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Reclaim the Gift
“I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice” -Romans 12:1
“The body, in fact, and only the body, is capable of making visible what is invisible: the spiritual and the divine. It has been created to transfer into the visible reality of the world, the mystery hidden from eternity in God, and thus to be a sign of it” -St. John Paul II
This week kicks off our five week preaching series on the Theology of the Body, perhaps my favorite topic to preach about, meditate on and discuss. It is an in depth, biblical exploration of God, sexuality, gender, the male and female difference and complementarity, and our destiny in heaven. It helps to make connections between all aspects of faith and life: the Sacraments, the Bible, relationships, marriage, heartbreak, sin and redemption. The Theology of the Body was developed by St. John Paul II and taught over his first five years of being Pope. When I first stumbled upon the Theology of the Body (or “TOB” for those in the know!) I was a senior in college, beginning to seriously discern priesthood for the first time in my adult life. All of a sudden, so many of the questions and struggles I had concerning chastity, purity, vocation and who I was as a man were being answered in beautiful and dynamic ways. The TOB brought me back to “the beginning” on how God has made us male and female, destined us to participate in and model the love of the Trinitarian persons, shown how sin has twisted the dignity of our original state, and how the Redemption that Christ brings can restore and heal our hearts. It brings up conversations about how we have learned about sex, dating, and marriage that I hope you and your family will be having in the coming days. The beauty of this teaching is that it immediately applies to everybody in their life and relationships. It is challenging but helps to give answers to the questions that people are asking and a way forward for every person, no matter what their situation or struggles in life. I pray that this series will open up doors of grace and insight into the beauty of how God has made us, in His divine image, male and female. St. John Paul II, Mamma Mary and St. Joseph, pray for us!
Fr. Michael
“I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect. -Romans 12
“You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do”- Jesus to Peter, Mt 19
Reclaim the Gift: a five-week preaching series on love, marriage, sex, and what it means to be human. What’s our “why”?
Start with Jesus: Jesus Christ, in the very revelation of the mystery of the Father and of his love, fully reveals man to himself and brings to light his most high calling. (Redemptor hominis, 12) and “[Jesus] was far removed from philosophies which despised the body, matter and the things of the world” (Laudato si, 98)
→Matthew 19: When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. 2 Large crowds followed him, and he cured them there. 3 Some Pharisees came to him, and to test him they asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause?” 4 He answered, “Have you not read that the one who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” 7 They said to him, “Why then did Moses command us to give a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her?” 8 He said to them, “It was because you were so hard-hearted that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.
Genesis 2: So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh; 22 and the rib which the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said,
“This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
because she was taken out of Man.”
24 Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed.--this is the way it was, so something has gone wrong
Theology of the Body--St. John Paul II- a response to the brokenness of the world around him--Fascism, Communism, sexual revolution, savage capitalism and materialism.
*Saint Dominic Books & Gifts has several books in stock to help continue to conversation about Theology of the Body.
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“Los exhorto , hermanos y hermanas, por las misericordias de Dios, a ofrecer nuestros cuerpos en sacrificio vivo, santo y agradable a Dios, nuestro oración espiritual. No se conforme a este siglo, sino transformaos por la renovación de vuestra mente, para que podáis discernir cuál es la voluntad de Dios, lo que es bueno, agradable y perfecto. -Romanos 12
“No pensáis como Dios, sino como los hombres”- Jesús a Pedro, Mt 19
Reclaim the Gift: una serie de predicaciones de cinco semanas sobre el amor, el matrimonio, el sexo y lo que significa ser humano. ¿Cuál es nuestro “por qué”?
• La realidad del pecado y el quebrantamiento que nos afecta a todos: pornografía, infidelidad, relaciones traumáticas y abusivas, lastimarse uno mismo, trastornos centrados en el cuerpo (alimenticio, sexual, psicológico).
