportunity for women's voices to be heard, for women's issues to be brought to the fore, and for a dialogue between the play's admittedly unbalanced presentation and the perspectives Christian faith brings to the same issues.

There is nothing wrong with that.

What I take issue with, and wish most ardently to protest, is the way the author repeatedly mischaracterized the Theology of the Body and those who have found it intensely life-giving and woman-affirming. I seriously wonder if the author has ever spent any time with the actual texts of John Paul II. She was so condescending of the naive souls who accept its "rosy" view, and who conform to "Humane Vitae." Evidently, the author seems to think that TOB is nothing but a justification of the 1968 encyclical, and not a complete and hearty presentation of the human person in relationship. To identify TOB as a mere confirmation of Humanae Vitae is like mistaking a book-length study of human health with a prescription! Frankly, it seems to me that Catholic scholars of a certain generation have never gotten over Humanae Vitae. Anything that touches on sexuality seems to push their Humanae Vitae buttons and raise the alarm so loud that nothing new can get in.

That's not all.

The author assumed that parties who are in line with the thought of the Theology of the Body also make a strict identification of "culture of death" with "secular society" and "culture of life" with the Church itself! I have never heard anyone at all operate from this assumption (I may just be living in a bubble). Is the author creating a Catholic straw man so that her argument in favor of a V-Monologue Dialogue is highlighted as the only reasonable position for a Catholic with a brain? Sadly, I suspect so.

But the saddest thing is finding the mischaracterizing of TOB in America. Oddly, I think this is a result of changing the editorial practice in which two sides of an issue faced off. We would have been better served if someone well versed in the Theology of the Body had written a partner article. Because, unbeknownst to the author of the article, she was making a very good case for the core message of the Theology of the Body. According to JP2, the problem with, for example, pornography is not that it depicts the naked body as a whole, but that it depicts only body parts, separating them from the person who inhabits the whole body. And what does the V-Monologues do? Puts the entire focus on one body part. The original concern may well have been to highlight women's experiences and needs and sufferings, but by reducing women to one body part, it lost the person herself. So on the university campus, instead of reproducing the original work, why couldn't student groups be challenged with a full and honest presentation of the Theology of the Body (which, contrary to the America article's author, is not focused only on motherhood--if it was, why am I so intensely interested in it?). Then the groups could come together to create and original--and Christian--work of theater art.

Retrieving the past

2009-01-30T10:32:00.000-08:00

I'm editing some blog posts from the past, and found a few with insights on the Theology of the Body, so I'll post them here for sharing. Please feel free to add comments!
Sr Anne

January notes

2009-01-26T18:42:00.001-08:00

At least Sr. Helena took notes from the January session!

Technical Difficulties

2009-01-26T18:34:00.000-08:00

In our Daughters of St. Paul communities, we have a little tradition of interpreting problems, especially technical problems, as a sign that a particular project is destined to do immense good--and that naturally attracts the interference of the denizens of darkness.
Even without that tradition, there's little doubt that the Theology of the Body online study is meant to do great good. (What better, more beautiful and transforming message is there for our society?) At any rate, our past several attempts to offer streaming video have suffered more than the usual glitches. For that reason, we can't offer archived video from the December and January sessions, which were (you knew this) fabulous.
Pray that through the grace of God we overcome any remaining technical hurdles in February!

Silent Movie

2008-12-22T13:14:00.000-08:00

We had microphone problems during the December session, so all we have to share with you are silent movies. You can tell how hard we tried to fix things by the number of videos, but ...
In January we will again be short-handed; hopefully the same thing will not happen two times in a row.

TOB class November 12

2008-11-15T08:34:00.000-08:00

Here are Sr. Helena's notes from the class and here is the chat box transcription from the stream which took place two days later. (I was out of town and hadn't yet taught Sr. Helena how to do streaming video, so she just recorded it on video. And boy, was it hard to prepare for the streaming: everything kept going wrong! You'd think "someone" didn't want this message to get out!)

TOB class October 8

2008-11-15T08:31:00.000-08:00

For some reason, the archive video from September does not work. We are very sorry about this. This might be the chat room transcription from that session.
Here is Father Loya's class from October:

Sr. Helena was out of town, so there are no prepared notes from this class (again, sorry!), but here is the chat room transcription.

TOB class June 11

2008-11-15T08:29:00.000-08:00

In the book, page 177 up to Chapter 2.
See Sr. Helena's notes from this class ; I can't find a chat room transcription for this session.

TOB class May 14

2008-11-15T08:21:00.000-08:00

See Sr. Helena's notes from this class and the chat room transcription.

Video streaming began with this class, but our study group had already met two or three times. Read Sr. Helena's notes from the April class here and the chat room transcription.