 The
true meaning of sex and the theology of the body
Fr Mike Gwinnell encourages us to become familiar with Pope John Paul’s theology of the body and the Catholic understanding of marriage in God’s plan for humankind. John Paul II, is often painted by the media as a conservative cleric out of touch with the world today and imposing out of date restrictions on the sexual lives of contemporary Catholics. Far from having a negative view of sex, however, the Pope has contributed some important insights to the ongoing development of Catholic theology and the role of sexuality in God’s divine plan for humankind. It is important for us to understand this Theology of the Body, as it is known, if we are to appreciate Catholic teaching about sex, and why the Church teaches what she does – saying that sexual relations should be restricted to married couples alone and encouraging them to be open to life, and use natural family planning methods rather than artificial contraception. The basis for it all comes from the Bible and the fact that we are told in Genesis that we are “made in the image and likeness of God.” But what does this mean? This has often been interpreted purely on a spiritual level but John Paul stresses there is a physical aspect to this too. Our bodies are essential because it is with these that we express ourselves and relate to each other and with God. Before sin entered the world, the first man and woman were able to love each other with the love of God. In their nakedness, an important aspect of their sinlessness, they could see that they were male and female and through their bodily differences that they were made for each other. Since they were filled with the love of God, however, they had no urge to use each other to satisfy their own sexual or emotional needs but wanted simply to bestow themselves on each other out of mutual love. God’s first commandment to them was to “increase and multiply and fill the earth” (Gen 1.28) or more straightforwardly “have sexual intercourse and have children”. This was a revelation, through the sexual act of their bodies, of the self giving fruitful love of God, and foreshadowed the revelation of the Trinity and the divine relationship God was ultimately calling human beings into. There is no suggestion in Genesis that original sin was the discovery of sex. Rather it was through humankind’s rejection of God’s authority and their decision to be autonomous that they lost his divine life in them and their ability to love each other with divine mutual self-giving love. Instead as we can see through history and in the world around us, male/female relationships became wounded and men and women began to use each other for their own sexual and emotional needs. With sexual desire now disordered, men and women began to experience shame and to protect themselves they started hiding from each other the special gender-different parts. Yet a way out was promised – the coming of a saviour. Jesus, the son of Mary. He would come to undo the works of the Devil (1Jn 3.8) and empower his followers to be restored in their capacity to love with the love of God. This would apply particularly in the marital relationship, which God had ordained from the beginning to symbolise His love for His people and the mutual self-giving of the Trinity. This is why the Church in her teaching has such a strong and firm
framework embracing sex and marriage because they symbolise divine
realities in a physical, emotional and spiritual way. The call to
fidelity in marriage is not just about a human relationship but about
restoring through the grace of God what was destroyed at the Fall. Spiritual And Sacred Dimension To Sex Ignored In our contemporary secular society the spiritual and sacred dimension to sex is totally ignored. The pleasure associated with it is seen as its primary purpose which means than for many people it becomes simply a recreational right, whether you are single or married, heterosexual or homosexual. Procreation however, is built into the very structure of male and female complementarity, not only at the physical level but at the emotional and spiritual one too. Through procreation men and women become ministers of the crown of God’s creation – the human person, a new soul who will last for eternity. Married love is thus called to be a reflection of God’s nuptial love for us, a love given in freedom, which is total, wholehearted, fruitful and permanently faithful. Marriage is thus not an end in itself. It reveals and symbolises the nuptial love that God has for us now, and prepares us for heaven and the ecstasy of love within the Trinity. In heaven there will be no marriage between us but Jesus will be the bridegroom and He will love the Church and each one of us in it as His bride. This helps put celibacy in context too. Those who are consecrated celibates for the sake of the Kingdom by-pass the preparation of marriage in this life and instead pledge themselves to the heavenly bridegroom in a special way here and now. They too are called to love, freely, totally, faithfully and fruitfully but instead of giving their love to one person they share their love with all whom God puts in their path. Those who are single, even if they are not consecrated, are equally called to use their singleness to love others around them in a fruitful way to prepare themselves for the nuptial love of heaven. RESOURCES Good News About Sex And MarriageThe Pope’s teaching on this theology of the body has been popularised by a young American layman, Christopher West who has an MA in Theology from the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage & Family. His tapes are available from the Catholic Truth Society and his excellent book “Good News About Sex and Marriage” published by Servant Publications is available, price £9.95 from Goodnews Books. First Comes Love Contraception, Why Not?
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