• sorprendente empezando con el divorcios en encontrados en Bay county
• El aumento de la confusión y los cambios precipitados en la comprensión de quiénes somos como hombres y mujeres, y la normalización de la ideología de género.
• El 55º aniversario de la encíclica Humanae vitae
• Esperanza sanadora y redención: ¡necesitamos buenas noticias!
• Necesidad de una ecología integrada: la bondad de la creación y nuestro papel como administradores, defendiendo siempre la dignidad y la integridad de las personas humanas.
• La herida del abuso sexual tanto dentro de la Iglesia (y la consiguiente aniquilación de la fe y la práctica) como en el mundo en general: en el lugar de trabajo, las escuelas y los hogares.
Comenzar por Jesús: Jesucristo, en la revelación misma del misterio del Padre y de su amor, revela plenamente al hombre a sí mismo y pone a la luz su altísima vocación. (Redemptor hominis, 12) y “[Jesús] estaba muy alejado de filosofías que despreciaban el cuerpo, la materia y las cosas del mundo” (Laudato si, 98)
→Mateo 19: Cuando Jesús terminó de decir estas cosas, salió de Galilea y se dirigió a la región de Judea, al otro lado del Jordán. 2 Le seguía mucha gente, y allí los curaba. 3 Se le acercaron unos fariseos y, para ponerlo a prueba, le preguntaron: ¿Es lícito al hombre divorciarse de su mujer por cualquier causa? 4 Él respondió: “¿No habéis leído que el que los hizo al principio, varón y hembra los hizo, 5 y dijo: Por esto el hombre dejará a su padre y a su madre y se unirá a su mujer, y ¿Los dos serán una sola carne? 6 Así que ya no son dos, sino una sola carne. Por tanto, lo que Dios ha unido, que nadie lo separe”. 7 Le dijeron: “¿Por qué, entonces, nos mandó Moisés que demos un certificado de Despido y divorcio de ella? 8 Él les dijo: «Porque erais tan duros de corazón, Moisés os permitió repudiar a vuestras mujeres, pero al principio no fue así.
Génesis 2: Entonces el Señor Dios hizo caer un sueño profundo sobre el hombre, y mientras dormía tomó una de sus costillas y cerró su lugar con carne; 22 y de la costilla que el Señor Dios había tomado del hombre, formó una mujer y la trajo al hombre. 23 Entonces el hombre dijo:
“Esto por fin es hueso de mis huesos
y carne de mi carne;
ella será llamada Mujer,
porque ella fue sacada del Hombre”.
24 Por tanto, el hombre deja a su padre y a su madre y se une a su mujer, y son una sola carne. 25 Y estaban ambos desnudos, el hombre y su mujer, y no se avergonzaban. Así fue, entonces algo ha ido mal.
• Regreso al principio: Mi experiencia
• ¿Cuál es tu experiencia?
Teología del cuerpo--St. Juan Pablo II: una respuesta al quebrantamiento del mundo que lo rodea: fascismo, comunismo, revolución sexual, capitalismo salvaje y materialismo.
• “El cuerpo en su masculinidad y feminidad ha sido llamado ‘desde el principio’ a convertirse en manifestación del espíritu”. (TOB 45:2)
• “El cuerpo, en efecto, y sólo el cuerpo, es capaz de hacer visible lo invisible: lo espiritual y lo divino. Ha sido creado para trasladar a la realidad visible del mundo el misterio escondido desde la eternidad en Dios, y así ser signo del mismo” (TOB 19,4).
• “La Encarnación significa, en primer lugar, que el Dios invisible entra en el mundo visible, para que nosotros, que estamos ligados a la materia, podamos conocerlo”. (Benedicto XVI, Espíritu de la Liturgia)
• El ser humano sólo se encuentra a sí mismo a través de una entrega total y sincera de sí mismo. (GS) y esta verdad está inscrita en nuestros mismos cuerpos, masculino y femenino, hechos a imagen y semejanza de Dios.
