Theology of the Body 2014/04/29

As the Christian world celebrates the resurrection of Jesus, we continue with St. John Paul II's reflections on our own resurrection, as condensed in the book I've been excerpting.

"In his dispute with the Pharisees over divorce (Mt. 19:3-9), Christ points back to the original meaning of our sexual embodiment. In his words on adultery in the Sermon on the Mount (Mt. 5:27-28), he calls and empowers us, as sinful human beings, to embrace purity of heart. In his exchange with the Sadducees, he points forward to our ultimate destiny.

"… Christ's teaching … extends beyond this present life … backward and forward. We are not completely cut off from our beginning, the state of original innocence, or from our destination, eternal life. …[W]e can regain a measure of our original glory through Christ's redeeming power … [and] our baptism into Christ's death, makes us partakers of the 'new life' of the resurrection, to some extent, even in this life (Rom. 6:4-5).

"… Christ's teaching on the three dimensions of human existence — original, historical, and eschatological — comprise a total vision of man, a complete 'revelation of the body.'

"In the beginning God 'made them male and female' and said that 'the two will become one flesh.' The meaning of our complementary bodies, masculine and feminine, was revealed in marriage and procreation. But in the world to come, Jesus says there will be neither marriage nor procreation. While that there is no human marriage in heaven, Jesus does not say that people will lose their sexuality. He does not say that we will be androgynous in heaven.

"The fundamental meaning of the body — its nuptial significance — is that human beings are created to form a communion of persons. On earth, this meaning is expressed through marriage and procreation. But marriage is not an end in itself. The ultimate expression of the nuptial meaning of the body is the life of the resurrection, where there is perfect communion with God and every other person. By participating in the life of the divine communion of Persons — the Trinity —the human body will fully express the image and likeness of God."

Theology of the Body 2014/04/06

"In the resurrection we will see God face to face. …

"… In the resurrection, God will give himself to his people in a way that transcends any earthly experience of his grace. The only appropriate response to this overwhelming gift is to give ourselves completely to him. This blissful union between God and man will be at once spousal and virginal.

"Earthly marriage is a sign of our future union with God. In the age to come, there will be no more need for signs and sacraments …. In this state, bodily virginity express[es] the fulfillment of the nuptial meaning of the body, because our union will be with God himself.

"While focusing our whole attention on God, we will also discover the entire cosmos anew in him. We will rediscover our fellow human beings — and even ourselves — within the infinite life of the Trinity. Thus we will experience a communion of persons far beyond what is possible on earth. …

"In the new life, we will experience both the perfect individuality and the perfect communion of persons. Our complete concentration on God will not negate human community; it will perfect it. This communion of all with one another and with God was foreshadowed in the communion of man and woman from the beginning. So we speak of the communion that awaits us as the definitive fulfillment of the nuptial meaning of the body and the perfect realization of God's trinitarian love in the hearts of his creatures."