As JP II’s groundbreaking teaching on sexuality and the human person is very slowly making its way into the hearts and minds of the Catholic faithful (and even many protestants) very few people realize just how far the late pontiff delved into understanding and explaining the Catholic tradition of family life and sexual morality. So I was pleased to receive this message today from the Theology of the Body Institute:
“The sexual urge in a person is a fact which must be recognized and welcomed as a source of natural energy.” This quote from Karol Wojtyla’s classic text, Love and Responsibility shows that, even before he gave the Church the theology of the body as Pope John Paul II, he had been shepherding the modern generation into a new understanding of sexual attraction. In the Love & Responsibility Immersion Course, Dr. Janet Smith examines this philosophy of the human person and human sexuality that undergirds John Paul II’s theology of the body.
Join fellow theology of the body enthusiasts from all over the world, for five days of prayer, study and discussion of John Paul II’s foundation for the theology of the body! Together with special lectures by Christopher West, Dr. Smith will unfold a new appreciation for our creation as male and female, to “effectively deploy the energies latent in [our] sensuality and [our] sentiments, so they become allies in [our] striving for authentic love.” (Love and Responsibility, pg. 200)
This work of JP II’s, before he was JP II, is a deep and frank discussion on responsible love as it relates to marriage and sexual relations. It would utterly shock most people to know that the words written on these pages came from a celibate priest, but it lays it all out there, leaving nothing up to interpretation. There is an entire section titled “Sexology and Morals” which, if you can believe it, even includes his thoughts on the proper gratification of sexual needs – and it’s hotter than anything you’ll find in Maxim or Cosmo. For a brief taste see this previous post in which I quote from that very section.
In today’s world the Catholic Church is vilified for her teaching on sexual ethics and even often blamed for contributing to the problem of things like AIDS and abortion because this teaching rejects the use of contraception even among married couples. Truthfully, however, if the world actually understood and lived what the Church teaches in this area abortion, AIDS and other sexually related social ills (pornography, broken families, homosexual “marriage” etc…) would not be the major problems that they are today. Pro-lifers need to realize that, while it is certainly important to help women in crisis pregnancies to choose life for their unplanned and often unwanted child, real abortion prevention begins in the bedroom – in women and men realizing and living the truth of what their bodies and the sexual act are really made for.
It is an illusion to think that we can build a true culture of human life if we do not…accept and experience sexuality and love and the whole of life according to their true meaning and in their close interconnection (Evangelium Vitae n. 97)
This five day course offered by the TOB Institute, to be held June 14-19 in Quarryville, Pennsylvania , is a very worthwhile undertaking for anyone who wishes to really understand and share with others just what the Church believes about sex and the Marriage covenant. If you are interested you can register online or download the information and a registration form. Register by March 13th for the early registration discount!
Other courses offered this year include two TOB Head to Heart Immersion Courses: June 28 – July 3 and September 27 – October 2, and a course on Theology of Sexual Healing and Redemption: August 23-28. All courses will be held in Quarryville, Pennsylvania.
Check out Janet Smith’s timeless presentation “Contraception: Why Not?”: part 1, part 2
Get Love and Responsibility
And in case you’re wondering how a celibate priest could possibly know anything about sex and marriage, see my previous post: How Do They Know? They’re Celibates!