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“The body, in fact, and only the body, is capable of making visible what is invisible: the spiritual and the divine. It has been created to transfer into the visible reality of the world, the mystery hidden from eternity in God, and thus to be a sign of it” (TOB 19:4).
“Have you not heard that in the beginning, God made them male and female…” Mark 10
- In the Beginning: Creation. All of creation is good, but the human person is very good:God delights in you
- Can I hear God proclaiming my goodness as he delights in me?
Image and Likeness:
Genesis 1:26-28, 31—God said, “Let us make man in our image and likeness…and it was very good!”
- The function of the image is to reflect the one who is the model, to reproduce its own prototype. Man becomes the image of God not so much in the moment of solitude as in the moment of communion. Right "from the beginning," he is not only an image in which the solitude of a person who rules the world is reflected, but also, and essentially, an image of an inscrutable divine communion of persons, (Theology of the Body,TOB 9:3).
- -God gave us a symbolic key to his plan by creating us in his image as “male and female”—that is, with bodily differences that are designed for union. The one-flesh union of man and woman in marriage is a sign pointing to God’s own mystery and our call to communion with him.
The Human Body as Male and Female
1. The meaning of the body for the person; It is in the body, in fact, that masculinity and femininity are inscribed and from which each person’s self-identity is constructed.
a. The body is not something added to the human person. It is an integral and essential part of what it means to be a person.
i. Body vs. Soul false dilemma
b. The “Sacrament” of the Human Person
i. The visible manifestation of the invisible reality. In human bodiliness, human persons can express themselves, can communicate with others, can enter into relationships, and can give themselves and accept others.
ii. Not mere matter to be manipulated. Not the sum total of organs, tissues, functions. Not the prison of the soul nor is it an idol.
2. The “Sacrament” of the Body and the Blessed Sacrament
a. The Eucharist offers the ultimate meaning of human bodiliness. The Eucharist gives shape to the spousal love of Christ who gives himself completely for his Bride, the Church, becoming her nourishment. (Ephesians 5:21-33)
b. At the supreme moment of his life and mission, Jesus proclaimed the words that reveal the ultimate meaning of the body: “Take this all of you and eat it. This is my body, which will be given up for you. Do this in memory of me.” These words express his complete gift of self in the Eucharistic meal and in his sacrifice of the cross. Jesus’ entire earthly life was giving himself to others through his body so that human persons—seeing him, touching him, listening to him— might encounter God.
i. 1 John 1:1-3 “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we saw it, and testify to it, and proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship is with the Father and with his son Jesus Christ.”
ii. Colossians 2:9 “for in him the fullness of the deity dwells bodily”
iii. Hebrews 10:10 “... we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all.”
c. The body expresses the person in the concrete conditions of his or her existence. The body is made for the gift of self and the worship of God. In the gift of the body, the gift of the person is made real.
i. Romans 12:1 “I appeal to you therefore, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, your spiritual worship.”
3. The meaning of sexual difference in God’s original plan.
a. Human bodiliness is essentially marked by sexuality, so that the human being exists as either male or female.
b. Original solitude and the spousal meaning of the body
i. In our very flesh we experience an incompleteness, a limit, an emptiness.
ii. Original Solitude: Our ultimate dependence on God and, at the same time, the need to establish a relationship with a person of the opposite sex, by whom we feel mysteriously attracted. Sexual difference speaks of attraction and complementarity.
iii. Spousal meaning of the body: The man’s body does not make sense by itself. The woman’s body does not make sense by itself. Only in light of the other can they become the gift they were created to be.
c. Sexuality, inscribed in the body, is shown to be the invitation to reciprocity in communion. Prior to any decision and social influence, man is oriented toward woman and woman toward man. The erotic phenomenon, therefore, is not an irrational or deviant variant of rational thought. Love does not come from the “I,” but precedes it. Only by love the “I” comes to itself in the original tension toward the other.
