The Body Speaks
by Kathryn Hermes, fsp
- What does the body say?
- How does the theology of the body answer the desires of the heart?
- Respect
- Love
- Intimacy
- Faithfulness
Title
I love fresh air. I love anything that's not confined, that flows freely, that refreshes with an unexpected twist and opens new horizons. That's probably why I love the theology of the body.
The Theology of the Body is a very positive view of humanity: we are called to be Gift. It's not really, in the end, about what we do. We are Gift and this gift includes fertility. In the theology of the body's presentation of God's language of love impressed on the human body, I discover that I am more than just my body, that my fertility is more than just something to be managed. It shows me how - male and female - we together reveal the very mystery of God who is love. And that makes me feel good about myself. It means the human body also has a language: love.
This new approach, which is actually as old as creation, makes me want to embrace my femininity, all of it. It makes me feel that I'm beautiful, even though I'd never win a beauty contest. It reminds me that I'm worthy of respect and that sex is holy.
Embracing something this wonderful about myself frames the meaning of my life in the horizons love and eternity. This is something I can claim as my own. It answers the deepest longing of my heart for respect, love, intimacy, and faithfulness.
Many women today hate their weight or some other aspect of their appearance and indulge in fantasies of what could have been if they were more beautiful. They really just desire someone who will love them as they are. They have a love-hate relationship with their bodies. Fulfillment as a woman doesn't depend on physical beauty and attractiveness, although often we suffer under the expectations or demands of others in this regard. The secret of the body's theology is to read the body's language correctly: your body is good; it is a means of expressing love, not just your love, but God's love. God created man and woman in such a way that even through their physical bodies they could not miss the fact that they were made for each other, that through their union they would experience and express love.
Click here to learn more.
Single women, married women, women religious: we all have in common our desire to give and receive love, to image the eternal Love who has made us, daily nourishes us, and forever calls us to himself. Our hearts are arenas for the drama created by the struggle between love and lust. The beauty of love, the loveliness of giving life, wrestle with the down-and-dirty aspects of making a living alone or with a husband, raising a family, and just the narrowing of our horizons that results from keeping our nose to the grindstone. We lose touch with the divine drama that is our birthright! So here are some key thoughts to keep you clear about who you are and what you are about.
Click here to learn more.
The human heart is made for love. As women we dream of the one who will love us as the one. We want to be special to someone. We want to be loved, and held, and cared for, even as we care for others and courageously make a difference in the world. The human person - male and female - is made for love. How do we know this? Because we were made by Love and in the image of God-Love. This is the very meaning of our existence. We are called to live in the image in which we're made. We're invited to live as God lives and to love as God loves. Here are some key reflections on the meaning of our lives.
Click here to learn more.
Man and woman are two different ways of "being a body" in the image of God. Man and woman live their full masculine and feminine identity in relation to the "other," complementary but not interchangeable, equal but not equivalent. We take up the daily task of overcoming selfishness in order to live for others. We hope that that gift will be received, treasured, respected, and honored for life. To have the gift refused at any point during a lifespan rends the very fabric of love and wounds us deeply. Our very bodies make it clear that what was originally meant for us from the beginning was communion. True communion is a sign of a heavenly reality. Let's look at three things this means.
Click here to learn more.
Copyright 2012 Daughters of St. Paul
- Use prev/next buttons to navigate between topics