TheBODYMatters Children's Program Pre-K–8th
Theology of the Body Evangelization Team
Between 1978 and 1984, Pope St. John Paul II delivered a series of Wednesday audiences that eventually became known as the Theology of the Body. This profound teaching offered what St. John Paul called an “adequate anthropology”—an examination of what it means to be human, made in God’s image and likeness, and how that reality is made visible in our human bodies. TOBET seeks to share this life-affirming message with others through educational resources: books, programs, talks, and seminars will offer hope and healing to a culture in need.
TOBET’s Episcopal Advisory Board confirmed the decision to create an original, age-appropriate program for Pre-School to 8th grade children not only to protect them from these negative influences, but also to help them to see the wonder of being made in God’s image and likeness.
Recent Blogs
The Penetrating Wisdom of Cardinal Sarah on the Body
Cardinal SarahMost of us are tired of all of the discussion about COVID19 and general upheaval, so we are relieved to speak of something else. To that end, let’s talk about Cardinal Sarah’s latest book, The Day Is Now Far Spent. At a time when we are uncertain whom to...
St. John Paul: Helping Us See & Experience Love Beyond the Veil
May 18, 1920 probably seemed an ordinary day in Wadowice, Poland. Little did the Polish people, the Catholic Church, or I (born 42 ½ years later) realize what an impact one man would have on so many people for years to come, even after that one man passed beyond the...
The One Best Thing
The cover of our book, The Body and Holy MassWhat is THE one, best thing any one of us can do for our children? It’s a gift that will never wear out or depreciate in value, never be donated to Goodwill, eaten by moths, or stolen from a vault. THE ONE BEST THING. It is...
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TOBET Presents Theology of the Body for Families: Beginning this month, we will be covering the many lessons our bodies teach us. We provide examples for parents to use Theology of the Body language when talking with your children, to build an understanding of St. John Paul II’s Christian anthropology.
TOBET now has a series of posts to help you enhance your dialogue and reframe complex subjects through the lens of TOB and the way God intends us to live our lives. We hope this series will be inspirational to you and your family as we explore how to live our lives in God’s image and likeness.
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The Body Speaks a Language of Truth and Love
The body speaks a language. Our bodies can speak truths or lies, but we can find the greatest truth to express in each situation. Scripture shows the goodness of telling the truth with the body. The truth of our bodies is revealed by a secure identity in God. This revelation forms our hearts reverently to love truly.
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The Body Speaks a Language of Truth
Your son Shane is friends with another boy at school. He comes home from his friend’s house for the first time and shares his experience with you. He says, “I had to take my shoes off before I ever came into his house. It was weird. When his mom pulled into the garage, they had a whole shoe rack in their garage.”
Realizing this is a chance to teach your son about the language of truth our bodies teach us, you say, “Our bodies can speak the language of politeness. It might not be something done at our house, but taking your shoes off before entering your friend’s house shows respect. Good manners are important wherever you go.”
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The Body Speaks a Language of Love
You can also connect the spoken language of love with truth. You can say, “People use their bodies to communicate. When you took your shoes off and used good manners, you showed respect and reverence for their family’s traditions. This speaks a language of love that builds trust and community. That’s the same sort of reverence taught to us through the Gospel. The Word of God teaches us that telling the truth with the body speaks of goodness and love.”
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The Truth of the Heart
You can also explain how this reverence relates to Jesus and Mary. You can say, “Jesus and Mary spoke a language of love with their bodies by their reverence for one another. Even doing something as simple as taking your shoes off before entering your friend’s home shows love. That is the true language of your heart’s goodness.”
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Reverence Leads to True Love
You can take this a step further, connecting it to reverent behaviors when celebrating our faith. You can say, “Just like when you take your shoes off and use manners to show reverence for your friend’s traditions, you can use your body to show reverence to God, as when you genuflect in front of the Tabernacle in church. When we speak a language of love with our bodies, God sees us using our bodies how He made them to be.”
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Thank you for receiving the gift TOBET has to share by reading our post. If you’d like to learn more about how The Body Speaks a Language or The Body and the Heart, please visit tobet.org/shop/.
Be sure to check out next week’s post as we share Theology of the Body in other unique scenarios. If you want to support our mission beyond purchasing The Body Matters books, stay tuned for updates on #NTXGivingDay!