d. It is precisely in sexual difference that men and women discover that they are destined to find fulfillment in unity with another person of the opposite sex. Sexuality thus reveals something essential to the person, namely that persons do not exist for solitude but for communion.
i. Gen 2:18 “It is not good that the man should be alone so I will make him a partner suitable for him”
ii. Gen 2:23 “Then the man said, ‘This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”
iii. “Man, who is the only creature on earth which God willed for itself, cannot fully find himself except through a sincere gift of himself” (Gaudium et spes)
e. Creative Love
i. By its very nature, love is oriented toward bearing fruit that transcends it.In order to avoid self-absorption and self consumption, love must open itself up to a further fruitfulness, of which procreation is naturally the most obvious aspect.
ii. Unity in love is always fruitful and the body’s fruitfulness, which in the sexual act opens itself to the possibility of procreation, is the sign of the spiritual fruitfulness of the marital act of love: “two beings are now only one, and it is when they are one that they become three” - Maurice Blondel
1. The child is like a Sacrament of the love between spouses: a visible sign of the invisible reality of spousal love.
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“El cuerpo, en efecto, y sólo el cuerpo, es capaz de hacer visible lo invisible: lo espiritual y lo divino. Ha sido creado para trasladar a la realidad visible del mundo el misterio escondido desde la eternidad en Dios, y así ser signo del mismo” (TOB 19,4).
Imagen y semejanza:
Génesis 1:26-28, 31—Dios dijo: “Hagamos al hombre a nuestra imagen y semejanza… ¡y fue muy bueno!”
El cuerpo humano como masculino y femenino
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“The body, in fact, and only the body, is capable of making visible what is invisible: the spiritual and the divine. It has been created to transfer into the visible reality of the world, the mystery hidden from eternity in God, and thus to be a sign of it” (TOB 19:4).
The world is not the way it should be, according to Jesus. How we experience our bodies, community, sexual difference and attraction, marriage, intimacy, is all impacted by the three-fold concupiscence:
Our Antidote to the machinations of the Devil: repent and believe the Gospel. Re-learn our own sexuality and humanity in light of Jesus. Confession. Counseling. Jesus Christ is LORD. Mary, St. Joseph, St. Michael and all the saints fight on our behalf.
Antidote: recognizing simultaneously, in Christ, the need to be saved from Original Sin and the integral goodness of us as human persons, body and soul. Allow yourself to be formed by good, true and beautiful philosophy, art and meditations on the human person.
Romans 8: 19-24 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved.
Romans 12: 2 Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.
3. The Flesh: our own disordered tendencies, concupiscence, Trauma, abuse and the effect of our own sin.
Antidote: integration and healing (in and through the body); Confession, Sacramental and liturgical expressions of faith; loving and caring community, relationships that are not exploitative or based in sexual acting out. Within marriage, experiencing sexual love that is free, total, faithful and fruitful.
***Remember that next week at all the Masses we will have a special Liturgy of the Word for our children (6th grade and younger) so we can have our homily dedicated to answering some of the more difficult topics about sexual morality in light of the Theology of the Body. Though the homily will not be graphic, it will intentionally be specific for the sake of clarity and truth. Fr. Richard will be offering Confession before and after all Masses next week, Confession will not be offered during Mass.
Our resident counselor, Ryan Rogers, sees patients for counseling here at Saint Dominic and can be reached at saintdominiccounseling.com. Let’s keep each other in prayer in the coming week!
Most people don’t experience supernatural moments in their everyday lives.
There is a big disconnect between their own experiences and those in stories of scripture or the lives of saints.
If deep down you are looking for the "more" that is promised by God to see the Gospel impact your daily life, the Encounter School can radically renew your mind and transform your life.
As a part of the St. Dominic Evangelization line of effort, we encourage all men and women of our community to "come and see" these first 3 Monday nights from 5:30-8:30pm.
Monday Sept 18, Monday Sept 25, & Monday October 2 are open "come & see" classes.