Though I have worked at TOBET for less than a year, I have learned quite a lot. I thought I knew a few things about the Theology of the Body coming in, but I had no idea as to the depth and relevance of Pope John Paul’s teachings. The things I have learned have helped me to understand better just how much God loves me. I have also enjoyed working here while going through engagement and marriage as my new perspective on TOB has helped me to enter more deeply into the mystery of the sacrament. I have selected three things I have learned while working at TOBET in the hopes that my experiences can benefit you.
1. I am my body.
Doesn’t that seem like a strange statement? “I am my body.” It seems more common today to think of ourselves as souls which occupy bodies. But think about it. If I go to the grocery store, my body goes to the grocery store. If I play football, my body plays football. If I eat some delicious pad thai, my body eats that same pad thai. I can’t separate my body from me! This misconception really shows the importance of TOB. When people don’t understand the importance of their own body, they feel less inclined to take care of it and to accept it as it is.
I am my body
2. The body is a sacrament.
Sacraments are visible signs that bring about invisible realities. So how is the body a sacrament? It is a visible sign that brings about the invisible reality of you! As much as I am my body, I also have a soul. This union of the physical and spiritual exists in our bodies and points directly toward the sacraments. If we handle sacraments with the deepest reverence, this understanding of the body should lead us to treat our own bodies, and the bodies of others with a similar reverence.
3. Marriage is the ‘weight-bearing’ structure of the sacramental order.
If you’re like me, you probably just said to yourself, “wait, not the Eucharist?” Let me explain. Pope John Paul asserts that without a proper understanding of marriage, our entire view of Catholicism and the sacraments breaks down. So, while the Eucharist is the ‘source and summit’ of our faith, Pope John Paul says that, “all the sacraments of the New Covenant find their prototype in some way in marriage as the primordial sacrament.” (TOB 98:2) Marriage mirrors the divine and makes visible God’s nature to us, who share in that nature.
God, through his servant Pope Saint John Paul II, has given us a deep well of knowledge in the Theology of the Body. Working for TOBET has opened my eyes to just how much deeper my faith can become with a proper understanding of the body. My hope is that we can make these teachings, and this depth of faith, more accessible to you too.
The Sacraments
Chris Tarantino is the Communications Director for TOBET. He studied History at The University at Texas A&M and has written for the Tennessee Register and Nashville Catholic.
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