TOBET Presents Theology of the Body for Families: Beginning this month, we will be covering the many lessons our bodies teach us. We provide an example for parents to use Theology of the Body language for talking with your children to build an understanding of St. John Paul II’s Christian anthropology.
TOBET now has a series of posts to help you enhance your dialogue and reframe complex subjects in our society today, looking through the lens of TOB and how God intends us to live our lives. We hope this series will be insightful and inspirational to you and your families as we explore how to live our lives made in God’s image and likeness.
♥️♥️♥️
The Body Speaks a Language of Truth and Love
The body speaks a language. Our bodies can speak truths or lies, but we can find the greatest truth to express in each situation. Scripture shows the goodness of telling the truth with the body. The truth of our bodies is revealed by a secure identity in God. This revelation forms our hearts reverently to love truly.
♥️♥️♥️
The Body Speaks a Language of Truth
Your daughter, Aubrey, always wants to spend time with her older brother, Braeden. Unfortunately for her, your son often plays video games that require a learning curve for her to play. Braeden is frustrated with his little sister for always making him lose when they play together, so he stopped letting her play with him. Aubrey’s had just about enough of being told no, so she’s decided to take matters into her own hands.
Your daughter’s come to you, upset because Braeden has pushed her down. Your son didn’t hurt his sister, but her pride’s certainly stung. She says, “I just want to play with him and he won’t let me! And then he had to push me, too. It’s not fair!”
You ask, “What exactly happened? Did you just ask to play or did something else happen?”
Aubrey answers, “Well, I asked a couple of times to play. And when he told me no a third time, I tried to take the controller from him. He got mad and pushed me!”
You ask your daughter, “Was it okay for you to take something from your brother?”
Aubrey says, “No...but he pushed me and won’t let me play!”
You tell her, “I’ll talk to Braeden in a little bit. I want to talk about you taking something from someone after they told you no. God made our bodies to help us communicate. When we act in certain ways, like grabbing something out of someone’s hands, that means something. What do you think that said to your brother?”
Aubrey replies, “I don’t know. But his face wasn’t happy when I took the controller from him.”
You reply, “Exactly. Using the body God gave him, his face spoke a language that said, ‘I’m not happy with what you’re doing.’ Just like you saw this on his face, Braeden’s probably seen it on your face, too. I’m going to talk to your brother now.”
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The Body Speaks a Language of Love
You talk to Braeden and to get his side of the story. He tells you, “She kept asking to play and I told her no. I was on an important level and I didn’t wanna lose my progress. And she kept ignoring me. But then she took the controller out of my hands right when I was about to finish the boss battle! I got so mad and I pushed her. I know I shouldn’t have, but she wasn’t listening to me!”
You respond, “I understand how her not listening to you upsets you. She wanted to spend time with you and tried to use her body to speak a language of politeness. She got frustrated when you didn’t listen to her, too. That doesn’t make her taking the controller away from you anymore okay than you pushing her down. But, we can use our bodies to tell the truth as much as we can to show love. Do you have any idea of how you can show your sister you love her?”
Braeden answers, “I mean, I know I need to tell her I’m sorry for pushing her down. Maybe I can let her play sometime?”
You say, “That’s a great idea! And the more you help her learn how to play, the better she’ll get. Maybe you two can play together eventually. When you make an offer like this, you’re speaking a language of politeness and of love. As much as a hug speaks a language of love, so does offering up something you like to do alone.”
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The Truth of the Heart
Braeden makes his apologies to Aubrey. After this, you have another talk with her and say, “Aubrey, I know it’s hard for you to wait and it’s frustrating when your brother’s told you no before, but he’s going to work on that. He understands how it feels to not be included. You showing a bit of patience tells the truth of your heart. It lets Braeden know that you respect his turn, as much as you wanting to spend time with him."
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Reverence Leads to True Love
Teaching your kids small gestures like this can help them build an understanding of the language our bodies speak. Teaching them that our bodies can show love, forgiveness, politeness, and communicate other needs connects them to the Gospel’s goodness of showing the truth with the body. With the heart as the seat of a person, teaching your children self-mastery over small things like impatience and frustration brings them closer to reverence and true love.
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Thank you for receiving the gift TOBET has to share by reading our post. If you’d like to learn more about how The Body Speaks a Language or The Body and the Heart, please visit tobet.org/shop/.
Be sure to check out next week’s post as we share Theology of the Body in other unique scenarios. If you want to support our mission beyond purchasing The Body Matters books, stay tuned for updates on #NTXGivingDay!