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4507 Lone Star Dr.
Carrollton, TX 75010
972-849-6543

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NFP and the Theology of the Body

By Annie Vining MTh, President TOBET

NFP and the Theology of the Body is a reflection given to the CCL teaching couples of the Dallas Fort Worth area in Plano TX on November 14, 2004.

© 2004

  1. TOB intro
    1. God’s response to the sexual revolution
    2. Prepared since the days of the shrodovisco
    3. Called for by Pope Paul VI in Humanae Vitae
    4. Announced by John Paul II in the first 5 years of his pontificate at the Wed. audiences
    5. It encapsulates the idea that we can come to know about God by looking at the body and that we can come to understand the body by looking at God
    6. It makes use of an approach that is embodies the opposite of heteronomy, it assumes that if we understand the way to our happiness through the teachings of the Church, we will know how to act
    7. Here we will take a "chronological" approach
  2. God is love
    1. In the Trinity the divine persons give themselves eternally to one another
    2. The Holy Spirit is the "fruit" of the love between the Father and Son
  3. Man is the image of God (as love)
    1. And he is a unity of body and soul
    2. Thus the body bears the image of God in it (and thus it deserves respect or it "has dignity")
    3. Particularly in his sexuality which is the aspect of him that makes him most able to love as God loves: to be an image of God as a Trinity of love
    4. As the image of God, man, both rational and free, deserves to be treated accordingly: he is never to be used as a means to an end, he should always have the freedom to choose his own end
    5. Through the complimentary sexes, humankind is able to give their entire self to their spouse, communing with them so much as to become one "flesh" and in a way that is fruitful
    6. Everyone feels the desire to "know" and be known… It is the desire to love and be loved in return. This is a confirmation of being made in the image of God and a drive toward fulfilling this image
    7. When we fulfill the image in which we were made, we find happiness
  4. Jesus is the image of the invisible God
    1. Jesus is how we come to know what God is like in Himself
    2. For this reason, Jesus also "fully reveals man to himself and makes his supreme calling known." Vat II
    3. We see this most of all on the cross, the high point of revelation
    4. On the cross, Jesus shows us true love by giving His body in a full, free, faithful, and fruitful way
    5. This means that if we are to find happiness, we too must find a way to give ourselves in a way that is full, free, faithful, and fruitful
  5. Marriage as the fullest expression of the gift of self inscribed in the body: the nuptial meaning of the body
    1. It is a sacramental participation in the true Love of God shown by Jesus on the cross
    2. It images God/Jesus most of all in a sexual gift of self that is full, free, faithful, and fruitful. In fact, "Sexual desire is the desire to love as God loves." –Pope JPII
    3. The pope includes in "marriage" that gift of self by which a person offers their sexuality to God alone in the religious life or priesthood
  6. Religious life is another way to fulfill the nuptial meaning of the body
    1. Rather than stuffing sexual energy, they direct it to building the kingdom of God: teaching/baptizing
    2. They give themselves fully, freely, faithfully, and fruitfully in a non-genital way like Jesus did on the cross
  7. NFP and the Theology of the Body
    1. the difference between contraception and NFP: both have the same end, but they take different paths to get to that end
    2. NFP is a tool that can be used poorly, it does not guarantee the gift of self
      1. we can err on the side of the procreative (fruitful) dimension by using our spouse as a baby machine or through a lack of generosity
      2. we can err on the side of the unitive (full, free, faithful) dimension by using our spouse for pleasure only without regard for them or thinking by simply not lusting we are acting virtuously
    3. Eph 5 is the antidote: we must serve the other's needs as Christ has served ours
  8. Conclusion
    1. Sexual desire is a "vector of aspiration" propelling us toward heaven
    2. When we can channel our desire in the right direction, it will lead us to the greatest happiness possible, not only in heaven but also here on earth
    3. It will make us the fullest person we can possibly be


Annie Vining can be contacted at avining@tobet.org

The Theology of the Body Evangelization Team can be reached at info@tobet.org
 

© 2005
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