Sunday, February 14, 2010

TOB: The Journey Continues

"The body, in fact, and only the body, is capable of making visible what is invisible: the spiritual and the devine. It has been created to transfer into the visible reality of the world the mystery hidden from eternity in God, and thus to be a sign of it." (TOB 19:4)

A couple of years ago I was introduced to Pope John Paul II's important work entitled "Man and Woman He Created Them: A Theology of the Body."(TOB) The concept behind this work amazed and yet baffles me. JP2 spent five years (9/5/79 to 11/28/84) to deliver a series of talks during his Wednesday audiences. The text is thick so, needless to say, I haven't made it through the entire thing. I'm picking it back up and, with the help of a commentary authored by Christopher West, I hope to finish this time.

With the start of Lent this week, this may be the best time to reflect upon the meaning of the body and the fact that, in the Incarnation, God took on a body and later gave it up in the single greatest act of love man has ever seen. It wasn't just a spiritual act; it was physical. And that physical act would not have been possible without a body.

I'll be using this blog as a place to log my reflections, ask questions and hopefully, come to a greater understanding of who I am and who God is.

If you'd like to join me, feel free to do so in the comments. A converstion is much better when others contribute.

John Paul The Great-- pray for us!