• Home
• About
• Aquinas Institute
• Campus Ministry
• Parish life
• Support the Center

Theology of the Body

Course Description:
Theology of the Body was John Paul II's first major teaching of his pontificate. Consisting of 129 public lectures, JPII opened the world's eyes to a profound understanding of human sexuality in relationship to creation, redemption, and resurrection. Combining both the rich intellectual tradition of the Catholic Church with modern philosophical practices such as phenomenology, the late pope did not hesitate to address some of the most fundamental and difficult questions of the human

• What is love?
• What does it mean to be male and female?
• What does it mean to be created for another?
• Can a distinction be made between the body and the person and if not, what are the implications?
• Can we love perfectly and purely while maintaining our most passionate desires?
• Does sex have a meaning and if so, what is it?
• What is behind the feeling of shame?
  

These and many more questions are answered with eloquence and potency in JPII's book "Theology of the Body.

http://www.amazon.com/Man-Woman-He-Created-Them/dp/0819874213/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233688431&sr=8-1

Purpose:
The purpose of this class is to help bridge the subjective desires of a person's heart with the objective reality of what it means to be human, especially in the context of relationships. When we begin to understand on a deeper level the true dignity of each person as a subject to be appreciated rather than an object to be appropriated, new horizons of love are discovered in light the Christian faith known as the redemption of the body. The desires to be loved perfectly (ethos) accord with the objective call to love perfectly (ethic). The harmony between these sometimes two dissonant realities are fundamentally reconciled through the Christian faith which is powerfully presented in JPII's great theological work commonly referred to as "Theology of the Body." To summarize, the purpose for this class is to lead to a personal transformation of heart and life.

All classes will be held on Tuesdays from 3pm to 4:45pm in the Upper Room of the Catholic Student Center (1520 Euclid Ave.). For more information, please contact Matt Boettger at Matthew.Boettger@thomascenter.org.