Theology of the Body - Some Thoughts & Reflections

$10.95 U.S.

KAREN DOYLE

Karen is a registered nurse and accredited Family Life Educator, through the Australian Council of Natural Family Planning. She also served two years on the executive council for ACNFP. She is currently completing post-graduate study in theology in marriage and family studies through the John Paul II Institute in Melbourne.

of the Body some thoughts & reÀections

some thoughts & reflections

They are the founders and national directors of CHOICEZ MEDIA, an Australian organization that specializes in values-based sexuality seminars and resources. Every year they speak to thousands of young people and parents, both in Australia and overseas, about the value of the gift of human sexuality. They are also contracted by large numbers of educational bodies to consult and train staff in a Christian approach to teaching human sexuality.

In Theology of the Body: Some Thoughts and ReÅections, Karen Doyle presents signiÄcant insights on key ideas of Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. The author’s accessible writing style opens the door to further exploration of the Pope’s groundbreaking work, which offers hope to people hungry for the truth about the human person and the truth about human and divine love.

THEOLOGY of the BODY

Karen and her husband, Jonathan, have been married for eight years and have two children. They are committed to the new evangelization and to communicating a dynamic and attractive message of human sexuality.

THEOLOGY

KAREN DOYLE

Unity kedness olitude Unity Naked olitud Naked tude Unity edness

T

he first state is that of original solitude, in which man first discovers his personhood. In the first account of creation, “man” refers to male and female collectively: “God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27).

It is in the experience of original solitude that man becomes aware that he is unlike any of the other creatures around him. After creating the world and the creatures in it, God brings each of these to the man to name. It is in naming the creatures that man realizes there is no one like him; while he and the creatures exist in the visible world, he recognizes that he is different, that there is no one with whom he can relate as his equal. Importantly, his body is different.

The meaning of original solitude is twofold. Firstly, man is alone and unadorned before God, his Lord and Creator. Secondly, and crucially, he recognizes that something is missing—he desires to be in communion with another human person, another “I.”

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“Man has been given a sublime dignity, based on the intimate bond which unites him to his

Creator: in man there shines forth a reflection of God himself.� 2

John Paul II

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The body, by which man shares in the visible created world, makes him at the same time aware of being “alone.” 3

“Through this ‘test,’ man gains the consciousness of his own superiority, that is, that he cannot be put on a par with any other species of living beings on the earth.” 4 John Paul II 20

he ity, a par ings

What distinguishes man and woman from the animal world is the

ability to choose — importantly, to choose to love.

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This freedom of will is given to us

by God, so that we may choose to give love and receive love. It is in this way that we share in God’s divine plan.

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